G. David Felt

@oldshurst442 @surreal1272 @ccap41 I like facts, sooooooooo. This only covers 1985 to 2016 on yearly average recall by vendor. Toyota is on par with GM. Interesting is that GM is the fastest and best response, and the lowest recall is Porsche. Best and Worst of Automaker Recall Rates (wardsauto.com) QUOTE: Tesla was the timeliest at 100%. GM had the best recall timeliness of the major automakers at 74.7%. “Despite the well-known ignition-switch recall in 2014, GM’s recalls have historically occurred within the first three years after production,” Ly says. Here is additional details on reliability. Car Recalls: How to Check for Recalls by VIN - iSeeCars.com 10 Most Recalled Cars Of The Last Decade (hotcars.com) Auto Recalls Down Overall, But Not For Everyone (forbes.com) Interesting is Toyota in 2016 hit the top 10 chart for recalls falling to spot #4 behind Ford, Chevrolet and BMW. The 10 Most Recalled Car Brands | YourMechanic Advice Lots more but the facts seem to have Toyota on par to GM for Recalls.

More interesting news, comparison of the Hummer EV, F-150 Lighting and R1T pulling a 29 foot trailer. GMC Hummer EV Towing Compared To Ford Lightning, Rivian R1T (gmauthority.com) Details per the story: the GMC Hummer EV managed 140 miles with a full battery, well below the 329 miles estimated without towing. By contrast, the Ford Lightning and Rivian R1T fared considerably worse at 100 miles and 110 miles, respectively. What was interesting observation is the comments about the weight of the EVs actually helped to give a more stable safe ride pulling the trailer. Tug of War match between Rivian and Ford. Rivian Humbles the Ford Tough EV. Rivian R1T shocks Ford F-150 Lightning in tug-of-war exhibition (teslarati.com) Tesla is sure not going to win fans with their test mule and the crazy placement of cameras. Talk about a dog. Battle-weary Tesla Cybertruck spotted testing with new equipment (teslarati.com)

This is interesting ? Seems Ford and Mercedes Benz are the worst auto companies this decaded for recalls. Car Recall Facts and Statistics 2022 | Bankrate Recalls jumped from 2011 to 2015 and then fell from 2015 to 2018 before heading up again. • Automotive vehicle and equipment recalls - U.S. | Statista

OUCH for Ford. I have to say I would not want a auto built between 2020 to now as this build, take apart and finish later just sucks. Growing Pile of Unfinished Ford Trucks Is Visible From Space Again (thedrive.com) WOW, Crazy some of the weird things you learn on an auto site. Here's What A Sinister Looking Giant Black Pyramid Is Doing At An Abandoned Military Base (thedrive.com)

Very cool, Seattle has started a program, if you do not have a charging station at your apartment or condo building, you can request they be added at the street side and they will install. Thought about writing up a story on this, but just too much to get done today and this weekend, as such here are the two PDF files for those that want to see the difference in stereos between the Rivian R1T and R1S. Did not realize that Rivian had gone with a Meridian built Stereo system for their EVs. Very cool. rivian-r1t-meridian-at-a-glance.pdfrivian-r1s-meridian-at-a-glance.pdf Meridian | Rivian (meridian-audio.com)

McFly, everyone knows that Stellantis had nothing to do with Alfa coming back to life. Under Fiat CEO Marchionne, Alfa was brought back with FCA using the profits from Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/Ram to get it going. Machionne took Billions that should have gone back into the CDJR brands to get Alfa going again. Hate to use wiki, but the easiest to point to the history. Alfa Romeo - Wikipedia Fiat Chrysler Automobiles - Wikipedia

Toyota has been recognized as being a leader in Solid State batteries. Toyota secures huge lead in solid-state battery patents - Nikkei Asia Yet even with this, Toyota is working with Panasonic on how to commercialize them as well as deal with their one problem of a short life span for Toyota. As such, 2025 they will have limited use in their Hybrid auto's and not in any EV. Toyota is saying 2030 for that compared to others like Samsung or LG where they are seeing Solid State production without life issue around 2025. Toyota’s Quick-Charging Solid-State Battery Coming in 2025 (caranddriver.com)

@Drew Dowdell @surreal1272 @smk4565 @oldshurst442 @ccap41 Since you all have been talking about good or bad of this and the crap history that some of us that have dealt with Alfa in the past still hold against the company as the current products they have here have not lived up to the quality, I thought it fair game to look at the Tonal reviews to get some idea of how this Jeep will stand out and of the reviews, I have to say that Top Gear nailed it. Alfa Romeo Tonale Review 2022 | Top Gear Quote of their Verdict, but worth the read./ In 160bhp form, the Tonale isn't a quick or charismatic drive, but in the end you've got to adjust your expectations of what a £35k crossover can do. At least the hybrid system helps with urban economy. There are annoyances to the low-speed driving, but to a degree you forgive it because it gets better as the road gets more interesting. Its cabin beauty is more than skin-deep. It's well-made and practical, and the electronics work properly. Not a car we can recommend without reservation, but we liked it more the further we drove it. It's less boring than many of the rivals. Additional reviews of the Tonale for you to consider and we can debate in regards to how this jeep might stand up. 2023 Alfa Romeo Tonale SUV Preview - Consumer Reports Alfa Romeo Tonale Review 2022 | What Car? One take is that while it has a 3yr/unlimited miles warranty, Alfa has by European reviews been at the bottom of the reliability and quality and with the hard plastic interior, feelings seem to indicate that Alfa cut corners for this Tonale also, expectations are low. As such Top Gear says that in the UK, Tonale will come with a 5yr/Unlimited warranty, but they do point out terrible past resale value and terrible dealership service issues. This makes one wonder why the stealing of the billions from the American Name Plates to bring back Alfa when it was dead and gone since they have not seemed to learn from the past to build a better future and as such, if I was Stellantis, I would consider killing Alfa rather than wasting money on the brand when they have so many already to deal with.

Same thing was said about GM in the 80's and 90's when they were leading the global sales king title. Every dog has their day and drops. In other news, seems that for a few changes and for retooling the Hyundai IONIQ 6 EV sedan is delayed by 4 to 6 months, but that has not stopped presales from setting a record for the first 24hrs on sale. South Korea: Hyundai Ioniq 6 Preorders Exceeded 37,000 In 24 Hours (msn.com) No. of Ioniq 6 preorders hits new record on 1st day (koreaherald.com) Slowing down the launch... Ioniq 6 battery, design change | Hankyung.com Top Gear in an interview seems that car lovers could get a manual gear box. The electric Lexus LFA successor *might* get a manual gearbox | Top Gear EDIT: Also adding that Toyota is behind in the EV race as I pointed out they bet on hydrogen and lost. 2018 you can find stories like this about being behind: Column:-Toyota-lagging-behind-in-EV-race | Rubber News By 2021, more and more writting on Toyota being behind: Why is Toyota lagging the competition in the EV race? - CatoCarGuy.com Toyota is behind in global electric vehicle race | NationofChange Even 2022, still the news is always about Toyota being behind now, seem much like how GM was in the 90's as the news said they were always behind before Toyota took over. Toyota, Honda, And Nissan Are Falling Behind In EV Race | CarBuzz Yes, they are still Global much bigger than GM and will probably stay there as Toyota seems to not have any problem selling in places that GM / American or European companies would not sell due to the Countries political system or religion. Toyota does not care about anything other than the money. Yet this very same approach while sustaining them to catch up could still be what topples them too.

@oldshurst442 If Toyota was this super awesome best in class engineering powerhouse then we would not be seeing them buy back all of their first EV attempt due to a problem that Toyota is on record they do not know how or when they will fix it, so the 2,700 owners in the US here who bought the Toyota bZ4X have been pushed in selling them back to Toyota or are being put in a long term loaner as the auto's are parked at the dealerships awaiting an engineering fix that Toyota says they do not know when it will be fixed. Toyota's bZ4X recall isn't going great – company offers car buyback | Electrek Toyota recalls all its bZ4X electric cars over wheels potentially falling off | Electrek Does not matter who posts the story, the common theme is this is not going well for Toyota who is playing catchup to everyone else since they bet on Hydrogen rather than EV to be the consumers preference. Charged EVs | What does the bZ4X recall and buyback mean for Toyota’s EV efforts? - Charged EVs

One thing that I have to point out, as you pointed out, spent the bulk of it's life in the PNW. An area where road salt is banned. PNW vehicles are well known to not have the rust issues of the east coast or midwest. As such, if I was to buy a used auto, those two places mentioned are NOT where I would want the used auto to be from or from Canada which I have seen show up recently as used auto's, but when looking under the auto are rusted 6 ways to hell and back. Mild winters, no road salt and a cool climate makes for long life auto's such as this one you have. Everything else is on par as average reliability and depending on how one maintains it can either be long life or sucks and dies.

Worked out this morning and saw these cars parked behind my 24hrs gym. Amazing seeing someone live out of there Mercedes.

I would also like to inject that while some have bitched about GM reliability of the 80's and 90's, I can also point to the real-world facts that even the worse engineered auto can last a long time if the recommended maintenance is done and even that depends on the attention to detail by the person doing the maintenance. A perfect example is that my brother-in-law bought a 1998 Buick Regal GS with the supercharged 3800 which has been a strong solid engine as long as you did the required maintenance especially around the supercharger. At this time, he also had a Honda Accord that he just drove for almost 200,000 miles before the engine died as he never did maintenance. He drove the Buick and by 60,000 miles the engine blew. He called it a crap American car when it was his own fault of never doing oil changes or any maintenance as required for the supercharger. This is one of the biggest problems I see when people bitch about the 70's, 80's and 90's. Sadly, most people never crack the seal to read their owners guide to see what the recommended maintenance schedule is. Any auto can last when properly taken care of, yet we all know that every auto company has built lemons right off the assembly line, so nothing is promised to be bullet proof. Sadly, common sense on maintenance is not so common and this is why autos are seen as appliances by the bulk of society. People buy an auto, drive an auto and unless the auto tells them they need this or that done, they just drive till something breaks or dies. This is another reason I think Electric will be better for the bulk of society with less to break and maintain. The Lemming society of drivers needs simple autos.

I think you need a hug!

So, 90's and Yet so Today! I also agree, it also has that aero back that Cadillac and Audi have done on their EVs. I like it, very different than other EVs today especially what Mercedes has done. This has a nice style IMHO.

Cool Car, not sure about the fake exhaust sound, but cool car and I am happy Dodge is doing it.

To quote the folks that built it, they started with the Corvette powertrain and built an SUV around it. It is a Corvett DNA based SUV. Yes BOF, but still it started with the idea of using the Corvette Powertrain. The Trailbazer SS was built yearly from 2004 to 2009 in limited numbers, badged as such and the corvette heritage is clearly on the engine covers and made aware on the auto. This is what started all the rumors that Corvette was going to add a badged Corvette SUV and 4 door car. This continues now as the rumors out of GM is that the Electric Corvette will be in the traditional 2 door version but could be joined by a 4 door and SUV version.

Very cool story on the Alaska drag strip and the picture of the folks with their old race cars. The Only Drag Strip in Alaska Is One of the Most Beautiful on Earth (thedrive.com)

Cool write up on the 800V Banshee system. Here's How Dodge's 800-Volt Banshee EV System Could Be Faster Than a Hellcat (thedrive.com) They point out a valid point that I do not think many are aware of and why a higher Voltage system is preferred over lower. Higher voltage system provides faster charging and less heat creation but this does not automatically make an EV faster as they also point out depending on the kW rating of the motors, that is where you get crazy fast speed. So this Concept could easily be faster than a Hellcat if the kW rating of the electric motor they are using is super high. An example of this is in the highest output Hemi at 807 Horsepower, that is equal to 602 kW motor. So they should easily be able to build a 1,000 kW electric motor or since this is AWD, have two 500 kW motors.

Yet they have style and stand out compared to the Jelly Bean Blah ugly nature of Mercedes EQ series. I have low expectations for the EQE when they show it off in a few months. Another Jelly Bean Ugly SUV

This is no different than for the M series from BMW or the AMG series from your beloved Mercedes. All have many hand-built parts that take time. A friend of mine and an executive at Dell Jason has both and the last time his M3 had to go in for repairs, the parts took almost 6 months. Good thing he had his AMG to drive then, but once he got the BMW back, his AMG blew a transmission and that is still 4 months now in the dealership awaiting parts. Do not say this is a Dodge thing when every auto company out there especially when it comes to performance parts, especially when they are hand-built take time. In 2010, the transmission in my SS blew and with it, took out the cooling system as well. Due to the Trailblazer SS being a Corvette with a SUV body, the hand-built transmission took 2 months to get along with all the rest of the parts. GM put me in a new Tahoe for the two months which was nice but no SS. Since then, no major issues at all with my SS, but still the hand-built parts took time and especially when they have to come to the US from Germany, expect long delays!

R.I.P. Boeing 747 Love the Dreamliner. 787 Dreamliner interior Nice transition space between 1st class and business class or premium class before coach. 747-8 interior As one can see, the Dreamliner is a much nicer upgrade over the 747. I will say that the one time I was flown 1st class when at Microsoft and was upstairs, it was a very cool thing to walk up these stairs and enjoy the isolated first-class seating area and lounge.

Not sure if Lucid will be around in 10 years, but I have to say the Saphire is an awesome looking car and has a dynamite motor system. Introducing Sapphire | Lucid Motors

2023 promises to be an exciting year at the global auto companies are lining up many new EV releases. Audi since August 2021 has been introducing concept autos to the sphere family. The activesphere concept will be the fourth model in this sphere family of premium mobility. Audi activesphere concept is focused on the active lifestyle person allowing them maximum variability for both on and off pavement. Full details about the activesphere will be given at the reveal at the begining of 2023. Audi showed off the sphere family during the Monterey Car Week in California on August 18th to 21st, 2022, showing the first three concepts, Audi Skyphere, Audi grandsphere and Audi urbansphere. Sphere family - Audi brings vision of future mobility to Monterey Car Week - Audi Newsroom (audiusa.com) Audi skysphere - Audi skysphere concept (2021) | Audi MediaCenter (audi-mediacenter.com) Electric Drive system 465 kW or 624 HP with 750 Nm or 552 lb ft of torque in RWD allowing 0 to 65 mph in 4 seconds with a 500 km (310 miles) battery pack. More details at the link above. Audi grandsphere - Audi grandsphere concept (2021) | Audi MediaCenter (audi-mediacenter.com) Electric Drive system 530 kW or 711 HP with 960 Nm or 708 lb ft of torque in AWD allowing 0 to 65 mph in 4 seconds with a 750 km (466 miles) battery pack. More details at the link above. Audi urbansphere - Space travel in the heart of the megacity | Audi MediaCenter (audi-mediacenter.com) Electric Drive system 295 kW or 396 HP with 690 Nm or 507 lb ft of torque in AWD with a 750 km (466 miles) battery pack, designed for ultimate comfort in urban dense cities. More details at the link above. In four door configurations, Audi seems to have embraced the suicide door style for their EV products. Full details on the all-electric Sphere family can be found on Audi Global Media Site. Audi.com – the international Audi website | audi.com Audi Concept Cars | progress.audi One consistency that is seen here in the Audi Sphere family is the fast back rear that we have seen on the Cadillac family of EVs. View full article