Answer to all those questions is that you're seeing improvements that are competitive, drawing points for the masses.  That's why you keep posting 2023 observations instead.  Calling me a shill won't change any of that.

Normal Vehicles.  Gotta like comments like this: "Yeah, you save money today with an EV.  Wait till it breaks.  More complicated parts mean higher prices.  Anyways, until EVs become much better and more affordable, they won't touch normal vehicles."  It is telling how the more complex something becomes makes no difference if the user is familiar with it.  Uncertainty is what influences decision, not actual design.  In fact, that is likely why the term "normal" was the chosen adjective.  What I find most interesting is repairs.  The highly complex work needed for traditional vehicles is backed by highly skills mechanics.  They won't be available forever and EVs don't need repair anywhere near as often anyway.  So, that what-if perspective doesn't really carry the weight as first-impression gives.  Oh well.  Here's how I replied to that:  So called "normal" vehicles have continued to become more complex.  Notice how many more gears their transmissions have now than a decade ago.  People kept buying them because they didn't have an alternate to choose from.  Now, they do.

Opportunity & Fallout.  I liked finally seeing this change of messaging: "The Chinese government knew this [about reliability], and is why they funded so many domestic electric vehicle manufacturers.  They saw the opportunity to secure another area of manufacturing and went with it with the goal of global domination (to an extent)."  For far too long, the blinders have been blocking out the rest of the world.  Heck, much of the time even Europe was being ignored.  So, acknowledgement of China is a big step.  Enthusiasts hear dismissed so much of what was happening because they didn't think any of those vehicles would ever make a difference here... you know... small, underpowered, short range.  Turns out, that doesn't matter when it comes to technology.  People don't necessarily want the most or the best.  Sometimes it is just about affordable & reliable transport.  That reality is starting to sink in too.  I don't get attacked pointing that out with stuff like this anymore:  Toyota also said long ago that entry-level EVs would be a threat to the way the big-3 conduct business.  Tesla chose to disregard that same wisdom.  Toyota pointed out how a small car with a small battery could deliver similar performance characteristics to the large high-profit EVs, causing a paradigm shift in demand.  Isn't fallout from that exactly what we are seeing now?

It's obvious Tesla is in trouble.  The problem with "Elon Time" is obvious at SuperChargers.  There are many V3 stations still not supporting NACS and almost all that do still force you to deal with extremely short cords.  I can't imagine the conflict caused by non-Teslas trying to use SuperChargers already filled with Model 2.  You'd be better off just going elsewhere.  It's a problem that will only get worse the slower Elon takes to address need.  So much time was wasted on FSD, Cybertruck and Robotaxi.

Video:  CCS & NACS.  First of the Ionna stations in Minnesota just opened up.  I'm excited about them.  Their existence came about from this group of automakers partnering:  BMW, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and Toyota.  That's an encouraged mix, an endeavor outside of the subsidy world.  NEVI under threat makes such outside investments toward infrastructure so much more important.  It makes sense too.  Individual efforts, like Superchargers from Tesla and Electrify America from VW, could never really work well long-term due to an absence of input from others.  How can a technology evolve when it has limited control?  Diverse participation related to design & implementation is necessary when making something for the masses.  Stuff like this really help.  So, I jumped on the opportunity to show what had been delivered.  I grabbed a friend and a few cameras to capture experience at that first Ionna station in Minnesota.  Watch me demonstrate how to DC fast-charge there using my Toyota bZ4X with the standard CCS connection and the new NACS connection with an adapter...  CCS & NACS charging at Ionna

It is very assuring to see you end replies with: "Very dishonest.  Your posts are worthless, biased nonsense.  Empty, boring, and biased."  That is the same rhetoric those in the past claiming Prius would never appeal to the masses said.  History is repeating.  The days of keyboard warrior dominance are about to come to an end.

Mass-Appeal Feedback, EV buyers.  He just doesn't give up.  I waited 3 days before replying back to his latest nonsense, which was just more of the same.  His attacks are so empty.  He really needs to get a clue.  I pointed that out:  Know your audience.  The target is not "EV buyers", since they are not a sustainable profit source.  They are only a small group who has searched for opportunity with no particular loyalty, like those who cross-shop to take advantage of the tax-credits.  Toyota's focus is on repeat business, appealing to existing customers looking to replace their aged Toyota vehicle, shoppers looking for a balance of priorities.  Getting the most range or the fastest charging is not essential.  Your obsession with more is an example of why Americans have fallen so far behind the rest of the world.  It's been a month of posting that same message on this thread.  Get a clue already.

DC At Home.  It was interesting in the past, when I was still waiting for delivery of my bZ4X, that I was attacked for supposedly not understanding DC fast-charging.  There were a number of scratching our heads trying to figure out his claims.  My guess is he started long ago with the early offerings, which were much slower.  He almost certainly turned a blind-eye toward vampire drains, not wanting to acknowledge the high-speed charging could only be achieved by heating the battery-pack... which was blatant waste of electricity.  Seeing Toyota on overall consumption instead would have been very frustrating.  I'm happy to say we are finally moving beyond that carelessness.  That comes as a result of DC not being as looked upon as vital.  Fastest possible charging was looked upon as necessary when so few chargers were available.  Brief stops for minimal top-offs are no longer exclusive to Tesla owners.  You can conveniently do the same thing with other BEV now.  That's a paradigm shift, as is the potential for using DC at home.  This is what got me going on that topic today: "The trend toward more DC charging use and popularity is because of its higher power."  I stirred that pot by adding:  As better storage chemistries become available, like sodium-ion batteries, use of DC at home will be considered.  Drawing only 20 kW while traveling is painfully slow for DC, but the perspective of DC at home will be entirely different.  Most people have yet to imagine taking advantage of solar that way.

This is why you are scared.

Toyota Delay.  This was pretty much inevitable: "An electric SUV that was to be built at the automaker's Princeton, Indiana, plant from 2027 now won't start rolling off the line until 2028, according to a Bloomberg report.  And that line has been switched to Toyota's Georgetown site, where another EV will start production in the back end of 2026, around six months later than planned."  Antagonists like to spin that as Toyota not being able to make up their mind.  Reality is, that's flexibility.  Not having the option of adjusting to market change is a very real problem.  Right now, there is not only a lot of change, there is also a lot of uncertainty.  This is why focus on refining bZ was always a good plan.  Keep finding ways to improve design based on feedback... hence the whole mass-appeal exchange.  I watched Toyota respond accordingly and then fight with enthusiasts who deny that's what happened.  Ugh.  They like to completely disregard history and make up their own.  Seeing the bottom fall out for the large, expensive BEV market shouldn't be a surprise to anyway.  Choices like that are popular when things are going well.  But when the going gets tough, shattered dreams become a reality.  Fortunately for Toyota supporters, delay is just an inevitable part of strategy involving patience.  Good things always take longer than anticipated.

Mass-Appeal Feedback, left behind.  The denial, reflection, projection and hate all create a shocking level of blindness.  While I have been enthusiasts argue pointless arguments, portraying the "EV Market" as if it is their own to control, the world is passing them by.  An article today addressed the real threat, how GM, VW and Tesla are "getting left in the dust" so bad recovery seems quite uncertain.  It started in China, but is now spreading.  Tariffs are countered by subsidies.  It's difficult to overcome that alone.  But when you come to realize their workforce is larger, works six 12-hour days a week, and they supply their own parts, the prospect of survival becomes the focus rather than just competing.  Making matters worse, we have a president in favor of allowing that to happen.  He has no interest whatsoever in dealing with such a growing threat... which becomes an even bigger problem when some of our own BEV owners still don't understand mass appeal.  That's how we get left behind.  It's futile telling the person doing that, but I try anyway:  Watching you back yourself into a corner has been fascinating.  You repeated the very same mistakes others made in the past.  Being clueless about audience and having such messed up priorities is how this happens.

Talking-Points.  Enthusiasts like to draw conclusions based upon their gut feelings, rather than actual data.  For example: "Conclusion: PHEVs have more issues because they have more content/complexity than ICE or EV.  This is no different from luxury or higher content vehicles having more issues than base or lower content vehicles.  Right?"  Stating it as if it was a question is an attempt to add legitimacy.  At best, they have some weak anecdotal evidence to draw upon.  Think about it.  Why would Toyota make 100% of Camry and 100% of RAV4 hybrid if there were more issues?  That would be a lot of warranty claims, liability no automaker wants.  Routine maintenance is less than an ICE too.  When added more battery capacity to make the hybrid a PHEV, you're introducing a feature that will reduce use of the gas-engine.  How can that create more issues?  Ugh.  I replied to today's talking-point with:  Such an assumption requires all things to be equal.  They are not.  Gas engine use in a PHEV is significantly less and stress is significantly reduced.  That greatly extends repair/replace schedules.  Complexity becomes just talking-point.  Think about gas engine usage when starting with 50 miles of EV available every morning.

Mass-Appeal Feedback, angered.  It was a reminder he didn't appreciate.  This is about getting feedback to deliver something for mass appeal.  My post basically blew off his "vastly superior" as meaningless.  How would a being ahead in a marathon provide a guarantee of winning the race?  I questioned his claim.  This was the response: "Econ 001, offer a product that is vastly uncompetitive and people won't buy it and you'll have a reputation for offering an inferior product."  How could that possibly make any difference with someone shopping the showroom floor?  Heck, if a vehicle is proudly on display at the dealer, it is likely the opposite of that.  It's what they hope to sell in high volume to those who encounter it there.  That should be a fundamental, like what you learn early on in economics class... hence his anger, since I kept posting "know your audience" over and over again.  This time, I added:  Econ 001... understand what "uncompetitive" and "people" refer to.  History teaches us that you do not.  You are still seeing the market through the eyes of an enthusiast, not a mainstream buyer.

Mass-Appeal Feedback, economics.  What it ultimately comes down to is automakers are for-profit businesses.  Battles enthusiasts try to win are just short-term victories.  They want to declare what they endorsed was the best, then celebrate.  That's why backlash always comes in the form of claiming I'm an apologist.  They don't understand doing something seemingly counter-productive for a long-term goal as useful.  It's that tortoise & hare attitude.  If Toyota is "behind", that means it will lose.  Ugh.  That type of blindness is nothing new.  In fact, most of the wins I have celebrated have come in that form of patience.  It's more complex of a game, like playing chess rather than checkers.  Rushing has consequences and more isn't necessarily better.  This is how I stated that:  Economics 201.  Finally coming to the realization that this imbalance... heavy emphasis on engineering... has resulted in a loss of opportunity.  Put another way, the specialization you promote means failure to reach the larger audience.  Business cannot sustain profitable high-volume sales without diversification.