Electric Vehicles: General topics

[cloudflare420]

No idea if this will make it to production, final specs, pricing, distribution and service network ... just that it's a really nice looking execution (love the side "mirrors"):

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The most shocking thing about this EV is the manufacturer: Sony

What a cool looking EV!

Maybe this will bring Sony back to its former glory.

 

[Citysnaps]

I just love the idea of the vehicle market opening up to all these new players, who even just 10 years ago you would've said, "Sony? You're crazy." I think cars are becoming a little more modular too, Sony can source the "skateboard" with a certain spec (battery, form factor), and do all the finishing implementation, and capitalize on the elements that are unique to Sony's strengths - like you said, electronics, optics, video.

Speaking of batteries, I'm looking forward to seeing companies moving forward using new battery technologies/chemistries. Lithium-Sulfur, comes to mind. Watch for it.

 

[DT]

Speaking of batteries, I'm looking forward to seeing companies moving forward using new battery technologies/chemistries. Lithium-Sulfur, comes to mind. Watch for it.

Yes! I've been following Lyten and a couple other notable players in the Li-S battery space for a while. I really think there's going to be a major battery tech breakthrough in the very near future - specifically for consumer products - and 400-500 mile ranges will be as common as 20-30 for ICE vehicles.

 

[Citysnaps]

Yes! I've been following Lyten and a couple other notable players in the Li-S battery space for a while. I really think there's going to be a major battery tech breakthrough in the very near future - specifically for consumer products - and 400-500 mile ranges will be as common as 20-30 for ICE vehicles.

Lyten is the real deal. I've been assuming they've been in discussions with Apple.

 

[Herdfan]

Never thought about school buses, but it would make sense. They come back to the same place every night so charging would be easy. Plus plenty of room for batteries.

Kanawha County students ride on new electric school buses

It may not be too long before some of these buses are seen on the roads in West Virginia.

www.wsaz.com

Probably need to keep a couple of diesels around for longer trips, but the rest of them could be electric.

 

[cloudflare420]

Ran the battery down to 2% for the first time. You could feel the motors not getting full power. Felt slower than chill mode

17 hours to get from 2%-100% on a 24A L2

 

[Eric]

Ran the battery down to 2% for the first time. You could feel the motors not getting full power. Felt slower than chill mode

Wow that's brave, you must have been near a charger I take it?

I let mine get down to 15% wile cruising around with my buddy and my wife called to tell me I needed to charge because she got an alert. Man, I remember when backseat drivers had actually be in the car.

 

[DT]

Never thought about school buses, but it would make sense. They come back to the same place every night so charging would be easy. Plus plenty of room for batteries.

Probably need to keep a couple of diesels around for longer trips, but the rest of them could be electric.

School buses are a terrific use case, like you indicated, a known route ending in a specific location, an EV would mean no emissions. low-to-no noise which is great when you've got a fleet of them waiting for afternoon rides.

Ran the battery down to 2% for the first time. You could feel the motors not getting full power. Felt slower than chill mode

17 hours to get from 2%-100% on a 24A L2

Hahaha, yeah, 24a is 20-22 miles/hour rate, __and__ the 0%-20% and 80%-100% is a good bit slower than that (especially the 90-100%).

 

[DT]

I let mine get down to 15% wile cruising around with my buddy and my wife called to tell me I needed to charge because she got an alert. Man, I remember when backseat drivers had actually be in the car.

The first time the wife took the Tesla out (like not just a quick "test drive"), she was with the daughter at the salon, and I was still nerding out over the app and checking out the car remotely. It was like July, and I saw the super high temps in the car, so before they got back in, I vented the windows, then closed them and fired up the AC to max. I love that someone else can actually give you a hand, or even grant you access to the car in a pinch.

 

[SuperMatt]

Never thought about school buses, but it would make sense. They come back to the same place every night so charging would be easy. Plus plenty of room for batteries.

Kanawha County students ride on new electric school buses

It may not be too long before some of these buses are seen on the roads in West Virginia.

www.wsaz.com

Probably need to keep a couple of diesels around for longer trips, but the rest of them could be electric.

I have seen some electric city buses in DC…

Meet the Fleet - Washington D.C. Circulator

Our new vehicles offer the latest in comfort and technology! Wider doors, larger windows, community seating and increased standing room help make the entire ride easy and comfortable for all. Charge up with USB ports near almost every seat. Connect with free public Wi-Fi on all new buses. Get...

www.dccirculator.com

Proterra Catalyst E2 Bus Debuts: 350 Miles Of Real World Range Via 660 kWh Battery

Proterra has unveiled the longest range, 40-foot bus to hit the market to date, the Catalyst E2. A 660 kWh battery gives the electric bus 350 miles of range

insideevs.com

 

[Eric]

The first time the wife took the Tesla out (like not just a quick "test drive"), she was with the daughter at the salon, and I was still nerding out over the app and checking out the car remotely. It was like July, and I saw the super high temps in the car, so before they got back in, I vented the windows, then closed them and fired up the AC to max. I love that someone else can actually give you a hand, or even grant you access to the car in a pinch.

Me (from the couch) when my wife walks into the kitchen "Alexa, turn on kitchen". We just give and give for our families, don't we?

 

[cloudflare420]

They really need to add some user profiles in the mobile app. If I'm preheating the car, it shouldn't send out a mass push notification to every user.

 

[AG_PhamD]

I’m sure there will be many people angry at me for posting this but:

EVs are the least reliable vehicle type: Consumer Reports points to some problem areas

From assembly related issues on Tesla models to electronics and drive-system issues in other vehicles, EVs are more trouble-prone, according to the consumer advocacy organization.

www.greencarreports.com

In a reliability survey published last November, Consumer Reports named electric SUVs the least-reliable vehicle type. Now CR has followed that up with a report shedding light on specific problem areas.

On average, EVs have significantly higher problem rates than internal-combustion vehicles across model years 2019 and 2020, according to CR's data. That improved somewhat for 2021, but certain models still showed high rates of problems, according to the report.

In all cases, the important point is not just that these problems occur, but that they occur at a higher rate than in comparable internal-combustion vehicles. Despite that, CRfound high rates of owner satisfaction, indicating that many EV owners aren't too worried about reliability issues.

Consumer Reports currently ranks Tesla 26th in reliability, 2nd to worse. All 4 models are currently marked as reliability issues, with the Y “much worse than average”.

I suspect a lot of this has to do with many EV models being so new, not to mention new technology, and relatively low volume that the kinks haven’t been worked out. I suspect there are a lot of attempts at cost cutting too to try and keep costs down.

Tesla on the other hand has established technology and hasn’t had such bad reliability ratings in the past, so maybe just hasty production in an effort to get as many cars out the door?

————

Not sure if anyone has talked about this yet, not exactly a new car but I think the Polestar 2 is a gorgeous looking vehicle. They recently put a dealer in very close to me but I haven’t seen more than a couple on the road.

Unfortunately the AWD model only gets 250mi range (270 w/FWD). It’s slightly slower than Model 3 LR AWD, but fairly closely priced for similarly equipped models (~$51k after tax credit). The options are heinously expensive on the Polestar. Volvo has pretty good autonomous features but Tesla definitely has the upper hand. The Polestar warranty is also only 4yr/50k B2B + 8yr/100k on the battery only. Tesla is 8yr/120k on the battery + motors. The interior is a little bland- it doesn’t look nearly as nice as it’s relative Volvo models, but I could live with it.

It seems hard to justify spending the same amount of money on a car that gets 100 miles less range, doesn’t have supercharging, etc. If they could keep the price similar and up the range to at least ~325mi, it could be a compelling alternative to the sea of Model 3’s.

I’m also not sure where Polestar fits into the Volvo family considering Volvo is quickly moving towards EV’s themselves with the XC40 recharge and allegedly 3 new EV’s over the next 3 years.

 

[quagmire]

Not angry, but guess you can put me down towards not having much faith in these reports.

Just reading subreddits relating to Tesla, it just reveals to me how ignorant( putting it nicely) people can be towards their own car. And this ignorance probably plays some influence in how they answer any reliability/quality surveys. Now that the temps are dropping, the subreddits are littered with, " My Tesla's air pressure is showing amber, what does it mean!?!?!" It means fill your damn tires up with air..... Not only can they not comprehend that, they don't even know the recommended inflation and just go off what they set in their previous cars. Or for those that just bought the fastest model possible because, " Ooooo fast!!!" are now going, " My Tesla is unsafe in the snow!" Well no crap, you still have the summer tires on the vehicle!

I bet Tesla will get hit hard shortly again after V11's release because people don't like the UI change and down mark Tesla there too.....

When it comes to Tesla's, I would only put faith in build quality scores. Every thing else, I would tend to be skeptical on.....

 

[SuperMatt]

I’m sure there will be many people angry at me for posting this but:

EVs are the least reliable vehicle type: Consumer Reports points to some problem areas

From assembly related issues on Tesla models to electronics and drive-system issues in other vehicles, EVs are more trouble-prone, according to the consumer advocacy organization.

www.greencarreports.com

Consumer Reports currently ranks Tesla 26th in reliability, 2nd to worse. All 4 models are currently marked as reliability issues, with the Y “much worse than average”.

I suspect a lot of this has to do with many EV models being so new, not to mention new technology, and relatively low volume that the kinks haven’t been worked out. I suspect there are a lot of attempts at cost cutting too to try and keep costs down.

Tesla on the other hand has established technology and hasn’t had such bad reliability ratings in the past, so maybe just hasty production in an effort to get as many cars out the door?

————

Not sure if anyone has talked about this yet, not exactly a new car but I think the Polestar 2 is a gorgeous looking vehicle. They recently put a dealer in very close to me but I haven’t seen more than a couple on the road.

View attachment 11033

Unfortunately the AWD model only gets 250mi range (270 w/FWD). It’s slightly slower than Model 3 LR AWD, but fairly closely priced for similarly equipped models (~$51k after tax credit). The options are heinously expensive on the Polestar. Volvo has pretty good autonomous features but Tesla definitely has the upper hand. The Polestar warranty is also only 4yr/50k B2B + 8yr/100k on the battery only. Tesla is 8yr/120k on the battery + motors. The interior is a little bland- it doesn’t look nearly as nice as it’s relative Volvo models, but I could live with it.

It seems hard to justify spending the same amount of money on a car that gets 100 miles less range, doesn’t have supercharging, etc. If they could keep the price similar and up the range to at least ~325mi, it could be a compelling alternative to the sea of Model 3’s.

I’m also not sure where Polestar fits into the Volvo family considering Volvo is quickly moving towards EV’s themselves with the XC40 recharge and allegedly 3 new EV’s over the next 3 years.

Tesla’s build quality has been a known issue for years. Which is why I am always excited when I see more companies making EVs.

As it stands, the “EVs are unreliable” is just “Teslas are unreliable” because they dominate the EV sector in America. But it‘s interesting to see that the reliability issues generally don’t have to do with the battery or the electric motor.

 

[DT]

Not the slightest bit angry, just DGAF if I'm being totally honest (which may not be the response you were expecting )

My personal experience at a few days short of 7 months: it's been reliable, had ultra-low consumables cost, zero maintenance (flat tire notwithstanding), no issues as delivered, and I've felt it was an incredibly safe vehicle for my family. I've got a statistically [odd] high number of friends with Teslas that report the same.

I'm also able to separate the car from the personality so to speak, this being a source of ire for some folks.

 

[cloudflare420]

I’m sure there will be many people angry at me for posting this but:

EVs are the least reliable vehicle type: Consumer Reports points to some problem areas

From assembly related issues on Tesla models to electronics and drive-system issues in other vehicles, EVs are more trouble-prone, according to the consumer advocacy organization.

www.greencarreports.com

Consumer Reports currently ranks Tesla 26th in reliability, 2nd to worse. All 4 models are currently marked as reliability issues, with the Y “much worse than average”.

I suspect a lot of this has to do with many EV models being so new, not to mention new technology, and relatively low volume that the kinks haven’t been worked out. I suspect there are a lot of attempts at cost cutting too to try and keep costs down.

Tesla on the other hand has established technology and hasn’t had such bad reliability ratings in the past, so maybe just hasty production in an effort to get as many cars out the door?

————

Not sure if anyone has talked about this yet, not exactly a new car but I think the Polestar 2 is a gorgeous looking vehicle. They recently put a dealer in very close to me but I haven’t seen more than a couple on the road.

View attachment 11033

Unfortunately the AWD model only gets 250mi range (270 w/FWD). It’s slightly slower than Model 3 LR AWD, but fairly closely priced for similarly equipped models (~$51k after tax credit). The options are heinously expensive on the Polestar. Volvo has pretty good autonomous features but Tesla definitely has the upper hand. The Polestar warranty is also only 4yr/50k B2B + 8yr/100k on the battery only. Tesla is 8yr/120k on the battery + motors. The interior is a little bland- it doesn’t look nearly as nice as it’s relative Volvo models, but I could live with it.

It seems hard to justify spending the same amount of money on a car that gets 100 miles less range, doesn’t have supercharging, etc. If they could keep the price similar and up the range to at least ~325mi, it could be a compelling alternative to the sea of Model 3’s.

I’m also not sure where Polestar fits into the Volvo family considering Volvo is quickly moving towards EV’s themselves with the XC40 recharge and allegedly 3 new EV’s over the next 3 years.

The biggest issue with the Polestar 2 is the horrible charging curve. You’re going to be sitting at the charger for a very long time, compared to a Tesla on a v3 SC or even a VW ID4 on Electrify America

 

[DT]

Which is why I am always excited when I see more companies making EVs.

Competition is always a good thing - and another key takeaway in the EV industry: it's not Tesla vs. Rivian vs. Lucid vs. VW vs. GM, it's the us vs. the planet. If Tesla did nothing else but instigate this massive shift in the transportation market, then good for them and their panels gaps and questionable UI decisions Everybody wins.

 

[User.45]

I'm also able to separate the car from the personality so to speak, this being a source of ire for some folks.

Definitely is. And the panel gaps

 

[User.45]

I have seen some electric city buses in DC…

Meet the Fleet - Washington D.C. Circulator

Our new vehicles offer the latest in comfort and technology! Wider doors, larger windows, community seating and increased standing room help make the entire ride easy and comfortable for all. Charge up with USB ports near almost every seat. Connect with free public Wi-Fi on all new buses. Get...

www.dccirculator.com

Proterra Catalyst E2 Bus Debuts: 350 Miles Of Real World Range Via 660 kWh Battery

Proterra has unveiled the longest range, 40-foot bus to hit the market to date, the Catalyst E2. A 660 kWh battery gives the electric bus 350 miles of range

insideevs.com

This reminded me of Trolleybuses. You could do a hybrid approach where the bus gets charged in the city's busy areas while operating.
It's interesting to read there are only 5 trolley lines operating in the USA: Philly, SF, Seattle, Daytona and Boston (per wikipedia).