John's Stuff - Personal Log 1284

June 8, 2024 - June 14, 2024

Last Updated: Mon. 11/04/2024

6-14-2024 Labels, Missed Opportunity. More of the same, not wanting to focus on anything beyond a single argument point. Refusing to see any context larger than an immediate win is the "impatience" theme enthusiasts are well known for. That results in so much waste. It's what I wrote about for years related to Volt. Those enthusiasts feared diluting their preferred technology. It was an absence of messaging... the very same problem suffered from today. I drew attention to that missed opportunity with:

Losing focus from being blinded by an online battle is a common problem, one which was clearly demonstrated here. It is why the questions of "What do you understand an "Electrified" vehicle to mean?" and "What counts as an electric vehicle?" were asked in the survey.

If consumers used critical thought, we wouldn't be in this situation. They don't though. In other words, no matter how much you try to present logic to clarify technical issues, it will fail. That is a very difficult lesson for some to learn. Know your audience.

In this case, the focus should be on BATTERY USAGE. We can see that consumers have overcome many of those fears of the past. Next is to draw attention to the efficiency gains possible. There's no need to get hung up in labels. Simply point out benefits of plugging in.

Put another way, promote "electrified" now that we see many of the misconceptions are gone. Then point out the more you plug in, the more you benefit. That will get people to upgrade from level-1 to level-2, regardless of what they drive a PHEV or BEV.
Obsessing with labels makes you your own worst enemy... so counter-productive... missed opportunity... a waste.

6-13-2024
Labels, Consumption. Absolutely refusing to look at the bigger picture, because cherry-picking is how enthusiasts thrive, I humored that perspective with:

Silence speaks volumes. 15 hours later, nothing about "focus on what actually matters".

An article published here today highlighted efficiency rating for Ford F-150 Lightning. Those numbers tell a tale of how BEV purists have endorsed an electricity-guzzler, turning a blind-eye to the goal of reducing consumption.

Combined = 70 MPGe: 481 Wh/mi or 2.1 miles/kWh

City = 78 MPGe: 432 Wh/mi or 2.3 miles/kWh

Highway = 63 MPGe: 535 Wh/mi or 1.9 miles/kWh
Simply switching fuel from petroleum to electricity is not a real solution. We are still at the mercy of insufficient battery chemistry. Current energy-density is too low to make a vehicle a good next step.

6-13-2024
Labels, What Matters. He wouldn't let it go. He just kept fighting, another long post trying to prove he was correct. Naturally, I will agree with him in my reply and expect him to keep fighting. It's a hollow victory when there's an agreement to the obvious trolling, then a move back onto the topic. Loss of attention becomes a source of frustration. He'll take that as a need to provoke. It's an endless process. We've seen this countless times in the past. Then never learn from history, always refusing to acknowledge what actually matters. He it goes: Revealing your relentless fight to win a pointless battle was the goal. Enthusiasts obsess with things that make no difference, that do nothing to actually change the status quo . "HEV" is indeed a silly term; yet, you wasted so much effort fighting against it anyway. Focus on what actually matters... reducing carbon & smog emissions for the entire fleet.

6-13-2024
Labels, Progress. No progress will be made in this discussion. That's quite clear from this: "You can change the subject, but you can't change the fact that hybrids get 100% of their energy from burning gas, 0% from electricity - and are therefore not electric." The topic was leadership. He just wanted to score a win. I replied with this reminder of the topic: No subject change. Attention was drawn to how enthusiasts argue for the sake of winning online points, then got back to the topic of consumer impression of leadership. Too bad if the definition of EV is distorted. People now recognize the benefit of depending upon batteries. That is undeniable progress. Toyota getting looked upon for taking the reigns on what comes next is clearly be avoided. That's a big tell.

6-12-2024
Labels, Absolutes. His response was anger. The post was a rant about how wrong I was, ignoring the part about audience. He made it personal, a battle to be won. I was challenged to "prove me wrong". I knew he would be relentless, making his purpose a fight to reign superior rather than actually learn anything from the survey. Ugh. My follow-up was: Again, this article is about the perspective of ordinary consumers. Know your audience. Mainstream purchases of "new" technology follow long after those who focus on engineering have moved on. Not only don't they understand operating detail, they simply don't care. It's like arguing the difference between EV miles driven in a PHEV verses BEV. They don't care. Absolutes aren't important. For example, greatly reduced ICE maintenance for a PHEV is a big plus. So what if there's an occasional oil change? Those are easy & predictable. Showroom shoppers are who change the status quo, not opinionated early-adopters. Their high-volume purchases are based on how they perceive the market.

6-12-2024
Labels, Survey. When there is a survey, the resulting lesson to be learned tends to be what & why a question was asked rather than the responses. That was most definitely the case this time. 1,000 American consumers were asked what "electrification" meant to them and which automakers they thought were leaders in that effort. Toyota, Honda and Nissan were sighted as those automakers. That made the enthusiasts here crazy. To me, it was a sensible response. Each has strived to deliver something for the masses, promoting those vehicles mixed among their inventory. They were vehicles you would see on the showroom floor. Such presence should be an obvious benefit. Enthusiasts don't see it that way though. Their approach continues to be to see the technology through the eyes of an engineer, blinded by an inability to see any other perspective. That's how we ended up getting this comment: "HEV is such a silly term. Hybrids are not electric. 0% of the energy added to the system comes from electricity. No electricity = no electric. 100% comes from burning gas. Drain the gas tank and a hybrid is a brick." I have seen that nonsense countless times in the past. My reply started simple, knowing this enthusiasts lacked the ability to just let it go: Propulsion is entirely electric at times. Know your audience. Bringing up the topic of coal-powered Teslas is quite common for those holding onto the past.

6-12-2024
Recognizing History. Sometimes, you have to be explicit. Enthusiasts make the fundamental mistake of assumption and drawing conclusions based on anecdotal observation. They don't take the time to research. They don't see patterns. They figure each new attempt will avoid problems of the past simply because the technology is better now. Ugh. That's how history repeating. They don't recognize how fundamental errors can happen again and again unless explicit steps are taken to prevent them. I have seen that play out many times throughout my over 3 decades as a software engineer. Each new language & platform introduces new opportunity with the same opportunity to relive problems of the past. Ugh. This is why I admire Toyota so much. They came up with a strategy to address and deal with that exposure. Here's how I put it in the context we are dealing with now: That is exactly why gen-1 rollouts from Toyota are so limited in volume. Just like they did with gen-1 Prius, they are shaking out bZ4X refinements prior to going all in with a gen-2. We know for a fact that the 2025 model year will be getting updates too. Continuous improvement is their game, which they thrive at.

6-11-2024 Used Sales. Seeing arguments fall apart for new sales, some attention is shifting toward used sales. Being a buyer's market when availability is limited can be a win-win situation. They want to spin low prices as being bad. After all, with so many used Teslas quickly losing value due to new ones getting big price cuts, that is a big problem for them. It comes down to the same problem of impatience. Like with Model 3 rollout, expectation was high-volume immediately... even though nothing in that category had been previously offered. Toyota starting low-volume with Prius and now doing the same with bZ4X is taking advantage of a proven approach... which includes a recognition of what happened with used sales back then too. See the pattern? Anywho, I pointed out that history by sighting expectations:

What's wrong with a resale market, especially now that some states offer rebates for a used purchase?

Think about what gen-1 of a new technology is suppose to achieve. It establishes the technology, introducing it to business & consumer while proving reliability... the early-adopter stage.

When gen-2 rolls out, that's the point at which transition begins. This is where the loyal customer shopping the showroom floor is enticed to chose the new technology... the replacement stage.

We see GM doing this right now with Equinox EV, targeting current Equinox owners. From Toyota, we will see one more minor upgrade (2025 model year). The major upgrade to follow, gen-2 bZ4X, will basically be a BEV equivalent of RAV4 targeting current RAV4 owners.
Knowing that bigger picture, whatever happens in the second-hand market with gen-1 provides a benefit of setting more realistic expectations for gen-2.

6-11-2024
Well Proven. Certain enthusiasts did not like my reply to the "piss poor" evaluation. Some of that comes from their assumption that no BEV means no experience. PHEV has always been dismissed as a gas-engine vehicle with a large battery-pack to assist. Belief that any type of EV knowledge could be gained from such an offering was the theme. Of course, they were wrong. Toyota's design is the reverse. Their plug-in hybrid design is an EV with a gas-engine to join in when some type of power is needed. Many are still in denial that a commute can be entirely electric, resulting in a PHEV delivering the identical outcome from that of a BEV. Though in Toyota's case, efficiency can be better. With so much smaller of a battery-pack and component size optimized, I tended to see efficiency to rival the best electric-only vehicles sharing the road here. Enthusiasts don't like that at all. Now with subject matter expanding beyond their limited talking-points, their narrative is crumbling. I was delighted to help draw attention to why: Rhetoric falls apart when traits like reliability get considered. Think about how flawless EV drive from Prius Prime has been since rollout in late 2016. Electric-only speed up to 84 mph (135 km/h) with heat-pump never hiccupped, well proven at this point.

6-11-2024
Piss Poor. Setting of expectations means being proactive, addressing the audience being targeted by presenting information about how their goals will be fulfilled. Opinions of enthusiasts end up being a pissing match. Ugh. They expect tit-for-tat competition, catering to their niche desires. That's why range, speed & power take so much precedent. They don't care about offering something affordable with reasonable performance. It must be the best of the best. Leadership is based upon who is further along, not how long that lead can be maintained. It's a sprint attitude in a marathon. They cannot wait for slow & steady progress. Easily measured & seen status is required. That's why progress of Prius was always dismissed. They didn't see the category of Corolla/Camry shopper as important. They were wrong, very wrong. Selling them is how sustainable profit was achieved. Prius needed to draw that audience and the resulting technology address their goals. Toyota set expectations for exactly that. Duration for that plan to play out took nearly 2 decades to become obvious. Camry hybrid went from hope to the only way it can be purchased. Toyota's push resulted in a customer draw. The key ingredient was time. I pointed that out in the thread with a "piss poor" evaluation by posting: It comes down to patience. Enthusiasts expect high-volume loss-leader sales right away. Ordinary consumers wait for a next-gen offering, well aware that some initial traits offered are overkill to appease early-adopters. They expect a balance to cover all of their basic needs at a competitive price. At that point, travel confidence will be more a matter of charging station location & reliability rather than range. In other words, the narratives now will mean nothing to that upcoming audience.

6-10-2024
Safety Scandal. Sales have been halted for Corolla Fielder, Corolla Axio and Yaris Cross. There is some type of safety issue that just came to light. I'm not sure of details yet, but with all the rhetoric it doesn't actually matter. Antagonists here are treating it like a problem existing throughout the entire production, that every vehicle produced by Toyota is dangerous and that the problem was known but hidden. Ugh. Those 3 specific vehicles do not exist in the United States. There is no scandal. Stopping sales until resolution is available is a proper response. Even if there was some sort of intentional cover up, how does that impact work being done here? We are seeing major investment in electrification here, new production with new jobs. That makes whatever problem emerging from traditional production easier to pull the plug on (bad pun) for the sake of moving forward. VW was forced to do that. Toyota doing it to be competitive. Hopefully, whatever the issue is the response is an effort to ensure it is comprehensively addressed.

6-10-2024
Ask Yourself. Other automakers are selling their BEV at a loss. No profit with demand uncertain is problematic for dealers; they won't want to gamble on inventory pile up. It's hard enough selling something with a razor-thin profit return. But knowing the market could potentially have over-supply due to slow adoption is a big problem. That means price cuts. Despite such a reality, we're still getting this attitude: "Should have been ramping up to full electric by now." What market indicators tell us a large increase in production is a good idea? Absence of any type of public charging, combined with fierce resistance from landlords, made it obvious the transition would take a lot of time. Combine that challenge with complications related to NACS and the growing pressure from competition from China, we cannot even address needed battery chemistry & packaging improvements. Though, without critical thought, none of that matters. It's just a bunch of enthusiasts playing keyboard warrior. Ugh. I responded to today's nonsense with: That is the narrative enthusiasts are pushing. Success long-term does not require such an approach though. Based upon what other automakers now have scheduled for next-gen offerings, that should be clear. To see it, ask yourself what their initial push of loss-leader offerings achieved.

6-09-2024 Signs of Progress. It is intriguing to see former foes coming around. Basically, they took a different path to get to the same place. I wonder how many are surprised that was possible. There was a lot of denial, disbelief it was possible for more than just their approach to lead to success. That binary mindset is difficult to overcome. But at some point, there are signs of progress being made by other means. Today, it was agreement about the influence of EREV. I replied back to a rather well thought out post with:

That's where "know your audience" comes into play, the biggest lesson learned from Volt sales. Advancement through conquest was great for the technology, but then failing to spread it was a monumental mistake. Volt did nothing to break status quo. Dealers continued business as usual pushing guzzlers.

As you point out, there are distinctions that could be indeed be drawn out. But like SAE, ordinary consumers don't care. It's like when BEV purist tries to argue PHEV still needing routine engine maintenance to people who blindly do oil-changes when their vehicle reminds them its time for another. They don't sweat the small stuff.

I had always wished the advances GM delivered for Volt with gen-2 would standout enough to draw attention from loyal GM customers... providing encouragement to finally spread Voltec to popular vehicles, like Equinox. Instead, we now get a BEV called Equinox that doesn't actually have anything shared with Equinox other than name and relative size.

That's how we know see attention for future PHEV offerings. It's a moving target though. ACC-2 (Advance Clean Cars II, the next phase of California rules) will require a 70-mile capacity. That means the design will have to be extremely well thought out, delivered on a platform with technology able to be competitive with both what's left of the ICE market and next-gen BEV.
In short, we have little to worry about. Only worthy PHEV designs will survive.

6-08-2024
ICE'd Spot. When you want to charge and no spot is available because someone without a plug-in vehicle parked there, we refer to the spot as being " ICE'd ". (That abbreviation is short for "Internal Combustion Engine" vehicle.) It's really upsetting when you plan to use a charger but cannot due to someone parking there who's vehicle doesn't even have a plug. There isn't much you can do about it either. However, there is hope that will change over time. We have to start by understanding the violations. Why? Who? When? Unfortunately, some plug-in owners like to stir the pot "without receipts". They complain for the sake of venting. How is that useful? Ugh. To one such individual today, I responded to that with: Don't expect much help without photos. We need something to push those with enforcement power. After enough pressure, policy will change.

6-14-2024	Labels, Missed Opportunity. More of the same, not wanting to focus on anything beyond a single argument point. Refusing to see any context larger than an immediate win is the "impatience" theme enthusiasts are well known for. That results in so much waste. It's what I wrote about for years related to Volt. Those enthusiasts feared diluting their preferred technology. It was an absence of messaging... the very same problem suffered from today. I drew attention to that missed opportunity with: Losing focus from being blinded by an online battle is a common problem, one which was clearly demonstrated here. It is why the questions of "What do you understand an "Electrified" vehicle to mean?" and "What counts as an electric vehicle?" were asked in the survey. If consumers used critical thought, we wouldn't be in this situation. They don't though. In other words, no matter how much you try to present logic to clarify technical issues, it will fail. That is a very difficult lesson for some to learn. Know your audience. In this case, the focus should be on BATTERY USAGE. We can see that consumers have overcome many of those fears of the past. Next is to draw attention to the efficiency gains possible. There's no need to get hung up in labels. Simply point out benefits of plugging in. Put another way, promote "electrified" now that we see many of the misconceptions are gone. Then point out the more you plug in, the more you benefit. That will get people to upgrade from level-1 to level-2, regardless of what they drive a PHEV or BEV. Obsessing with labels makes you your own worst enemy... so counter-productive... missed opportunity... a waste.
6-13-2024	Labels, Consumption. Absolutely refusing to look at the bigger picture, because cherry-picking is how enthusiasts thrive, I humored that perspective with: Silence speaks volumes. 15 hours later, nothing about "focus on what actually matters". An article published here today highlighted efficiency rating for Ford F-150 Lightning. Those numbers tell a tale of how BEV purists have endorsed an electricity-guzzler, turning a blind-eye to the goal of reducing consumption. Combined = 70 MPGe: 481 Wh/mi or 2.1 miles/kWh City = 78 MPGe: 432 Wh/mi or 2.3 miles/kWh Highway = 63 MPGe: 535 Wh/mi or 1.9 miles/kWh Simply switching fuel from petroleum to electricity is not a real solution. We are still at the mercy of insufficient battery chemistry. Current energy-density is too low to make a vehicle a good next step.
6-13-2024	Labels, What Matters. He wouldn't let it go. He just kept fighting, another long post trying to prove he was correct. Naturally, I will agree with him in my reply and expect him to keep fighting. It's a hollow victory when there's an agreement to the obvious trolling, then a move back onto the topic. Loss of attention becomes a source of frustration. He'll take that as a need to provoke. It's an endless process. We've seen this countless times in the past. Then never learn from history, always refusing to acknowledge what actually matters. He it goes: Revealing your relentless fight to win a pointless battle was the goal. Enthusiasts obsess with things that make no difference, that do nothing to actually change the status quo . "HEV" is indeed a silly term; yet, you wasted so much effort fighting against it anyway. Focus on what actually matters... reducing carbon & smog emissions for the entire fleet.
6-13-2024	Labels, Progress. No progress will be made in this discussion. That's quite clear from this: "You can change the subject, but you can't change the fact that hybrids get 100% of their energy from burning gas, 0% from electricity - and are therefore not electric." The topic was leadership. He just wanted to score a win. I replied with this reminder of the topic: No subject change. Attention was drawn to how enthusiasts argue for the sake of winning online points, then got back to the topic of consumer impression of leadership. Too bad if the definition of EV is distorted. People now recognize the benefit of depending upon batteries. That is undeniable progress. Toyota getting looked upon for taking the reigns on what comes next is clearly be avoided. That's a big tell.
6-12-2024	Labels, Absolutes. His response was anger. The post was a rant about how wrong I was, ignoring the part about audience. He made it personal, a battle to be won. I was challenged to "prove me wrong". I knew he would be relentless, making his purpose a fight to reign superior rather than actually learn anything from the survey. Ugh. My follow-up was: Again, this article is about the perspective of ordinary consumers. Know your audience. Mainstream purchases of "new" technology follow long after those who focus on engineering have moved on. Not only don't they understand operating detail, they simply don't care. It's like arguing the difference between EV miles driven in a PHEV verses BEV. They don't care. Absolutes aren't important. For example, greatly reduced ICE maintenance for a PHEV is a big plus. So what if there's an occasional oil change? Those are easy & predictable. Showroom shoppers are who change the status quo, not opinionated early-adopters. Their high-volume purchases are based on how they perceive the market.
6-12-2024	Labels, Survey. When there is a survey, the resulting lesson to be learned tends to be what & why a question was asked rather than the responses. That was most definitely the case this time. 1,000 American consumers were asked what "electrification" meant to them and which automakers they thought were leaders in that effort. Toyota, Honda and Nissan were sighted as those automakers. That made the enthusiasts here crazy. To me, it was a sensible response. Each has strived to deliver something for the masses, promoting those vehicles mixed among their inventory. They were vehicles you would see on the showroom floor. Such presence should be an obvious benefit. Enthusiasts don't see it that way though. Their approach continues to be to see the technology through the eyes of an engineer, blinded by an inability to see any other perspective. That's how we ended up getting this comment: "HEV is such a silly term. Hybrids are not electric. 0% of the energy added to the system comes from electricity. No electricity = no electric. 100% comes from burning gas. Drain the gas tank and a hybrid is a brick." I have seen that nonsense countless times in the past. My reply started simple, knowing this enthusiasts lacked the ability to just let it go: Propulsion is entirely electric at times. Know your audience. Bringing up the topic of coal-powered Teslas is quite common for those holding onto the past.
6-12-2024	Recognizing History. Sometimes, you have to be explicit. Enthusiasts make the fundamental mistake of assumption and drawing conclusions based on anecdotal observation. They don't take the time to research. They don't see patterns. They figure each new attempt will avoid problems of the past simply because the technology is better now. Ugh. That's how history repeating. They don't recognize how fundamental errors can happen again and again unless explicit steps are taken to prevent them. I have seen that play out many times throughout my over 3 decades as a software engineer. Each new language & platform introduces new opportunity with the same opportunity to relive problems of the past. Ugh. This is why I admire Toyota so much. They came up with a strategy to address and deal with that exposure. Here's how I put it in the context we are dealing with now: That is exactly why gen-1 rollouts from Toyota are so limited in volume. Just like they did with gen-1 Prius, they are shaking out bZ4X refinements prior to going all in with a gen-2. We know for a fact that the 2025 model year will be getting updates too. Continuous improvement is their game, which they thrive at.
6-11-2024	Used Sales. Seeing arguments fall apart for new sales, some attention is shifting toward used sales. Being a buyer's market when availability is limited can be a win-win situation. They want to spin low prices as being bad. After all, with so many used Teslas quickly losing value due to new ones getting big price cuts, that is a big problem for them. It comes down to the same problem of impatience. Like with Model 3 rollout, expectation was high-volume immediately... even though nothing in that category had been previously offered. Toyota starting low-volume with Prius and now doing the same with bZ4X is taking advantage of a proven approach... which includes a recognition of what happened with used sales back then too. See the pattern? Anywho, I pointed out that history by sighting expectations: What's wrong with a resale market, especially now that some states offer rebates for a used purchase? Think about what gen-1 of a new technology is suppose to achieve. It establishes the technology, introducing it to business & consumer while proving reliability... the early-adopter stage. When gen-2 rolls out, that's the point at which transition begins. This is where the loyal customer shopping the showroom floor is enticed to chose the new technology... the replacement stage. We see GM doing this right now with Equinox EV, targeting current Equinox owners. From Toyota, we will see one more minor upgrade (2025 model year). The major upgrade to follow, gen-2 bZ4X, will basically be a BEV equivalent of RAV4 targeting current RAV4 owners. Knowing that bigger picture, whatever happens in the second-hand market with gen-1 provides a benefit of setting more realistic expectations for gen-2.
6-11-2024	Well Proven. Certain enthusiasts did not like my reply to the "piss poor" evaluation. Some of that comes from their assumption that no BEV means no experience. PHEV has always been dismissed as a gas-engine vehicle with a large battery-pack to assist. Belief that any type of EV knowledge could be gained from such an offering was the theme. Of course, they were wrong. Toyota's design is the reverse. Their plug-in hybrid design is an EV with a gas-engine to join in when some type of power is needed. Many are still in denial that a commute can be entirely electric, resulting in a PHEV delivering the identical outcome from that of a BEV. Though in Toyota's case, efficiency can be better. With so much smaller of a battery-pack and component size optimized, I tended to see efficiency to rival the best electric-only vehicles sharing the road here. Enthusiasts don't like that at all. Now with subject matter expanding beyond their limited talking-points, their narrative is crumbling. I was delighted to help draw attention to why: Rhetoric falls apart when traits like reliability get considered. Think about how flawless EV drive from Prius Prime has been since rollout in late 2016. Electric-only speed up to 84 mph (135 km/h) with heat-pump never hiccupped, well proven at this point.
6-11-2024	Piss Poor. Setting of expectations means being proactive, addressing the audience being targeted by presenting information about how their goals will be fulfilled. Opinions of enthusiasts end up being a pissing match. Ugh. They expect tit-for-tat competition, catering to their niche desires. That's why range, speed & power take so much precedent. They don't care about offering something affordable with reasonable performance. It must be the best of the best. Leadership is based upon who is further along, not how long that lead can be maintained. It's a sprint attitude in a marathon. They cannot wait for slow & steady progress. Easily measured & seen status is required. That's why progress of Prius was always dismissed. They didn't see the category of Corolla/Camry shopper as important. They were wrong, very wrong. Selling them is how sustainable profit was achieved. Prius needed to draw that audience and the resulting technology address their goals. Toyota set expectations for exactly that. Duration for that plan to play out took nearly 2 decades to become obvious. Camry hybrid went from hope to the only way it can be purchased. Toyota's push resulted in a customer draw. The key ingredient was time. I pointed that out in the thread with a "piss poor" evaluation by posting: It comes down to patience. Enthusiasts expect high-volume loss-leader sales right away. Ordinary consumers wait for a next-gen offering, well aware that some initial traits offered are overkill to appease early-adopters. They expect a balance to cover all of their basic needs at a competitive price. At that point, travel confidence will be more a matter of charging station location & reliability rather than range. In other words, the narratives now will mean nothing to that upcoming audience.
6-10-2024	Safety Scandal. Sales have been halted for Corolla Fielder, Corolla Axio and Yaris Cross. There is some type of safety issue that just came to light. I'm not sure of details yet, but with all the rhetoric it doesn't actually matter. Antagonists here are treating it like a problem existing throughout the entire production, that every vehicle produced by Toyota is dangerous and that the problem was known but hidden. Ugh. Those 3 specific vehicles do not exist in the United States. There is no scandal. Stopping sales until resolution is available is a proper response. Even if there was some sort of intentional cover up, how does that impact work being done here? We are seeing major investment in electrification here, new production with new jobs. That makes whatever problem emerging from traditional production easier to pull the plug on (bad pun) for the sake of moving forward. VW was forced to do that. Toyota doing it to be competitive. Hopefully, whatever the issue is the response is an effort to ensure it is comprehensively addressed.
6-10-2024	Ask Yourself. Other automakers are selling their BEV at a loss. No profit with demand uncertain is problematic for dealers; they won't want to gamble on inventory pile up. It's hard enough selling something with a razor-thin profit return. But knowing the market could potentially have over-supply due to slow adoption is a big problem. That means price cuts. Despite such a reality, we're still getting this attitude: "Should have been ramping up to full electric by now." What market indicators tell us a large increase in production is a good idea? Absence of any type of public charging, combined with fierce resistance from landlords, made it obvious the transition would take a lot of time. Combine that challenge with complications related to NACS and the growing pressure from competition from China, we cannot even address needed battery chemistry & packaging improvements. Though, without critical thought, none of that matters. It's just a bunch of enthusiasts playing keyboard warrior. Ugh. I responded to today's nonsense with: That is the narrative enthusiasts are pushing. Success long-term does not require such an approach though. Based upon what other automakers now have scheduled for next-gen offerings, that should be clear. To see it, ask yourself what their initial push of loss-leader offerings achieved.
6-09-2024	Signs of Progress. It is intriguing to see former foes coming around. Basically, they took a different path to get to the same place. I wonder how many are surprised that was possible. There was a lot of denial, disbelief it was possible for more than just their approach to lead to success. That binary mindset is difficult to overcome. But at some point, there are signs of progress being made by other means. Today, it was agreement about the influence of EREV. I replied back to a rather well thought out post with: That's where "know your audience" comes into play, the biggest lesson learned from Volt sales. Advancement through conquest was great for the technology, but then failing to spread it was a monumental mistake. Volt did nothing to break status quo. Dealers continued business as usual pushing guzzlers. As you point out, there are distinctions that could be indeed be drawn out. But like SAE, ordinary consumers don't care. It's like when BEV purist tries to argue PHEV still needing routine engine maintenance to people who blindly do oil-changes when their vehicle reminds them its time for another. They don't sweat the small stuff. I had always wished the advances GM delivered for Volt with gen-2 would standout enough to draw attention from loyal GM customers... providing encouragement to finally spread Voltec to popular vehicles, like Equinox. Instead, we now get a BEV called Equinox that doesn't actually have anything shared with Equinox other than name and relative size. That's how we know see attention for future PHEV offerings. It's a moving target though. ACC-2 (Advance Clean Cars II, the next phase of California rules) will require a 70-mile capacity. That means the design will have to be extremely well thought out, delivered on a platform with technology able to be competitive with both what's left of the ICE market and next-gen BEV. In short, we have little to worry about. Only worthy PHEV designs will survive.
6-08-2024	ICE'd Spot. When you want to charge and no spot is available because someone without a plug-in vehicle parked there, we refer to the spot as being " ICE'd ". (That abbreviation is short for "Internal Combustion Engine" vehicle.) It's really upsetting when you plan to use a charger but cannot due to someone parking there who's vehicle doesn't even have a plug. There isn't much you can do about it either. However, there is hope that will change over time. We have to start by understanding the violations. Why? Who? When? Unfortunately, some plug-in owners like to stir the pot "without receipts". They complain for the sake of venting. How is that useful? Ugh. To one such individual today, I responded to that with: Don't expect much help without photos. We need something to push those with enforcement power. After enough pressure, policy will change.