2o6 gets stranded by a buggy Blazer EV

[Laconian]

https://insideevs.com/reviews/701169/2024-blazer-ev-stranded-broken/

[Morris Minor]

I remember things were bit wobbly for him at one stage, so I'm really glad the cogs are meshing and Kevin is now doing what he was put on this earth to do. He writes well.

[Laconian]

I remember things were bit wobbly for him at one stage, so I'm really glad the cogs are meshing and Kevin is now doing what he was put on this earth to do. He writes well.

Yeah his writing is quite good.

I think he has more journalistic integrity than most of his peers too. He got a lot of shit for calling a spade a spade with his Vinfast article. Most in the business pull their punches and never bite the hand that feeds them.

[CaminoRacer]

Oof that's not great. I've been so hopeful for Ultium

[SJ_GTI]

Its kind of crazy GM spent so much time and effort on this platform and yet it seems to be very buggy. This is something you would expect from something rushed to market.

[MrH]

Yeah his writing is quite good.

I think he has more journalistic integrity than most of his peers too. He got a lot of shit for calling a spade a spade with his Vinfast article. Most in the business pull their punches and never bite the hand that feeds them.

It's pretty amazing how quickly his writing improved.  I remember his first few articles.  Compare those to now, and it's a night and day difference.  He's one of the better writers in the auto journalism world now IMO.

He fills kind of a fun niche too.  He's been chasing stories and writing things about bizarre chinese cars and things most other journalists wouldn't touch.  I appreciate when they have their own voice and interests as opposed to just writing generically about the latest sports car.

Looks like he's going to be EV focused for awhile now.  The whole industry seems to have a lot of churn, with people jumping between publications frequently.  Patrick George and Travis Okulski are good people to hook your wagon to.

[MrH]

Its kind of crazy GM spent so much time and effort on this platform and yet it seems to be very buggy. This is something you would expect from something rushed to market.

Yeah, it's kind of shocking.  Especially when the Bolt was the opposite: probably the least buggy EV out there.

[Morris Minor]

Its kind of crazy GM spent so much time and effort on this platform and yet it seems to be very buggy. This is something you would expect from something rushed to market.

I worry about GM.

[r0tor]

I don't get it - why would you not just try a different charger

[Laconian]

I don't get it - why would you not just try a different charger

Read on...

"It's probably just some EA nonsense," I said to myself. Electrify America chargers can be finicky, they've done this to me before on other makes and models, randomly disconnecting in the middle of a perfectly good charge. Without re-entering the car, I unplugged and re-plugged the Blazer EV. The charging restarted, but Electrify America said the Blazer EV would only draw 3 to 5 kW. Strange, but I was hungry. I figured the Blazer EV would ramp up speed later, so I walked away to get lunch.

Throughout my 20-minute lunch, the Blazer EV never crested more than 5 kW. I marched downhill back to the charging station, figuring it was more EA problems. In the meantime, the EQS had finished charging and left the station, leaving his presumably working charging station all ready for the Blazer EV.

I pressed "Stop Charging" on the now-working infotainment system (accepting an incoming call made the screen work again!), and then depressed the brake to start the car, ready to move the Blazer EV one stall over to a better working charger.

Before I could move the car, I looked down at the plethora of lights and messages in front of me. The car's gauge cluster was lit up like a Christmas tree. "Service Vehicle Soon."

The Blazer's EV's electrical fault light, (a car with an exclamation point), a check motor and check battery warning, reduced power (yellow turtle), and check charge port lights were all illuminated. Plugging into a different charging station didn't fix this either.

[r0tor]

I don't know, seems like a couple cycles on/off usually fixes that in a new car. 

[CaminoRacer]

Yeah, it's kind of shocking.  Especially when the Bolt was the opposite: probably the least buggy EV out there.

Seems like they tried to go higher-tech with Ultium. The Bolt is great since it's mostly a regular car with an electric motor, so less fancy software was needed.

[Laconian]

I thought the Bolt was a bespoke design?!

Didn't LG basically design the Bolt for GM? Maybe that's why it's such a decent car.

[MrH]

It's on the BEV2 platform, but that was mostly a spin off of the Gamma platform I think.  I think there was quite a bit of sharing with D2XX platform too, which was the basis for the Volt, etc.

It was designed by GM Korea, and yeah, they partnered with LG on a lot of it.  They even did the infotainment, which explains why it works so well   Apparently this is what LG produced for it.

LG Chem will manufacture and supply all of the following systems:

Lithium-ion Battery Cells and Battery Pack
Battery Heater
Electric Drive Motor (GM design)
Power Inverter Module for DC-to-AC conversion (GM design)
Onboard Battery Charger
Electric Compressor for Climate-Control System
High-Power Distribution Module
Accessory Low-Power Module
Power Line Communication Module (for communication with DC quick-charging station)
Instrument Cluster
Infotainment System

[afty]

I came across this Inside EVs article but didn't realize the author was a Spinner!

Edmunds also had major problems with their Blazer, which they had actually purchased: https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/2024-chevy-blazer-ev-long-term-faults.html

[Laconian]

Wow. Ultium sounds like a flop.

[Morris Minor]

Cruise is a mess. Their software is a mess. Nikola was a mess. I think they need to do a bit of navel-gazing.

[Laconian]

LOL!

Kevin wrote another article:
https://insideevs.com/news/702126/ultium-platform-owners-gm/

And now here is the end result (it plugs his articles!):
https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/chevy-blazer-ev-stop-sale.html

[Morris Minor]

I saw those! He was feeling a bit bruised by some of the comments: stuff from GM haters, Tesla haters, EV worshippers, just kinda general purpose haters.

[565]

If you buy a GM it better have a small block in it.

I get my small blocks from GM, my straight 6s from BMW, and my EVs from Tesla.

[afty]

Man, GM seems to have really f'ed up with the Ultium cars.

[r0tor]

Filed in the same folder... The horror show that is the Lightening

https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2022-ford-f-150-lightning-lariat-yearlong-review-update-11-road-trip-nightmare/

[Laconian]

It sounds like Ford's big sin there is misreporting the EPA theoretical range at full charge, which I agree is a dick move.

But otherwise it's just an article about charging network woes?

[FoMoJo]

Following reports of problems from InsideEVs, Edmunds and owners, GM hits pause on Blazer EV sales for now.

Following a week of reports about problems with the new Chevrolet Blazer EV, including InsideEVs reporter Kevin Williams experiencing a breakdown in one during a road trip, General Motors has halted sales of the electric vehicle to fix certain software issues.

[CaminoRacer]

Damn Kevin got hands

[GoCougs]

Filed in the same folder... The horror show that is the Lightening

https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2022-ford-f-150-lightning-lariat-yearlong-review-update-11-road-trip-nightmare/

That has nothing to do with the truck - that was a (THE) charge infrastructure problem. ALL EVs have issues accurately reporting range.

[565]

Filed in the same folder... The horror show that is the Lightening

https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2022-ford-f-150-lightning-lariat-yearlong-review-update-11-road-trip-nightmare/

The charging problem is exactly why my EV veteran work friend told me that for my first EV to go Tesla.  He had several Model Ss before he got a Taycan and an Ioniq 5, he now only has EVs and no ICE backup, but he has years of experience now.

I sound like a broken record but the supercharging network is wonderful, at least in the Northeast along I95 where I live and work. I drive past about 100 supercharger plugs during my 100 daily miles of driving. The Tesla app will show me how many are occupied at any time (usually 20% occupied or less). I just plug in and everything happens automatically. I've never encountered any charging issues or wait times. The Tesla will also over estimate range like the Ford, but if you put in a destination, the predicted charge at destination is dead accurate. If you drive at 85 all the time like me, it will adjust that number quickly once you hit the highway. Overall the supercharger network means I've never felt any range anxiety. I also thus don't do the always be charging mentality many EV owners have. I usually set the car to be charged when I plan to leave, this way the battery is warm from the charging process (otherwise regen is less in a cold battery).  If I get unexpectedly called into the hospital and won't have the range, I just stop at the supercharger.

There is a reason why every automaker ran into the smug embrace of Musk when he announced he is opening the Superchargers to non Teslas.  We will see how availablity is once they do, but since most EVs are Teslas anyway, the I95 corridor at least will handle the extra volume.

[AutobahnSHO]

Yeah, I think Teslas can drive across Wyoming, haven't seen any other chargers...

[r0tor]

It sounds like Ford's big sin there is misreporting the EPA theoretical range at full charge, which I agree is a dick move.

But otherwise it's just an article about charging network woes?

Terribly overstated range + piss poor software + charger issues

At least GM only has the last 2 issues

[Laconian]

If the Blazer can barely go a hundred miles without BSODing then they overstated the range too