G. David Felt

Seems Stellantis CEO has finally answered that they believe GM is the Loser since they are second in the EV truck race and that RAM will have an EV Truck out in 2024, so plan for seeing it this year some time, but others while RAM is riding HIGH on their trucks might see this as a failure and behind the other two big truck makers. Only time will tell. For sure I can see RAM seeing what Ford and GM did and toping them. This is the way it has always played out. The Big Three leap frogging each other for the Top truck of the year. Stellantis CEO: Ram 1500 electric truck being adjusted to boost specs (freep.com)

Rivian has proven that the skateboard chassis is actually easier to extend as they have their 8ft test mules out now. I expect this is more of a keep thing close to the vest. GM having stated they will have an HD EV line while ford has stated no plans for Super Duty EVs (Ford: No plans for all-electric Super Duty trucks (freep.com)) and yet has proven in their EV truck that it can pull more than Diesel with the Million pounds tow of the train and trucks. I fully expect since GM has shown they can scale up and down the Ultium platform for various auto size needs that 6- and 8-foot trucks are in our future. As Mary Barra has stated, HD Trucks will be out before 2035, yes long ways away, but does give them time to perfect their Ultium Platform.

Washington state has required 220V outlets in the garage for chargers since 2015. With the tech boom here, many new home developments in the last 5 years have also included a 220V CCS charger. So, for me, it is probably far more common than most states I have to assume as to why it is so easy to see here. Even with the cost of say $1,500 for a 220V install for charging, with federal and state rebates, many people can offset that cost and still come out ahead over ICE I believe. I understand your point, I think EVs also have to work into your lifestyle. As an active outdoors person and in a state where Rivian and Tesla have made a point of installing along with Jeep now chargers at offroad parks, ski resorts, national and state parks to compliment what the state has installed, this has expanded the fast charge ability for people to live an outdoors active lifestyle and use emission free autos. For me, especially when I go skiing on the weekends, not having the diesel smell or noise in the parking lots would be very nice IMHO.

I get the point you're making and I also hope that the initial launch with only 5' 10" bed is just for the start and that additional bed lengths like Rivian is exploring now in mules happens as it only makes sense that it would plus, we do have GM saying that they will be building HD models also so for there I expect 6- & 8-foot beds to be standard.

Reading the actual full study, one could come up with many questions about the facts that are stated in the full report. Costs of Fueling EVs and ICE Vehicles (2021) (andersoneconomicgroup.com) The biggest question I have is WHO REALLY PAID for the study as they do not state it, but their web site clearly states that they do these studies based on businesses paying for it. This seems to be to be a study based on what the OIL INDUSTRY is wanting to have sold to the public as they do the marketing of supporting green energy, but in reality, want to kill it since it is easier to keep drilling, destroying the environment and sell gas/oil than embrace changing over to green energy sources. While they state this in their FAQ: Did oil companies, auto manufacturers, or other interest groups pay for this study? In circumstances where an organization commissioned our work, we state that explicitly. In this case, the work was done independently. This study is the result of over 6 months of independent work by consultants at Anderson Economic Group. The company has over two decades of work for clients that include auto manufacturers, trade associations, auto dealers, labor unions, state governments, municipalities, colleges, and nonprofit organizations, including organizations that promote conservation and energy efficiency. No outside group provided support for this analysis, financial or otherwise. EV Fueling Study FAQ – Anderson Economic Group One does have to wonder what influence the OIL INDUSTRY had on this so-called independent study. Real-World Electric Vehicle Fueling Costs May Surprise New EV Drivers – Anderson Economic Group I do appreciate you posting this as it does touch on things that many will overlook, yet costs keep coming down and many states are now insisting on new homes having 220 outlets in the garage so anyone can plug in a 220V charger. Yes, I get it that if you live in old neighborhoods, old homes usually do not have a 220V outlets in the garage unless they have the washer and dryer out there.

Be it 20 oil changes or the $1,500 for a 220V wall charger, both would be written off against the business as a business expense one would assume in optimizing the profits for your business / work. A moot point IMHO.

Looks like one of those customized Clown Cars.

Wife bought the hair cutting kit from Costco 20 years ago as she hated the local barbers and hair saloon on how they would cut my hair after I told them what I want. She has done this now since then and a few kits we have gone through from Costco for cutting hair. I now have a couple of water jugs filled with quarters as every time, once every 5 to 6 weeks, I then put a roll of quarters in the jug for the haircut. Our Bali travel fund once we get through this Pandemic. Was supposed to be last December for our 30th wedding anniversary, but Covid stopped that, so we will go once we are comfortable with travel. I love my close commute for haircuts, work and having lunch with the wife. A nice walk from the office to the kitchen or garage depending on what is going on.

Hello Biff, when did you ever ask for a direct comparison of Apple to Apple. You stated: Then you went into models, the statement is clear, no off road SUVs. WRONG AGAIN BIFF! Plus where is Mercedes Best or Nothing Truck, off-road Truck??????? RIGHT............................... NOTHING!

GM makes the Tahoe and Suburban Z71. That is a pretty strong off road SUV! You can also get the off-road High-Country package on the Traverse in AWD. The Blazer comes with 5 different drive modes, get AWD and you get additional includes Off-road, sand, snow, mud. These are the same by the equal GMC labels also. So how do you say they have zero off road SUV?

I agree with you that it is not weird and quirky, but as @surreal1272 stated boring or for me TOTALLY FORGETABLE! Mercedes seems to be building true appliance autos that one will forget as they do not stand out and that could be the biggest failure of Mercedes BEV strategy. While not a fan of the Toyota Rav4 Hybrid, you do not forget them, and they are easily identifiable. Mercedes has moved into the generic realm so bad that they are totally forgettable as most people will not be able to define them from one another. IMHO

Excellent video on the EVs coming in 2022 and I have to say Mercedes FAILS with the UGLY EQB that has no style and fails, so much better is the BMW even with the ugly kidney grill. Others look way better than the germans too.

Interesting comparison of the New Silverado EV to the past Avalanche.

Some of the first posts of the truck by other media outlets. After looking at this with a close up of the dash, this is the BEST Looking Silverado in a long time to me IMHO. The Dash I am loving. Edmonds did a decent comparison of the Silverado EV to F-150 Lighting.

@Drew Dowdell Congratulations, seems the first edition first year of production sold out in 12 minutes. New GM Electric Silverado Sells Out in 12 Minutes - Bloomberg Interview of Mary Barra with Bloomberg where she states this. Silverado EV (chevrolet.com) More images, videos and details on this site now.

I get that an 8ft bed is needed in some areas of commercial, but I honestly question the need for 8ft beds by all commercial customers. As one that lives close to our massive lite rail construction and seeing 100's of the white Skanska construction Chevrolet trucks and yes, they all have 8ft beds and yet the MAJORITY of them rarely have anything in them. Welcome to Skanska | www.skanska.com In fact the bulk of them have a 2ft by bed width tool box and usually some diesel fuel tank in the back leaving only about 4ft of space and still nothing really in them as they drive around the massive construction site along I5 here. They are also all crewcab trucks that are usually more filled with people than hauling stuff, as such, I am willing to bet GM did their research in talking to the commercial sector in this decision to only have a 5 1/2 foot bed. Ford also does not have an 8ft bed and yet the first 1 1/2 years of commercial production are sold out and they increased production for 2022 from the original 75,000 units to 150,000 units so I do not see an 8ft bed option not there at the start as a block to selling the trucks to the commercial sector. I bet by 2025 as a 2026 model year, we will see bed options show up. Already Rivian has test mules of their truck with an 8ft bed.

Yes, for those states where you have idiots in office that have resisted change, this will hurt more than help the poor to low income. In places where states have embraced the change to no tail pipe emissions, charging on the street is plentiful. Per this web site (Seattle, Washington EV Charging Stations Info | ChargeHub), Seattle has 724 public charging stations and requires all condo and apartment buildings to have charging spots that allow the owners to charge and then move their auto to their assigned parking place. If it is a historical apartment place, the city has made sure there are public charging spots close by allowing the apartment occupants to charge before moving their auto to another parking place. Yet let's be honest, many who choose to live in congested downtown cities do not have auto's as they use the local public transit or other services.

Electric charging is 6 cents per kW of power versus Diesel at $3.87 per gallon. Knowing that @balthazar I think said he was getting about 24 miles per gallon, diesel cost for 300 miles would be $48.375 per fill up. Battery charges up from zero to full in F-150 Lighting pickup 125 kW battery pack standard or extended 170 kW battery pack: 125 kW = $7.50 170 kW = $10.20 Either way, I come out way ahead on fueling cost on an Electric truck over Diesel and I can do it from home starting out every day with a full battery pack, no need to run to the gas station.

WRONG WRONG WRONG, Just look at the FACTS! Tesla is #1 Globally for EV sales, FORD is #2 North America for EV sales and I expect that to change as Ford starts selling the Mach-e, Transit-e and F-150 Lighting globally by the end of 2022. Yet here are the facts per the monitoring web site: EV-Volumes - The Electric Vehicle World Sales Database QUOTE: Tesla leads global EV sales with 386 000 units (all BEV) delivered during H1, followed by the Volkswagen Group with 332 000 units, thereof 172 700 BEVs and 159 400 PHEVs. GM comes in 3rd with 227 000 units (221k were BEV), including over 180k of Mini-EVs from their SGMW joint venture in China. NO WHERE is Mercedes-Benz mentioned, they are not even a blimp on the statistics which speaks VOLUMES about their BEV strategy. If you look at just Europe, Mercedes has FAILED as #1 is Tesla, #2 is BMW and #3 is Renault. Seems your love of a singular German Company is they are failing to show up to compete. The Global Electric Vehicle Market In 2022 – Virta This pretty much shows where Mercedes is leading and that is in PHEV, not BEV. They only lead GM due to their PHEV sales. GLOBAL EV SALES DATA | WORLD EV SALES HISTORY | WattEV2Buy Everywhere I look, Mercedes is nowhere near the top in leading the auto industry. global EV sales Archives | CleanTechnica

I get the point and yes right now ICE will still be around in vast numbers, but as we near 2030 to 2035 which most OEM auto companies have given as a changeover target to BEV only products, I think this will happen and most people will embrace it. ICE used will still be around and I suspect the CPO market will get hot for those that resist change.

Mary Posted a Bullet point list of her KeyNote address on LinkedIn. (9) A Bold and Purposeful Showing at CES | LinkedIn

FORD Motor Company was hitting on all cylinders and battery packs as they ended 2021 on a high note. Best-Selling Automaker in Q4 2021 #2 in electric vehicle sales for 2021 F-Series Best-Selling Truck for 45th year in a Row and Best-Selling Vehicle for 40th year straight SUVs grew market share from 7.3% in 2020 to 12.3% in 2021 BEV sales grew 121.1% for total sales and 137.8% in retail sales for 2021 over 2020. Due to becoming #2 in BEV sales, FORD has again RAMPED UP production and will now product 150,000 F150 Lightning pickups in 2021 and over 200,000 for 2023 with expected global production of 600,000 by 2024 annually. Full manufacturing images of the production line of the F150 Lighting can be viewed here: Full Speed Ahead: Ford Planning to Nearly Double All-Electric F-150 Lightning Production to 150,000 Units Annually; First Wave of Reservation Holders Invited to Order Ford released today two new videos of the F150 Lighting and the pre-production assembly line. 2022-Ford-F-150-Lightning-B-Roll.mp4 Ford-Rouge-Electric-Vehicle-Center-Broll.mp4 Ford Best-Selling Automaker in Q4; Becomes No. 2 for Electric Vehicle Sales for 2021; F-Series Best-Selling Truck for 45th Year In Row and Best-Selling Vehicle for 40th straight year; SUV Share Expands | Ford Media Center Full Speed Ahead: Ford Planning to Nearly Double All-Electric F-150 Lightning Production to 150,000 Units Annually; First Wave of Reservation Holders Invited to Order | Ford Media Center December 2021 Press Release (ford.com) View full article

ONY has introduced the world to their vision of battery electric vehicles and with it a new division being the "Sony Mobility Inc." which will explore the entry into the EV market. The VISION_S 01 a 4-door sedan and the VISION_S 02 SUV with up to 7 passenger seating has been designed to accommodate a variety of lifestyles in a society that values an increasing diversified way of life. These AWD BEVs look to expand on the quality of lifestyle that humans live. Sony Mobility Inc. will use the best of AI and robotics technologies to deliver a harmonious evolution of mobility that allows humans and robots to achieve the safest and most enjoyable life filled with emotion and contribution to society according to the Sony Press release. These new BEVs start off with Safety as the key to mobility. Sony aims to provide greater safety and comfort to all through a series of sensor and communication technologies that will deliver a world's best Level 2+ advanced driver assistance systems on public roads. This package of sensors gives a 360-degree real time support system by recognizing and analyzing the surrounding environment using CMOS image sensors and LiDAR sensors for a three-dimensional space assessment for the driver. Safety is joined by a 5G communication system that allows the auto to be connected to the cloud allowing a superior driver experience with a complete customizable setup for each driver as the ultimate adaptability. Families will love the Entertainment aspect as the VISION_S BEVs will have in-vehicle entertainment, gamming capabilities that can connect to your PlayStation at home or streaming play via the cloud. This comes with a 360 Reality Audio immersive sound system One can expand their interest by checking out the VISION_S web site here: Sony Group Portal - VISION-S The VISION_S sedan and SUV have been tested on Japan and Germany Roads for Level 2+ autonomous driving as well as compatibility with charging and durability of the auto in a wide range of extreme weather from heat to cold, dry to wet conditions. The auto's will come initially in 4 colors, Placid White, Blaze Red, Tidal Silver and Core Black. For those that wonder if SONY is serious about entering the BEV business, they have mules already testing in Frankfurt to ensure their vehicles can hang with the best. Specifications for the VISION_S 02 SUV are as follows: Length 192.7in Height 65.0in Width 76.0in Wheelbase 119.3in Ground Clearance 6.2 inch Tire size 255 / 50R20 [Front] 275 / 45R20 [Rear] Passengers 4 / 7 Weight 5,467lbs Power 200kW x 2 [ Front / Rear ] Vmax More than 112mph Axle system Double wishbone front & rear suspension Air spring system Drive All-Wheel Drive You can view more images, videos and details on the SUV here: Sony Group Portal - VISION-S | VEHICLE The VISION_S 01 Sedan has the following Specifications: Length 192.7in Height 57.1in Width 74.8in Wheelbase 119.3in Ground Clearance 4.7in - 5.3in Tire size 245 / 40R21 [Front] 275 / 35R21 [Rear] Passengers 4 Weight 5,180lbs Power 200kW x 2 [Front / Rear] Acceleration 4.8s 0-62mph Vmax 149mph Axle system Double wishbone front & rear suspension Air spring system Drive All-Wheel Drive The platform is a SONY designed skateboard EV platform that allows far superior interior room thanks to the design that includes an ultra thin battery pack. This platform is designed from concept to support sedans, SUVs and MPVs using a top-class automobile safety design that uses active and passive safety features as well as the Software designed E/E Architecture 5G network connectivity system. More details for the nerds out there can be read here: Sony Group Portal - VISION-S | PLATFORM Sony Group Portal - VISION-S Sony Group Portal - VISION-S Exhibiting at CES 2022, Entering a New Phase View full article