Blah Blah EV.  I liked seeing this downplay: "We see the same bs from Toyota every month blah blah EV tech is bad."  It represents how weak the effort has been lately to retain the "EV Market" rhetoric.  In the past, there was a unifying theme that sales of EVs only mattered within the enthusiast sphere of influence.  Since their reach was so limited and their arguments so weak, staying within the safety of their own group was the only thing that was effective.  The thought of a BEV competing directly against an ICE counterpart was unheard.  They only wanted BEV to compete with each other, among a limited scope.  So whenever Toyota brings up a reference to the big picture, where diversity is required, there's a uniform response of "anti EV" messaging.  At this point though, that looks like a sign of desperation.  The variety of new choices cannot be avoided and some look to be rather compelling.  More difficult times await for that type of antagonism and they know it.  I like to remind them, nonetheless:  That's just enthusiasts not understanding that saying something positive about hybrids translates to meaning something bad about EVs.  It's a great example of how thinking things are zero-sum can cause contradictory messaging.  The world is diverse.  Not everyone adopts new tech the same way or at the same speed; yet, the goal is achieved in the end anyway.

Progress.  Whenever Toyota provides information that doesn't support the "all in" narrative, it's considered a distraction to divert attention from their supposed lack of progress.  For example, this comment emerged when an update on solid-state batteries was provided: "We're simply pointing out that they are far, far behind in the delivery of EVs and they continue to issue ridiculous press releases to distract people from their failure to keep up."  It's that mindset that leadership can only be evaluated based on criteria of technical advancement that's easily quantifiable... like range & speed.  Of course, efficiency is omitted because that messes up the narrative.  That's how sales get attention, antagonists use that for their own divert.  Funny thing is, they lose argument every time based on a single harsh reality... audience.  Impressing fellow enthusiasts doesn't achieve anything and they know it.  That's why it is often what I base my replies upon:  Measure of progress is not conquest sales of loss-leaders.  That represent change.  Remember, the goal is to get loyal customers to switch.

Nothing.  This speaks for itself: "Toyota has been making that argument for over a decade, and they've got nothing to show for it.  In the meantime, my real-life NMC-powered EV out in my driveway that I bought from not-Toyota has 45k miles on it and I've owned it for 3 years now."  No need to know what argument.  That meantime says it all.  Such denial is truly remarkable, another enthusiast participating online without any consideration of being inaccurate.  It was 3 years ago that resolution of the recall for the lug-bolts became available.  So his claim is not only pointless, it also reveals a level of complacency.  There was a belief from those pushing the "behind" narrative that Toyota would never catch up.  They had no clue how resourceful & resolute Toyota can be.  When Toyota is absolutely determined, changed happened at an impressive pace.  In this case, Toyota has caught up in 3 years.  Heck, looking at plans other automakers have for gen-2 offerings, it appears as though Toyota is taking a small lead now.  I saw no need to mention any of that with this though.  He can figure it out on his own, learning the hard way.  I kept my reply brief:  I have 36k miles on my Toyota EV that I've owned for 2.5 years now.

What Delay?  It is always refreshing to read posts like this: "Toyota's just delaying the transition because they make so much money selling ice vehicles and have so many assets that can be stranded."  It reveals the person is either not paying attention or is intentionally bias.  We see other automakers scaling back their EV plans and still making major ICE investments.  But because they were willing to sell loss-leaders, all else was deemed acceptable.  They were given a free pass to do whatever else, just because they had satisfied desires of enthusiasts.  How do you think that's going to play out going forward.  The supposed "delay" is really just a big picture plan being executed.  It's the difference between playing checkers and playing chess.  Approach is entirely different.  Heck, when playing chess it is worth sacrificing a piece for the sake of gaining a bigger win later.  Choosing your battles like that isn't helpful in checkers.  Anywho, I recognize the value of taking things slow.  Position pieces prior to executing a check or even checkmate strategy.  It should be obvious, but not everyone knows what to look for.  They don't understand the fundamentals of business, making incorrect assumptions as a result.  Here's how I pointed out that judgment error:  What delay?  We see the next-gen bZ rollout and introduction of both smaller (CH-R) and larger (bZ Woodland) models planned for 2026.  There will be a 3-row offering to follow as well.

Tesla Superiority.  It gets tiring.  Thank goodness the "should have bought a Tesla" posts have faded.  Think about how rude & uncaring that comment is to someone asking for suggestions about their new vehicle.  At least now, comments have shifted to the bigger picture: "So.  They will let musk have the market.  Interesting.  How you sell that to shareholders."  That new focus is due to Cybertruck having been such a market disaster.  In every sense of expected outcome, decisions made for that vehicle were terrible.  It was an appeal to emotion, letting logic be damned.  The emotion itself has backfired too.  I read an article about how Cybertruck owners are being met with unfriendly encounters on the road.  It's worse than driving a Hummer long ago.  Not only are you driving an impractical beast, it is also an EV.  The opposite end of the spectrum is the problem.  Offering an electricity-guzzler is one thing, but not balancing out the product-line with something super-efficient is a very real problem.  I stated that with this reply:  Musk has no intention of pursuing entry-level offerings.  Toyota's next rollout, first half of 2026, will be CH-R EV.  It's smaller than bZ, about 7 inches shorter.  That's a clear step in the opposite direction Musk is taking Tesla.

Totally Clueless.  Either this person hasn't been paying attention at all or they are outright lying with the hope of not being fact-checked: "I think Toyota needs to shut up about BEVs and batteries until it is actually selling them to customers."  How can you not know there are no BEV for sale already and be participating in an online venue for EVs?  It's easy to miss stuff like that when you aren't an enthusiasts.  But this was someone arguing about market status.  It seemed weird, like he really didn't notice anything whatsoever related to Toyota over the past 3 years.  That's hard to be believe.  But then again, there were some Volt owners online who had no clue how Volt actually worked.  It was bizarre reading posts arguing something passionately that was incorrect.  Of course, we know some accept what the president claims even though it is a blatant lie.  They seek what validates their version of reality... their narrative.  I decided to deal with that with this:  Impatience in forums is nothing new.  Even though we are well aware the first of the next-gen bZ are just now arriving in US ports, let's pretend that production ramp-up taking place isn't actually happening.

Declaring Failure.  Some certainly are trying: "Toyota have been issuing press releases about their breakthrough battery technology for 15 years, with no actual progress.  At the same time, they keep issuing press releases saying the internal combustion engine is still the future.  At the same time they keep pushing the hugely inefficient hydrogen fuel cell cars."  In other words, what isn't dead is the "all in" attitude.  Did you notice how GM declared an EV future but then quietly invested in the development of a new 8-cylinder gas-engine?  Perception over reality is a terrible approach.  Yet, that's what we see nearly every day.  Someone declares failure based on arbitrary criteria they deem essential and nothing else matters.  Ugh.  True improvement is rarely visible.  It's those subtle breakthroughs that change the world.  In fact, the word is really "break through", indicating it was able to get beyond the status quo barrier.  Nonetheless, if the measure of progress isn't obvious, enthusiasts won't support it.  They don't like variety either.  Too many choices overwhelm their messaging; yet, that's exactly what's needed to reach the wide variety of consumers to be served.  I try to keep my replies short when stuff like this comes up.  Handing off with a question seems to work well too.  So, today I posted:  There are many who don't like diversity.  Question is, why are the BEVs from Toyota excluded from this discussion.  bZ is now in its second generation, delivering quite a number of upgrades... including the switch to SiC semi-conductors.  That all represents are huge investment that's missing from claims of failure.  Why?

EVs Are Dead.  There's the kicking & screaming history.  It was never true.  But that's how some perceive Toyota's slow & steady.  Remember, it's a marathon not a race.  They prefer rushing to deliver though, even if there are consequences.  In this case, we know see GM writing off $1.6 Billion to get out of some EV commitment and Ford pausing production of F-150 Lightning due to significantly slowed sales.  Heck, both Kia and VW aren't even rolling out new vehicles in our market.  Needless to say, results from October sales have many worried.  I prefer to focus on infrastructure advancement.  That's how growth will be achieved.  The giant silent audience will have their interest stirred as more DC fast-chargers appear at their favorite grocery store and gas station.  That's a process with little to no fanfare.  Just one day, you make the discovery that something close to home is providing support.  Those endorsements are powerful.  They'll make EVs seem like they are rising from the dead.  That works fine too.  We really need to get past gen-1 offerings anyway.  Exactly like hybrids, people need to hear about them a long time before they finally take a look for themself.  At that point, the technology has advanced quite a bit.  It makes their assumptions melt away.  It's as if misconceptions about potential never really existed.  In other words, those "anti" belief are what actually dies.

DC for PHEV.  I expect this attitude to remain common for a very long time: "It will just clog up all the DC fast charger with that slow ass 50 KW speed."  Just like the prejudice against plug-in hybrids for AC charging, the purist mindset makes them feel anything less is unacceptable.  You know, vastly superior...  Ugh.  They seem to forget the point.  We want PHEV exploiting electric-only opportunity.  So what if the ICE is dead weight most of the time.  They treat it as if having a gas-engine means it will be used all the time.  Why not support the opposite, using the battery as much as possible.  With DC opportunities becoming more common, why not?  After all, a place like Starbucks or McDonald's wants you to spend time at their business.  Who cares what you are driving.  The time their to use the restroom & eat is the same.  Again, ugh.  Fortunately, having that fast food example on my commute to work gives me very useful real-world data.  That EVgo station at the local McDonald's gets used a lot.  I have been pleasantly surprised by that first example of a neighborhood station here.  Since it isn't near any highway, that's local traffic making those stops to charge.  AC would be totally impractical.  But with DC, it's an entirely different matter.  My reply today's commentary was:  Just like with AC charging, we want to encourage plugging in.  As long as they are just sticking to 30 minutes, it shouldn't matter.  Think about how many times we have had to wait for a BEV charging below 50 kW, well they go beyond 80%.

Most Underrated.  This first impression was nice to read: "I drove the 2026 Subaru Solterra (same as 2026 bz) for a week - and it's the most underrated EV around."  It came from someone who had a chance to go to the auto show in Chicago.  That would have been nice.  His post is validation of audience.  Reviewers still complain about the absence of power feeling.  Even though 0-60 acceleration in less than 5 seconds is exactly what they say they want, it really isn't.  They want to be pushed back in their seats.  Emphasis should be on primal satisfaction, not a smooth & seamless experience.  Ugh.  This is why luxury vehicles are a separate category, not part of the enthusiast world.  Anyhow, I chimed it with my history the topic:  Subtle has always been Toyota's winning formula.  Hearing that the new Solterra delivers the same great but overlooked drive is awesome.

Tesla Adapter.  We have a misconception in the making.  So many people are referring to the new adapter as "Tesla", it's inevitable that confusion emerges from it.  Calling it "NACS" is essential, since even the Tesla app does.  I try to point out that NACS adapter (J3400), not Tesla.  The difference is that Tesla is not actually fully capable with the new standard.  Some of the older ones can actually use it.  Not all the stations support it either.  That's going to be both confusing & frustrating for someone who's trying to plug in but nothing happens.  It's physically the same plug, but the connected hardware/software is not.  We don't want to mislead people into not realizing they can use it elsewhere... Ionna, Blink, EVgo, etc.  As time goes on, more and more CCS cords will get replaced with those having a NACS plug.  It's very important for owners to recognize only that simple "Tesla" adapter is needed.  Of course, since most people haven't even seen a Tesla plug anyway, they'll have no idea what they have.  It's an easy overlook we don't want to encourage.  Don't assume.  Use the official name.

Real One-Pedal, conflict.  Sure enough, he declared me a troll.  Pointing out what I had posted was on topic, providing information in response to the original question asked, obviously upset him to an extreme.  He had come to realize his own comments were off topic, that his arguments served no purpose.  For perspective, hearing about what other automakers do is fine.  I welcome such exchanges.  But for him to attack me, claiming my effort to point out that Toyota wanted to offer an alternative was not objective, was a mistake.  I didn't express any type of opinion.  In situations like this, I keep away from subjective assessment.  I make sure it is understood that diversity is required to achieve sales growth.  Appealing to new audiences must include a realization that priorities & appeal will not match.  If it did, demand wouldn't plateau.  When the market is saturated and supply starts to swell, it's a sign something different is desired.  These posts about "one-pedal" exposed that reality.  Unfortunately, before I had a chance to copy his next post (I need he wasn't actually bowing out), he blocked me.  I watched that last message disappear.  It served its purpose of gauging how this new stage of EV rollout will be accepted.  Remember conflict of the past?  Those who supposedly supported change couldn't agree on goals.  Why does an enthusiast make such a big deal out of a specific feature or behavior?  What benefit will an absolute serve?  Not being able to usher in new ideas means growth will be difficult.  Why is that so hard to accept?

Real One-Pedal, great example.  This happens on a regular basis, the enthusiast gets overwhelmed thinking you are just a troll intentionally stirring trouble: "Honestly, I have no idea what you're talking about any more, so I'm going to bow out."  I was clearly on topic, providing detail about what had been asked... what Subaru provided for one-pedal driving.  Pointing out that it was different from other automakers was too much for this enthusiast to accept.  Since it didn't meet his definition, no one-pedal feature existed.  The world is binary to him, all or none.  Since he was bowing out, I took advantage of that posting:  For those reading this, it's a great example of when an enthusiast enjoys a great new feature but doesn't understand why an ordinary showroom shopper wouldn't be interested.  The feature Toyota/Subaru offers called "Regen Boost" is designed to carryover the much liked behavior the Toyota/Subaru hybrids have.  Drivers want to slow the vehicle as much as possible, without coming to a stop, by lifting their foot off the pedal.  Enthusiasts try to push their paradigm, expecting their wants to match that of mainstream consumers.  Sometimes, they don't.  This is a great example.  Know your audience.

Real One-Pedal, jerking.  As I suspected, he had absolutely no idea how the Toyota/Subaru system actually worked.  It's like Volt enthusiasts long ago; they didn't understand differences.  Clearly upset, I got this reply: "I'm starting to think you've never driven an EV that has real one-pedal driving, because you'd have wrecked all of your passengers' necks jerking them around if you drive like that."  Notice that specific inclusion of "real" in that reply.  No other implementation of EV braking counts in his world.  Missing the point is an understatement.  I tried to convey the benefit of variety.  He didn't like that at all, nor did he like the idea that fulfilling a different purpose.  It's that single-mindedness again.  Why would anyone want anything other than what is already well proven?  That engineering perspective is all too familiar.  Good business includes diversity.  Some people never figure that out.  I try to share that wisdom though:  It's all about matching consumer expectations, not trying to deliver something quite different.  The point is replacing their aged vehicle with an EV.  That means delivering a familiar driving experience, which is exactly what the feature does.  Know your audience.