Random Thoughts Thread

[Drew Dowdell]

28 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

I actually assumed it was more about extracting more money out of a vehicle/platform. Brand new vehicles will spike sales, even with an old engine. Then in a year or two they add a new engine to spike sales again. Rinse and repeat. 

That’s a side effect, but no. It’s harder to do both engine and vehicle platform at the same time than it is to have them alternate in cadence. 
 

but that’s kinda true of all major projects with large separate components.

[G. David Felt]

5 hours ago, ccap41 said:

It didn't even start well. The Hummer had issues almost immediately. 

 

I can't agree more. I've said it since the beginning that they needed to plop that powertrain in a few other vehicles. 

 

When did they reverse course? When did they announce a move away from Android Auto/CarPlay and then say they were keeping them? How do I not remember this announcement?

Yes Hummer did have issues and the Lyriq shipped and then held to address software issues. Those are the only two that seem to still be working with their current software as they are the only EVs that support Android Auto and Apple Carplay as GM used the default Qualcomm software with minimal customization.

Course the stupid thing is that they are planning to with the updates for the trucks and Chevrolet SUVs move all EVs to their custom software with no Android Auto or Apple Carplay. Hopefully when they realize they made the mistake everyone thinks they did, they will enable it as it is software switched off/on. 

Yup we are in total agreement on GM messing up the Hybrid thing.

Ford initially back in 2020 when Qualcomm started to announce OEMs that were going to use their Qualcomm Snapdragon system with Android OS that they would go with a customize experience protecting the end user's data from the cell phone companies. Then in 2023 they started to say they would keep it for ICE and not for EVs at the start of the year and by the end of the year the Ford CEO stated that all ICE and EVs would support Android Auto and Apple Carplay as the customers have stated it is an important part of their auto experience.

Much like how Wendy's said at the start of the week in their investors meeting that they would roll out Surge pricing for peak hours of buying their food the internet had an uproar with millions sending via social media their unhappiness with Wendy's about surge pricing. Wendy's has now announced that the customer has spoken, and they will NOT be implementing surge pricing.

Ford listened to their upset customers, GM has not realized that their customers are not happy about the lack of Android Auto / Apple CarPlay and I think this will bite them big time.

[G. David Felt]

Some interesting reading:

Even as EV sales slow, lower battery prices are expected to boost demand (goldmansachs.com)

Electric school buses outperform diesel in extreme cold (electrek.co)

 

[trinacriabob]

Today would be Michelangelo's birthday.  He lived to be 89.  This was unheard of at that time, and probably almost double the longevity of most people.

I only remember this because I know two people with this birthday, one of whom points out this tidbit of info.

(I am almost sure Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, hence tax day in the yet to be established colonies which would become the country I hope we all know and love.)

[trinacriabob]

A random thought that sometimes goes through my head:

Does TikTok often come across as a low budget, low skill, white trash alternative to YouTube?

[trinacriabob]

Happy Pi Day, folks ...

... it is a damn good thing that I barely know how to operate an oven.

[Robert Hall]

1 hour ago, trinacriabob said:

Happy Pi Day, folks ...

... it is a damn good thing that I barely know how to operate an oven.

My company recognizes Pii day by sending out a coupon for free pie....haven't used mine yet, good through April 30th.

[G. David Felt]

I had Spanish Pie for breakfast.

 

[trinacriabob]

1 hour ago, Robert Hall said:

My company recognizes Pii day by sending out a coupon for free pie....haven't used mine yet, good through April 30th.

Is it pi or pii or both ... I believe I've seen formulii and formulas at one point.

1 hour ago, David said:

I had Spanish Pie for breakfast.

You can't argue with a hotel's breakfast buffet in Spain.  Did you have a good flight over there (on an interesting plane)?

I am amazed at how international nonstops to/from Seattle/Europe have increased.  It used to be just British and Scandinavian (I took the latter once). 

British still does it, Scandinavian no longer does it, and Air France came and went.  Now, add Finnair, Lufthansa, Icelandair, and Turkish.  

- - - - -

Food ...

Phenomenal breakfast buffet in Palermo last month ... that red slice of cake was strawberry flavored (it rotated and not every day) and off the charts, as was the pineapple juice and Sicilian blood red orange juice

Here's a recent economy lunch packaged deal at a restaurant in a town in Central Italy.

[G. David Felt]

19 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Is it pi or pii or both ... I believe I've seen formulii and formulas at one point.

You can't argue with a hotel's breakfast buffet in Spain.  Did you have a good flight over there (on an interesting plane)?

I am amazed at how international nonstops to/from Seattle/Europe have increased.  It used to be just British and Scandinavian (I took the latter once). 

British still does it, Scandinavian no longer does it, and Air France came and went.  Now, add Finnair, Lufthansa, Icelandair, and Turkish.  

- - - - -

Food ...

Phenomenal breakfast buffet in Palermo last month ... that red slice of cake was strawberry flavored (it rotated and not every day) and off the charts, as was the pineapple juice and Sicilian blood red orange juice

Here's a recent economy lunch packaged deal at a restaurant in a town in Central Italy.

Breakfast and dinner at the hotel here has been great.

Breakfast bread spread.

You have such a wide assortment of foods to eat and drink.

Dinners I have been eating my way through the menu.

Pii day was started with crunchy pork belly on spicy mashed potatoes, then a spanish ham pizza and a hot chocolate pie with vanilla bean icecream. 

Here is some of the other foods I had too.

The two pictures above is their cheescake with vanillabean icecream.

Had gyoza and pestrami sandwich for one meal.

This was cheesecake with Belgium Icecream which was creamy amazing.

24 month aged steak.

Their half pound hamburger.

All food at the AC hotel by Marriott is amazing.

[trinacriabob]

Re breakfast:

Spanish breakfast buffets are different from Italian ones ... and Portuguese ones.  (These are the only 3 countries I usually visit to begin with.)  At the Spanish ones, they have those great potato pies, with other ingredients.  Their locals hams are excellent. 

So, there are things I like better on an Italian breakfast buffet and things I like better on a Spanish breakfast buffet.  One interesting thing is that a Portuguese one features mushrooms more than the others ... almost always.  And I'm very okay with that.

Re other meals:

That's a nice looking (club) sandwich.

[G. David Felt]

28 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

Re breakfast:

Spanish breakfast buffets are different from Italian ones ... and Portuguese ones.  (These are the only 3 countries I usually visit to begin with.)  At the Spanish ones, they have those great potato pies, with other ingredients.  Their locals hams are excellent. 

So, there are things I like better on an Italian breakfast buffet and things I like better on a Spanish breakfast buffet.  One interesting thing is that a Portuguese one features mushrooms more than the others ... almost always.  And I'm very okay with that.

Re other meals:

That's a nice looking (club) sandwich.

One thing I forgot to mention is in the picture with the Pizza, you see a bag. They bring you fresh out of the oven hot bread. so yummy, it was great to eat by itself and I am sure if I asked they would have brought me butter to go on the hot bread.

[ccap41]

I've finally gotten to spend a few minutes behind the wheel of an EV. My wife's G is in the shop again for the same exact reasons it was a couple years ago. We had a C300 4Matic loaner than got a flat Wednesday. They picked that up and dropped off an EQE 350 4Matic Sedan.

It looks like crap. But I already knew that. It's super quick and super quiet, which I expected both of those already as well. The interior is 95% of the C300 with a few more menu options and considerably larger rear legroom, also as I'd expect from an E over a C. 

It's overall super nice and quite fun to drive and mess around with something so different. It's weird accelerating so quickly and my body/mind just expect a shift point and for noises to happen and they just don't. It just keeps pulling silently. 

I have no clue how long we'll have this for so I may only have those like 3 miles of driving it. I'd like to comment on the range/efficiency of it but we'll have to see how that goes.

Oh yeah, we have to publicly charge it and that's going to suck total @ss. We only have 3 chargers in town, all level 2, with no way to plug it into an exterior wall outlet at home, that I know of. 

[Drew Dowdell]

16 hours ago, ccap41 said:

I've finally gotten to spend a few minutes behind the wheel of an EV. My wife's G is in the shop again for the same exact reasons it was a couple years ago. We had a C300 4Matic loaner than got a flat Wednesday. They picked that up and dropped off an EQE 350 4Matic Sedan.

It looks like crap. But I already knew that. It's super quick and super quiet, which I expected both of those already as well. The interior is 95% of the C300 with a few more menu options and considerably larger rear legroom, also as I'd expect from an E over a C. 

It's overall super nice and quite fun to drive and mess around with something so different. It's weird accelerating so quickly and my body/mind just expect a shift point and for noises to happen and they just don't. It just keeps pulling silently. 

I have no clue how long we'll have this for so I may only have those like 3 miles of driving it. I'd like to comment on the range/efficiency of it but we'll have to see how that goes.

Oh yeah, we have to publicly charge it and that's going to suck total @ss. We only have 3 chargers in town, all level 2, with no way to plug it into an exterior wall outlet at home, that I know of. 

What's your zip?

[ccap41]

6 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

What's your zip?

62249

I’m going to rummage through the trunk and see if the charger that comes with the car can work or not with our situation. 

Well, it looks like the home charger can be plugged into a 110v outlet with an extension cord so I’ll have to do that tonight. We drove about 70 miles today and it’s at 45% remaining. Getting about 300w/mi in quite a mix of driving. 

[Drew Dowdell]

5 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

62249

Woof! You are in a charging dead zone. Even your fast charger is slow at 50kW max. (There Buick/GMC dealer). I see a bunch listed as “Coming Soon” and your Walmart will get them also. So it isn’t forever.

[Drew Dowdell]

1 hour ago, ccap41 said:

62249

I’m going to rummage through the trunk and see if the charger that comes with the car can work or not with our situation. 

Well, it looks like the home charger can be plugged into a 110v outlet with an extension cord so I’ll have to do that tonight. We drove about 70 miles today and it’s at 45% remaining. Getting about 300w/mi in quite a mix of driving. 

Assuming 12 hours of charging overnight, you'll get about 108 miles of range back, that might get you pretty close to full.  Not terrible.

[ccap41]

3 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Assuming 12 hours of charging overnight, you'll get about 108 miles of range back, that might get you pretty close to full.  Not terrible.

Yeah, I juuuust plugged it in at 44% and this is what it’s reading. TUESDAY. ?
 

it would honestly be do-able on a regular basis because most driving is short for us. We’d kill it over the weekend and multiple nights throughout the week we’d be full again. 

[Drew Dowdell]

2 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

Yeah, I juuuust plugged it in at 44% and this is what it’s reading. TUESDAY. ?
 

it would honestly be do-able on a regular basis because most driving is short for us. We’d kill it over the weekend and multiple nights throughout the week we’d be full again. 

See if turning off Eco Charging helps the time. That’s Mercedes being “smart” and charging at a slower rate because your grid isn’t green right now. 
 

If you bought one you’d want to put an L2 box in.

[ccap41]

15 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

See if turning off Eco Charging helps the time. That’s Mercedes being “smart” and charging at a slower rate because your grid isn’t green right now. 
 

If you bought one you’d want to put an L2 box in.

The Ecocharging is turned off. 
 

Yeah, I don’t think I could commit to an EV Until we built a garage and I could put a L2 outlet in there. Im just saying that L1 could work for us, if I really wanted to. 

[ccap41]

5 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Woof! You are in a charging dead zone. Even your fast charger is slow at 50kW max. (There Buick/GMC dealer). I see a bunch listed as “Coming Soon” and your Walmart will get them also. So it isn’t forever.

Haha yeah, this is a pretty small town. I’m surprised they have one that’s not at a dealership already. 
 

The Walmart would be nice but I’d never use it, if I bought an EV. I’d already have a charger at home for waaaay cheaper. 

[ccap41]

[ccap41]

13hrs on the slowest charger possible:

[G. David Felt]

10 hours ago, ccap41 said:

While Ugly as hell and you and I agree on that, I will say I do like the Rhino color that has become very popular on many an OEMs product line. Rear Lights are nice and very visible.

I like that the charging menu is very easy to understand and straight forward. Need that for my wife who is not a tech person.

Sorry to hear about the G wagon, sucks when you have to get them repaired.

[G. David Felt]

Cool Read

The Tesla Cybertruck Engineering Teardown Is Finally Happening (thedrive.com)

Well worth the watch, interested in what others think.

 

Another good watch.

 

[G. David Felt]

Interesting read, I think some over estimated the ease of an ICE to EV transition as Hertz never took the time to train and inform renters of the difference between EVs and ICE in driving and operating them.
https://fortune.com/2024/03/15/ceo-steps-down-prices-following-purchase-teslas/

[Drew Dowdell]

10 hours ago, ccap41 said:

13hrs on the slowest charger possible:

How long do you have it?

[G. David Felt]

22 hours ago, ccap41 said:

13hrs on the slowest charger possible:

This is my feeling about this that Auto companies are shooting themselves in the foot in regards to EV charging.

GM is a perfect example of this in that the Chevrolet line of EVs have the slowest L1/L2 charging controller and Cadillac has the fastest. The charging speeds start at a pathetic 7.2kW to 19.2kW.

Yes when it comes to GAS Autos they all fill the same into the tank. As such, if an Auto company really wants to give the best experience possible and not have charging complaints, all their Autos from the lowest level to the highest should have the fastest possible.

Mercedes is pathetic with only an 11kW onboard controller for charging their EVs at home compared to Porsche and Audi that are 19.2kW charging controllers.

Mercedes FAILs here in that this is an EQE and as such should have the highest available charging controller. 19.2kW

[ccap41]

12 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

How long do you have it?

Not sure. I think her vehicle is done, actually. It may be going away today.

[ccap41]

1 hour ago, David said:

This is my feeling about this that Auto companies are shooting themselves in the foot in regards to EV charging.

GM is a perfect example of this in that the Chevrolet line of EVs have the slowest L1/L2 charging controller and Cadillac has the fastest. The charging speeds start at a pathetic 7.2kW to 19.2kW.

Yes when it comes to GAS Autos they all fill the same into the tank. As such, if an Auto company really wants to give the best experience possible and not have charging complaints, all their Autos from the lowest level to the highest should have the fastest possible.

Mercedes is pathetic with only an 11kW onboard controller for charging their EVs at home compared to Porsche and Audi that are 19.2kW charging controllers.

Mercedes FAILs here in that this is an EQE and as such should have the highest available charging controller. 19.2kW

The charger is L2 capable, i just don't have an outdoor 220v outlet. They give you two connectors with the charger.  One is for your standard 110v plug and one is a 220v plug. 

I actually don't see any issue with 7.2Kw for at-home charging. I guess you may need more if you had a truck and actually drove 200+ miles a day and needed to fill a massive battery overnight. 11Kw is more than enough for something like this, IMO. 

If you completely drained the 96kWh battery, it would still be easily charged overnight in less than 9hrs at that rate. 

Plus, if you were actually trying to maintain your battery, you wouldn't be charging to 100% every time anyway so it would be even less time. 

[G. David Felt]

36 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

The charger is L2 capable, i just don't have an outdoor 220v outlet. They give you two connectors with the charger.  One is for your standard 110v plug and one is a 220v plug. 

I actually don't see any issue with 7.2Kw for at-home charging. I guess you may need more if you had a truck and actually drove 200+ miles a day and needed to fill a massive battery overnight. 11Kw is more than enough for something like this, IMO. 

If you completely drained the 96kWh battery, it would still be easily charged overnight in less than 9hrs at that rate. 

Plus, if you were actually trying to maintain your battery, you wouldn't be charging to 100% every time anyway so it would be even less time. 

Yes I get all that you said and most EVs have it set for 80 to 90% charging level unless your on a road trip and at a DC then you can choose to go 100%.

Point I am making is that if all levels of ICE fuel at the same rate, why not have this for all EVs. Yes charging overnight would not be an issue, but if you had been out and about and did not charge the night before and got home with only 10% left and needed to go out in a few hours, having a fast L2 charger (19.2kW) versus the Bolt (7.2kW) levl 2 charger would get you juice into the battery pack fast so you can run out later.

I also have to believe that if an OEM standardized on a top charging controller economy of scale would push down the cost and their whole product portfolio would benefit with all EVs having the maximum capable charging speed.

[G. David Felt]

So I posted this in my company Slack auto channel and am reposting it here to share my crazy Sunday with the Wife who is now considering retiring the SS for a new auto.

Interesting, my SS that the wife drives has started to have gremlins. As such upon my return on Saturday from my work trip, she complained to me about not feeling she can rely on the auto. I asked her what she would like to do since I picked the SS for her and over all she loves the power, AWD of the 2008 Trailblazer SS AWD, but at approaching 300,000 miles, it is coming time to retire rather than put money into the auto. She responded that she would be open to an EV.

So, Sunday we spent the day driving EVs to check them out. My wife's response to the following EVs we drove: 

BMW - Nice to drive, was fine with the interface, but the exterior was just ugly with the big kidney grill in the front and weird pinched rear end look. Still will consider.

Mercedes - Interface was fine, driving was nice, liked the interior for the most part, but what were they thinking with the Jellybean shape? Hard pass.

Cadillac - Nice to drive, exterior was far better than the Mercedes or BMW, Failure in that they do not support Android Auto / Apple carplay. As such not acceptable. Yes, there is the * that Lyriq has a limited support for Android Auto, no Apple Carplay and the sales rep did say that GM was moving away from it with their Android system that is voice controlled and easier than using your cell phone. Wife was not impressed with the limitations, wants full support of her Ultra S23 in the auto.

Hyundai - Was not wowed with the style exterior, but interior loved it and roomy for me. Loved the full Android Auto/Apple Carplay support. A solid candidate to consider.

Kia - Again the exterior was not bad, but not wowed by it either. Interior was nice and fit her well, but the tight bucket seats of the EV6 were super tight for me and she said it would not work for us due to my size as no one could sit behind me. EV9 was great, anyone can sit behind me and was very spacious for both of us. Liked the style much better exterior and interior was very nice to her. One to consider, only thing was the poor slow charging speed for L1/L2.

Genesis - GV60, she liked exterior was fine, Interior was very nice. It fit us fine though no one could sit behind me. Interface was very easy to use. But she even asked them if there was a bigger version for the GV70 or 80 and they said not yet, it was coming.

Ford - F150 Lighting she liked allot about it exterior and interior wise, just was hoping for a mid-size rather than full size vehicle so would think on the truck. Mach e she liked, we both fit comfortably and clearly anyone could sit behind me, as the lead developer who is 6'2" tall stated, the EV was designed to handle tall people. Major dislike was the salesperson who was very pushy and made comments that told my wife he was a male chauvinistic pig. He actually to me to man up as the wife would drive whatever I decided for her since I was the man. Big mistake, if we go with a Ford, it will be a different salesperson and might even be a different dealership.

Rivian - Exterior and Interior were big wins for her, she loved everything about it and even the test drive was great. Sadly, Rivian is off the list as she asked the counselor about Android Auto/Apple Carplay and no support, no plan for support. FAILURE big time.

Tesla - She wanted to look at the Y. We went in and over all the experience was good, but no one can sit behind me. The counselor went over the interface and then offered for us to take it for a drive. Wife asked if it supported Android Auto/Apple Carplay and the Answer was no, and then they said a major failure. Musk knows how to build a superior interface, and no one needs those old cell phone connections, only Bluetooth to use your phone. With the crazy way to start the EV and lack of cell phone support she passed on even test driving it. 

One thing my wife did tell me was that an all-software app interface is a failure point to her. She wants physical buttons for the basic stuff and then will be happy using the touch screen. 

Not sure what her choice will be, but she is going to think on this.

[ccap41]

21 minutes ago, David said:

Point I am making is that if all levels of ICE fuel at the same rate, why not have this for all EVs. Yes charging overnight would not be an issue, but if you had been out and about and did not charge the night before and got home with only 10% left and needed to go out in a few hours, having a fast L2 charger (19.2kW) versus the Bolt (7.2kW) levl 2 charger would get you juice into the battery pack fast so you can run out later.

I know what you mean but that's also A LOT of driving in one day. That's a pretty rare scenario to use nearly your entire battery then still need a considerable amount more in "a few hours" where 7.2/11 wouldn't suffice. 

Also, for 19.2kW charging, you need a dedicated 100 amp circuit. I'm not sure if many people have that available anyway. It'll certainly cost more than just a 50amp circuit. So, while it would be nice to be capable of that, I'm still not sure all that many will actually utilize that. 

[Drew Dowdell]

1 hour ago, David said:

Yes I get all that you said and most EVs have it set for 80 to 90% charging level unless your on a road trip and at a DC then you can choose to go 100%.

Point I am making is that if all levels of ICE fuel at the same rate, why not have this for all EVs. Yes charging overnight would not be an issue, but if you had been out and about and did not charge the night before and got home with only 10% left and needed to go out in a few hours, having a fast L2 charger (19.2kW) versus the Bolt (7.2kW) levl 2 charger would get you juice into the battery pack fast so you can run out later.

I also have to believe that if an OEM standardized on a top charging controller economy of scale would push down the cost and their whole product portfolio would benefit with all EVs having the maximum capable charging speed.

Most houses aren't capable of 19.2kW charging anyway, and I'm not convinced it is necessary. @ccap41 kinda just proved it. He said that 70 miles of driving is more than their typical norm.  Charging overnight at 1.2kW still got them back half of that overnight.  As long as ccapp41 and his wife are diligent, they could probably continue on L1 charging indefinitely for around-town driving.  Even the slowest of L2 chargers would be more than sufficient with nightly charging.  This inexpensive L2 EV charger with 7.6 kW for $199 at Amazon would take the EQE from 10% to full in about 10 hours.

I know that as car fans we always want the most power all the time, but don't let perfect be the enemy of good. 7.6 kW is more than enough for average use since you'll only be charging to 80% daily anyway. The only time 19.2kW is really needed is if you're running a Lightning or Silverado EV , or something with a 200kW battery, in contractor duty, and draining the battery fully every day.  When I get the Silverado EV, I'll probably get the Tesla Universal Wall Connector, which only does 11.5kW but will have both connectors built in.  But since I don't drive long distances daily anymore, it won't be a big deal that it has a lower power output.  The advantage for me is that if the EValanche is CCS and the R2 or Prologue is NACS, I'll have both adapters built in.  Albert only drives about 20 miles round trip per day, so he can get away with charging once or twice a week and can even L1 charge if need be.

Even at just a 48 amp circuit, I may have to figure out some things with my other appliances because even though I have 200 amp service, we'd be uncomfortably close to the max.

[G. David Felt]

@ccap41 @Drew Dowdell Thank you both, this is the kind of dialogue I feel the Auto buyers need to be made aware of and the various use cases in understanding as I feel most DO NOT really understand this and give into the FEAR Mongering of News Stories.

While I still feel that everyone should have the same charging rate capabilities, I also understand both your points.

I do feel that this will change electrical across the WORLD over time due to the need of charging.

[Drew Dowdell]

5 hours ago, David said:

@ccap41 @Drew Dowdell Thank you both, this is the kind of dialogue I feel the Auto buyers need to be made aware of and the various use cases in understanding as I feel most DO NOT really understand this and give into the FEAR Mongering of News Stories.

While I still feel that everyone should have the same charging rate capabilities, I also understand both your points.

I do feel that this will change electrical across the WORLD over time due to the need of charging.

I could see settling on three charger rates, but definitely not one. A Bolt or Kia EV4 type vehicle simply does not need 19kW home charging.  It would be an excessive cost to retrofit a house and the number of buyers who actually use that rate would be pretty close to zero.  That would be like insisting that the Corolla has to have a 6.2 liter. It's excessive and doesn't fit the use case.

Now, if we settled into 7.5kW, 11.5kW, and 19.4kW as a standard, that would probably achieve what you are proposing while still giving cost flexibility.  It would allow for entry-level EVs to get the lower cost / lower speed charger while allowing the larger vehicles or premium vehicles to have faster home charging.  For example, the EV6 could have a lower cost 7.5kW charger while the Genesis GV60 on the same platform could get the 11.5kW charger because it is a premium brand and higher cost vehicle.  Then any large EV with or near a 200kW battery could have the 19.4kW charger, but even then, unless it is a newly built house or a commercial fleet, it will still probably charge only at 11.5kW, as that's about the max that the vast majority of homes are wired to do.  Unless you're driving an EV with a 200kW battery to 10% every day, an 11.5kW charger can "fill" an EV to 80% overnight with room to spare, so most people (including me), won't want the extra expense of spending extra money just to say my EV charged faster while I slept.  Either way, it will be ready for me when I need to leave at 7 am.

[ccap41]

1 hour ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Either way, it will be ready for me when I need to leave at 7 am.

That's all I'm worried about. I'm not going to spend a sht ton more money having a 19.2kW charger installed for the 1 day every 3 years I empty the battery, get home for 2 hours, and have to again drive enough that I couldn't make it back home...  

[G. David Felt]

3 hours ago, ccap41 said:

That's all I'm worried about. I'm not going to spend a sht ton more money having a 19.2kW charger installed for the 1 day every 3 years I empty the battery, get home for 2 hours, and have to again drive enough that I couldn't make it back home...  

I can understand this, but then this is part of my daily life. With two kids with their own families and grandkids it is not uncommon for us to be out and about for the day, come home for a bit before heading out to help with the grandkids and their afterschool activities. Plus, with family that is living from both sides north and south of us, it would not be uncommon to drive 75 miles down south to deal with my wife's side of the family, see the nieces/nephews and then up north to my side to see folks and with both our parents in senior years with health issues, also moving back in forth. Course this is why Sun puts on about 15,000 miles a year on the SS.

We all have different use cases.

[Drew Dowdell]

 

2 minutes ago, David said:

I can understand this, but then this is part of my daily life. With two kids with their own families and grandkids it is not uncommon for us to be out and about for the day, come home for a bit before heading out to help with the grandkids and their afterschool activities. Plus, with family that is living from both sides north and south of us, it would not be uncommon to drive 75 miles down south to deal with my wife's side of the family, see the nieces/nephews and then up north to my side to see folks and with both our parents in senior years with health issues, also moving back in forth. Course this is why Sun puts on about 15,000 miles a year on the SS.

We all have different use cases.

Those use cases will necessitate the purchase of something with a long range, like 300+. But even still, two hours at 11.5kW would put 50 - 70 miles of range back in the car. You might need to make one 10-minute DCFC stop if you had a really busy day, but otherwise, you could make it.

[G. David Felt]

Some very cool tech to help batteries and food.

Startup deploys AI to expedite development of cutting-edge battery technologies without sacrificing accuracy — here's how it works (thecooldown.com)

Biochemists deploy AI to develop dairy alternative from pineapples and cabbage: 'It tasted exactly like milk' (thecooldown.com)

[G. David Felt]

On 3/18/2024 at 7:12 AM, David said:

So I posted this in my company Slack auto channel and am reposting it here to share my crazy Sunday with the Wife who is now considering retiring the SS for a new auto.

Interesting, my SS that the wife drives has started to have gremlins. As such upon my return on Saturday from my work trip, she complained to me about not feeling she can rely on the auto. I asked her what she would like to do since I picked the SS for her and over all she loves the power, AWD of the 2008 Trailblazer SS AWD, but at approaching 300,000 miles, it is coming time to retire rather than put money into the auto. She responded that she would be open to an EV.

So, Sunday we spent the day driving EVs to check them out. My wife's response to the following EVs we drove: 

BMW - Nice to drive, was fine with the interface, but the exterior was just ugly with the big kidney grill in the front and weird pinched rear end look. Still will consider.

Mercedes - Interface was fine, driving was nice, liked the interior for the most part, but what were they thinking with the Jellybean shape? Hard pass.

Cadillac - Nice to drive, exterior was far better than the Mercedes or BMW, Failure in that they do not support Android Auto / Apple carplay. As such not acceptable. Yes, there is the * that Lyriq has a limited support for Android Auto, no Apple Carplay and the sales rep did say that GM was moving away from it with their Android system that is voice controlled and easier than using your cell phone. Wife was not impressed with the limitations, wants full support of her Ultra S23 in the auto.

Hyundai - Was not wowed with the style exterior, but interior loved it and roomy for me. Loved the full Android Auto/Apple Carplay support. A solid candidate to consider.

Kia - Again the exterior was not bad, but not wowed by it either. Interior was nice and fit her well, but the tight bucket seats of the EV6 were super tight for me and she said it would not work for us due to my size as no one could sit behind me. EV9 was great, anyone can sit behind me and was very spacious for both of us. Liked the style much better exterior and interior was very nice to her. One to consider, only thing was the poor slow charging speed for L1/L2.

Genesis - GV60, she liked exterior was fine, Interior was very nice. It fit us fine though no one could sit behind me. Interface was very easy to use. But she even asked them if there was a bigger version for the GV70 or 80 and they said not yet, it was coming.

Ford - F150 Lighting she liked allot about it exterior and interior wise, just was hoping for a mid-size rather than full size vehicle so would think on the truck. Mach e she liked, we both fit comfortably and clearly anyone could sit behind me, as the lead developer who is 6'2" tall stated, the EV was designed to handle tall people. Major dislike was the salesperson who was very pushy and made comments that told my wife he was a male chauvinistic pig. He actually to me to man up as the wife would drive whatever I decided for her since I was the man. Big mistake, if we go with a Ford, it will be a different salesperson and might even be a different dealership.

Rivian - Exterior and Interior were big wins for her, she loved everything about it and even the test drive was great. Sadly, Rivian is off the list as she asked the counselor about Android Auto/Apple Carplay and no support, no plan for support. FAILURE big time.

Tesla - She wanted to look at the Y. We went in and over all the experience was good, but no one can sit behind me. The counselor went over the interface and then offered for us to take it for a drive. Wife asked if it supported Android Auto/Apple Carplay and the Answer was no, and then they said a major failure. Musk knows how to build a superior interface, and no one needs those old cell phone connections, only Bluetooth to use your phone. With the crazy way to start the EV and lack of cell phone support she passed on even test driving it. 

One thing my wife did tell me was that an all-software app interface is a failure point to her. She wants physical buttons for the basic stuff and then will be happy using the touch screen. 

Not sure what her choice will be, but she is going to think on this.

So it is narrowed down to the following 2 options:

Not sure what she is thinking, but due to the differences in 400V for the Ford EVs versus 800V for the Korean autos, she has decided to go with the Korean options. So this coming weekend, another teste drive time to see how it plays out for her.

[G. David Felt]

Some cool Science. Seems we have natural Superconductor Mineral that can be made in the lab purified to be a perfect superconductor with only one catch, still has to be lowered to -449F.

For the Science Geeks, you can read the massive paper released by multiple colleges here that confirm this work.

Nodal superconductivity in miassite Rh17S15 | Communications Materials (nature.com)

For those that want a less nerdy version, read Tom's Hardware write up.

New research shows naturally occurring mineral is an 'unconventional superconductor' when purified | Tom's Hardware (tomshardware.com)

End result is that a natural superconductor has great potential in the electronics world for advancements.

[ccap41]

17 hours ago, David said:

Mach e she liked, we both fit comfortably and clearly anyone could sit behind me, as the lead developer who is 6'2" tall stated, the EV was designed to handle tall people.

So how did this get off the finalist list? 400v vs 800v? 

I definitely agree that I would use a different salesman. I HATE a crappy salesperson. Those people make me associate them all as sleezy. 

[Drew Dowdell]

So, one thing to keep in mind about the Mach-E is that it doesn't adjust charge speed based on state of charge, but rather how long it's been plugged in.

1 hour ago, ccap41 said:

So how did this get off the finalist list? 400v vs 800v?

400v is last gen technology, and given how long he keeps his vehicles, he needs to aim for the latest stuff. 800v has an easier time fast charging.

[trinacriabob]

6 hours ago, ccap41 said:

I definitely agree that I would use a different salesman. I HATE a crappy salesperson. Those people make me associate them all as sleezy. 

This is sort of like "Fifty million Frenchmen can't be wrong."

[G. David Felt]

Nothing like an EV Battery Glut to start a price war pushing cost of EVs even cheaper!  

Battery price war is kicking off that could soon make electric cars cheaper (msn.com)

[G. David Felt]

Very cool, the first non-Tesla branded V4 Superchargers are installed.

First non-Tesla branded V4 Superchargers are being deployed | Electrek

[trinacriabob]

Help needed - tech in nature - instead of going onto another thread

So, you've got a Google platform phone and, with it, a Google account.  It seems that the phone (camera gallery) and what's on my account as seen via the laptop (or desktop) is slightly off synch and it's irritating.  Since I tend to take multiple photos and then pick the one that turns out better, I purge and delete, mostly via the phone.

It looks like they are not in sync(h).  What's in the account (per laptop or desktop) seems to have more photos.

Aren't these two supposed to "talk" to each other?  How do I get them to sync(h) ... at the end of the day, at the end of the week, or similar?  How about some settings instructions for both the phone and the computer?

Thanks.

[G. David Felt]

8 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Help needed - tech in nature - instead of going onto another thread

So, you've got a Google platform phone and, with it, a Google account.  It seems that the phone (camera gallery) and what's on my account as seen via the laptop (or desktop) is slightly off synch and it's irritating.  Since I tend to take multiple photos and then pick the one that turns out better, I purge and delete, mostly via the phone.

It looks like they are not in sync(h).  What's in the account (per laptop or desktop) seems to have more photos.

Aren't these two supposed to "talk" to each other?  How do I get them to sync(h) ... at the end of the day, at the end of the week, or similar?  How about some settings instructions for both the phone and the computer?

Thanks.

Fix account sync issues - Android Help (google.com)

[trinacriabob]

24 minutes ago, David said:

Fix account sync issues - Android Help (google.com)

Thanks.  Let's see what this reveals.  I'd like it to work in both directions.