G. David Felt

Ford Motor Company has announced that they are starting production of the Ford Mach-E in China for local sales only. The Ford Mach-E will go on sales fall 2021. Per the Press release link below, Ford will invest $11.5 Billion for 2021 and 2022 for EV development. Ford to Manufacture Mustang Mach-E in China for Local Customers | Ford Media Center

GM has released their plans to be Carbon Neutral by 2040 and this will come by eliminating tail-pipe emissions by 2035. As such this pretty much says that Chevrolet and GMC Gas / Diesel powered trucks / SUVs will be gone by 2035. QUOTE: Electrification The use of GM’s products accounts for 75 percent of carbon emissions related to this commitment. GM will offer 30 all-electric models globally by mid-decade and 40 percent of the company’s U.S. models offered will be battery electric vehicles by the end of 2025. GM is investing $27 billion in electric and autonomous vehicles in the next five years – up from the $20 billion planned before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Renewable Energy To address emissions from its own operations, GM will source 100 percent renewable energy to power its U.S. sites by 2030 and global sites by 2035, which represents a five-year acceleration of the company’s previously announced global goal. Today, GM is the 10th largest offtaker of renewable energy in the world and in 2020, the company received a 2020 Green Power Leadership Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. General Motors, the Largest U.S. Automaker, Plans to be Carbon Neutral by 2040 (gm.com)

Very Cool 1,800W, 60V electric Mountain Bike. The bike has a 24.5 Ah battery. The bike uses RockShox fork up front with a 29" wheel for better attack angle and traction, but a 27.5" tire in back for better acceleration and torque.

Fueling auto's

Ahead of the arrival of AWESOME EV Trucks, Diesel sales have surged. In 2020 Diesel truck sales jumped 28% as overall new auto sales declined 14%. The latest report shoes that for 2019 and 2020 5 of the top 10 non-gasoline auto's were diesels. The number one top sales was the Tesla Y CUV. In the drive to boost fuel efficiency, auto makers in the US have resorted to using diesel and it will be interesting to see if this is blunted by the arrival of electric trucks this fall. Currently there are 13 diesel options for light-duty and heavy-duty pickups and 12 diesel options for SUV's. Just before arrival of electric trucks, diesel sales are surging (greencarreports.com)

I did find it interesting that now that GM has shown their 1,000HP Tri-motor setup for the Hummer, Tesla had to change their Plaid plans for the dual motor system and went Tri-motor. GM has stated that their Ultium battery system can easily hit 600 miles depending on configuration. Full size trucks and SUVs will have that option.

Perfect description of the current ICE CUV / Car mess. Thank you for confirming what we already have minus the cleaner air, home fueling versus running out to a cold gas station, etc.

Torture

Tesla Released their updated Tesla S luxury sedan today with the new Plaid Power Train. Tesla S now has the longest range battery pack at 520 miles. Tesla S now has a top of the line performance Plaid + package that will have 1,100HP with a 1.99 second zero to 60 mph and a tri-motor powertrain. Tesla Model X is expected to come out in April. Tesla showed off their new interior design. IMHO not that impressed with their updated look. Tesla Model S refreshed with a radically redesigned interior and 520-mile range - Roadshow (cnet.com) Tesla Shows New Model S, with Version Offering 520 Miles of Range (caranddriver.com)

Gotta start some place to get the info out so companies can plan. Lordstown Motors did say while they introduced a crew cab pickup starting at $52,500 that stripped basic work trucks would cost considerably less. Maybe if you go plastic floor, plastic seats and minimize electronic stuff like door locks and windows they are thinking $30K per truck? ? ?‍♂️

Great to see ya back Dwight! Loved the probes, was a cool Ford/Mazda car.

Global EV sales in 2020 3.2 million sales. Charged EVs | Global plug-in vehicle sales surpassed 3.2 million in 2020 - Charged EVs

I am NOT Going Political, focus on the Auto portion of this please. The Biden administration made a Major change this week on Monday to the Buy America executive order. Something no other president has done to date, in fact this portion has not changed since 1954 which is what Defines Goods and Services. Auto's MUST have a minimum of 50% of the auto components made in America from the raw materials to the final component. President Biden via executive order has laid out a long term plan to replace all 645,000 federal vehicles with net-zero emission auto's Made in the USA! Components must be a minimum of 50% from raw material to final assembled component made in the US and the auto must be assembled in the US. This is open to all auto companies from around the world, but must adhere to the Made in the USA requirements. The executive order points to replacing existing federal trucks with electric from Ford, Rivian, Tesla and GM. One question that is unanswered is how Canada will fit into this equation since GM has committed to the city and unions in changing over this year the plant that builds the Chevrolet Equinox to be the assembly point for BrightDrop EV600 delivery van. The federal government does have a large Van pool that is used to move packages and mail between the various federal buildings especially in DC. To clarify this executive order will now require the Window sticker on vehicles using the American Automobile Labeling Act (AALA) which places a greater mathematical weight on the domestic content calculation on components that are more expensive and labor-intensive in being required to be followed. Currently the AALA shows that the Tesla Model S and Model 3 have the highest Domestic content under tally. This will also help to clarify where the auto is made and just how much is truly built in North America / USA. To clarify, this also will include the 173,000 military vehicles which GM has submitted a Hydrogen solution on their mid size trucks that has been posted here in the past. This also will cover and defines the 225,000 USPS vehicles. Currently just the USPS and Military consume 375 million gallons of gas and Diesel a year at an annual fuel cost of $4.4 Billion dollars. According to one estimate from the government GSA or General Services Administration, this will cost about $20 billion to replace the vehicles. One interesting note is the average age of the USPS delivery auto is 28 years old. GSA has stated this is a long over due update to the USPS that will enhance tax payer cost savings in the long run. Current USPS delivery auto's have no airbags, no anti-lock brakes and no air conditioning in addition to many things that are no longer used by any other auto's in the industry driving up maintenance costs to be higher than any other federal auto maintenance program. American-made and all-electric: Biden plots out the future for the federal vehicle fleet (greencarreports.com) Charged EVs | President Biden announces plan to update federal vehicle fleet with US-made EVs - Charged EVs

GM and Navistar are getting in bed together to build 2,000 Class 8 Semi Trucks. This will create additional jobs as GM ramps up production. GM has also stated that the HydroTEC Fuel Cell Power Cubes are a perfect fit for use in a wide range of applications from Marine to earth-moving and mining equipment as well as Locomotives and power generators. The current Power Cell is good for 500 miles of heavy load use with a refueling time of 15 minutes. This allows for the use in both short and long haul applications. GM states they will have additional announcements coming. GM to Supply Navistar With Hydrotec Fuel Cell Power Cubes for Electric Vehicles UPDATE - Forbes has a story too, this will not affect the arrangement to supply Power Cell Cubes and motors to Nikola for their Hydrogen truck. Hydrogen Truck Convoy: GM, Navistar Form Fuel Cell Alliance (forbes.com) Navistar has recently undergone a restructuring and is focusing on becoming a global leader in Hydrogen and EV based commercial trucks. The Hydrogen Class 8 Semi trucks will go on sale as a 2024 model in 2023. Currently they are rebuilding an existing Diesel assembly line into a Hydrogen truck assembly line and will move forward with in depth testing of the production mules using the GM Fuel Cell. Navistar Collaborates with General Motors And OneH2 To Launch Hydrogen Truck Ecosystem - Jan 27, 2021 To quote Navistar News Release: Under its partnership agreement with Navistar, OneH2 will supply its hydrogen fueling solution, which includes hydrogen production, storage, delivery and safety. In addition, Navistar is taking a minority stake in OneH2. Through its affiliates, OneH2 plans to kickstart substantial hydrogen heavy truck refueling infrastructure by incorporating more than 2,000 International® RH™ Series FCEVs into existing truck fleets in the near term. "We're excited about the opportunity to partner with Navistar," said Paul Dawson, OneH2 president and CEO. "We believe strongly that hydrogen fuel is the future of zero- emission renewable energy in the heavy truck market, and are pleased that this agreement will provide additional scope for its application. Under this agreement, we will be able to offer fleets a zero-emission truck with total cost of operation lower than diesel in key segments of the industry." These newly announced collaborations with General Motors and OneH2 represent important milestones in Navistar's phased development of hydrogen fuel cell solutions. These technologies leverage Navistar's battery electric vehicle platforms and provide the customer with a single-source, fully integrated zero-emission solution that includes vehicles, fueling and service.

Very first auto I drove was our 1970 Mercury Station wagon.

@William Maley Is that Sport Mode or a Sport Model if you want less body roll? In regards to the body roll, is it like the older Cadillacs and Lincolns of the 70's to 90's being a cushy lux cruiser so body roll was expected? Is the adaptive suspension like the Magna ride of Cadillac or just a quick responding traditional shock suspension? Rear door looks much longer than the front, does this equate to more leg room inside or just an easier time getting in and out? How was the tactile feel of the knobs and buttons?

Linus

Public Transit buses seem to be just as stinky if they are older ones. Never a fan of the Diesel bus, yet I acknowledge the need for public transit and school buses. We just need to move to cleaner safer buses over todays dinosaur model.

This is NOT a Conspiracy Theory, the Diesel exhaust have been known to leak into the school buses. Children are not dropping dead, but they are breathing fumes that are pretty high levels and is not healthy. Plenty of studies that show the dangers on School buses from colleges and other science sources. You can believe what you want, but the way school buses are built, cheap and very uninsulated and loose, we now have the science that proves how toxic they are to our kids. 04.04.2005 - More exhaust inhaled by kids inside school buses than by others in the area, says study (berkeley.edu) School Bus Fumes - Science Updates - Science NetLinks More Exhaust Inhaled By Kids Inside School Buses Than By Others In The Area, Says Study -- ScienceDaily Study from 2001 that has been pounding on the importance to move away form diesel school buses due to the toxic nature. The Long Road to Safer School Buses | NRDC "Diesel Exhaust and School Bus Idling (EPA-420-F-03-021, June 2003)" All About School Bus Exhaust Leaks | Mechanics Hub Children's School Bus Exposure and Mitigation Studies | California Air Resources Board There are so many more studies from across the US, Canada and Europe that proves how toxic the bus fumes are inside the bus and why Schools should have been moving away from Diesel decades ago or at least demanding better built buses that do not leak inside.

@oldshurst442 I totally agree with you that the Tesla Tunnel is NOT EFFICIENT! The only reason it was approved and done was that Musk owns the tunnel system, it is not a public system. Private system and I think more of a Tesla Marketing system to have people experience EVs Tesla style. Sadly, I think it is a FAILURE out of the box as I cannot fit in the Tesla 3 compared to the electric trains. I think many people will not be impressed on fitting in. More negatives over the long term than in the short term. As with anything new, it will be cool for a few months to maybe a year or two and then people will be saying the same thing you have stated above. Seattle Lite Rail is better than the Tesla Tunnel as it is both under ground in places and above ground and even goes over our floating bridges.

Valid points, but I do think as people see more EV options, drive them and depending on where you live, I see the V8 being enthusiast more than anything in about 15 years.

I give a less than 25% chance of Tesla Delivering. Their semi and Truck plus the new Plaid power train upgrade to the S and X models will come before a limited production Roadster happens. Issues with Tesla 3 also are going to hit hard if they do not update to incorporate the Model Y improvements into the 3. Tesla is as usual years behind delivering Roadster 2.0. With Rivian, Ford and GM coming on strong, I expect Tesla to take a major hit. Many reviews by Tesla owners who are getting their Mach-E and talking about how much better it is than Tesla. Tesla is gonna have major headaches later this year if they do not get their butt in gear to update and have a better quality built auto.

Seems musk completed the underground tunnel system in Las Vegas to get folks from the Convention Center to the Strip. Will use Tesla 3's driving in autonomous mode to get folks back n forth over the 1 mile tunnel. Found a full story on it. Elon Musk Shows off the Mega-Tunnel He Built in Las Vegas and Promises Themed Opening Party (entrepreneur.com)

If this was true, Tesla would be selling more EVs in Europe than VW, but then that is not happening yet.

No different than many other survey's done that cover the auto industry and more. Still interesting info.