G. David Felt

Ran to costco and wow are they making bank. People are going crazy spending to buy stuff. course I am not worried, but have been enjoying my extended work from home by baking. Cinnamon rolls anyone?

Seems Mercedes-benz is starting the purge of failed none profitable auto's. This starts after just 1 year of selling a luxury pickup based on the Nissan truck. Nissan sold 132,000 trucks and MB sold only 15,300 1/8th of Nissan. As such, after just one year on the market, the truck is DEAD! https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/mercedes-benz-end-production-x-class-pick-may Bye Bye employees and plants as Daimler cuts hard at money loosing vans, auto's with their own special platform. https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/mercedes-benz-set-major-job-cuts-profits-fall Time to see MB reduce big time their product portfolio.

Not wanting to go political, but I find this interesting as the young gop groups with over 200 individual groups on college campuses are asking the gop to act on climate change. Young gop they say also want Tesla or other EVs rather than ice autos. https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/06/politics/young-green-republicans-climate-weir-wxc/index.html

Interesting Read from https://www.thedrive.com/news/32457/chinas-car-dealerships-empty-out-over-coronavirus The Drive is saying that Chinese auto sales have dropped 80% due to Coronavirus. Autocar is saying while Geneva auto show got canceled, they were still able to interview the Mercedes-Benz executives and major cuts are coming to the companies auto line. Currently they have 45 models of which G-Class, SL, AMG GT and S-Class as well as a few more are on proprietary platforms. As such, Daimler is going to cut all as they move to a couple of Module platforms. Shafer also said the V8 and V12 while they want to continue with them, Euro7 legislation will force them to reduce powertrains as the company moves to be EV's by 2030. Expect 4 and 6 cylinder engines to be the normal for Daimler's Mercedes-Benz division. BMW i4 sedan is aimed right at Tesla 3 as BMW prepares to take Tesla on and surpass them. https://www.autonews.com/geneva-auto-show/bmw-reveals-model-3-fighter-near-production-form

Love the craziness of Japan autos. https://www.classicdriver.com/en/article/cars/5-weirdest-japanese-concept-cars

My night of work is this listening to the originals and the remakes. Have to say I actually like both in this case.

I am a 007 fan and yet this new title song for the delayed movie is just MEH to me. Bummer, I really hope the movie is good.

I was actually wondering that myself and wondering if anyone else might ask the question. From what I can tell based on the YouTube channel of Ford, they show 3 updates to this video since it originally came out last summer. I think the most recent change was just saying Spring 2020 release. Otherwise very little has changed I think.

Hate me but I want it to stay cool and wet with snow in the mountains. Not ready for spring, allergies and the heat.

I loved the fact that the Trucks will get the 800 volt system for XFC or extrem fast charging of the battery pack. Not sure why they will not do the 350 kW XFC charging on everything right from the start. That is a head scratcher for me. ?

Seems GM is releasing more details after their closed door meeting on their EV product line. https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/general-motors-chevy-buick-gmc-hummer-cadillac-electric-vehicles/ Quote on the Battery info: The 'Ultima' energy-storage solution Powering this massive EV push is GM's new Ultima battery technology. With a unique chemistry and a special design, they promise greater energy density, easier packaging and lower cost. A lithium-ion design, Ultima mixes the internal chemistry up a bit, incorporating nickel, manganese, cobalt and aluminum, among other elements into its cathode side, so-called NMCA chemistry. A potential breakthrough, engineers have reduced the cobalt content of these batteries by around 70%, a material that's both pricey and difficult to obtain these days. They've managed to substitute it with aluminum, which is cheaper and far more readily available. The plan is to offer Ultima batteries in packs with capacities ranging from 50 to 200 kilowatt hours. This is projected to give vehicles an estimated maximum driving range of up to 400 miles. Depending on vehicle type, this can enable acceleration from 0 to 60 mph in as little as 3 seconds. Level II and DC fast-charging are both supported. Most of GM's upcoming EVs will feature battery packs that operate at 400 volts, however, its truck platform will run at twice that much and support 350-kW fast charging.

Bronco update, we get to see the reveal Spring 2020.

Having had years of seeing all the Shared Mobility auto's in Seattle, be it the BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Subaru via Zip Car, etc. they are all trashed as no one really cares cause they do not own it. I had driving around in a damaged or dirty auto. Bus pass as the company I work for pays for it and will use it to get to and from work till 2024 when the lite rail opens in the north end here and then my express bus will be replaced by the lite rail trains. Everything else is my own private auto's. Liking this AI version of Goodyear tires. Very cool concept, now if they can actually deliver on it in maybe 100 years.

Latest on Ford F150 EV Truck and for the most part the renderings based on insider info will have it looking just like the rest of the family except for the Frunk and solid front end grill. https://electrek.co/2020/03/05/ford-f150-electric-render-inside-info/ Personally I think it is one of the better Ford pickups I have seen. Renault has brought to market it's ultra cheap K-ZE Crossover to the European & Chinese Market under the Dacia brand and at an amazing price point for a 4 person auto with 155 miles of range. Cost $9,000 US. https://electrek.co/2020/03/03/renault-k-ze-cheap-electric-crossover-europe-dacia-spring/ Electric is a great place for Mopeds and so it seems that this next bike created and built out of Texas has officially launched. The SCOOT MOPED was seen out and about in LA last summer, but official production did not start till December 2019. As such we now have them available for Global purchase. https://electrek.co/2020/03/05/bird-unveils-new-scoot-moped-a-seated-electric-scooter-with-big-potential/ Your basic SCOOT comes with the following: Large Volume tires Dual Rear Suspension Two Vertically mounted mirrors Hydaulic disc brakes Top rated speed of 20 mph or 32 km/h Scoot is not available to buy but to rent. SCOOT is available in multiple cities around the world and has both the moped which must be parked like a normal motorcycle and their Scoot Kicks electric scooter. Current cities are San Francisco, Barcelona, Santiago, Austin, etc. The company believes the future of mobility is shared mobility. https://scoot.co/#splash-modal

Seems some additional images have finally been released by GM for public consumption. https://www.autoblog.com/2020/03/04/cadillac-celestiq-lyriq-gmc-hummer-chevy-bolt-euv-electric-cars-gm/ Autoblog says the Cadillac Celestiq is going to be an Ubber Luxury car and the outline image they approved for release is this: Would not say this is a Station Wagon, more of a hatchback. Kinda reminds me of that stretch car at Chevrolet they sold for a few years with a big sky window over the rear seat but I cannot remember the name. Some on other web sites say this gives them an Aston Martin DBX vibe. Autoblog says the Cadillac Lyriq CUV is about the same size as the Cadillac XT5. Have to say the details that Autoblog shares about the new grills, cadillac lighted logo and interior dash and space is exciting.

Good for you Blu, walking is at least a good start to keeping a strong core for your senior years.

More GM Details on their EV product line. Some very cool stuff! GM actually showed off a number of beta EV's or test mules as we call them in the old ICE lingo. EV's will have Alpha, Beta, RC and finally GA builds. Alpha is the first swing, usually clay models. Beta is the actual builds out on the roads to test everything and find the bugs. RC or release candidate is the last builds for testing with pretty much all final work in place, just flushing out the final code bugs. GA is General Availability when the public can buy it. Hope this helps those that do not understand 21st century tech. So per this story which I found duplicated by just about everyone, GM seems to have held off allowing folks to talk about what they saw till tonight after the dog n pony show. https://electrek.co/2020/03/04/ama-gm-bev-event-ev-hummers-huge-cadillacs-new-bolts-e-uvs/ Gonna cut n past as that will be fastest to quote: GMC Hummer EV truck Fun-looking vehicle with Hummer heritage and large format. Inside and out matched rugged looks. GMC Hummer EV SUT Pretty much the same, but more like an SUV. Cadillac Lyriq This is the SUV we’ve seen images of before, and it will be the first car on GM’s BEV3 platform. The interior was gorgeous and to be honest the first Cadillac that I’ve ever seen that I’ve lusted after. We’ve seen the outside. Cadillac Celestiq This is an out-there kind of luxury station wagon with an extremely futuristic look. It’s quite large yet looks like it could also be incredibly fast. The model didn’t have a finished interior, so obviously more to come here. Bolt EV 2021 I talked about Bolt EV in my post linked above, but it really did address all of the complaints I had in 2017. But it’s now 2020, and the BEV 2 platform is showing its age. Bolt EUV The long-rumored longer Bolt EV with Supercruise. How does it stack up? More info in the link above. Buick SUVs These were clay models but looked like they follow the Lyriq format with a downmarket interior. So Station Wagon fans get a luxury one in Cadillac. Not feeling the names yet, Lyriq and Celestiq makes me think Marvel. So replacement BOLT and a BOLT EUV with supercruise. Very cool. I wonder if it will have the same features or a reduced feature set? Seems Badge engineering to me for Buick of the Cadillac EVs. Full details here on the Bolts. Seems GM is bringing wireless Android and Apple play to all their auto's. That is very cool. https://electrek.co/2020/03/04/2021-chevy-bolt-revealed-significant-redesign/ Seems according to GM, The New Bolts will roll out this fall into select markets before being GA across the US in January 2021. GM has gone with USB-C in their auto's moving forward that are far more powerful than the current 5w usb ports. So be interesting to see how much more powerful. Shifters are GONE! RND is now the 3 buttons you have on the dash to use in EVs. Interesting slide from the GM dog n pony show. Have to say this is an interesting read on the Hummer by GMC SUV EV. https://www.caranddriver.com/gmc/hummer-ev-suv Loving this full size SUV EV. Have to say that GM could finally give Jeep a run for it's money.

Sadly, My mind and body are not as advanced age as you and your friends. I doubt you could stay up with me skiing, in the gym or so many other things. Working from home when you have idiots still moving around sick is a smart move. Just finished my 2hr upper body workout in the gym. What did you do to have a strong mind and body today?

Decided to post this https://www.quora.com/How-the-motor-gets-reversed-in-regenerative-braking Engineering speak as to me it is the simplest way to explain this: In dc motor during regenerative baking, the rotation does not change. When regenerative braking is applied,the supply to the armature(rotor) is cut off and supply is given only to the field winding(stator). Due to this,the rotor conductor cuts the stator magnetic field and produce an voltag(emf),this is fed back to the source. The motor will come to stop when the inertia is equal to the emf produced.

It is very weird as I went into the office yesterday and then decided to just work from home as the bulk of my fellow 1200 employees are working from home. The streets are very quiet, people are clearly standing at a distance from everyone and everyone is wiping down their desk, keyboards, mice, etc. using disinfectant wipes. I was walking down the stairs to the cafeteria to get food yesterday and choked on saliva going down the wrong pipe. Talk about people jumping back and moving away from me. Was way too funny. F5 network company closed their 44 floor HQ tower due to needing to be sterilized since employees got sick. Amazon had an employee and is cleaning that building and sent out very strict guidelines. Even Dell sent out a notice about no more shaking hands, no hugging, keep your distance and if you feel at all not well to stay home. Will be an interesting experiment in work from home. I have to wonder how many companies will rethink having a large office if they can get the job done having far more workers work from home.

BIG NEWS BIG NEWS BIG NEWS GM's annual Investor, Analyst and Dealers meeting in Detroit, GM showed off their newest modular platform with a new battery, motors, etc. This new platform will suppor 13 new auto's as GM steps up to compete with Tesla. https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2020-03-04/gm-shows-13-electric-vehicles-as-it-tries-to-run-with-tesla This new battery pack will allow GM to support a 400 mile range in their Hummer by GMC truck and offer other sizes across SUV/TRUCK/CAR models. Starting with the Cadillac Lyriq to be shown April 2nd we will also get a new Chevrolet BOLT CUV, Hummer by GMC pickup as GM moves forward to have out by 2024 as 2025 models the following: 3 Cadillac SUVs, Luxury Car Chevrolet Midsize SUV along with the Bolt compact SUV and full size truck. 2 Buick SUVs GMC Hummer Truck and SUV Cruise Origin, autonomous electric shuttle GM plans to sell 1 million EVs by mid decade

April 2nd we get to see the Cadillac EV unveiling. Cadillac Lyriq EV Not so sure about the name, but like the Cadillac logo on the grill.

Major Battery play is coming from a California start up called Enevate. They have had $111 million invested in them from LG Chem, Samsung and Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi. Enevate has in their 4th generation of battery technology developed an XFC Silicon Lithium battery. XFC = Extreme Fast Charging Silicon a very common material and easy to produce in a lab as the new Anode material replacing graphite anodes causeing the use of rare earth elements. Battery storage density is 10 times that of current Lithium-ion cells. Batteries available in 2024-2025 model year EVs. Enevate went revolutionary rather than evolutionary like Tesla, Panasonic, etc. has done with keeping the graphite and adding silicon to increase density. Enevate went with a silicon layer, then copper, then silicon building what is believed to be the current dense's anode around. If your a nerd interested in the deeper details of the battery tech, read the full story here: https://chargedevs.com/features/enevate-says-its-silicon-dominant-anode-technology-is-ready-for-ev-production/ Have to say this is exciting as this will help deliver the power density for range and feature functions that people want in full size auto's.

GM Looking to the Future with their 100 year celebration of Futurama.

GM looking to the Future with their 100 year celebration of Futurama.