G. David Felt

Not for you where you live, but someone living in the inner city especially in an old neighborhood that had garages / driveways for Model A Fords or horse and buggy will find anything bigger than a mini pickup to be too big. That is what I hear from my coworkers.

Uno

Watching on Netflix, The Blacklist. AWESOME SHOW! ? Wonder how @Drew Dowdell is doing. @William Maley Have you heard from him at all? Been a long time since he has been around.

That is weird as the loaner I had DID NOT have it and when i INQUIRED the Dealership said it was coming in the 2021 model.

Yes I COULD have used national averages, but since the individual uses his local are info, I choose to use my local info. I could if I wanted faster charger add those electrical upgrades to the home. Yet everyone has 110 charging which has been proven to be sufficient for overnight charging having a full battery in the morning. Hence no added cost. On top of this while I know in your area they do not require this, but for almost 15 years now, Washington state has made it a requirement for a 220V 30amp outlet in garages for all forms of electrical needs from auto charging to Wire feed arc welding. So here it is common to already have the outlet in the garage. At most your looking at $250 to $500 depending on the fancy level of your 220 charger you want to buy and plug in for use. Also forgot to mention that Ocnblu brought up the maintenance issue and I think it is well covered above that EVs have much less maintenance than ICE auto's.

Kelly Blue Book shows the 2017 Cruze after two years for LT based on the 23K MSRP is worth $11,607. Value Loss of $11,393 or 49.5% loss in value after 2 years. Kelly Blue Book shows the 2017 Bolt after two years for LT based on the 37K MSRP is worth $25,471. Value Loss of $11,529 or 31.159% loss. Bolt holds a better value over the Cruze.

Chevrolet sold the Compact Pick S10 from 1982 to 2004 for 22 years and before that they sold the compact Chevrolet Luv truck from 1972 to 1982. 32 Years of compact or mini pickups being millions made and sold. I think the US can support mini pickups especially for the inner city markets.

Fine we will look at this comparison you want. 10 Year ownership. Chevrolet Cruze LT Maintenance schedule: Using National average cost of a regular gallon of gas is $1.87 a gallon right now. So 12,000 miles a year driving averaging 34 mpg. So this is 353 gallons of gas a year equal $660.11 in yearly fuel costs. 10 yr Fuel cost of ownership $6,601.10 Oil Changes every 7,500 miles @ average cost of $39.99 means 13 changes for 10yrs cost of $399.90 Passenger compartment air filter every 2 years = 5 filters @ $20 average = $100.00 45K mile service - Local Dealership charge $499.95 90K Mile Service - Local Dealership charge $629.95 97,5K Mile Serivice - Timing belt replacement depending on engine choice in auto - $366.00 - Optional Total Cost of Maintenance for 10 years = $8,230.99 or $8,596.99 Chevrolet Bolt LT Maintenance Schedule: Passenger compartment air filter every 2 years = 5 filters @ $20 average = $100.00 Electricity National Average @ 13.2 cents per kilowatt, 66kWh per 259 miles for 3,057 kWh of energy used for 12,000 miles per year at a cost of $403.52 per year fueling cost, 10 years = $4,035.24 total cost Total Cost of Maintenance for 10 years = $4,135.24 10 yr comparison. Chevy Cruze cost $23K MSRP + Maintenance cost $8,230.99 = $31,230.99 Chevy Bolt cost $37K MSRP + Maintenance cost $4,135.24 = $41,135.24 Yes the Bolt costs a bit more, but you gain many things in not having the emissions of the auto as you drive it, less noise, fueling from home, less maintenance, etc. etc. etc. Cost per service as posted by my local Chevrolet dealership. @balthazar Updated to reflect the national average on gas, electricity and corrected as the web site I looked at said 32 mpg average, KBB says 34 mpg average.

Guess I am not alone in hating to pay tolls. Seems this trucker who drives between NJ and NY hated it so much he would flip his license up to avoid having it snapped at the toll booths.

Chairman Bill Fords daughter Alexandra Ford English has joined the board of Rivian cementing a deeper and long term co engineering strategy for Ford with Rivian in building EVs for Fords product portfolio. To quote the news story: "Our strategic partnership with Rivian plays an important role in the future of fully networked battery electric vehicles,” said President and CEO Jim Hackett in Ford's announcement. “With Alexandra’s experience in mobility and self-driving services, she will bring a unique perspective to Rivian’s board during this transformational time in our industry." “Alexandra and I share a deep passion for mobility and electrification, and her connection to Ford’s long family role in transportation is something special. I am looking forward to working closely with her and the perspective that she will bring to the Board,” said Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe. https://www.autoblog.com/2020/05/01/alexandra-english-rivian-board/

No oil changes ever, no major maintenance every 100,000 miles let alone the still tagged mid 45 to 50K maintenance auto's still list. Leaf and Bolt give far more than 50 miles in 30 min when on a fast charger and the tech is constantly improving. Chevrolet lists for the 2020 and earlier models 90 miles in 30 min. But the 2021 as a 2022 model on the new bev platform is stated to be considerable faster, more inline with gassing up an ICE auto. So all things change and improve just as ICE did over the last 100 plus years. 2020 Nissan Leaf gives 80% battery capacity in 40 min for a Quick charge connection. Yet, plug in at night at home and always have a full battery in the morning. EV's DO NOT need tires more often than an ICE auto. You sound like SMK about his MB love affair. I get it you love ICE auto's, nothing wrong with that, but the future is changing so get used to it. Chevrolet Bolt Maintenance Schedule: Here is the excellent Chevrolet VOLT Maintenance Schedule: Equal in Size, Chevrolet Trax Maintenance Schedule: So let's try again about which auto is more expensive to maintain between EV and ICE.

I totally disagree as Morris sees the future and where we will move to and how people want less maintenance than ICE requires along with cleaner emissions. As such, I believe he is right, once you have EVs in all price tiers, that cost less out of pocket for each paycheck, people will change. West coast has chargers everywhere, July 1 2016 is when charging mandates went into effect and why the West coast is ahead of the east coast in charging infastructure. https://apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=51-50-0427 This regulation states that 20% of all available parking in any structure or area such as parking garage, apartments, condo's, etc. is to have charging installed. As such it is very easy to recharge an EV far more than driving out to find a gas station.

Naw, Mid Size trucks are still way too big for inner city ownership and parking. I know many coworkers who live in Seattle and ended up buying old Chevrolet Luv, Datsun, Original Mini Ford Rangers as they only wanted a 2 person pickup to use for going to Home Depot, running the occasional garbage run, etc. Mini Pickups I believe have always had a place in society. Just look at the Ford ranger long life and how many bought it while it was still a mini pickup compared to the bloated mid size version now. I believe there is room for all 3 size trucks. If done right on a global platform, then the truck is a winner winner chicken dinner.

Those of us that have been around in the auto industry for a while remember the Ford Maverick car. Some loved it, some hated it. Now it would seem that evidence is mounting based on trademarks, filings, etc. that Ford is bringing out a mini pickup truck to the US market and the name chosen for the Ford Rangers little brother is . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MAVERICK https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/ford-ranger-maverick-small-pickup-truck/ https://www.tfltruck.com/2020/04/leaked-2022-ford-maverick-truck-could-this-be-the-next-ford-ranger-or-bronco-based-pickup/

This is a review of the 82 kW electric motorcycle Zero SR/F 2020 model. These are the companies that could kill off companies like Harley Davidson and other older established OEMs who are not able to deliver low cost long range electric options.

According to Ken Morris, VP and head of the Electric / Autonomous vehicle division at GM, Mr. Morris believes GM will be ALL ELECTRIC Sooner rather than later in what people think. To quote the write up at Electrek web site: Projections out to 2030 say that we’re only going to have 15% electric vehicles on the road by 2030. I believe and we believe the number will be much higher once people start to experience electric vehicles. He was asked if he believed we would have to wait a full decade before we saw vehicles customers would want to buy. My hope and gut feel is that there’s going to be an inflection point in the mid-2020s where suddenly people are going to be buying these at a faster rate than anybody expects, just because the driving experience on these vehicles is fantastic. And when you get used to charging your vehicle like a phone at night, when you charge it, and you don’t worry about it, you never have to stop at a gas station. There’s a lot to be said for that kind of lifestyle. They posted a statement from him a year ago when he was head of Global Product Integrity. I would say GM’s speed of that transition in terms of volumes is probably less huge than you would expect. IHS data says 90% still ICE 10 years from now. But you never know what’s going to happen when really good electric vehicles come out in volume, and the infrastructure starts coming around. He was then asked if the collapse of oil prices would kill GM's EV program. If you can sell a vehicle that doesn’t use any gas at all for the same price of a vehicle that does burn gas, you don’t have to do that math of, is it worth the payback or not? We’re not there yet. Today we’re getting much closer, the research does tell us that for now a customer will pay a select premium for an EV vehicle, but they’re not going to pay a big premium. And so, our job is to get those things as close together as we can. Morris wants GM to offer EV at a “broad band of price entry point.” He said that range of prices will come, and be profitable, “very quickly between now and 2025.” Morris was asked if the Pandemic would slow down or kill any part of the GM EV Program. We’re working from home, so engineers are working from home, and designers are working from home, but they’re going through extraordinary lengths to make sure that we’re maintaining the timing on the programs. We’re constantly going full-throttle to maintain timing on these programs. My guess is when we’re able to come back to work, and we’re able to get our hands on hardware and clay models and all those things, we may have to work harder, maybe put more resources on these programs to keep them on time. But there’s no slowdown, none. But a shift to electric vehicles is not possible at all without a fervent belief in the technology. Morris believes. With each statement about an “all-electric” future, GM raises the stakes. We’re still more than a year away from production of the GMC Hummer EV pickup, scheduled to begin in late 2021. By that time, the 2022 Bolt EUV will launch. The Cadillac Lyriq luxury SUV launches in 2022. Other GM EVs scheduled for production are the GMC Hummer EV SUT, two Buick SUVs, and a hand-built flagship Cadillac sedan dubbed Celistiq. That mid-2020s inflection point is quickly approaching. https://electrek.co/2020/05/01/general-motors-says-it-will-be-all-electric-sooner-than-people-would-think/

Interesting read, very thought out on how to deal with what the medical community is saying will be a 24 month road map of Coronavirus. It will take that long to get to 60 to 70% immunity in society before they will consider the worst over. https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/national-coronavirus-response-a-road-map-to-reopening/ https://ethics.harvard.edu/covid-19-response Harvards paper is very in-depth but good info on this. They should be briefing the nation as they work with John Hopkins on what the best things are and how to work and move around safely.

Pounds

With 30 million unemployed, the worst since the Great Recession of the 1930's, I think we are far from over. Things are going to get worse before they get better sadly. I actually think we could see about 35 million unemployed. Interesting is that in states that are opening up, the up tick in infections is also going up again. Reports from various Virus Medical professionals are saying expect 2 more years of Coronavirus problems. This is due to the fact that even if they find a cure in the next month or so, it will take 30 to 90 days to test on animals, then human trials. Once approved, they then have to ramp up production and then get the shots across the glob to inoculate people. So 24 months is totally understandable.

Biblical

Vintage Seattle Winter 1916

Splits

Jeans

Stupidity of teens on HWY 129. East coast.

I think that is a Smirk of "Wait till I get you home!" ?