He's Back.  I got attacked online again.  It's the same thing as months ago.  He copy & pastes the same comment into the same discussion, altering text just enough to not get flagged as a duplicate.  Ironically, it's reflection of himself.  After doing that same thing 4 times, post number 5 had something added after the repetitive sentiment part.  To capture that type of nonsense I have to deal with from time to time, here's that entire post: "Proving my point again and again.  Boring.  Tedious.  One dimensional.  No original thoughts.  Just repeating the same tired drivel with no common sense or logic."  Another rebadged 6th place bz (unbiased Motortrend results including range and overall ranking) that's not ever for sale.  WOW!  I'll hold my breath.  How stupid is it for subaru to offer a rebadged 6th place toyota with front wheel drive option (and pathetic-for-an-EV 221hp)?  Pretty stupid.  Real game changing stuff here lol...except for the inconvenient 6th place finish out of 7 in recent unbiased test by professionals :("  It was a trolling attempt, using bait that was already pointed out as bias.  He didn't care and that's all he had available.  Glowing reports of praise are really started to mess up his narrative.  I was all to happy to help by asking:  It's been interesting to watch you post the same thing over and over again since this summer, obvious attempts to avoid to addressing 2026 choices.  That single reference article using a pre-production model is as you describe: "Boring.  Tedious.  One dimensional.  No original thoughts.  Just repeating the same tired drivel with no common sense or logic."  This new article here highlights a second variant to be offered.  Later in the year, there will be a third available.  So from both Subaru & Toyota, customers will get a choice of small, medium and large EVs.  That's the target audience, not enthusiasts who like to boast about cherry-picked challenge results.  In short, your opinion won't ever reach showroom shoppers and use of "pathetic" and "stupid" here doesn't accomplish anything.  So, what is your point?

Video Setup.  I have been struggling to figure out what video I can provide without an ODB-II feed.  Since support isn't available yet, focus will have to be on video I shoot of other stuff.  Setting up at a DC fast-charger is nearly impossible.  They are simply too busy during the holidays; I cannot setup a tripod.  Wearing a microphone is problematic too, since any coat I wear (it's quite cold right now here in Minnesota), will create noise when I move.  I'll figure out something.  I'm still learning the new interface in the 2026 too.  That's content most people haven't ever seen before, like the charging info while plugged in.  How to capture that is difficult to discover when the vehicle floor is wet and some components are very cold.  Condensation presents challenges when you are also trying to control lighting at the same time.  I don't have time yet to experiment until next month.  Fortunately, there's plenty of winter remaining.  I'll get it figured out.

Mainstream Readiness.  It boggles the mind how unwilling EV purists are to consider more than just the initial market.  Still to this day, I bump heads with those focusing entirely on a single vehicle in multi-vehicle households.  They recommend a 60-amp hardwired connection every time, never bothering to ask if more than one vehicle will need to charge at the same location.  It's always the "fastest possible" suggested.  Capacity of the household's service-panel isn't even taken into consideration.  Ugh.  How is growth supposed to happen when even the most controllable environment is getting troublesome advice.  Limiting the number of plugs will impede market spread.  Of course, completely ignored apartments & condos already does.  Slow AC charging is fine.  If you the vehicle will be plugged in overnight, what's the point of faster?  The messaging of "fastest possible" could be what is holding back some landlords from investing.  Ugh.  Anywho, the reality of where are market is now has been finally getting through to some of the most stubborn.  For the remaining, I keep posting reminders:  Prior to the tax-credits expiring, the existing market was very much a realm of enthusiasts still.  Progress of NEVI and NACS was only barely out the gate until recently.  And now seeing Ford & GM take massive write-offs is confirmation of not being anywhere near as far along as the industry here had hoped.  Toyota made an accurate assessment of mainstream readiness.

Motivation.  Ugh.  It's easy to see this problem becoming a nightmare: "Largest oil reserves in the world: Venezuela.  Largest oil producer in Africa: Nigeria"  Both countries being targets of this administration confirms it.  None of that makes sense though, from an economic perspective.  Hope is there's lots of money to be had.  Reality is the investment to make the oil flow into gas sales revenue is enormous, not anything oil producers want to risk.  It takes far too many years to build & upgrade the necessary infrastructure too.  So, the motivation is on the part of greedy politicians.  This is a sign of things about to get really ugly.  EVs will face even more pressure than ever.  That's why Toyota's shift to 100% hybrid is so well thought out.  It's exactly the position needed to remain competitive.  While others try to figure out how to see guzzlers in markets with volatile gas prices, the demand for hybrids will skyrocket.  It's a shift EV purists will be very upset about, since it is a step they have always hoped to avoid.  But true progress, a change to status quo, requires far more than just disruption.  Think about what motivates consumers.  This is what I said about the state of things:  Final desperate acts to hold onto the past were very predictable.  With Toyota's passenger vehicle fleet now over 50% hybrid and their second-generation EV now available, we can see why this administration's act of flooding the market to temporarily lower gas prices was taken.  The only other option available at this point is attacking oil suppliers.

Calling Out Impatience.  Wanting results quickly has always been a major problem.  That's why empty promises for the near future get so much more attention than well thought out long-term plans.  We have seen the same thing many times over the decades now.  Whatever gets rolled out now will be a big boom soon, leading to a break in the status quo.  Notice how almost nothing has changed at dealers, still.  The only true progress at legacy automakers... Ford... GM... VW... Stellantis... is support for hybrids.  The end of EV tax-credits made that all too clear.  Outcome of that is making EV enthusiasts especially agitated, so they lash out at Toyota.  Their favorite scapegoat isn't feeling the same pain though.  Rather than hybrids being a solution, they have become the base to build upon.  Toyota's phaseout of gas-engine-only choices started long ago.  That's the patience I had to endure.  Now 2 decades later, they are the standard and adding a plug is the upgrade option to consider.  They don't want to think about that though.  I like to call them out on what happened and what still needs to happen:  Toyota said gen-1 was going to be high-priced and low-volume long before rollout even began.  Toyota had no interest in playing the loss-leader game in this market and has been proven wise to have done so.  Enthusiast denial that there were still tax & carbon credit dependencies, the barest minimum for DCFC, and almost no support for apartment & condo dwellers was blatantly obvious.  Now as 2026 approaches, we see that Toyota's focus on gen-2 instead worked well.  Toyota is not having to take massive write-offs like Ford & GM.  Toyota has a solid ICE phaseout plan already well underway too.  In short, I'm calling you out on your lack of patience and unwillingness to consider the bigger picture.

Lobby Spin.  It's the same old claim: "Toyota lobbied to slow BEVs which is a horrible thing to do."  Toyota's lobbying was actually to get better legislation.  Passing poorly thought out bills is a horrible thing to do.  We are now witnessing the consequences of that too.  The tax-credits were exploited through a loop-hole and didn't actually provide help to who needed it most.  Enthusiasts didn't want to accept the reality of how long it takes to get supporting infrastructure in place either.  Note how many in apartments & condos have no help whatsoever still.  They are totally on their own for finding a landlord who provided some type of charging totally on their own.  Only now are we seeing some DC fast-charger locations in neighborhoods, rather than along highways.  The one expected location for us has even broke ground for the gas station part yet, but that brand is very supportive of EV charging.  Efforts in Wisconsin have gone well and Minnesota is targeting next.  Anywho, the problem has always been on the part of those who are impatient.  Again, I pointed that out in reply:  Toyota said it would take longer than other automakers believed and they have since been proven correct.  At the same time, they did exactly as expected by following the same rollout approach as with Prius... gen-1 was a limited-volume market assessment, so gen-2 could be targeted directly at their own showroom shoppers.

"All In" Failure.  It was obvious from the start years ago when "all in" pledges became the topic of hot discussion.  Other automakers were making incredibly optimistic promises without any evidence to support them and no consequences for failure.  Well, now we know what the consequences are.  GM and Ford have publicly revealed their the massive amounts of money they will be taking as a loss from broken contracts and the cost to retool.  I'm sure their will be settlement expenses mixed in their too for the dealers involved.  How much others will spend backing off from ambition that didn't payoff will probably never be known.  We know of big markdowns to clear inventory.  Toyota is doing the opposite, paying with cash back to the customer to fall forward.  They didn't get stuck with inventory.  It's an effort to ramp up instead.  Spin would have you believing otherwise: "Toyota is pivoting to BEVs only because they think they cannot sway the politicians enough to keep ICE profits."  What pivot?  This has been Toyota's plan all along?  Others simply didn't like the lower volume that doesn't impress doubters.  As a result of the plan, Toyota isn't experiencing major losses.  Nothing failed.  Ugh.  Oh well.  This is what I shared about the situation now, asking what those others are planning:  It's not a coincidence that Toyota's original market expectation is now being confirmed as accurate.  Those who were selling loss-leaders are now having to come up with new plans, while Toyota's continues on.  Their ICE phaseout progress is paving the wave for easy upgrades to PHEV and BEV choices.  Meanwhile, what should we expect from those "all in" automakers?

Only Urban.  Ugh.  Are people really this oblivious: "Not being able to charge at home is almost entirely a "dense urban areas" problem."  That most definitely is not the case.  I'm usually helping point out the challenges of apartment & condo charging out in the new developments far away from anything considered urban.  In fact, some of that new housing is built out in what had been farmer's fields the year before.  That type of problem is quite disheartening.  You'd hope support for plugging in would be automatic, a part of building designs now.  They most definitely are not.  Heck, it's even pointless hoping for new homes to offer charging.  What gets overlooked most often though is what I tried to bring attention to in response to that urban only claim:  That's quite a disconnect from reality.  Look at post-WWII neighborhoods.  They have detached single-car garages, some without a driveway.  That equates to only 120 volts available in the garage and any additional vehicle having to park on the street.  Those are suburb areas, not urban.

Technology Roadmap.  There are attempts to revive some old talking-points: "When is Japan going to learn that 200 to 250 mile ranges are a decade old and that China..."  I found that one especially captivating.  True, some automakers in China are indeed striving to deliver significantly more miles than what we are accustomed to today.  Those are evidence of product diversity though, not a discontinuation of the old.  As our infrastructure matures, we'll see more short-range choices... not less.  Adding long-range is a means of growth, reaching out to an even broader audience.  Of course, those clueless to basic economics don't do their homework.  Searching for what Toyota has in store is quite simple.  The same plan has been circulating for years at this point, uncontested no less.  Some just guess instead, basing their assessment of future potential based on anecdotal observations... rather than research investment.  Ugh.  That's how the battery production in North Carolina came as a sucker-punch for antagonists.  As if out of no where in an instant, Toyota suddenly caught up.  Again, ugh.  Some of us research, confirming many claims are really just narratives without substance.  To that, I say too bad.  It's not like I don't try to share that information on a regular basis... as I did yet again today:  They did years ago.  Look at Toyota's technology roadmap.  Plans are to offer a variety of battery choices.  Cost, Longevity, Performance, Range will be among the preferences offered.  This is why they are looking at using the same platform for a full decade instead of following the traditional 5-6 year product cycle.  Focus will be on what can be delivered via your choice of battery.

Summer Reviews.  That cherry-picking of the past, based on pre-production testing, is fading away.  That troll who got banned from two of the websites I frequent is still active on another.  He's at a loss now that posts like this are emerging: "I have a Subaru Solterra 2023 model.  I really liked the car but these huge improvements are really going to make it a real competitive EV."  He knows it won't be long before 2026 owners start sharing their experiences.  That type of real-world data overwhelms misleading of the past.  Antagonists end up sounding like idiots when they depend on specific examples that become increasingly outdated.  Summer is over.  Winter is here.  That makes it even better for emphasizing the situation has changed.  I'm delighted.  Waiting for this time to arrive was quite a test of character.  Now, I can post comments like this with little resistance:  Outcome of the study done by Toyota/Subaru to match mainstream customer expectations and disregarding noise from early-adopters has clearly paid off.  I upgraded from a 2023 AWD bZ4X to a 2026 AWD bZ.  There are improvements across the board, every box checked in terms of appealing to their own showroom shoppers.  Keep in mind, at this point the market is beyond the enthusiast stage.  The competition is now ICE choices on the dealer's lot.

Zero Pedal.  To my surprise, the one-pedal stir actually worked: "If what you are describing is true, then the bZ4X has OPD and the entire premise of this Reddit post is based on an incorrect assumption."  That's evidence of critical thinking... what if OPD (One Pedal Driving) wasn't an inevitable outcome.  With as many praising the feature, no one ever provides a description of the experience.  That's a blatant shortcoming from my perspective.  How can you sell an idea as fulfilling without explaining purpose.  What makes it better?  Why?  When?  Needless to say, I wasn't going to let the opportunity for more critical thinking slip away.  I replied with:

Here's the best way to describe how it works... ZERO PEDAL

Think about audience.  Many of Toyota's EV owners came from one of their hybrids.  Those drivers develop a habit of lifting their foot off the accelerator entirely.  Doing that maximizes brakeless regen.  At no time does the driver ever want to come to a complete stop.

The same is true for the EV when lifting their foot off of the accelerator.  It's about deceleration, not stopping.  Between the safety system decelerating to maintain following distance and the availability to adjust regen level (it's a button for the 2023-2025 and paddles for the 2026), you can go around corners and roundabouts without ever touching a pedal.

In other words, those sighting absence of ONE pedal are not recognizing the appeal of ZERO pedal.

One Pedal.  This was asked: "How are we into the 4th model year of the BZ and it still doesn't have one-pedal driving?  It's seriously laughable to charge the price Toyota does for an extremely sub par experience."  There's a precedent set that one-pedal is a solution to some type of long-term problem being ignored by Toyota.  Supposedly, all EVs must behave the same way.  It's that binary mindset, the all-or-none approach to marketing.  That only works with introductions coming from an emerging market.  Many ideas fail to catch on, commonly because they don't actually solve a problem.  On the other hand, offering an improved ownership experience is valid reason.  Does one-pedal driving?  No one has ever explained why it would, why that particular option is the best new behavior.  Put another way, early-adopters decided nothing else was possible.  That's why they don't see what Toyota has to offer.  They only see an absence of what they are specifically looking for... despite this no longer being an emerging market.  EVs are moving into the growth stage.  That's exactly when variety becomes essential.  Enthusiasts don't recognize importance of diversification.  In fact, some feel it is counter-productive... that somehow variety will dilute what the support.  That lack of confidence is a warning of weakness, a sign of confidence wavering.  I find it quite telling.  Who knew that "one pedal" would become the canary in the coal mine.  I always thought it would be range.  Anywho, I provided this as a red flag some might take notice of:  Equating the design to maximize regen as a shortcoming is confirmation of how little EV enthusiasts understand Toyota customers.  Coming from a gen-1, the switch from a button to paddles in gen-2 should make the priority obvious.  Coming from a hybrid, you understand how desirable it is to avoid coming to a full stop.  If you want that, just use HOLD mode.  A quick tap of the brakes holds them, much like "one pedal" would.