EV thread

Certain trucks with particular V6 engines lasted 250K or more miles - which was really something back in the day. But with that said, you're completely correct - smartphones just made a bad situation far worse. I used my first cell phone for 18 years, and I'd still be using it today but for newer networks replacing older ones. Try buying so-called "Durable goods" these days - you're lucky to get 10 years out of a fridge or washing machine!

How do you get 18 years out of a rechargeable battery? I'm pretty sure even my Nokia brick got to a point where the time between charges fell to just a few hours. And that was still before they could blame it on resource hogging "apps".
 
I'd venture to say "don't care", because they're mostly the type of people that that believe a cars usefulness expires with the factory warranty. The chances they still own it when the battery goes tits-up is precisely zero.

If they had the car knowledge required to deal with a car once the warranty expires, they wouldn't be buying an EV.

Obviously there are exceptions...the exceptions end up posting a $26k battery replacement invoice on a car enthusiast forum.

I picture some unsuspecting owner going to the dealer thinking it's like a car battery, a couple hundred bucks. $30K? WTF!! Better to drive it off a cliff and report it stolen.
 
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How do you get 18 years out of a rechargeable battery? I'm pretty sure even my Nokia brick got to a point where the time between charges fell to just a few hours. And that was still before they could blame it on resource hogging "apps".

It was a "bag phone" - it plugged into the cigarette lighter, the way it should be as far as I'm concerned. No battery worries ever. Took it offshore a couple of times, used a clip lead adapter to run the thing off the boat's battery - I could hit a cell tower 20 or 30 miles offshore as it had a "real" antenna!

My current phone - a Sonim XP3Plus - will go about 10 days between charges, although I usually charge it about once a week. The battery can be replaced in a matter of seconds when that becomes necessary.
 
So here's some EV news. :oops:

Luxury electric vehicle manufacturer losing $227,000 per car with stunning $630 million net loss last quarter​

https://www.theblaze.com/news/luxur...th-stunning-630-million-net-loss-last-quarter
Also this;

EPA runs competition offering prizes as high as $3,000 for videos promoting EVs​

In an apparent bid to promote electric vehicles, the Environmental Protection Agency is offering people the chance to win money by submitting a video about their positive experiences utilizing EVs.

"Help us showcase the benefits of electric transportation! Send us your short (one- to two-minute) personal videos that convey your positive experiences using electric transportation in everyday life. Choose from one of the following categories, then get creative!" a webpage about the competition reads.
https://www.theblaze.com/news/epa-video-competition-cash-prize
Paying for good reviews does not say good things about the product.
 
So here's some EV news. :oops:

Luxury electric vehicle manufacturer losing $227,000 per car with stunning $630 million net loss last quarter​

[URL]https://www.theblaze.com/news/...th-stunning-630-million-net-loss-last-quarter[/URL]

It's hard for me to even comprehend how that happens.

(Note that it doesn't necessarily mean that each car costs them $227k more to build than what they sell it for, so that's kindof a meaningless metric...)

but to spend $630M more than you took in, in a QUARTER? I get how that happens to a massive, established company that gets hit by a sudden economic decline. I don't get how that happens to basically a startup who's still in a phase of the corporate life cycle where they should be exceptionally on top of their P&L situation on a monthly basis.
 
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It's hard for me to even comprehend how that happens.

(Note that it doesn't necessarily mean that each car costs them $227k more to build than what they sell it for, so that's kindof a meaningless metric...)

but to spend $630M more than you took in, in a QUARTER? I get how that happens to a massive, established company that gets hit by a sudden economic decline. I don't get how that happens to basically a startup who's still in a phase of the corporate life cycle where they should be exceptionally on top of their P&L situation on a monthly basis.

Funny money when the Saudi's are involved.

"Lucid still has a reported $5.5 billion to spend however, thanks to Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. The fund, directly from the Saudi government, has already firmly backed the company and has pledged to buy 100,000 of the manufacturer's vehicles.

This should come as no surprise after Lucid became the first company to open a car manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia in September 2023."
 
So here's some EV news. :oops:

Luxury electric vehicle manufacturer losing $227,000 per car with stunning $630 million net loss last quarter​

[URL]https://www.theblaze.com/news/...th-stunning-630-million-net-loss-last-quarter[/URL]

Also this;

EPA runs competition offering prizes as high as $3,000 for videos promoting EVs​

In an apparent bid to promote electric vehicles, the Environmental Protection Agency is offering people the chance to win money by submitting a video about their positive experiences utilizing EVs.

"Help us showcase the benefits of electric transportation! Send us your short (one- to two-minute) personal videos that convey your positive experiences using electric transportation in everyday life. Choose from one of the following categories, then get creative!" a webpage about the competition reads.
[URL]https://www.theblaze.com/news/epa-video-competition-cash-prize[/URL]

Paying for good reviews does not say good things about the product.

The video thing is just silly
 
I get how that happens to a massive, established company that gets hit by a sudden economic decline. I don't get how that happens to basically a startup who's still in a phase of the corporate life cycle where they should be exceptionally on top of their P&L situation on a monthly basis.

I know it's a mind-blowing number. I think it can be summed up as over-hyped, over-sold trendy product. That got them established in the EV market, which is being pushed and over inflated itself. The Saudi involvement will limp the company along until they collapse, are forced to make major changes, or the EV market collapses.
 
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It's hard for me to even comprehend how that happens.

(Note that it doesn't necessarily mean that each car costs them $227k more to build than what they sell it for, so that's kindof a meaningless metric...)

but to spend $630M more than you took in, in a QUARTER? I get how that happens to a massive, established company that gets hit by a sudden economic decline. I don't get how that happens to basically a startup who's still in a phase of the corporate life cycle where they should be exceptionally on top of their P&L situation on a monthly basis.

It's easy to understand IF it stems from capital investment: buy land, build a new facility with new equipment, etc. Manufacturing is a capital-intensive business and it take a LOT of money to get set up to produce competitively.
 
I know it's a mind-blowing number. I think it can be summed up as over-hyped, over-sold trendy product. That got them established in the EV market, which is being pushed and over inflated itself. The Saudi involvement will limp the company along until they collapse, are forced to make major changes, or the EV market collapses.

There are a lot of cars I'd buy before dropping $250K on a Lucid. They are fast but they aren't Porsche, Lamborghini or Ferrari.
 
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It's easy to understand IF it stems from capital investment: buy land, build a new facility with new equipment, etc. Manufacturing is a capital-intensive business and it take a LOT of money to get set up to produce competitively.

if all the bills came in one quarter, then yes, that would do it. And that would indicate a journalist that doesn't understand how startups work or wants to create drama because there should be a corresponding previous quarter with massive gains as they received the investments before spending them.
 
if all the bills came in one quarter, then yes, that would do it. And that would indicate a journalist that doesn't understand how startups work or wants to create drama because there should be a corresponding previous quarter with massive gains as they received the investments before spending them.

I've been reading financial, economic, and science news long enough to assume that most "journalists" have no clue what they're talking about. If they get it right it's by accident.
 
I’m looking for a “work” car since my job changed and I’ll be driving a lot more. Don’t want to rack up miles at 16mpg in the Ram 2500.

Was looking at a Kia Sportage hybrid for mpg/value for features and space. Sales guy was really pushing the plug in model. He didn’t know much about what he was selling but was adamant it would pay for itself in a year 😂.

The base hybrid msrp is $27.5k, the plug in starts at $38.7k and adds lots of options I don’t need and only 34 miles of electric only range.

Who buys these cars and why? The base hybrid does 44mpg hwy. Thats pretty damn good for a little suv. Imagine if it had a small diesel engine in it.
 
We all know you don't like smartphones, but I think "consumerism" started a long time before smartphones, and that's what this really is. I'd say "consumerism" started well before cell phones, arguably as far back as certain trucks having particular V6 engines in them ;) or earlier, and really took off with the boomer generation in general.

yea we've been on a downward trajectory with consumer product longevity & built in obsolescence long before smart phones, those devices were born into a world already well on its way to going to shit & merely hastened it in many regards, particularly their social media & other 24/7 brain-rotting connectivity. I think the added destruction brought about by smartphones is also generation dependent. Many of us here lived a substantial lifetime without them thus we had and still have social skills that aren't device dependent, as compared to kids that are now seemingly born with one in their hands & can't seem to hold a normal conversation with a three dimensional person without interfacing with their device, that is absolutely terrifying and we're now witnessing the results of that - even scarier, as we die off in coming years that's all there will be.