G. David Felt

Anima

Erin Gray Was so hot in Buck Rogers!

Maybe this blazer will come back as an EV and then @ocnblu will have a new CUV to mock. Chevrolet Blazer XT-1 1987 Concept

OUCH Porsche pricing for the Panamera is Crazy. While the base still starts at $88,550, prices for options have jumped considerably and if you want the Panamera Turbo SE Hybrid Executive edition, that will start at $190,450 and run up from there. 19 different trim levels from base to the Executive edition on top of a crazy assortment of woods, leathers, etc. Seems maybe Porsche is looking to go Rolls Royce for their top of the line sedan? 2021 Porsche Panamera pricing is here, so gird your wallet - Roadshow (cnet.com) R.I.P. in piece Shop-Vac, a company the Pandemic took in September 2020 according to Honda. Honda has offered for years a family favorite, a built in Shop-Vac system to clean the interior of the Honda Odyssey Mini-Van. Sadly the Shop-Vac company closed it's doors last fall with Zero Notice to employees and Honda has not found an a replacement supplier and as such moved up their 2022 Mini-van with no built in vacuum system. Honda Odyssey loses nifty in-van vacuum option after supplier shuts doors - Roadshow (cnet.com)

Europe is truly leading the way in reducing reliance on fossil fuels to create electricity as the European Union for the first time replaced Fossil Fuels with Renewables as the leading form of electricity generation. In EU electricity first, renewables overtook fossil fuels in 2020 - Electrek

Tesla, YOU HAVE A PROBLEM! While the current owners do not seem to care as much about the fit n finish of their Tesla auto's or that Tesla is buying fake wood trim pieces to hold together the Heat Pump in the auto or any of the other rubber band issues that have been discovered with the Tesla auto, the larger auto market does care. Cox Automotive did a consumer research on Electric Pickup Trucks. In 2020, a pandemic year, 2.9 million pickups were still sold in the US. The focus was what buyers thought of electric versus ICE, age demographics and more. As expected, those in the 18 to 34 age group were more than willing to consider and look at EV and ICE compared to the older age groups. Then as our Yoda of Old @balthazar has repeatedly pointed out from cost to design will play a point in how well the EV sells. As such, Cox Automotive did this comparison. Interesting is how Technology plays between ICE and EV as well as Horsepower. Then we get into what I consider the Meat and Potatoes of the study and that is clearly pointing to the first 4 big companies to release an EV pickup. Ford, Hummer, Tesla and Rivian and so see who is in last place right now should not surprise established auto company buyers, but should make Tesla Concerned as winning the hearts and minds of the American Consumer is no small thing. Ford has only one real issue and that is Tech Advances where they are just barely above Tesla compared to Hummer in 1st place and Rivian a very close second. Focusing on just an EV pickup purchase only gives the following some interesting numbers and if Ford Delivers, should do them well in their move to electrification for their whole product portfolio. Final interesting comparison is in how appealing potential buyers find the current EV trucks based on what pictures have been shown to date. Again, this should be telling Tesla, that your Cyber Truck is DEAD ON ARRIVAL! Consumer Snapshot: Electric Pickup Trucks - Cox Automotive Inc. (coxautoinc.com)

As we know, Government entities love to talk about numerical numbers and set numbers for things that have to be done. Rarely do we see them actually meet those set numbers. City of LA is celebrating reaching a milestone two years ahead of plan. In 2018 the city of LA offered a wide variety of rebates for businesses to apartment complexes to install fast chargers or commercial chargers. At the time 55% of the people living in LA were renters. As of the start of 2021, LA has 11,045 commercial charging locations opened to the public and businesses. That is 1,045 chargers more than the goal set of having 10,000 by the end of 2022. Cool part is that at the end of 2019, 60% of the rebates applied for were for commercial chargers installed in apartment complexes. LA has now set new updated goals, 25,000 chargers by 2025, 28,000 by 2028. This does not take into account Tesla charging stations or for profit private charging stations networks. Charged EVs | LA reaches 10,000 public chargers, two years earlier than planned - Charged EVs

Amazing the quality of photoshopping some people have now.

21st century racing

Over the last 4 years, the DC machine has held up the final rules on Low Volume Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Act (HR 2675) now that the current administration released the rules that were being held up, it appears we just might see an actual Electric DeLorean "time machine" revival now a possibility with replica rule (greencarreports.com) According to this, the Texas company, yes same one that @balthazar pointed out in regards to this had shown off in 2012 an EV version where everything was just like the original except the power train. In 2012 they showed this auto exactly like the original but with electric power train, 200 miles battery pack and a 0-60 mph under 5 seconds. The company now believes they can build these auto's to be even faster, keeping true to the original auto and rather than go ICE, go EV with a far better performance and fun factor. Should make for some interesting production as Tesla has moved to Texas, DeLorean is now looking to go into production with their EV time machine. Interesting times we live in.

@oldshurst442 It is interesting at how slow Tesla is moving to embrace the Model Y improvements into the Model 3. This could be what causes Tesla to have to possibly partner up with another Auto OEM or ends up getting bought out by say the Chinese as Tesla is moving slower than the other OEMs in this industry and this story is a perfect example of just how challenging it is going to get. Will BMW i4 outdo Model 3 in handling performance? (greencarreports.com) BMW has clearly set their i4 sedan on outperforming the Tesla Model 3 and if they nail it, Tesla will be in trouble.

I get your take on this. One way to convert to an EV fleet faster is by allowing businesses to take advantage of tax breaks as incentives. Example is that the private taxi drivers in Europe buy high end BMW and Mercedes auto's as they are allowed to write off 50% of the cost in the first year and the rest in year 2 as long as they drive over 100,000 kilometers each year. Easy for a taxi driver, gives them a nice new auto to drive, cleaner for the passengers and helps create multiple jobs. Here in Washington state, there are incentives like this for the private companies that contract with school districts to convert over to alternative energy school buses that started in 2015. The number of Diesel had been dropping while CNG, Hybrid had been increasing and as the school districts have stated a move to EV school buses will be embraced once a return to in school classes after the pandemic is over. Yes everything costs, but what price can you put on a child's life in comparison to breathing toxic diesel fumes? In this regards, I consider everyone's life far more precious than the cost of leaving what has been efficient transportation for cleaner better transportation as we improve ourselves via education, science and technology.

Nascar

Seattle Refrigeration Company

Beechers Mac n Cheese

Craft Beer

Same here, freezing weather this weekend with the start of Snow in the Mountains Saturday Night and then snow moving into the low lands for Seattle by monday.

Porsche is doing what every company does with new tech to recover R&D costs. Daimler is who you should be worried about as they DO NOT have that huge R&D budget you keep talking about as they have clearly cut back due to Diesel gate and I will remind you that Daimler stated in October 2020 that they were cutting car models and cutting R&D 20% a year across the board. If they truly focus on taking Mercedes upmarket, then I doubt the prices even on their EQA is going to be price competitive for the masses. Daimler to cut fixed costs and take Mercedes more upmarket | Reuters

I am still enjoying the REO brothers cover music. REO Brothers - YouTube Listening to this now.

GM has announced a major change to a Canadian manufacturing plant. CAMI will become Canada's first large scale electric delivery vehicle manufacturing plant. The first auto to be produced there replacing Chevrolet Equinox production is the BrightDrop EV600 delivery van and the EP1 electric e-pallet product. GM to Invest Nearly $800 Million To Convert CAMI into Canada’s First Large-Scale Commercial Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Plant

Crazy is as Crazy does. Seems Jeep will launch their 2021 Jeep Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrid in Europe first. As such, they have a web site for people to register so that they can reserve/order one first. No time line for the US has been announced, but prices are a bit shocking. Quote: Black, Granite Crystal, and Bright White are the only options on the First Edition palette. Jeep points out they're the three colors that European customers prefer. LED headlights, Granite Crystal accents, 18-inch wheels, and a hard cover for the spare tire are also found on the list of standard features. Inside, the launch model offers an 8.4-inch touchscreen with navigation, smartphone connectivity, and an information screen in the instrument cluster. Jeep made no mechanical changes to the First Edition, so it's powered by a gasoline-electric plug-in hybrid powertrain that consists of a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine and an electric motor integrated into the eight-speed automatic transmission. The system's total output checks in at 375 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque. It weighs nearly 5,000 pounds, yet it posts a six-second sprint from zero to 60 mph. Significantly, the electronics (including the 17-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack) are fully protected from the elements. Like the non-hybrid Wrangler, the 4xe is capable of driving through up to 30 inches of water. Cost: France - Starts at $87,300 Germany - Starts at $92,500 Switzerland - Starts at $96,000 Clearly a luxury auto in Europe. 2021 Jeep Wrangler 4xe First Edition detailed for the European market | Autoblog

Tesla Model Y has fueled Tesla's 63% increase in registrations for the past year. While Model Y sales and registrations have jumped, records do show that Tesla Model 3 car sales and registrations dropped in the 2nd half of 2020 by 34% showing the increased trend for people to move to SUV/CUV type auto's. Tesla Model Y fuels brand's 63% jump in California registrations | Autoblog

Not sure which Alternative or Regular segment this should be in due to Renault not saying what will power it other than alternative forms of Powertrain which means it could be ICE, Hybrid or EV. Renault seems to want to take on Jeep in Europe and possibly Ford as they showed off their brand new Bigster Concept SUV. While not much is known other than them showing it off and saying it will take you to places that most auto's including the competition cannot take you. Clearly a little X-Terra, Wrangler, Bronco, etc. can be found in the SUV. Dacia introduces Bigster concept | Autoblog

Seems that a Subsidiary of Lamborghini is bringing out an updated DMC-12 auto. Whether or not it is just a tribute to the original DeLorean car or not is unknown. I do wonder if it will have a Lambo Engine, Hybrid or EV? A new DeLorean DMC-12 seems possible as Italdesign teases future plans - Roadshow (cnet.com)

Wine Coolers