G. David Felt

This just proves as I have always believed that America can build superior race auto's when we want over the over rated Italian stuff.

Reminds me of a fish, from the cat fish to the whale shark, I have to wonder if the designer is not a fisherman big time and thought using the front of a fish as inspiration would not be a good thing. I will say other than the grill, I do find the outside design pleasing, nothing new or shocking, but nice for those that like cars / sedans. Interior is a great improvement, love all the tech being used here. Very modern take on a sedans interior IMHO.

Per Norway's own news and electrek story following up on the local news in Norway, they hit a record 54% electric auto sales market share for 2020. As more and more EV options come to market, gas and diesel sales have crashed. March 2021 gas auto sales were 4.8% of the market with diesel following at 4.7% market share. This is less than half of the market share they had for the same period a year ago. Norway originally set 2025 as a target of electric auto sales only for the whole country and now are on track to ensure this happens without any issue. As electrick story does point out, Norway is a small and rich country with strong EV incentives. As such, this has made the auto industry take notice and try to figure out how fast the rest of the world could follow. Industry analysts believe the global market will hit 30% at best by 2030 for EVs. Even with or without incentives by local governments, there is strong belief by some that once enough variety is on the market, many will forgo ICE auto's for the simpler to maintain EV's. Frp vil fjerne bensinbilene | DN Norway's gas car sales are crashing to a crawl and rest of the world will follow faster than you'd think - Electrek View full article

Electric Block?

Yes, true, if no depreciation, then you're no fool. Course, I also do not think a person who buys something they like and holds onto it like you or myself that changes auto's every 10 to 15 years is a fool either as we truly get our use/value out of it. On the other hand, a person swapping out auto's every 12 to 18 months could very well fall into that category. The perception is what it is all about. My Escalade is 15 years old and like new. SS is 13 years old and like new and my 1999 Durango is 22 years old and then I have my 1994 GMC SLE Suburban being 28 years old. So not sure I fall into the fool category either. But still, it is an interesting statement from me.

Have my Spotify playing while I work to finish a project and on a Red Hot Chili Kick.

As they say, a fool and his money are soon parted and that goes especially true for EVs today.

Yes, unless they can truly get profitable with much more production over the next 24 to 36 months, the OEMs of the Auto Industry are going to eat Tesla alive and they will not survive as an independent company.

Interesting read, very true about Tech replacing hourly workers in the recovery. Some are going to get left behind without re-training for new skills. Fed's Powell: US nears full reopening to 'different economy' (msn.com) The dealership lots are getting sparse for product and what I see in the news indicates pretty much all dealers are getting MSRP as there are more buyers than auto's making ATP much higher for everyone at every auto company. Sadly, gm is now halting more production due to chip shortage across North America. General Motors halts production at more factories as global semiconductor shortage worsens (msn.com) This makes ya think twice about going camping and leaving your door open. Camping Couple Finds 6.5-Foot Lizard Nosing Inside Their Caravan; Even Getting On Their Bed (msn.com)

Ran an errand during lunch, saw a cherry of a tan 1982 Z28. Old boomer driving it she had her Farrah Fawcett Hair and listening to ZZ Top. ?

I find this interesting, clearly some problems in mixing up numbers such as dealerships listed as I think they flipped the GM and Tesla dealership / store numbers. Interesting reading and I do not agree with this writers assessment especially in regards to Tesla. Yet he does make some valid points and Tesla might only have 13 billion on the books as debt, but then the stock value is what has driven the ability for Tesla to do what it is doing. Is Tesla's Stock Overvalued? Key Comparisons to GM and Ford (tradestation.com) Interesting that every year we seem to find some news outlet that compares Tesla to gm and Ford. From Jan 9th 2020 as a comparison over a year ago to the story above that was done today, April 8th 2021. Tesla's Market Value Is Now Higher Than GM And Ford Combined (insideevs.com)

SS Supertruck electric I would take over this Demolition Derby worthy only car IMHO. Man that is an Ugly car only it's designer could love.

Have to say, this truck holds a special spot in my heart, the Original Chevrolet Silverado 454 SS. So motor trend talks to one of their photoshop folks telling them to stay true to the formula of what a modern day version of the bad boy above would look like. Chevrolet does not sell the standard cab in the US market, it is sold elsewhere in other global markets and GM has the 6.2L V8 that would be a superior replacement to the 454 engine to put in this new bad boy. This does make me wonder if a modern electric SS could happen now that we have the Hummer SuperTruck EV. A Modern Chevy Silverado 454 SS? Here's What It Would Look Like (motortrend.com)

Cadillac Lyriq Mules are out and about being tested and they have been caught by photographers now. This side by side comparison makes me wonder about the funky tail lights in the concept.

Seems Panasonic is betting on being able to produce the new Beer Can size Battery cell for Tesla and other auto companies as the 4680 cell would only require about 500 cells in a battery pack compared to the current 4,000 to 8,000 cells in existing battery packs. This would reduce the complexity of the battery pack, and in essence help to usher in the $25,000 EV and below according to Panasonic. Panasonic Bets on Tesla ‘Beer Can’ Battery to Unlock $25,000 EVs (msn.com)

Crazy Visit by Godzilla! https://www.facebook.com/100003969304841/videos/2062761220532835/ <iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fjejene.narumpa%2Fvideos%2F2062761220532835%2F&show_text=0&width=269" width="269" height="476" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe>

Small Block

Spotted this beauty on the way home from my sons tonight. Could tell it was a Plymouth, bit not sure what model. Yoda of old, can ya help me out here? @balthazar

Awesome Donation, a private citizen donated his immaculate 1964 Eldorado convertible in mint condition to help fund the local fire department. The auto will go on auction April 22nd. Hopefully they get an above market price for this beautiful lady for such an awesome cause! 1964 Cadillac Eldorado In Rare Condition To Be Auctioned For A Good Cause (motorious.com) QUOTE: This classic Cadillac features a green exterior finish over a white wood grain accented interior, a black convertible top, and V8 engine paired with an automatic transmission. While it is not a 100-percent original example, as is this car would make for a good daily driver or an even better survivor quality base for a restoration. Recent service includes four new tires, a cleaned out fuel system, and a replacement convertible motor. Lending a hand to the car's current condition is the fact that it has been in storage for the past 30-years. 100-percent of the proceeds from the sale will go directly to the Williamsport Volunteer Fire & EMS in Williamsport, Maryland to help these selfless volunteers purchase, maintain, and operate emergency life-saving equipment.

Green Car Reports does a fair assessment of what the Silverado will be and have and since the base platform being used for the Hummer is what the Silverado will use, they make some fair assessments on this truck. Here’s what the Hummer EV tells us about the Chevy Silverado EV (greencarreports.com)

So Excited, this year Hwy 20 or The North Cascade Loop highway has on average 7ft of snow, clearing started on Monday April 5th and will take 4 to 6 weeks. I always make the 500 mile drive in one day to enjoy the beauty and the huge snow before summer melts most of it. Diablo lake is a prime camping and hiking area I grew up in and so am very excited to do that this summer again. The Chameleon affect of the lake is a must see and is covered in this short video. Snow clearing on State Route 20 in North Cascades begins Monday | king5.com Washington's Ultimate Road Trip - The Cascade Loop Scenic Byway FYI, Liberty bell has over 100 ft deep snow, so the pass should be very cool to drive over once it is cleared. You can see pictures of the assessment and follow the clearing here: SR 20 North Cascades Highway clearing 2021 | Flickr

Seems the Ford Mach-E is moving off the lots showing sales are on pace with early estimates. Q1 Ford reported 6,614 Mach-E sold keeping them on track for 25,000 to 30,000 sales in 2021. Ford reported the Mach-E is currently averaging only 7 days on the dealer lots. 70% is conquest sales from competitors. Ford Mustang Mach-E moving quickly off dealer lots, sales on pace with early estimates (greencarreports.com) Mercedes-Benz has rolled out their platform for the new electric Sprinter line of vans, trucks, Ambulances, eGrocery transporter. Consistent implementation of the electric strategy of Mercedes-Benz Vans: Next generation eSprinter to be built at three plants (mbusa.com) This new generation of Sprinter is being focused on three specific markets at first, Europe, USA and Canada. In additional news leading up to the April 15 reveal of the New EQS EV for the Global market, Mercedes-Benz has shown off the interior of the new luxury EQS sedan. The EQS: Design for All the Senses (mbusa.com) Full Details, additional photo's and videos at the link above. They also released details of the power train options in RWD or AWD with the power train developing up to 516 hp / 611 lb-ft of torque, 0-62 of 4.3 seconds and top speed of 130 mph with a 107.8 kWH battery pack.

Libertine a UK firm was awarded a 2.6 million British pounds or $3,572,543 US dollars to take their free-piston generator concept to commercial production. Per Libertine web site, the IntelliGEN 20-40 kWe Smart Engine platform is for OEM builders of Hybrid buses, trucks and auto's as well as distributed power applications. Quoting their web site: Robust and flexible platform for lab-based combustion development and prototype validation 20-40kWe* two stroke engines with uni-flow scavenging, configurable for light, heavy and gaseous fuels Ground-breaking free piston motion control solution for the most demanding combustion applications Advanced controls platform and analytics for low temperature combustion methods De-risks and accelerates Smart Engine generator product development programmes This free-piston engine propels magnet-equipped shafts back and forth generating electricity, the design does not produce torque. A big benefit of this motor design is that it can run on a variety of fuels from bio-fuels to renewable alcohol fuels. A small battery pack with efficient onboard generator using 100% renewable fuels Libertine believes is a solution that can drive uptake of net zero trucks before the end of this decade. This engine concept is not new and has been around since the early 1900's. The solution that Libertine brings to this is the software management and problem solving on how to incorporate this design into a hybrid auto. 1934 is when the first patented free-piston generator happened and these crank less engines have many characteristics that people feel benefit being applied to hybrid auto's. Free-Piston motors can easily have variable compression ratio for optimized operation. Based on modern computer control allows for variable stroke length by pulse pause modulation control. Frictional losses and manufacturing costs are reduced greatly allowing for less maintenance and increased lifetime. Less lubrication is required due to the purely linear motion also giving much less vibrations due to reduced balancing issues. The advantages of a free-piston engine are pretty clear with them being as follows, simple design with fewer moving parts, giving a compact engine with low maintenance costs and reduced frictional losses. Operational flexibility via variable compression ratio allows operational optimization with multi-fuel. High piston speed and a fast power stroke expansion enhances fuel-air mixing, reducing heat transfer losses and formation of NOx or nitrogen oxides. gm did considerable research for the time in developing the XP 500 free-piston concept auto. Multiple reasons for not coming to market as management of the motor via software and enhanced controllers was not available then. Today, Libertine is leaving no stone unturned in finding solutions to help the European Union and the world become fossil free by 2040 for all heavy-duty vehicles as their pledge. The details of the intelliGEN platforms key performance was delivered in a webinar organized by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers. For more information you can reach out to the company about their various free-piston solutions / uses. Home - Libertine intelli-GEN (intelli-gen.com) News & Press - Libertine Free-piston engine - Wikipedia Libertine is not the only company researching the use of free-piston motors. Durham Energy Institute is also looking to use this technology for range extending electric auto's. If costs are able to be kept low, then free-piston range extenders are a potential game changer for fully electric commercial trucks that have big energy needs. Full details of the Libertine technology can be reviewed here: Technology - Libertine View full article