Electric cars?

[Boggo]

Interesting bit of reality ??

Cadogan on Car of the Year

 

[sptrawler]

Interesting bit of reality ??

Yes, IMO the whole problem is we have an ideology driven agenda, rather than a technically driven reality..
The ideology driven agenda in the past, has been proven to be a poor path to follow, yet we keep doing it' then wonder why it turns out to be such a pigs ear.
Eventually we will run out of other people's money, to sort out our own stuff ups, then the reality will really hit.

US to pull back emissions laws and electric car targets

The US Government will pull back emissions laws after US car makers cited slower than anticipated demand for electric vehicles.

www.drive.com.au

 

[Knobby22]

Ford Ranger won last year.
Tesla won best urban EV under $100K.
Mercedes Benz C Class got best luxury car under 100k.
Hyundai Kona Hybrid considered best small SUV (which these days is a standard car).
MG4 got best EV under 50k.

No mention of my new car which I love but I think it would not have been considered as delivery didn't happen to November, Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid. Probably a bit niche also.

The top pick, Kia EV9 does read as a beautiful car if you have a big family and can afford it.

And let's face it, Cadogan makes his living by whinging and he is world class at doing that. Puts the Poms to shame.

 

[Boggo]

And let's face it, Cadogan makes his living by whinging and he is world class at doing that. Puts the Poms to shame.

When you say he is whinging, are you saying that he is incorrect or you don't like his manner.

I am not a fan of his delivery method but from a factual and engineering perspective I cannot fault him and unlike other motoring commentators he is his own master.

 

[Knobby22]

When you say he is whinging, are you saying that he is incorrect or you don't like his manner.

I am not a fan of his delivery method but from a factual and engineering perspective I cannot fault him and unlike other motoring commentators he is his own master.

He is not wholly correct and is looking to whinge to get clicks. It's an award. They gave it to the Ford Ranger last year. It's about change not picking a Camry family car.

The winner does appear to be a great car to own for a few reasons which he never mentioned, just went on about points that weren't even mentioned in the article.

Also it's a motoring magazine and standard petrol cars are less than 50% of the market. They are looking to the future.

 

[Boggo]

He is not wholly correct …

I haven’t picked up his erroneous statement on this episode but he has made inaccurate comments on a couple of past videos which he has always been quick to correct.

Re your comment and as a famous politician once said “please explain”.

 

[Knobby22]

I haven’t picked up his erroneous statement on this episode but he has made inaccurate comments on a couple of past videos which he has always been quick to correct.

Re your comment and as a famous politician once said “please explain”.

The review was not about EVs only. It was about how the car was set up for a family, the safety aspects, the modern assisting driving equipment, even the many cup holders (13!) and USB ports (6) including in back seats. The acceleration.

No where in the article was anything about being green or saving the environment. That's just something he wanted to talk about.

 

[Boggo]

The review was not about EVs only. It was about how the car was set up for a family, the safety aspects, the modern assisting driving equipment, even the many cup holders (13!) and USB ports (6) including in back seats. The acceleration.

No where in the article was anything about being green or saving the environment. That's just something he wanted to talk about.

OK. I thought from your comment that you were implying that he had made an error.

 

[Knobby22]

OK. I thought from your comment that you were implying that he had made an error.

I said he wasn't wholly correct. Error by omission if you like.

Anyway he had his whinge and got his hits. Clever guy. He dragged out the video to get maximum money.

 

[qldfrog]

Interesting Geely pickup/ute

Radar RD6 2023 Review – International - carsales.com.au

The Radar RD6 electric ute is well placed to spearhead Chinese auto giant Geely’s wide-ranging assault on the Australian market

www.carsales.com.au

I note less than 500kg payload, and great $21k USD to $26k USD cost
So basically matching ice ute prices in Australia .

 

[sptrawler]

I said he wasn't wholly correct. Error by omission if you like.

Anyway he had his whinge and got his hits. Clever guy. He dragged out the video to get maximum money.

Yes a lot of other people are using his format, it works well in todays world.

 

[basilio]

BYD has just releases their latest electric car. They are calling it the Corolla killer. It is comparable to a Corolla at a cheaper price and all electric. Very attractive option.

BYD launches $15,000 Qin Plus EV Honor Edition kicking off price war with gas cars (US dollars..)​

Peter Johnson | Feb 19 2024 - 10:30 am PT

90 Comments



BYD is kicking off a price war with gas-powered cars as new lower-priced electric vehicles begin rolling out. After launching the new Qin Plus EV Honor Edition on Monday, BYD said it’s “officially opening a new era of electricity is lower than oil.”

BYD launched new versions of two of its sedans today as it looks to continue stealing market share from gas vehicles.

The automaker launched the Qin Plus Honor Edition with three significant refreshes. The DM-i (PHEV) version starts at 79,800 yuan ($11,000) with up to 120 km (74 mi) NEDC all-electric range.



BYD Qin Plus DM-i Honor Edition (Source: BYD)
BYD’s Qin Plus EV version has five models priced between 109,800 RMB to 139,800 RMB ($15,200 to 139,800 RMB ($19,400).


The all-electric version includes an electric motor with up to 134 hp (100 kW) and 132 lb-ft (180 Nm) max torque. It will be offered with either a 48 kWh or 57.6 kWh battery pack for up to 261 mi (420 km) and 316 mi (510 km) CLTC range, respectively.



BYD Qin Plus EV Honor Edition (Source: BYD)
Last year, BYD launched the Qin Plus Champion Edition for the same price as gas-powered vehicles, “directly destroying the moat of joint venture fuel vehicles.”

BYD launches $15,000 Qin Plus EV Honor Edition kicking off price war with gas cars

BYD is kicking off a price war with gas-powered cars as new lower-priced electric vehicles begin rolling out. After launching...

electrek.co

 

[basilio]

Another big news item from Tesla. Will certainly reduce the cost of batteries

Tesla’s ‘money-printing’ lithium refinery to come online sooner than anticipated​

Fred Lambert | Oct 6 2023 - 7:57 am PT

95 Comments







Tesla’s lithium refinery, which CEO Elon Musk called a “money-printing machine,” is now expected to come online sooner than anticipated.
In September 2022, we learned that Tesla has a plan to build a lithium refining facility on the Gulf Coast of Texas.

The goal of the new plant is to produce lithium hydroxide to support Tesla’s own battery cell production at Gigafactory Texas in Austin.
The company also wants to prove its own new lower-cost processing system. If successful, it could be adopted by the rest of the industry and facilitate the deployment of new lithium processing capacity, which is badly needed to support electric vehicle growth.

Tesla previously confirmed that it planned to invest $365 million in the lithium plant, which would employ about 165 people full-time plus another 250 construction jobs for about two years.

During a groundbreaking ceremony in May, CEO Elon Musk said that the factory would produce enough battery-grade lithium to build about 1 million electric vehicles per year.

Tesla's 'money-printing' lithium refinery to come online sooner than anticipated

Tesla’s lithium refinery, which CEO Elon Musk called a “money-printing machine,” is now expected to come online sooner than anticipated....

electrek.co

 

[mullokintyre]

Another big news item from Tesla. Will certainly reduce the cost of batteries

Tesla’s ‘money-printing’ lithium refinery to come online sooner than anticipated​

View attachment 171532 Fred Lambert | Oct 6 2023 - 7:57 am PT

95 Comments






View attachment 171533
Tesla’s lithium refinery, which CEO Elon Musk called a “money-printing machine,” is now expected to come online sooner than anticipated.
In September 2022, we learned that Tesla has a plan to build a lithium refining facility on the Gulf Coast of Texas.

The goal of the new plant is to produce lithium hydroxide to support Tesla’s own battery cell production at Gigafactory Texas in Austin.
The company also wants to prove its own new lower-cost processing system. If successful, it could be adopted by the rest of the industry and facilitate the deployment of new lithium processing capacity, which is badly needed to support electric vehicle growth.

Tesla previously confirmed that it planned to invest $365 million in the lithium plant, which would employ about 165 people full-time plus another 250 construction jobs for about two years.

During a groundbreaking ceremony in May, CEO Elon Musk said that the factory would produce enough battery-grade lithium to build about 1 million electric vehicles per year.

Tesla's 'money-printing' lithium refinery to come online sooner than anticipated

Tesla’s lithium refinery, which CEO Elon Musk called a “money-printing machine,” is now expected to come online sooner than anticipated....

electrek.co

The article is dated Oct last year, and stated that commissioning would start in the first half of the year (assuming they were talking about 2024 given the article date).
Mick

 

[mullokintyre]

Had a most frustrating morning on the way back from Melbourne.
Went to a Wedding, stayed in a hotel with offsite parking where we could not charge overnight.
Wife was driving, so looked forward to a snooze on the way home.
So motored out of the City to a regular charging point we use, only to find that both of the charging stations would connect for about 30 seconds of charging , and then disconnect.
Told EVIE of the problem, then gave up on those.
Drove about 10kms off our route to find another station that has been installed for a few months.
It was a BP pulse, so had another app with my credit card details tec to deal with.
Worked great, but then when we had enough charge to get home with a bit of reserve, stopped the charger, but it would not unlock the cable, even after starting and restarting it a few times.
Ended up having to open the frunk and using the emergency disconnect to get the cable out.
Luckily I had asked a long time BYD user what happens if you need an emergency disconnect, so he showed me the cable pullout.
Already had a hangover from a big night out, so my mood was not improved.
Sometimes owning an EV sucks.
Mick

 

[sptrawler]

Range extender EV Ram ute.

The 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger Is An Extended-Range EV. What Does That Mean?

The new Ramcharger will get most of the benefits of a fully electric truck but without the dreaded range anxiety, although it will produce tailpipe emissions.

insideevs.com

 

[Captain_Chaza]

Ahoy Brave and Loyal Crew---
Looks Like Yesterday may have been a Storm in a Tea-Cup---

HOLD on TIGHT to our LITHIUM and URANIUM Masts

US Industry ETFs------------------------Wed 28 Feb 24, 8:20am (AEDT)​

NAME	VALUE	% CHG
Commodities
Uranium	28.02	+1.74%
Lithium & Battery Tech	44.28	+1.70%
Strategic Metals	49.52	+1.39%
Steel	71.19	+1.05%
Copper Miners	36.2	+0.84%
Silver	20.565	-0.27%
Gold Miners	26.03	-0.84%
Industrials
Construction	68.27	+1.41%
Global Jets	20.235	+0.52%
Agriculture	22.44	+0.27%
Aerospace & Defense	126.44	+0.17%
Healthcare
Biotechnology	140.89	+1.24%
Cannabis	5.15	+0.78%

NAME	VALUE	% CHG
Cryptocurrency
Bitcoin	26.93	+4.38%
Renewables
Hydrogen	5.49	+5.17%
Solar	42.56	+1.38%
CleanTech	8.9	+1.14%
Technology
E-commerce	22.79	+2.24%
Cloud Computing	21.84	+1.30%
FinTech	26.49	+1.26%
Electric Vehicles	23.91	+1.18%
Sports Betting/Gaming	17.81	+1.00%
Cybersecurity	30.32	+0.93%
Robotics & AI	31.14	+0.42%
Video Games/eSports	61.59	+0.06%
Semiconductor	642.11	-0.10%

Salute and Gods' Speed

 

[Captain_Chaza]

Sorry, I posted in Wrong Thread

 

[JohnDe]

Announced yesterday but I wanted to read a bit more about it. I didn't think that it was a good fit for Apple, but I understand why they thought it would be. An EV is a lot simpler than an ICEV, a lot fewer moving parts, however, there are far better options for Apple to get into.

Apple abandons electric car plans​

Apple has abandoned its ambitions to produce an electric car, US media reported Tuesday, ending a struggling decade-long project.

The iPhone maker had dedicated nearly 2,000 employees to its secretive car development program, Bloomberg reported, but faced an increasingly competitive electric vehicle (EV) sector.

The target of "Project Titan," beginning around 2014, was to develop a fully autonomous car, according to media reports.

The decision to shut down the car project was announced internally on Tuesday, Bloomberg and The New York Times reported, citing unnamed sources.

Apple had reportedly invested billions of dollars in the project.

The tech giant did not respond to AFP requests for comment.

Apple has never publicly disclosed its EV plans, despite a steady drip of media leaks over the years.

In 2022, the specialist site The Information published a report detailing the problems faced by the project, including the departure of multiple executives due to a lack of support from the leadership.

Several US automakers have hit the brakes on EVs in recent months as demand has slowed. Self-driving carmakers Cruise and Waymo -- which is owned by Google parent Alphabet -- have also struggled to expand their products beyond San Francisco.

Elon Musk's Tesla, one of the EV industry's leaders, has also warned of slower growth in 2024.

In a post on X, Musk responded to news of Apple shutting down its car project with emojis showing a salute and a cigarette.

Apple will transfer many employees from the shuttered car division to generative artificial intelligence (AI) projects, Bloomberg reported.
"On one hand this is a modest disappointment, as the view within (Apple headquarters was)... with roughly 2,000 employees on this initiative that an Apple Car was still on the medium-term horizon," Wedbush's Dan Ives said in an analyst statement.

But on the other hand, he said, "the laser focus within Apple is ramping up and executing a broad AI strategy within the Apple ecosystem, as it appears the vast majority of these engineers and developers will now focus their efforts on AI."

Generative AI -- popularized by the success of ChatGPT, from the Microsoft-backed OpenAI -- makes it possible to produce text, images, sound and other output simply by submitting a request in everyday language.

Around the world, major tech companies including Google, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon are rapidly pursuing the development and deployment of AI products.

But so far, Apple has had little to say on the subject beyond using AI in photo editing.

 

[sptrawler]

US says it will investigate national security data risks from Chinese vehicles - ABC News

amp.abc.net.au

Sounds like the U.S is getting nervous about the growth of Chinese EV's