The Garage

[varoadking]

Pretty bike- the didn’t sell you on the live wire?

I'm all about ICE's...but this one only has a 2.1 gallon tank, so it'll go just about as far as a Live Wire before it needs a refill. 

Claimed 48mpg City/Hwy...gonna have to keep a close eye on the low fuel warning light.  Likely wouldn't make it from here to Tysons Corner on one tank...close call anyway...

[varoadking]

Va48? This will mess up my whole ticket draft!

We won't have to tell anyone... 

[GburgNatsFan]

Exactly. A for effort. Who would figure that an ally that we fought and died for would stiff us like that. And that’s for Hyundai. Don’t get me started on the tests.

They made good. The first round was faulty.

Maybe you haven't bought a Korean car lately. The kid has a KIA. It feels like a Toyota. Or do you mean they're too good and Detroit can't complete.

[DCFan]

They made good. The first round was faulty.

Maybe you haven't bought a Korean car lately. The kid has a KIA. It feels like a Toyota. Or do you mean they're too good and Detroit can't complete.

I used to have a 2011 Sonata. I loved the look and everything about the car. Fit and finish, comfortable seating, great highway cruiser, and decent gas mileage for a midsize. But I've never had as many recalls for a car as I had with that one. One of the recalls was because they put the wrong sized dipstick.  And they pissed me off when the catalytic converter went while it was still under extended warranty but that was one of the asterisk items that isn't covered.

[UMDNats]

I've been eyeing the Kira Niro because it can run 30ish miles electric-only and gets 40-50 MPG otherwise. My commute is like 2.5 miles and I can plug in for free at my ice rink every Sunday when I play.

Anyways, back on topic, Slate, since you developed the national plan, can we blame you for *gestures at terrible COVID numbers nationwide*?

[GburgNatsFan]

My daughter has the pure hybrid NIRO. 45+MPG in almost all conditions.  It feels a little small, but it rides/handles well, and feels very solid.

Examine plug-in hybrids carefully. Will it actually allow all electric, or when you mash it, does the engine come on? Does the engine need to come on when you need heat?

We have a PHEV Chrysler Pacifica. Love it spring through fall, but it suffers from all of the above conditions most noticeably in the winter. And when a PHEV engine is shutting starting and stopping and never really getting warm, it's really inefficient, and runs dirty. Still, I'm betting we've done... 60% of our miles all electric? It's our over-the-road car, so it does get a lot of gasoline highway miles. Day to day though, all-electric.

We've been eyeing a Tesla M3 or a VW ID4. I'm really intrigued by the Aptera if they can pull it off, as  a third car. It looks like fun and is incredibly efficient. Like 250 miles on a 24KWh battery.

 

I've been eyeing the Kira Niro because it can run 30ish miles electric-only and gets 40-50 MPG otherwise. My commute is like 2.5 miles and I can plug in for free at my ice rink every Sunday when I play.

Anyways, back on topic, Slate, since you developed the national plan, can we blame you for *gestures at terrible COVID numbers nationwide*?

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Had a conversation with a guy who drove in from Denver in a Tesla Model 3.  Says it's up to over 300 miles, maybe 350?, for a recharge.  Says he would drive 5-6hours between recharges, then it would take about 40 minutes at a level 2 (?) Tesla recharge station.  For me, that would be one recharge on the NJTP or somewhere while I hit a rest stop on my way to New Haven / Boston / New Hamster.

[Slateman]

Had a conversation with a guy who drove in from Denver in a Tesla Model 3.  Says it's up to over 300 miles, maybe 350?, for a recharge.  Says he would drive 5-6hours between recharges, then it would take about 40 minutes at a level 2 (?) Tesla recharge station.  For me, that would be one recharge on the NJTP or somewhere while I hit a rest stop on my way to New Haven / Boston / New Hamster.

Tesla's battery tech is great. The problem is that they have poor quality control and it results in a less than ideal product.

MB goes through the issue in this video:

[Natsinpwc]

Had a conversation with a guy who drove in from Denver in a Tesla Model 3.  Says it's up to over 300 miles, maybe 350?, for a recharge.  Says he would drive 5-6hours between recharges, then it would take about 40 minutes at a level 2 (?) Tesla recharge station.  For me, that would be one recharge on the NJTP or somewhere while I hit a rest stop on my way to New Haven / Boston / New Hamster.

I guess I am too old school. I know there are more charging places now but I would rather just be able to stop at an exit and get gas when I want.

 

[DCFan]

I have the tried and true 2010 Toyota Prius. Hybrid with an automatic trans that gets me about 50 mpg. I haven't even cracked 70k miles on the odometer yet. Had hoped that we'd be doing some traveling in it during retirement but I feel that road trips will be here before you know it.

[DCFan]

Tesla's battery tech is great. The problem is that they have poor quality control and it results in a less than ideal product.

Consumer Reports just came out and rated them almost at the bottom of the pile. Poor quality is right.

[HalfSmokes]

Consumer Reports just came out and rated them almost at the bottom of the pile. Poor quality is right.

It turns out that manufacturing a car is hard. I'd still buy one because their battery tech is so beyond anyone else's - 350 miles for a 40k car doesn't have any real competition.

[Slateman]

Consumer Reports just came out and rated them almost at the bottom of the pile. Poor quality is right.

The video goes into it. MB is a huge Tesla fan, but he had some pretty damming remarks. How many of us would buy a non-electric car from a manufacturer with as many quality control issues as Tesla? You're basically paying to be a beta tester. And when you are talking about dropping 50-80K on a car, you generally expect a certain level of refinement and luxury.

The real issue is the charging tech being proprietary. Imagine if every car manufacturer has a different nozzle opening for the gas tank.  Finding a fillip station would be a disaster.

I think it's interesting that Ford and VW dont want to use Tesla's fast charging. Either they want to build their own, or Tesla isnt sharing like they said they would.

[1995hoo]

I need to have the motorized antenna on my RX-7 repaired or replaced, although I'd be satisfied with just getting it to retract all the way. It's stuck about a third of the way up. Anyone know of a good car stereo shop in Northern Virginia that could do that work? I don't particularly want to go to Brown's Mazda. I recall in 1989 I took a car to Hurley's in Tysons to replace the radio and speakers, but I don't know whether they're still reputable.

[imref]

The video goes into it. MB is a huge Tesla fan, but he had some pretty damming remarks. How many of us would buy a non-electric car from a manufacturer with as many quality control issues as Tesla? You're basically paying to be a beta tester. And when you are talking about dropping 50-80K on a car, you generally expect a certain level of refinement and luxury.

The real issue is the charging tech being proprietary. Imagine if every car manufacturer has a different nozzle opening for the gas tank.  Finding a fillip station would be a disaster.

I think it's interesting that Ford and VW dont want to use Tesla's fast charging. Either they want to build their own, or Tesla isnt sharing like they said they would.

it's odd that Tesla had both the highest customer satisfaction in Consumer Reports' survey, and the lowest in JD Power last year.

[varoadking]

I need to have the motorized antenna on my RX-7 repaired or replaced, although I'd be satisfied with just getting it to retract all the way. It's stuck about a third of the way up. Anyone know of a good car stereo shop in Northern Virginia that could do that work? I don't particularly want to go to Brown's Mazda. I recall in 1989 I took a car to Hurley's in Tysons to replace the radio and speakers, but I don't know whether they're still reputable.

A 1 pound rubber mallet should get it to retract all the way...

[HalfSmokes]

it's odd that Tesla had both the highest customer satisfaction in Consumer Reports' survey, and the lowest in JD Power last year.

Isn’t JD initial quality- some of them are complete garbage upon delivery

[imref]

Isn’t JD initial quality- some of them are complete garbage upon delivery

You are right, JD Power is based on complaints in the first 90 days.

Consumer Reports has had Tesla with the highest overall customer satisfaction for 7 of the last 8 years (2018 was their only off year).  I'd guess most Tesla buyers are willing to put up with the bugs because they love the technology.

[HalfSmokes]

Time period matters too. Tesla has a ton of trouble ramping up production for new models.

[DCFan]

Hyundai stock is way up today as they are rumored to be partnering with Apple to make their EV car.

[HalfSmokes]

Hyundai stock is way up today as they are rumored to be partnering with Apple to make their EV car.

Can't wait to see what the apple tax would make the thing cost- 200k for a base sedan?

[DCFan]

Can't wait to see what the apple tax would make the thing cost- 200k for a base sedan?

Whatever it is the apple fanbois around the world would be lined up for days waiting to buy it.

[Natsinpwc]

Can't wait to see what the apple tax would make the thing cost- 200k for a base sedan?

And it would be unsupported after two years so you would have to buy a new one.

[DCFan]

And it would be unsupported after two years so you would have to buy a new one.

Whatever it is the apple fanbois around the world would be lined up for days waiting to buy it. 

[varoadking]

Meant to post this a few days ago but imgur was acting up.



This was 3 years ago...seems like it was last week.  VaRK and aspenbubba at a high-end car show/auction in Scottsdale, AZ...