Featured Threads Archive

Reuters news link.

'About a decade ago, Tesla rigged the dashboard readouts in its electric cars to provide “rosy” projections of how far owners can drive before needing to recharge, a source told Reuters. The automaker last year became so inundated with driving-range complaints that it created a special team to cancel owners’ service appointments.'

https://www.axios.com/2023/07/26/electric-car-charging-network

Ford: strange.
VW: they are EA, so why the need for a new network. "why don't they join us?". Because your backed charging network showed you cannot deliver a reliable experience, that's why...and your id.4s are clogging the chargers instead of their owners using their own plugs at home...
Toyota: of course.

From the California New Car Dealer Association:
https://www.cncda.org/wp-content/uploads/Cal-Covering-2Q-23_FINAL.pdf



BTW, Tesla Model 3 and Y appear to be leaders in their segment by a lot.

Having recently bought a 2017 BMW i3-REx, I was curious. FYI, new BMW i3-REx are no longer for sale. But there is a difference of opinions on whether it is an EV with a built-in, motorcycle engine powered, DC charger or a plug-in hybrid missing a mechanical drivetrain link. Regardless, it is an awesome, 4-seat car:

• ~83 mi, 36 MPG gas only, 2.3 gal tank at 70 mph
• ~104 mi, 3.7 mi/kWh EV only, 28.3 kWh battery at 65 mph

Source_2: How much does the average American drive a day? - Zippia

Perhaps some of you finance nerds could help us better understand why Toyota has committed to paying $5 billion on stock dividends when usually that number is much lower all while their total debt is rising much higher with no long term plan of substance to address a lack of growth in sales?

This analysis from Seeking Alpha makes it clear Toyota's objective of short term profits for the market, rather than long term stability for a successful business are starting to smell real bad:

Toyota Motor: Dividend Is At Risk As Company Struggles For A Turnaround | Seeking Alpha

First I am interested in Mullen (sarcastically)..The CEO is a BS artist, (and possibly an ex con)
as in there will never be a Mullen 5 . But he is really good at picking up a lot of assets cheap, like Coda, Bollinger Motors and Electric Last Mile (including enormous EV plant in Mishawaka, IN) ... also battery technology .

He should team up with Elio.

All those CODAs went to him, no idea where they went after that
Here's The Sad Fate Of All Of Those Unsold Coda Electric Cars

What is getting me to post is this perpetual motion machine getting tested at a fed facility, sad and humorous

DC fits fleet of EVs with bogus gadget promising 60% range boost – Ars Technica


Anyway the original PR: (SIC) (ad hominem approved)


BREA, Calif., April 24, 2023– via...

Found this interesting. Afraid to ask the cost of the battery and what chargers will charge that fast.
https://www.topspeed.com/toyota-745-mile-solid-state-battery/

https://electrek.co/2023/07/11/ev-laggards-toyota-stellantis-oppose-proposed-emissions-rules/

The world moves on, and some will be left behind.
Nokia, Kodak, Toyota...

PS: "As the EPA notes, the transportation sector is the largest US source of GHG emissions representing 27.2%. Within the sector, light-duty vehicles are the biggest contributor at 57.1%, thus representing 15.5% of total US GHG emissions."

How many US states tax vehicles based on how much they pollute and consume vs their MSRP?....

https://electrek.co/2023/07/11/europe-passes-two-big-laws-to-make-ev-charging-a-whole-lot-better/

Probably 5-10 years late, but better than never.

https://electrek.co/2023/07/12/sae-wants-to-certify-nacs-by-end-of-year-and-fix-plug-charge-too/

Let's get this one out of the door and move on.
What we really need is more affordable EVs, stealerships actually selling mid- and low-level trims of EV, more sensible lower trims that don't skimp on safety features like auto lights and rain sensors (Toyota! Kia! Hyundai!), trims that don't slap huge tires nobody wants to trade tens of percent of range, and, last and not least, a better, more energy dense, lighter battery technology.
Also, how about EVs with lower and more reasonable HP ratings, lighter/smaller batteries, higher efficiency and cheaper MSRPs?

Document Shows Nio ES6 With 577-Mile Range, 150-kWh Solid-State Battery

It's coming, and not from Toyota...

Not sure what to make of this, but thought it was interesting...

https://www.axios.com/2023/07/10/unsold-electric-cars-are-piling-up-on-dealer-lots

Details: The nationwide supply of EVs in stock has swelled nearly 350% this year, to more than 92,000 units.

• That's a 92-day supply — roughly three months' worth of EVs, and nearly twice the industry average.
• For comparison, dealers have a relatively low 54 days' worth of gasoline-powered vehicles in inventory as they rebound from pandemic-related supply chain interruptions.

The intrigue: Hybrid vehicles have much lower inventory levels, supporting Toyota's argument that consumers want a stepping stone to fully electric cars.

• There's a relatively tight 44-day supply of hybrids industrywide, according to Cox....

Our big unanswered questions about the switch to Tesla-style EV plugs | Ars Technica

"And the problem of interoperability is a much greater contributor to EV fast-charging frustrations than a slightly more unwieldy plug."

https://www.thedrive.com/features/toyota-is-right-we-need-more-hybrid-cars-and-fewer-evs-heres-why

If the ultimate goal is to reduce emissions, wouldn’t this be the best way to do it, given resource and supply constraints?


“It comes down to this: By using its limited battery supply on a small number of (expensive) EVs, the auto industry gets plaudits from investors and the public despite implementing an inefficient decarbonization scheme. It gets to greenwash itself with a handful of flashy products, while in fact not cutting CO2 emissions nearly as much as it could. The numbers strongly suggest that hybridizing as many new cars as possible is more effective, and to increasing degrees as battery technology evolves and supplies hopefully go up. That would allow hybrids to graduate to PHEVs, before being superseded by full EVs where appropriate.”

“So far, the government...

So, I arrive at my car this morning to discover that there's no electricity. I used the key to get in and open the rear door so someone could get in and dig down below the cargo tray to reach the battery and give me a boost.

Two questions: could I have started the car without the jump, and why did the designers at Toyota not provide a low battery warning light?

https://motorillustrated.com/sae-shapes-the-future-of-ev-charging-with-tesla-nacs-connector-standards/117465/

https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1140079_electrify-america-tesla-connectors-800v-charging

In more ways than one, it seem everybody is standardizing on NACS.

SAE is fast tracking a standard for NACS and Electrify America is adding NACS (Tesla) connectors to its charging network. Electrify America will continue to support CCS connectors as well. The NACS V4 connectors will be added to support 800V charging.

Reuters news link: EU-funded hybrid car prototype explodes in Italy, killing two people

Joby Marks Production Launch, Receives Permit to Fly First Aircraft Built on Production Line in Close Collaboration with Strategic Partner and Investor, Toyota - Toyota USA Newsroom

Toyota's Strategic Partner, Joby Aviation, was awarded a Special Airworthiness Certificate to begin testing its first production prototype. If you read the press release from Joby Aviation linked at the bottom of the article, you'll see it will be the first eVTOL aircraft to be delivered to a customer. The customer is the US Air Force as part of the Agility Prime contract. It'll begin flight testing at Edwards Air Force Base sometime this year.


Seems ironic that Toyota has pumped $400M into an electric aircraft company to produce BEA (Battery Electric Aircraft).

Toyota Falls In Brand Loyalty Rankings After Customers Defect To Tesla

"The Japanese car brand slipped into seventh place in S&P Global Mobility’s study for the first four months of the year."

Lordstown Motors files for bankruptcy, sues Foxconn

Lordstown Motors files for bankruptcy, sues Foxconn

BREAKING! Toyota Exec Sets Tesla Catch Up Date For Its Fleet