Electric Vehicles: General topics

[Yoused]

This is very cool

I was trying to read the link text, and I have difficulty because the blue is very low contrast to the dark grey background of this dark mode, so, at first, it looked like it ended with "half-moon-orgy".

 

[rdrr]

Looks like Volkswagen will be stopping production of the ID.4 in TN due to low demand, since EV credits have been canceled. It was a better-than-average EV out there, but they definitely needed to re-engineer it. There are rumors that they will be focusing on the bigger ID.Tiguan (but unclear when that will arrive in the US), but I think it leaves a gap in the compact SUV EV market.

Another EV Shorts Out in the U.S. as the Volkswagen ID4 Will Soon Be No More

Although VW says it will bring new EVs to the U.S. eventually, it’s winding down the ID4 at Chattanooga to build volume models.

www.motortrend.com

 

[DT]

W O O T ! !

https://stories.rivian.com/r2-start-of-production-spring-delivery-2026

 

[Yoused]

Well, this is interesting. New thousand horsepower Ferrari Luce EV, with 330 mile range (presumably when you are not driving it like a Ferrari). Ok, yeah, whatever, what is interesting?

The body was designed by Marc Newson and Jony Ive.

Spoiler: ehh

 

[Cmaier]

Well, this is interesting. New thousand horsepower Ferrari Luce EV, with 330 mile range (presumably when you are not driving it like a Ferrari). Ok, yeah, whatever, what is interesting?

The body was designed by Marc Newson and Jony Ive.

Spoiler: ehh

Looks like a Kia.

 

[diamond.g]

No one seems to be happy with this vehicle.

 

[Herdfan]

Looks like a Kia.

Wife said the same thing.

 

[DT]

Well, this is interesting. New thousand horsepower Ferrari Luce EV, with 330 mile range (presumably when you are not driving it like a Ferrari). Ok, yeah, whatever, what is interesting?

The body was designed by Marc Newson and Jony Ive.

Spoiler: ehh

I wonder if the charging port is on the bottom ...

 

[diamond.g]

W O O T ! !

https://stories.rivian.com/r2-start-of-production-spring-delivery-2026

Have you put in to test drive one yet?

 

[DT]

Have you put in to test drive one yet?

I haven't, we haven't done a test drive in a decade or more (through several vehicles). We just don't run into things that are deal breakers, a little online research, and we're good. We're a mix of not nit-picky, umm, "regular sized" , have had so many vehicles we have a lot of ownership comparables, etc.

If it fits our desires, needs, price, and there's a reasonably positive consensus, we're good

This was kind of a "for fun" reservation anyway, extremely timing dependent. Our Wrangler lease ends Sep '25, the iX lease ends April '26, we're in the new digs in Orlando, and we don't even really need two vehicles. In fact, we've been keeping the Jeep up at the old house, we've been going up for various reasons (work, exams, house moving more stuff down), and we use it while we're there - in fact, doing that today, DTO to SA, packing up the iX, leaving it to charge, taking the Jeep into PV for a stay over / meeting the next day, then swapping back on the way south.

Once the house is sold, we'll likely return the Jeep early, and just live with the iX, worry about the next vehicle when that lease expires. The R2 would be a good fit by then, but the iX3 and iX5 are probably at the top of our list.

Plus, the leases are shitacular

New 2026 R2 Performance with Launch Package with a vehicle price of $57,990, a monthly lease payment of $829, and $5,724 DUE AT SIGNING.

$857/mo with my config.

Effective with the DAS across 36 months, plus tax, almost $1100/month

That's a 1.7% payment calc based on the MSRP (good lease ref price), and I don't pay over 1%

Our iX is ~0.8%, our Wrangler is ~0.7, just for comparison, the iX is a $100K MSRP, and total payment with tax is $815 (and it was first payment only DAS).