Free Year.  As a software engineer, setup is sometimes so obvious you overlook what an ordinary consumer may stumble with.  That's actively participating online is so helpful for me, to keep perspective.  Sometimes, I can actually help too.  That was the case today.  New owners were assuming they would get their free year of DC fast-charging with EVgo from simply trying to activate it from the Toyota app.  How could that possibly work?  EVgo is a separate business and the promotion started 3 years ago.  There is no way EVgo could know what you want because it doesn't have any clue who you are.  Sure, that would be handy if Toyota could magically do setup for you, but then you'd have an account that would halt as soon as the free year expired without an easy means of resuming it.  In short, you need to do the EVgo setup first.  That's simple advice a number of new owners clearly lacked.  So, I posted:  Start with an active EVgo account, setup & used beforehand adding the complimentary year from Toyota.  Then, when you click the REGISTER button in the Toyota app, it will associate what you already have in the EVgo app.  After you AGREE, it will show a checkmark in the Toyota app for confirmation.

NACS Update.  There are quite a few owners out there who think there is some type of software update required for NACS support in our vehicles.  That isn't the case.  We already have what's needed in place.  Yet, seeing a post like this is common: "You cannot use Tesla supercharger with Lexus YET! It was suppose to happen early 2025 but has not!  Tesla/Lexus need to come to an agreement before Lexus can access Tesla SC.  No adapter will work.  I tried.  It will recognize a Lexus trying to charge."  That came from the Lexus group.  I was a bit mystified at first.  How could it know he had a Lexus?  There is literally nothing in the protocol to identify vehicle.  Of course, like most users, he left out specific.  Detail about what "it" was can be vital.  In this case, I think he was confused about the software.  It isn't the station, it's the app.  In that case, all you have to do is add a supported vehicle.  The prevent is nothing but a virtual assist.  That can be helpful, since many of the newer V3 don't actually support NACS.  So no matter what vehicle you have, the app needs to do something to inform you the station itself is lacking... not your vehicle.  I tried to help by sharing:  There's no actual software update, since the underlying protocol is already CCS.  An adapter works fine with my bZ already.  I have used it several times now, despite Toyota not officially being supported yet.  Keep in mind, not all V3 are compatible.  Use the app to verify NACS access.

Delivery Soon?  There is a remote possibility of that becoming a reality.  I could get lucky and just happen to be in that first allocation for the region.  That would mean just a few months waiting rather than the 9 to 12 that's usually associated with a new rollout.  It's what I went through last year.  Who knows this time.  I'm likely being overly optimistic, but what the heck.  Others can live vicariously through me, asking questions and getting direct feedback.  I thoroughly enjoy providing answers.  The discover process is fun too.  Anywho, this is what I had to say today about timing speculation:  October would be wild!  25 years ago, that timing worked out awesome.  Fall delivery of my Prius enabled me to demonstrate true winter performance, living in Minnesota.  Temperature on Christmas morning was -26°F.  We got lots of snow that season too.  My dealer will hit me up with detail as soon as this region gets allocation info.  An extra few months wait would still be winter.

Inspiration!  Answering a lot of questions at two EV events within just days of each other brought about a new idea.  I noticed how much people were looking at the material I posted on my windows and the big sandwich-board we had.  Most don't like taking a copy with them though.  The thought behind that was the info was too generic, only an introduction.  They found my references to specific info compelling, especially when follow up was a video from my channel quickly brought up on my tablet.  That got me thinking.  Why not create info-sheets about specific topics?  They could have a QR on them, providing additional detail & video, like the one included in this post.  Try it.  I'll start by creating a sheet with a "Winter Driving" theme, with a similar approach to the thumbnail image included in this post.

170 Miles.  Stuff like this is reason for thought: "I'm only getting 170mi out of my 2023, is there something I'm doing wrong?"  I took some time to do exactly that.  Figuring the owner was driving at super fast speeds, I wanted the exchange to be more of a teaching moment.  After all, the speed limit through the state of Wisconsin is 70 mph.  Hearing reports of people setting their cruise at 85, then being shocked at how quickly the battery got drained is nothing new.  In this case, he was able to find chargers just fine.  No big deal, just unexpected to need to plug in so often.  Fortunately, it wasn't someone who went out of their way to use a route-planner, like ABRP, but failed to realize the base speed for calculations is 65 mph.  That's why using the live-data is so handy.  The software will detect that and adjust automatically.  Anywho, it all comes down to efficiency.  Faster consumers more electricity.  I attempted to convey that by shifting focus from range to efficiency by asking:  Only?  Is that a measure from 100% to 0% or are you pushing into the buffer?  Since that value is just an estimate, you need to also share MI/KWH.  It what tells the real story.  That measure of efficiency is what route planners use to provide accurate expectations while you drive.

SOH (State Of Health).  The topic came up again.  I still don't know what the starting value is, having the battery from CATL instead of Panasonic.  There's a 205 Ah value listed, but "full" isn't actually that high.  100% dashboard translates to 95.3% true.  But when you do the math, the number I'm getting is too high.  So all I have to work with is relative measure.  Fortunately, I have that value captured from a year and a half ago.  That gives me something to share still:  With regard to degradation, here are some ODB-II readings to work with from my 2023 AWD.  At 13,697 miles, it stated "full charge capacity" at 198.5 Ah.  At 32,404 miles (3 days ago), that value dropped to 196.1 Ah.  Not knowing what Ah (amp-hour) value was when new prevent a lifetime calculation.  But over the course of those 18,707 miles, we see my bZ4X battery has lost 2.4 Ah of capacity.

Entry-Level Pricing.  This is what the CEO of GM had to say: "The price isn't final yet, but it will be priced only slightly higher than the 2023 Bolt, which started at $28,795, and it will just be one member of a family on the Bolt, including an even lower cost option."  I added my two cents (ugh, I know) to the discussion:  Selling loss-leaders is a challenge.  Unlike others, GM already has experience with that due to Volt.  Unfortunately, that gen-2 effort didn't go well. It provided wisdom to follow though.  Willingness to respond accordingly is what Tesla has been fighting entry-level offerings and that hasn't gone well.  GM knows better and may actually deliver with this Bolt.  If range, speed and power focus on balance, rather than striving compete with higher-tier choices, it could be a winner.

Focus On Time.  This is the answer I got: "In other words, ignore kWh, but focus on time.  With the wife's M3, on a super long trip, the longest charging time was 39 minutes, and that was a single time.  Most were 7 - 25 minutes.  Perfect for bathroom breaks, snacks, etc."  Hopefully, he'll find my feedback to that constructive:  Smaller battery means lower voltage, which equates to slower max DC speed.  Your suggestion of focusing on time instead has fallen on deaf ears with this audience though.  Looking at the typical food/restroom/stretch break, that makes sense.  Now that places like the Tesla Diner and Ionna Rechargery are turning faster-is-better arguments into hypocritical haunts, we can see the potential for slower.  Personally, I see the 150-200 kW stations being an excellent balance for ordinary consumers.

How Fast?  Discussion about GM's intent with the new Bolt is picking up.  The 2027 model is supposed to start production by the end of this year.  I jumped into that today asking:  Bolt has always been a favorite at our public EV events.  Lots of people are curious about it and owners can't say enough.  Kudos!  The catch is, enthusiasts here have no sense of tradeoffs.  Having a mindset of more always being better makes messaging for entry-level offering extremely difficult.  For that matter, they don't recognize diminishing returns either.  That said, it's difficult to take online comments seriously.  We'll have another public EV event tomorrow.   Vehicles I'm aware of being on display will be a Mach-E, Wrangler PHEV, bZ4X and Bolt.  Questions usually start with range, then move to charging costs.   Charging speed is what offsets range, since it makes no sense carrying large packs in entry-level vehicles.  That's a loooong-winded way of asking what DC speed should be a reasonable expectation for gen-2 Bolt?

Depreciation.  The conversation shifted over to depreciation.  With the tax-credit ending and automakers' intent unclear, there's nothing to do other than speculate.  Realistically, with so little of the market having transitioned to plug-in vehicles, progress hasn't taken us much beyond the early-adopter stage.  The technology is well proven, but the masses haven't stepped in yet.  It's a zone of uncertainty.  Depreciation rate is a big unknown.  With so much effort by this administration to undermine EVs, it's entirely possible they end up holding their value more than expected simply because new ones won't be offered in high volume yet.  The market is clearly impaired here for the foreseeable future.  There is hope looking beyond that though.  I pointed out:  Value will stabilize as all EVs age, since even slower & shorter will still be more competitive than ICE as time goes on.  More DC charging locations will help in that regard too.

Value Retention.  It has been strangely quiet, like the entire market has paused waiting to see what happens next.  This came up today: "Is Toyota gonna do anything for us on trade in to compensate for the drastic loss in value?"  That's a nothing question, no critical thinking.  I could see an introductory discount for bZ 2026, to stir a variety of sales right away.  Otherwise, there wouldn't be much variety from the first-purchaser audience.  It's a means of stirring many perspectives online.  I'm all for that.  It's easy to predict getting an overwhelming number of reviews all saying the same thing.  Unfortunately, reviewers rush to publish something using a standard template of criteria.  That's why measures... like efficiency... are often excluded... which is how value retention comes into play.  The market doesn't hold that trait in high regard.  In fact, guzzling electricity is perfectly fine.  Ugh.  We're too early still for reliability to a standout trait too.  So, short answer is just accept the drastic loss.  I put it this way:  That's ordinary progress.  Each generation of Prius experienced the same thing.  Turns out though, value retention after that remains high.  That may be due to the upgrade clearly showing Toyota's commitment to the technology.

Farmer's Market.  We got a nice location at the corner of the parking lot, large enough for us to park 5 of our EVs for display.  Being a farmer's market early Sunday morning was great.  Being in an area along the sidewalk path under the shade of trees was ideal.  I had brought along my 400-watt inverter with the big 10-Ah battery from my snowblower to power a fan.  The thought was it would help attract interest and stir curiosity.  It did.  That got people asking questions about my e-bike and the bZ.  It also promoted a debate among us about what the label "EV" represented.  One owner absolutely insisted anything with a gas-engine didn't qualify.  I pointed out it wasn't our decision to make.  Ordinary consumers will draw their own conclusions and effective communication means adhering to their definitions.  After all, if the goal was to promote driving your commute entirely with electricity, what difference would it make whether you're behind the wheel of a PHEV or a BEV?  The point of that and our display that day was to educate about the benefits of plugging in.  The venue & audience turned out to be awesome too.  We all had a good time answering questions.

No New Model.  Here it comes: "A lower spec [Tesla Model] Y is surely fine if they can reduce the entry price.  Even though the car is always minimalistic, I'm sure removing unnecessary things like rear screen, pano roof, put cloth seats, more hard plastics and steel cap wheels can all go to taking $7-10k off the price."  This was easy to predict, though strange.  Robotaxi was what had been expected for the masses; instead, it's only being used for self-driving services.  It's a smaller vehicle with scaled down features.  Using less expensive materials helps achieve a lower price too.  That makes it what people had anticipated; yet, that isn't being offered.  What the heck?  Seeing the chance for constructive feedback to that comment, I replied asking:  Lower spec equates to a smaller battery pack... which likely means slower DC charging and obviously less range. You have any idea what would be acceptable for speed & miles from an entry-level choice?

DC Mix-up.  Turns out, he has absolutely no clue what I was talking about.  Despite asking 3 times about why the faster speed was better, he kept going back to arguing the fastest was essential if we want to switch from ICE to EV.  He had been using "250 kW" as if that was the only means of conveying the charging type was DC.  That's quite bizarre.  I would have never thought such a mix-up could happen.  That is why I persist with online exchanges though.  It is a awesome means of interacting with those who clearly don't share the same background or understanding.  All that time, I kept expecting some data showing how much of a time savings there really was.  From a business perspective, shaving off a few minutes can be counter-productive.  An owner will just stay with their vehicle if charging only takes a few minutes.  That's not the desired outcome.  Taking a little longer will encourage purchases at that business.  Having a few minutes to kill is a benefit, justification for installing chargers.  Heck, look at the really big locations.  They want you to plug in, then come in.  That means lots of plug-in spots and no particular ultra-fast expectation.  It is simply a convenience offering when you switch from ICE to EV.  Know your audience.  People in general want a place to plug in that's dependable and well provisioned.  They don't focus on speed.  That's only a priority for enthusiasts.

DC Reality.  Since an administrator of a rollout program for DC fast-chargers had started the discussion, requesting feedback, I continued on with my push to find out why:  As mentioned in the other thread, only so much electricity can be delivered from a single transformer.  People here tend to not understand load-balancing and focus exclusively the station advertising the fastest speed.  Reality is, they won't often get that.  There's a diminishing return anyway.  More 150-200kW units will likely provide a better return for both business & consumer than fewer 350kW units.

DC Abundance.  This made me wonder: "Abundant Level 3 chargers (250kW) and above.  They need to be a lot more common.  In every town / community and in much greater abundance."  Why did his specifically call out 250 kW?  What make that minimum speed absolutely vital?  It is perplexing.  Without explanation, does he really understand what that means?  I replied with:  250 kW is overkill.  There's no big difference above 150 kW for most charging circumstances.  A slower rate tend to equate to more chargers from a business investment perspective.  More plugs works out better when there's lots of EVs.

ISO 15118.  My first encounter with this new standard was at the Ionna station.  Several automakers were already listed as supporting it and the expectation set of more to come soon.  The simple name for it is "Plug & Charge".  The 2026 bZ will indeed support it.  No app required.  Just setup your account, then it's easier than pumping gas.  You grab the cord, then plug it in.  Billing is automatic.  This is a feature of EVs people will come to appreciate.  At EV events, I asked about credit-card options for payment at DC fast-chargers.  It never crosses the mind of the person asking that an even more convenient option will be available.  Like payments with your phone, such a choice isn't imagined because there is so much effort trying to force the paradigm of ICE comparisons.  For example, you can only fill a gas tank at a gas station.  Filling a battery can happen at a wide variety of locations never imagined... like a coffeeshop or a park.  But now that people are started to see stations at random locations, they are giving a moment of thought about how payment could be handled.  Sweet!