Forward Thinking.  Speaking of critical thinking, here's an example of its absence: "A while ago, there were a lot of posts about how Toyota didn't believe in EVs, and that the future belonged to hybrids?"  First, why is that a statement in the fashion of a question?  Second, how much time is "a while ago" referring to?  Third, what was the source of those posts?  Needless to say, that was nothing but old propaganda searching for an audience.  Well, it found me.  I doubt this is the feedback that was expected:  That's what the rhetoric wanted you to believe.  In reality, hybrids are a means of phasing out traditional production.  Everything will have the basics of a motor & battery.  Some will include a plug.  It's all about offering forward-thinking choices.

Sedans.  They appear to be poised for a comeback.  This was predictable and expected.  Market cycles are inevitable.  Pressure to move in one direction (size & power), then fall to the other (efficiency & cost) is nothing new.  I remember witnessing it firsthand back in the late 70's.  Change in the early 80's was remarkable.  I didn't even question it.  The shift was an obvious response to necessity.. exactly as we see about to unfold now here, elsewhere it is already happening.  That made posting this words of fact without any contradiction, critical thinking:  Pay attention to the other markets.  The right price will change minds.  There's a lot of potential as production & batteries improve.  Toyota sees potential for the next-gen Corolla to be offered as an EV.

Estimated Miles.  I got quite a positive reaction from somewhat frustrated venting, including this: "Cannot upvote this enough.  The guess-o-meter in my car..."  Clearly, I wasn't the only one tired of hearing the same complaint over and over again from new owners who obviously didn't do any searching first.  With some many posts about the same thing, it's easy to confirm the value of online forums as an outlet to share feelings.  Glad I could help.  Here's what I posted:

Miles is just an estimate.

What is your actual efficiency?

miles/kWh tells the real story. It reflects your particular driving... temperature, speed, etc.

I have been watching mine climb since December, which equates to a higher estimate.

Another EV Event.  Today's was outside.  We were at a big church, with the cars nicely arranged for the congregation & neighborhood walkers to catch us conveniently.  Temperature had risen quite a bit from the day before.  We got lucky.  Unlike with the mall, we had a much greater variety of vehicles to display.  Mine was in the center and it was made the center of attention.  One of the participants brought a hot water pot, so he could plug it into my vehicle's 120-volt outlet.  That 1500-watt power source was the envy of my owners, since most of the older EVs didn't have one.  Mine did and the smell of fresh coffee was a compelling draw.  Those owners had questions about Toyota's improvements.  They had heard of the gen-2, but had not been able to see one until the event.  So, they were happy with the opportunity to poke around mine.  This opportunity provided me with new ideas about how to better information share.  We're getting more thoughtful questions now with gas prices rising.  Toyota being so well positioned at the moment, being able to take advantage of the situation, makes that especially useful.  There will be many more EV events to come in the next few months.

Critical Thinking.  Oh my gosh!  It's starting to happen: "I find it interesting when people will buy an expensive car and be concerned with efficiency.  The math almost never makes sense.  I drive my EV because I enjoy it and the efficiency has little to do with it.  I'd be better off buying a cheaper ICE and filling with gas if money was my concern."  The topic of efficiency was elusive.  At best, it would get mentioned in the mistaken context of range.  More often than not though, it would get ignored entirely.  Most reviews still don't address the topic.  With today's mention, I chimed in with:  Math = Sense.  Not in these discussions.  Vehicle cost gets so much attention, yet efficiency is completely ignored.  Instead of taking operating cost into consideration, there still an obsession with range... a metric becoming much less important as DC fast-charging gets built up.  So what if you have to stop more often on the rare occasion of a road trip.  Paying more to carry around the extra weight makes no sense.  You save money 100% of the time from driving a more efficient EV.  mi/kWh matters. In fact, that is the gauge of discussion maturity.  We'll never reach the entry-level audience until operating cost is taken seriously.  It is still an early market when such an undeniable product-gap still exists.

First EV Event.  This year started with a presentation of vehicles inside of a mall.  Good thing too.  There was a tiny bit of snow just before the event started.  Not having to deal with that was nice and it meant the potential for a lot more people.  Turns out, handing stickers that say "Future EV Driver" to children is a good conversation starter.  Another is pointing out how quickly EVs depreciation.  That loss of value tends to be looked upon as bad, since most owners aren't expecting to deal with that.  However, it's an awesome opportunity on the other side... if you are looking to bad a used EV.  With so many having their leases expire, there's a strong expectation for the market to become quick favorable for those looking to snap up a bargain.  That gets people asking questions.  The answer most pleasing to the inquisitive was finding out you could get about 40 miles overnight with nothing but a 120-volt charger.  I was holding mine, showing off the NACS plug and pointing out how it also came with a 240-connector.  I had fun.  That was a great way to kick off the season.

Technology Testing.  This is what I have been exceptionally skilled at as a software developer.  That's is in part why I admire Toyota so much.  They share that thorough trait.  Unfortunately, not everyone sees it.  That video brought about an attack comment proclaiming Toyota didn't test the adapter enough.  Ugh.  It isn't their adapter.  We got what a lot of others did, from the same third-party supplier.  It's a Lectron.  The problem is the charger cable.  Having already tried the same adapter at several EVgo locations, I knew it was fine.  Heck, I could even look at past photos for confirmation.  Nonetheless, someone had to comment with attitude, treating me like a paid professional reviewer rather than an owner sharing detailed observations.  Ugh.  Anywho, this is how I dealt with that:  With regard to testing, this is where Toyota thrives.  They collect limited market real-world feedback. It was done with gen-1 Prius, gen-1 Prius Prime and gen-1 bZ4X.  It made enthusiast crazy, since they always wanted gen-1 models from Toyota to be high volume.  Success of gen-2 leveraged what they learned. Unfortunately, we're dealing with gen-1 support for NACS adoption in this case.  It's going to be an industry exposure providers will have to address.  Hopefully, the workaround I came up will help draw attention to the problem.  I'm intrigued what the reception will be when I share the video captured from that moment of discovery.  It was somewhat embarrassing at first.  I assumed I had made some type of error.  But now it's a collection of documented trail & error attempts from an engineer determined to figure out what was going on.  I could have just driven to other chargers, as I suspect other have done upon encountering the same issue but not recognizing the source of the problem.  Glad I stuck with the debugging mindset my career taught me.

Anywho, those are my contemporaneous notes on the situation some 2026 bZ owners may face and how I dealt with it.  Here's the video...  Adapter Pinch (CSS to NACS)

Vehicle Technology.  Toyota has been so successful, purpose of Prius is fading away.  Some are in disbelief that phaseout is a reality.  Others are beginning to articulate the significance of having reached this phase: "They've matured their hybrid lineup to the point their mainstream sellers are only available as hybrids.  They are positioned perfectly to transition to building more BEVs.  Other manufacturers are now having to go back and work on their hybrids and are just chasing the market and they can't turnover their manufacturing fast enough to do so."  Absence of critical thinking got many to a troubled place.  Volt was the perfect example of that.  The mindset of being vastly superior resulted in a loss of perspective.  They forgot what the purpose was by getting drawn to speed & power.  It was the allure of niche, having a standout vehicle to praise & support.  Enthusiasts put their purpose above the vehicle's technology.  That's why it was so easy for me to move on to bZ4X.  I was following purpose rather than endorsing a vehicle.  It's the same reason why I can so easily encourage shopping on the showroom floor.  Having a variety of choices was the point.  Here's how I summarized that history's outcome, by adding:  And not only is the mainstream accept steady profit, that resulting phaseout of ICE sends the message of embracing change.  The other legacy automakers will struggle with messaging, as their withdrawal of some EV models will make customers wonder about next steps.

Kicking & Screaming.  I pointed out this make the history complete, an irony no one else wants to acknowledge: "Should have already happened.  Elon was dragging his feet on the inevitable."  Can you guess the topic?  It is offering an entry-level vehicle.  At a price-point low enough to directly compete with traditional affordable choices, the margin for profit is tiny.  BYD knows this and doesn't care.  The risk for that big automaker in China was take it or die.  Government backing to gain world marketshare was an essential push to make it happen, as a necessity.  We don't have the priority here.  Perhaps that is what Elon hoped to achieve by backing Trump.  That never made any sense, since it was a candidate who catered to the oil & coal industry speaking out against EVs.  Seeing how pitiful the political outcome was, we now see Tesla struggling to find direction.  Basically, Elon seems to be wanted to exit the automaker market in favor of AI services.  I suspect lawsuits related to FSD will help push that change... because there's simply too much kicking & screaming still toward actually competing... exactly what was claimed of Toyota... who ironically is doing the opposite.  Rollouts this year will happen bring cost down and position Toyota dealers to handle the paradigm-shirt... exactly what Tesla has supposedly been preparing for all along... but refused to take the next step.

Sharp Decline.  There's a lot of discussion related to Tesla's uncertain future and the emerging certainty for Toyota's future.  It's nice that others are seeing it now.  I joined in reply to someone's comment on that today with:  Regulatory credits were what helped Tesla survive rough times.  It's too bad the ride on that gravy train lasted so long.  Tesla resting on its laurels, rather than investing in diversification.  Now, consequences of that we should indeed see some evidence of in those upcoming financial results.  The other revenue stream that gets little attention is FSD.  Expecting so much from a feature with no value related to electrification has been incredibly risky.  Delivering an entry-level vehicle to compete directly with ICE offerings isn't possible with such an extra.  Those seeking basic transport couldn't care less and certainly wouldn't be willing to pay for it.  Think about the popularity of bZ7 in China.  That partnership with GAC has taught Toyota how to deliver an electric-only sedan here in the United States.  We know it's coming too.  The next-gen Corolla will be offered as a hybrid and a BEV, both built in Mississippi.  If anyone here doesn't think that is Toyota taking advantage of Tesla's missed opportunity, they are in for a surprise.  Your expectation of a "sharp decline in earnings" is spot on.  There's simply nothing to look forward to from Tesla.  How will it compete?

Here's the most recent video...  Toyota bZ - Post-Blizzard Commute

Forgetting History.  They didn't forget.  They just came to the realization of having made a mistake.  They assumed the rhetoric was constructive.  Anywho, this is what triggered me: "Tesla is getting competition as it moves to transportation as a service.  This transition may or may not happen.  Also interesting is people forgetting Toyota was so anti-EV."  He started constructive by pointing out the obvious new direction Tesla is taking, but then couldn't resist attacking Toyota.  It's what he does... which had been really annoying, until recently.  No in the role of playing offense, I intercepted and ran:  The narrative of "anti-EV" has been revealed to be just taking the slower path... which has proven a wise choice.  Others legacy automakers who raced ahead were forced to take major write-downs.  No such financial hit happened for Toyota, who always said adoption would take longer.  It's too bad some who wore those rose-colored glasses focused so much on feeding that antithesis belief rather than helping with the effort to appeal to the masses.

We can hope that Tesla will swallow its pride to deliver a choice capable of competing directly with ICE offerings.  But currently, there is a clear sense of lost purpose.