G. David Felt

F-150 Lighting customers will have some benefiting from an increase in range for the spring launch showing Ford's continuous efforts to improve over time. Fleet customers have the option of purchasing the extended range battery on the Lighting Pro which now has an EPA-estimated range of 320 miles. Quote Ford: “We are laser focused on continually improving our energy consumption efficiency for Lightning and the team is really happy to deliver these results for our customers,” said Linda Zhang, chief program engineer, F-150 Lightning. F-150-Lightning-EPA-estimated-range.mp4 Ford Confirms F-150 Lightning Final EPA-Estimated Range for All Models Ahead of Customer Deliveries in the Spring | Ford Media Center View full article

WAR WAR WAR machines, sad that we cannot learn to live together, get along and focus on the future and space. Too many damn narcissistic dictators and dictator wannabes.

Tesla is a shell game that I feel is backed by shady money and the public that has been paying crazy prices for their stock will take the brunt of it if they cannot truly get to being profitable as the manipulation of the books while he expands across the world does not support his "We are profitable" social media statements and they have failed to deliver on low cost solutions focusing on high priced only. Totally agree, What Tesla has said in the past and what they are doing does not match. A shell game that could very much implode.

@oldshurst442 @ccap41 I hope you both have a good year, but I cannot stress enough to still be careful. WHY? Easy, this Virus pandemic is far from over. Putin War is causing Covid infections to jump big time in Europe. Spain, Netherlands, Belgium Germany Italy and Sweden have all had large increases in infections and hospitalization over the last month. North America tends to trend behind Europe and as we open up and people stop wearing masks, I expect increases with a fourth wave in late spring/early summer here. Animated Maps - Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center (jhu.edu) COVID-19 Map - Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center (jhu.edu) We sadly are seeing an increase in infections and right now I would not recommend attending any indoor large gather without a face mask. Yes we are slowly getting the world vaccinated, but even then this virus hurts the body in ways that we are not totally understanding yet. Long term Covid symptoms needs to be studied better as we are seeing with the long term covid that some have, comes long term memory loss. More than 50 Long-term effects of COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis - PMC (nih.gov) Study explores prevalence and symptom trajectory of long COVID (news-medical.net) Post-COVID Conditions | CDC COVID-19 has long-term cardiovascular effects, ‘stunning’ study results reveal - Clinical Daily News - McKnight's Long-Term Care News (mcknights.com) COVID-19 (coronavirus): Long-term effects - Mayo Clinic While we need more study work done, Type A blood people have the worst long-term effects by Covid. Type O seems to be the most resilient against the virus. COVID ‘Long Haulers’: Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 | Johns Hopkins Medicine Serious COVID-19 linked to higher risk of long-term adverse mental health effects (news-medical.net) ‘Long COVID’ may lead to lingering airways disease, study finds - NewsBreak Plenty more links are available, but the end result, we are no where ready to say we can go back to normal life and be carefree with this virus. Live your life, but please be careful as especially for the unvaccinated, this virus tends to really mess up the body.

Happy Spring Equinox everyone, first official day of spring and we are still getting lovely snow in the moutains. Ski season is till May 1st, hopefully longer if there is enough snow which seems to be.

I agree that the low end of the market will need to have a portfolio. Not totally sure that an American or German/European will do it. I also as @oldshurst442 agree that Tesla will not do it. I expect South Korea and China with Japan maybe doing something later.

Seems that Tesla 4680 cells are finally going into production April 2023 and Panasonic says these cells should help achieve the $25,000 EV. New Tesla (TSLA) Battery Key to $25,000 Electric Cars Prepared by Panasonic - Bloomberg

GM is a global company focused on advancing an all-electric future that is inclusive and accessible to all. The heart of their strategy is their Ultium Battery Platform, powering everything from mass-market to high-performance and Luxury vehicles. GM is rolling out EVs under its various subsidiaries of Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Baojun and Wuling brands. Yet the focus here is Cadillac. GM President Mark Reuss, Cadillac Vice President Rory Harvey, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, UAW representatives, plant employees and other officials will hold a live stream event on Monday March 21st 2022 at 11am CT available: HERE As expected, March 21st is the start of the Cadillac LYRIQ production at Spring Hill, Tennesse. GM CEO Mary Barra had stated in the past that Cadillac would originally only produce 3,200 for 2022 of the Cadillac LYRIQ. Since then Cadillac has announced that due to demand, Cadillac will now build 25,000 LYRIQ for calendar year 2022. Cadillac has confirmed that they have received 216,000 customer inquires while not confirming how many confirmed pre-orders. Cadillac will open for regular customer orders on May 19th for regular, series production versions of the battery-electric crossover. The 25,000 LYRIQ to be built in 2022 will feature a single motor, rear-wheel-drive powertrain, rated at 340 horsepower and 324 pound-feet of torque with a 100.4 kWh Ultium Battery Pack rated for an estimated 300 miles of range on a full charge. All-wheel-drive versions will enter production starting in 2023 The live stream is expected to cover this production start and a more detailed plan on the commitment to Cadillac's all-electric future. GM has invested $2 billion in the Spring Hill Assembly plant to support production of Cadillac EVs. The facility is also expected to build under contract for Honda Motor Corporation their first luxury Electric Acura Crossover also on the Ultium platform. Cadillac to Celebrate Major Milestone at Spring Hill, Tennessee, Assembly Plant (gm.com) Honda and General Motors Sign MoU Toward Establishing a Strategic Alliance in North America (gm.com) Q1 2021 Letter to Shareholders (gm.com) View full article

Yes a little pug doggie that needs some refresh work. Yes I know you like this rusted look, but I would love to have it like new in a repaint.

Great that it has such good gas mileage, but one still has to wonder about the offset due to the particulate matter and Nitrogen Oxide emission that is produced by diesel at the tailpipe that has been contributed to lung issues. ?

Agree, Stellantis needs to ditch some of the dead weight models that clearly will never be profitable Global Models.

? Maybe a new addition to your Posse?

Seems Volvo is tying up with Starbucks to have Volvo branded DC fast chargers installed at Starbuck locations on specific routes across the U.S. First is the road from Denver, Colorado to Seattle Washington. Chargers will be installed every 100 miles to ensure that all EVs can get a charge anywhere. Volvo Cars explores electric vehicle charging network at U.S. Starbucks stores - Volvo Car USA Newsroom

Seems that Photoshoppers are already building a Truck version of the ID.Buzz and many are liking what they see. This Volkswagen ID Buzz Pickup Rendering Is Strangely Appealing (insideevs.com)

@Robert Hall Very cool pics of the auto's on your farm, look forward to seeing more. Guess you have your own Barn Finds! Amazing how good your dads 69 Mustang looks, was it also in the barn covered like your GT?

Yes you did and I think they were posted in the Random channel if memory serves me correct as Roberts brother died and he is cleaning up the family farm. @Robert Hall can better update you. I want to get my posse of auto's but with the constant rain and they need a bath, they are sitting in the Garage.

Fiat in particular was a mistake to bring back to the US, a very niche product that I do not see ever really taking off here even with the big surge in gas prices. Alfa was a personal live in the past project of the late CEO and the brand should have been left dead as it robbed billions from the US brands just to resurrect that POS of a product line. Those billions should have gone into the US brands from which they were generated, and they would be better today. Dodge, Jeep, Chrysler and Ram due to part shortages, I think this will slowly work itself out unless what is sitting there is just not desirable by the buyers and then they need to throw cash on the hood to get them moved. I think Stellantis will have a bigger issue with the Fiat/Alfa mess as the few niche buyers they had I feel are people that wish they lived in Europe or living in their past travels to Europe. Again, the quality and size of those auto's does not fit here in America. My take on it.

Being NY, I can see her having a Bronx accent rather than an Irish one. Course that Head of Hair is a tall tell sign of her heritage.

As I had posted in the past about Ford moving to a Build to order process in China and that I could see it doing it globally. It seems that reduced options and yes more build to order is the future. Ford F-Series May Drop Cab Configurations Under New Plan (fordauthority.com) Seems Dealer inventory is continuing to drop as Ford had only 40-day inventory on dealer lots at the end of 2021 compared to the industry average of 35 days. While they had more than many rivals, it has stayed at that pace. Ford New Vehicle Inventory Expanded In December, Beating Most Rivals (fordauthority.com) Average transaction prices continue to go up, Ford hit a new record with $48K. Ford Average Transaction Prices Now Up To Record $48K Per Vehicle (fordauthority.com) Interesting read on how Ford is telling the Dealers they will have to specialize and choose what they want. Ford Dealers Will Be Asked To Specialize As Part Of Reorganization (fordauthority.com) Seems Fixed pricing based on the changes with the reorganization could be the standard in the future as Ford looks to beat Tesla.

WOW, they were on top of this EV Concept as it was just released on the Audi Global Press Release site, even has a 3/17/2022 release date since it is still the 16th here. The storage champ - Audi A6 Avant e-tron concept | Audi MediaCenter (audi-mediacenter.com) This has the same standard 800V Charging system that GM is using on the Hummer, Porsche is using on their EVs as you get up to 300 km (186) miles of charge in 10 minutes. Official Press Release PDF file. MI_Audi_A6_Avant_e-tron_concept_EN.pdf This is where I do not get Mercedes, the EQS is supposed to be their top of the line and yet it only has a 150 kW charging system, so slow boat to recharge land. I understand VW using less expensive charging controller and gear so you have the lower charge rate, but when you pay the money MB charges for the EQS, they have set it up to fail from the style to the lack of leading edge tech. Agree with you @regfootball This is a WINNER in my book. Range up to 435 miles, 6.9 seconds to 62 mph, 469 hp, 590 lb-ft of torque, wow, aerodynamics of only .22, class leading minimal air drag. This has style in a way that Mercedes has FAILED as well as BMW to deliver on. Album of Images Audi A6 Avant e-tron concept | Audi MediaCenter (audi-mediacenter.com)

Saw this today in the Safeway parking lot as they show the cost of an equal amount of electricity to a gallon of gas.

Looking forward to the use of Solid-state batteries where we can get more power in a much smaller package. That should help with weight reduction imho. Thinking on this, Tesla says that the next Generation of Tesla Y that will be built with a front and rear mold piece and then the battery section that will now be a structural part will reduce the weight of the Y by 300 to 500 lbs. If all auto companies move to a mold process of the front, mid and rear sections. WOW will auto repair get possibly fast in regard to accidents, but also more expensive as they replace sections of an auto. 70-part section of the Tesla Y on the left Compared to the single molded piece on the right.

Yup especially the EQS, that is one fat jelly bean.