G. David Felt

No, I have not had a chance to see a GMC Hummer or the Rivian in person yet. While I have seen plenty of Rivian R1T around this area, I also saw on the news that the Bellevue service and delivery center had their first R1S's, I have not seen like you one in the wild yet. Thank you for posting, awesome to see. I do like just about everything on the Rivian both internally and externally. GMC Hummer, my big issue that we have discussed here in other threads and @Robert Hall and I believe others here have also mentioned is the depressing black all interiors and the lack of options for said interior colors. The First Edition GMC Hummers were a no go with that ugly colored black and white or was it grey and white, NASA inspired theme. While the wife and I both like the external styling, the internal is a failure to us for colors, style and layout is fine. I have to say that I am really liking the Rivian look and style works so well. It is going to be interesting to see what GM and Ford does for Full size SUV EV style. I also already responded to a GM survey on full size SUV/Trucks and bashed them about the lack of interior color options and exterior color options. Why does an EV from GM not have a green color of some sort to show off their Green Auto's?

As many know, @ocnblu always attacked me for not owning an EV, but I do not fit into anything but full-size auto's and even then, I need a test fit as every auto is different. I would not agree with your last statement. Tesla owners have come to see their EVs and Charging times to work for them so one could not say it is not an IDEAL situation as many are fine living with the longer charge times. I would say that EV ownership and EV rentals is NOT IDEAL for some portions of humanity at this time. We know for a fact that in places in Africa where they do not have reliable or any electricity, that an EV will not work yet. Though never say never as Rivian did prove that driving an EV from the southern tip of South American back to the US through central American can be done. A road trip I hope to do one day myself as I love road trips.

Sure, for local driving I tend to never let the tank get below half and I refill, but I know my wife is going on a road trip with her sister on thursday, so she should come back in the Escalade on empty so I will check this out. One thing to point out about the statement you have above, that is based on perfect conditions and we know most gas stations DO NOT service their equipment until forced too except for Costco which seems to stay on top of changing fuel filters on their tanks. I find due to the vapor recovery hose system which I hate as it slows things down when fuel vapors push back up and click off or slow down the pump that most stations as the filters get dirty, the longer it takes to fuel. West Coast especially all fuel pumps have this damn nozzle that really can slow down dispensing of the fuel, but I get it as it keeps the vapors from going into the ozone. This was a good read. Why Do Gas Pumps Run Slow? (jalopnik.com)

I would not call @ccap41 Tucker as some might confuse it with the great auto pioneer Tucker and his dream car that the Legacy OEMs destroyed. He has a right to see how he sees things as do you and me. Honestly it has been a good debate, you and I see no problem with a little longer time to re-charge an auto just like we do for our laptops, phones, etc. Others find change hard. In @ccap41 point he sees the benefits of EVs for home use, local driving, he just does not see it for rentals and that is fine. If he visits Hawaii after 2030, his only choice will be an EV for rental as the Islands are doing everything they can to change to green energy and reduce emissions by requiring all rental places to have EVs starting with 2030 for rent. I honestly think we will see more rental companies watch Hertz and over the next few years start buying EVs for rent as people get more comfortable. Some folks like myself love living on the edge of technology and change, others want more comfort in what is established and known. Others yet are willing to die to keep things stagnant and that is how great societies have died and fallen. We have history to prove this as you look at the Egyptian empire, Roman Empire, Persian Empire, Gangu's Kaan Empire, Russia and the great cold war and the fall of Communism and how now Russia wants to rebuild their empire thinking they can force humans back into the old ways. Too late, too little, society will always move forward and those that resist change eventually fall to the wayside.

? I love how you and few others always say 5 min give or take a minute. I only see that for subcompacts. Most mid-size auto's take 10 minutes to fuel give or take a minute and full size; you have 20 minutes for sure. I have never seen my Escalade fuel up 33 gallons in less than 20 minutes at Costco or Fred Meyers, etc. I think due to the habit of fueling many people do not think about how long it takes to fuel an auto anymore especially if they drive a compact or sub-compact auto, yes those run 5 to 10 minutes at most. Everything else is longer.

@ccap41 @oldshurst442 Due to the ease of adding chargers, this is becoming far more popular and will help with the transition to EVs over the crazy cost and EPA requirements for gas stations. Campgrounds with EV charging stations in North America (chargehub.com) Jeep EV Charging Stations at Off-Roading Trails to Be Built (businessinsider.com) Jeep Wrangler 4xe Charger & Charging Station | Enel X Way Rivian has published a map showing the off-road areas they are going to install or have installed Fast Chargers at like MOAB, Rubicon Trail, etc. Electric Bolt shows where they are installed already on the map. Charging - Rivian Update, Nation Parks have started to post all the charging stations and when new ones open due to the ease of installing chargers compared to fuel stations. electric vehicle charging stations - Grand Canyon National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) Seems Camping web sites are tracking this too. 6 National Parks With Convenient EV Charging Stations - Campendium

LOL, comfort over MPG in my household as why I have a performance SS, Performance Custom built Suburban also 9 mpg empty or full of people and my Escalade ESV at 14 mpg. LOL Also, thinking on the on-Vacation travel as I just got back from visiting a friend for a long weekend from Galveston Texas and I noticed as they took my wife and I to the boardwalk to walk about and see the beach area that all the parking was paid parking with a 3hr maximum parking requiring one to have to move their ICE auto no matter what. Thinking on this, it was this way also in Hawaii when my kids took us to Maui for a year and half late celebration of our 30th wedding anniversary. Many tourist areas have time limits requiring one to move their auto, ICE or EV. Even in large cities, like NY or Seattle there are time limits regardless of the type of auto, so moving one from a charging spot after 2 to 3 hours is no different than moving one's ice auto IMHO. At least with all the EVs on the market, one can monitor their EV while it charges and know when it is full so they can go move it.

H'mmmm ? We'll you cannot put the fuel pump in the gas tank, start the fueling and walk away from the auto and come back a few hours later. They would tow your auto so others could use the fuel pump. Tesla owners have not had a problem with charging their auto and moving it. In fact at the shopping stores that Tesla has installed superstations like Fred Meyers on the west coast, people plug in, go do their shopping, come back move the auto if they still need to continue to shop or if done, load up and leave. No big deal.

Many Chargers at local outdoor sporting areas are level 2 so it would take 2 to 3 hours to recharge and yes, one would hope you would remember to check on your EV and once fully charge, move it for others to use. But unlike Tesla and I have not seen any Tesla Supercharger stations near Ski resorts, but I could be wrong, one does not get dinged for sitting past the 5 minutes of grace Tesla gives you before they charge for sitting there not allowing the use of a charger. Like Apple Fans, Tesla Fans seem fine with sitting at their auto for the 30 to 45 minutes for charging and then move the auto and go on about visiting the area they are in. Hertz has been renting out all their Tesla and Polestar autos and have more on order as demand is greater for EV rentals than supply currently. I see no problem with the GM/Hertz EV purchase for EV rentals. Yes, some places will be far more receptive to this than others and only time will tell how people respond to the Charging time. Who knows, Hertz could end up with a big money maker as people return them at the 10% or higher mark and let Hertz use their 350 kWh 800V chargers to recharge the auto's. Hertz paid Tesla to install a few at each rental place of Tesla supercharging points and it seems they are well used as Tesla owners can also go to a Hertz and charge if they want having the rate charged back to their Tesla account.

So true and yet there is a market for people who do not care about MPG or kW per miles used. Example is I own an SS that gets on average 12 miles per gallon on Premium fuel but is a blast to drive.

This is not an auto for efficiency, but performance and ultimate off-road handling. It is a poster auto to show what can be done with various tech. No one should expect amazing range per kilowatt. Heck even the Tesla Platinum in their performance mode gets terrible ratings. Like all things, when it comes to showing off performance, mileage will always suffer.

Been a long time since I have seen the old plastic H2 hummer SUV on the road.

Interesting read! Very cool https://www.notebookcheck.net/9-000-lb-GMC-Hummer-EV-put-through-its-paces-in-a-highway-range-test-at-70-mph.657307.0.html

Very cool to see continued GM investments in EVs. https://electrek.co/2022/09/23/gm-invests-760m-ohio-plant-build-drive-units-ev-trucks/

I have to think that GM has shared their EV roadmap with Hertz under NDA and as such, the 5 years is based on buying each new EV released so they have a wide assortment of EVs. I honestly see no problem of buying the 175,000 EVs over the next 5 years. GM says they will have ramped up to be able to start producing 1 million EVs a year by the end of 2025. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.

Thank you for posting about outside of the U.S., interesting to see and on par with gas charging. Weird since it is so much cheaper than gas to do even with the wait time. Waiting to charge a car is longer than fueling a car if you can just pull up. Yet with that said, the Costco Gas site by the Maui airport where my kids took my wife and I this year to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary was a 20 min wait in line, another 10 minutes to fuel the auto, then off to the airport, so 30 minutes to get cheaper gas than what they charge you at the airport. Still took time and if the vacation time with your family and friends is more important, than like the gas, bringing it back empty and paying Hertz to fuel it is part of the vacation cost then is how I see it. So in that case, instant gratification as my vacation time is more important than the cost is how I would look at it. Since we had an afternoon flight out and had to leave our AirBNB rental by 11am, it was convenient to just stop, fuel, drop the auto and keys off and head to the airport. I see both sides of the coin. The businessman in me sees the increased profits and reduced maintenance of EVs for this over ICE and I can see why Hertz is doing it.

This is very cool to see, new C130 float planes. C-130 Seaplane Should Fly In 2023 Says Air Force Special Ops Commander (msn.com)

Hertz's have been very clear on the amount of time for charging. I think if one does not have the common sense to understand at this early stage of EVs that there is a longer wait, then they are in that Instant Gratification group where they see themselves as more important than everyone else and the planet and they would never buy now or in the next couple of decades an EV. Talking of common sense, to me it would be common, you drive your EV to the location you want to explore, play at, etc. locate the local charger and plug in so while your away, the auto charges. @Drew Dowdell has stated many times, what is so hard about plugging in to charge when you go to eat lunch, breakfast, dinner. You already are going to be gone for an hour or so. This whole discussion has me also thinking on alternative ways to charge. Are Solar Trees the Answer to EV Charging? (autoweek.com) The EV solar tree is an interesting concept, not sure how viable it will be except for those that do long term charging like at work. I think to avoid the cord cutting of the Toxic crowds that ICE chargers, wireless high-speed charging will be the long-term future way to go. I will say that when I do buy my own EVs, even if the OEM does not offer a wireless charging solution, I will end up going with one of the 3rd parties companies that can install the wireless controller and pad so that it is very convenient in just driving over the pad and let it charge up while you go inside your house.

Interesting read on the Japan Truck thing we have discussed here about how good or bad they are. 10 Most Overrated Japanese Pickups On The Used Market (hotcars.com)

Interesting is that Hertz has stated they will add NOTHING other than the rate they are charged to plug in the EV and they ask that you bring it back with a minimum 10% battery charge. At that rate, like they said, EVs will save renters money over the cost of fueling an ICE rental. As per their own website, at least for right now, they are passing on the charges from Tesla Supercharging Station, EVGo or any of the other charging networks to your credit card. They are not marking up the charge cost.

I think we will see chargers installed to be very noticeable by 2025 and especially by 2030. When has any renting benefitted the renter? ICE is no different than EV. Hertz is doing a good job on the EV front, did not realize till today that they also rent Polestar EVs. Electric Vehicles - Hertz Travel Blog How to charge an electric car - Hertz Travel Blog I have to assume they will have a GM section too, but right now the Tesla and Polestar sections are very informative and cover the concerns you have brought up. Electric Vehicle Brand FAQs - Hertz Travel Blog

Those politicians you mention are nothing but double standards as they were / are against the EV thing and yet an example is how Ted Cruz has moved forward to get a chunk of the money for Texas Charging installation. Say one thing for their base, then say another thing for the base that wants to make a business off installing the chargers, selling them, etc. Pathetic the double standard. At least the bill passed both houses and was signed and now the money is going out to the states that have applied and Chargers will get installed. Biggest threat is the Toxic Diesel crowd that loves to ICE charging spots and cut cables as they fear change.

@ccap41 @oldshurst442 @surreal1272 A worthwhile read if you are interested in what is going on now and the future for EVs and Charging. The Future Standard Of Electric Vehicles: Charging Infrastructures - Plug and Play Tech Center

Shell Recharge Solutions | Shell United States One can clearly see how easy it will be to have public Charging stations compared to gas stations with the in-ground tanks and all the other EPA safety stuff they have to install. Yes Charging has it's own safety needs, but nothing like a traditional ICE station. Yet let's focus on your original comment: How many auto renters actually have to fuel up during their rental period? Yes, they usually fuel up at the end to avoid the high price at the rental place for gas. Most rental places do not have their own fuel pumps, so have to pay someone to drive it over, gas up and bring the auto back to rent again. Compared to EVs, easy to have a 220 Level 2 or DC Fast charging connections installed at the rental site. Hertz has installed fast chargers to deal with both the Tesla and will for all over EVs using fast charging CCS units. Electrical permit needed, but very easy to do and as per Hertz own web site, they are showing how easy it is to charge if needed. Charging a Tesla | Hertz Electric Vehicles I think most folks will be fine having an EV, charging up either at a public station or letting Hertz re-charge the auto.