Featured New Study Reveals American EV Confusion, Desire For Electric Toyotas

Of course the point isn't to sell products to every individual. Selling a few, yet expensive products can generate more money than selling many cheap products.

 

and that's why the model X has adjustable air suspension like the Range Rover ... for when you come upon those pesky snow drifts that can't be handled by low drag CD vehicles. If only they (air suspension adjustable cars) were more affordable. (there is the audi Q7 ... Volvo xc90 ... MB GLS SUV & a handful of other gassers)
Oh well ... there's always the used market. That's how we were able to afford our 1st over-priced Prius.

 

Henry Ford if alive would disagree.

 

Too bad it would cost me over $400 per month to insure a Model S. I bet a Model X would be even more expensive. Out of all the crossover designs, the Teslas are the ones I hate the least (I could actually be convinced to buy one some day).

I do wish manufacturers would make things that are more practical, like adjustable suspension height, instead of focusing on the size of the infotainment center screen.

 

oh hecks yeah!

I think that was on my wishlist in @tochatihu's frankencar featurelist thread. I want a modernized EV Checker Marathon with Citroën style hydro-pneumatic suspension.

 

Yes yes!

Sometimes a one-size-fits all approach results in a car that doesn't do hardly anything good. Two reasons I dislike the RAV4 is that when jumping in one and then in a Camry, the Camry felt like it had more room, and on paper it did (that may change or have changed with the newest generations). The second reason is the people I've known that had a RAV4 didn't feel it did well off-road. Bascially my RAV4 buddies and I would go down the same dirt roads that my Avalon could do just fine. So the only benefit for the RAV4 is it has more cargo space, simply because Toyota won't sell a Camry Wagon.

I'm a bit excited about the Ford Bronco. Not that I would buy one, but I love the manual transmission option with it's crawler gear. The vehicle seems designed for the actual purpose of an SUV.

But a Honda Accord Hybrid Wagon with stick shift, crawler gear, and pneumatic liftable suspension...

MAN! I want one! I'll sell a kidney for something like that. Make a Toyota version and I'll sell two.

 

Come for the minibus utility.

Stay for the stump puller gear- in both manual and automatic versions.

Fun fact #1: US availability was limited because they were too tall- could only be carried on the top deck of the ship.

Fun fact #2: The current Toyota Supra is now built on the same assembly line that made these

 

I loved my ol' air-cooled Beetle. The thing was light and nimble, easy to just pick up and carry by hand out of a bad situation, yet drove like a tank even without the 4WD the Syncro had. It was the kind of car you could out do some 4WD trucks in the mud or snow or on rough terrain.

At least that's how I remember it. Of course nostalgia can be better than how it really was. At least when it broke down it was pretty easy to get going again. Maybe a loose wire here or a stuck carb bowl float that needed tapped on with a hammer there. But I got 30mpg in it, in the winter. I'm getting 35mpg now in the Avalon. The Avalon won't go places the VW could, but it can carry more.

The 1985 VW Golf diesel also drove like the Beetle, only it was FWD and had less power. Less likely to start doing donuts on ice. But sometimes I had to drive backwards to get up slick, steep streets. I got over 40mpg in that thing. Again, it was smaller than the Avalon. But it also just never wanted to die. I had a wheel bearing go out and it was a piece of cake to replace. One injector line broke once. Also I had problems with the door handles and the CV joints. But the engine had like 500,000 miles on it and just wouldn't die.

 

(GM and Honda scrap plans for affordable EVs - CNBC article)

I suppose they could still each develop their own, but that feels like a very generous take.

 

gm already has one. the only questions are what will the updated version cost when it comes out, and can they make it profitably.
cooperation between the two companies could be valuable for both companies, and disengaging seems shortsighted at best

 

The other quesiton is when. As far as I understand, the next Bolt is on the maybe-by-2030 list.

 

i think you're way off, but the question is still when. anything to back up 2030?

 

Let's hope I'm way off. My gut feeling is my alibi. Car and Driver thinks it will be 2025: Chevrolet Bolt EV Isn't Dead: It Will Return with Ultium Batteries (caranddriver.com)

 

these comments make me feel like sooner, rather than later. but who knows?

even-better-next-gen-chevy-bolt-get-cheaper-lfp-battery

here's a rumour

2025-chevy-bolt-rumored-price-release-date-dsign-specs

 

That's excelent news! Although I've been told that the Bolt and other EV fires really aren't any worse than gasoline car fires, and that the problem has been largely resolved, having LFP's in a car would let me rest assured that the car is not ever going to catch fire, except under the most wildest, unlikely and extreme possible incidents. This is the main reason the standard range Tesla Model 3 is so appealing to me.

Of course there is talk that LFP's, which are usually sourced from China, may void or lower the federal tax incentive. I do find thinking about the tax incentive a pain. Is it still going to be there when the Bolt comes out? Even if it is, will the Bolt qualify?

 

Any worse?
Per million miles there are roughly 10 times more gas car fires than Electric.
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2022/oct/25/instagram-posts/batteries-dont-make-electric-vehicles-more-likely/#:~:text=the%20lithium%20batteries.%22-,Electric%20vehicles%20are%20not%20more%20likely%20than%20gas%2Dpowered%20cars,driven%20in%20gas%2Dpowered%20cars.

.

 

That article mixes all Teslas together. How many are the LFP Teslas and how many are the flamable NCA Teslas?

The point is that LFP is less flammable than both NCA and gasoline. You then say "no, cars from a manufacturer that sells a lot of LFP cars says their cars are 10 times less flammable than gasoline cars." What's the point you're trying to make?

 

I don't think this is true. The amperage rating on the v4 is higher. (615a compared to 425a).
This means the internal wiring is thicker.
So they have kept the same max of 250kw, but this is maybe just a current software limit

Mike

 

Isaac, your ‘gut feeling’ impressions have a pretty poor record.
I would suggest you may be getting too much of your news from FUD, and not enough from reliable sources.