The Electric Car Thread

[curih]

That’s an interesting offer. It says they keep all the incentives, maybe with CO state incentives it gets close to the ~$11k difference between list with offers and lease buyout?

In other news, the Niro’s app just ended the free trial and downgraded to the basic features. Have to decide if I want to pay for it. The only paywalled function I’ve really used is the remote locking since <redacted> keeps forgetting and I get the notification.

 

[Scotttheking]

In other news, the Niro’s app just ended the free trial and downgraded to the basic features. Have to decide if I want to pay for it. The only paywalled function I’ve really used is the remote locking since <redacted> keeps forgetting and I get the notification.

I did not. <redacted> also forgets here some times, but a “lock the car” text is cheaper. The find my car feature may be useful once in a while, but <redacted> has not lost the car since we got it.

 

[sryan2k1]

Ford just includes all of that with their cars. Lock/unlock/start/location are all included for free forever(*)

 

[Scotttheking]

Ford just includes all of that with their cars. Lock/unlock/start/location are all included for free forever(*)

True, but the tradeoff is you have to buy a Ford.

 

[Quarthinos]

True, but the tradeoff is you have to buy a Ford.

First On Race Day! Why would you not buy a Ford?

 

[curih]

Probably no going to buy it for now. I originally was planning to so <redacted> could use the remote climate start due to an aversion to cold. But, thus far <redacted> has made no effort to learn how to use the app. So

 

[Scotttheking]

Probably no going to buy it for now. I originally was planning to so <redacted> could use the remote climate start due to an aversion to cold. But, thus far <redacted> has made no effort to learn how to use the app. So

Hear hear. I cannot get <redacted>, who complains of being cold in many situations, to use the heated seats, heated steering wheel, and split climate, much less cruise control or audio navigation directions. Yesterday I noticed that the fog lights were on, and <redacted> didn’t know how to recognize it by the indicator on the dash, much less turn them off, necessitating my reaching over to do it. Not worth trying on the app!

 

[elitegimp]

That’s an interesting offer. It says they keep all the incentives, maybe with CO state incentives it gets close to the ~$11k difference between list with offers and lease buyout?

Yeah, the CO EV tax credit has (to my knowledge) pretty much always been claimable by the dealership and I thought one of the recent changes to the federal credit did the same... I'm probably wrong about the numbers, but I think that's $5k from the state and $7.5k from the US that goes to the dealership if they can get someone to drive the vehicle off the lot. In January the state rebate drops $1500 or so, hence the urgency in "sign on or before Dec 31"

 

[demultiplexer]

Hear hear. I cannot get <redacted>, who complains of being cold in many situations, to use the heated seats, heated steering wheel, and split climate, much less cruise control or audio navigation directions. Yesterday I noticed that the fog lights were on, and <redacted> didn’t know how to recognize it by the indicator on the dash, much less turn them off, necessitating my reaching over to do it. Not worth trying on the app!

<redacted> here doesn't use the car much and is great at parking it, forgetting it's at like 10% charge and complaining the car's empty when they need to go to work.

That being said, Nissan's app is so crap that literally nobody uses it and the 4G module is just in there for show. It takes 60+ seconds to refresh the status of the car.

 

[sryan2k1]

Is the app really that bad or are your significant others just luddites, or both I guess?

This isn't rocket surgery

 

[curih]

Both.

Though I'm impressed that <redacted> is actually learning to use the Apple Watch that I'd been nagged about for months as more than just a $400 lost iPhone finder.

 

[Scotttheking]

Is the app really that bad or are your significant others just luddites, or both I guess?

The app is entirely unnecessary for our use case. Generally, doesn’t feel value in putting effort into learning these tools, which takes more effort for her than me. I disagree, but my opinion isn’t going to change anything.


Main screen (1) and how much main screen scrolls (2).


From down arrow on right of common commands from first pic:

 

[sryan2k1]

That's surely busy but not like remote starting a vehicle is an uncommon concept (well, maybe it is).

 

[Scotttheking]

That's surely busy but not like remote starting a vehicle is an uncommon concept (well, maybe it is).

It’s an uncommon concept if it isn’t a feature that was on any car in her (or my) lives before this one. It’s by far the fanciest, and most expensive, car in her life, to date.

Edit: she’s not from the midwest; going to the grocery store isn’t a 2 hour highway drive where one would learn cruise control. She or I go on the highway maybe once a month so it isn’t something that makes it into her toolbox. We like learning toys for the sake of knowing them, not everyone does.

 

[sryan2k1]

Unless we're on a long (8+ hour) road trip she refuses to use cruise control (and the explorer's adaptive cruise is pretty good, it's radar based) because she "doesn't like not feeling in control"

 

[wallinbl]

Unless we're on a long (8+ hour) road trip she refuses to use cruise control (and the explorer's adaptive cruise is pretty good, it's radar based) because she "doesn't like not feeling in control"

I wonder with a lot of folks if that's not related to bad prior experience with cruise control or with "adaptive cruise control" that was not very good at all.

 

[sryan2k1]

In my wife's case no, she has issues whenever she feels like she isn't "in control". She doesn't like going down (coasting) hills on bicycles because she isn't pedaling and doing the work.

 

[sryan2k1]

Edit: she’s not from the midwest; going to the grocery store isn’t a 2 hour highway drive where one would learn cruise control

Midwest here, there are a dozen grocery stores 20 minutes in any direction.


Seems like such a basic function unless someone has literally never left city driving.

 

[Mat8iou]

There is no hope for some people (Regarding EV charging points in apartment car parks in Australia - Strata is equivalent to residents' association).

"We've had strata committees saying if you want an EV charger, we want a petrol pump."

EVs in apartment carparks a battleground amid fight over right to charge

Strata owners are increasingly banning electric vehicles from charging in basement carparks as fire safety authorities disagree over the risk of battery fires.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Bardon]

There is no hope for some people (Regarding EV charging points in apartment car parks in Australia - Strata is equivalent to residents' association).

"We've had strata committees saying if you want an EV charger, we want a petrol pump."

EVs in apartment carparks a battleground amid fight over right to charge

Strata owners are increasingly banning electric vehicles from charging in basement carparks as fire safety authorities disagree over the risk of battery fires.

www.abc.net.au

Yeah, my country is far from perfect and this is another facepalm moment. Sadly, we have our share of Luddites and NIMBY's.

 

[Mat8iou]

Yeah, my country is far from perfect and this is another facepalm moment. Sadly, we have our share of Luddites and NIMBY's.

I actually find things like this fairly ridiculous TBH:

In general, Mr Tuckwell says, attitudes to EV fire risk within Australia's 1.2 million strata committees evenly follow broader political trends.
"A third are left-ish, a third are right-ish and a third are in the middle.
"If you get a committee that's more right-ish than left-ish, the answer [to EV charging] may be no.

It's a building management committee - why does it have to be political in any way shape or form. It isn't like it's a miniature town council - its purpose it to maintain the building and implement repairs, while sticking to the rules that govern it, not to have opinions about EVs being a safety risk when the data says otherwise.

 

[w00key]

In Chinese EV news, Ji Yue just imploded. One day staff was just told not to come in and wages and bonusses won't be paid. Suppliers, same. It's done.

Surprise is that it is a JV of 55% Geely and 45% Baidu, both have basically plenty of money to invest if needed. It's deep in the red with tons of debt remaining, HQ must have cut off funding and just let it die.


Also heard in the same news snippet that there is structural overcapacity in the sector, where Tesla China and BYD runs at 90%+ utilization, sector is at 70% at best and sub 50% for Nio / Xpeng. Who knows which brand is next. This doesn't seem sustainable.

 

[sryan2k1]

It's funny being in the US I've never heard of any of those but BYD. Chinese EVs just don't exist here.

 

[w00key]

In the EU most of them are tiny players, but two managed to capture some mindshare. SAIC bought an old British brand, MG motors, and resurrected it as a value for money brand.

Geely rescued / bought Volvo and launched Polestar and both do decent business.


Nio / Xpeng exist but I have no idea who buys those Mercedes E class plus sized battleships, for lots of money, from a brand that sells a handful of them per year.

BYD, idk, I do see more of them now especially the cheap ones but local offerings will eat their lunch in 2025 when the Renault 5 and similar cars launch. First reviews by local test drivers (our AAA and several magazines) are super positive.

 

[sryan2k1]

Ah, now that you say that I have heard of Geely, but only from the volvo thing. I see quite a few Polestar 2's around here, they seem like decent vehicles.

 

[waveterrain]

Both Polestar and Volvos are nice EVs. The mid-teir BYD is pretty nice though the software is a bit baffling at times. There is one in my village and I absolutely adore the low speed jingle it makes.

But due to tariffs, I don't see them being able to introduce their low end models at a price point that will offset people's skepticism and there are many entrants already in the market or coming soon (the Renault 5 is likely going to sell as fast as they can make them for the next cycle).

When I was looking at an EV this past summer, KIA was 25-30% more expensive than US models while the Volvo was the same price or a bit cheaper at the time. This is likely because they were made in Belgium and KIA was importing. Volvo XC/EX40 EV was cheaper than a RAV4 Prime as well, though I wasn't considering it. Overall, it is has been great, though not the most efficient out there (it offset poorer efficiency with a larger battery to get 400km+ range).

 

[Mat8iou]

In the EU most of them are tiny players, but two managed to capture some mindshare. SAIC bought an old British brand, MG motors, and resurrected it as a value for money brand.

They resurrected LDV too - Formerly Leyland DAF Vans - but used it for a similar market to the MG brand. Quite a few of them in Australia. I really don;t get quite why. LDV used to be associated with the kind of vans that UK fleet operators (like British Gas or the Post Office) would buy in the early '90s, There is absolutely zero brand value associated with it.

 

[crazydee]

I see similar "but why" speculation about the other old brands, mostly British, that have been bought up.

I suspect they're so cheap it's worth it just to get a brand that's already been trademarked in most markets. Saves a bit of effort and avoids any disputes as they're long establsihed marks.

 

[un]

IIRC some of those old brands had at least some cachet in China, but I wonder if a big part of it is to have a local name that people might remember rather than using a foreign sounding name that would engender a negative reaction from the sort of people who don't like foreign things.

 

[Semi On]

I wonder if a big part of it is to have a local name that people might remember rather than using a foreign sounding name that would engender a negative reaction from the sort of people who don't like foreign things.

I think that's the vast majority of the intent. A lot of low information shoppers don't know who ultimately makes the cars they buy. I don't know how successful resurrecting an old British brand that's probably remembered for electrical problems if anything ultimately is, but it's probably better than launching with a Mandarin name.

 

[Mat8iou]

I think that's the vast majority of the intent. A lot of low information shoppers don't know who ultimately makes the cars they buy. I don't know how successful resurrecting an old British brand that's probably remembered for electrical problems if anything ultimately is, but it's probably better than launching with a Mandarin name.

I still find it weird - MG once had a reputation - but the firm went under about 15 years ago and for a while before that, what they were selling seemed to be mostly re-badged Rovers.
OTOH, VW kept the Bugatti name wasn't used from 1959-89 and didn't seem to harm them.
LDV had no reputation that most people would care about - except maybe Postman Pat fans?