13018 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

It’s been sort of in testing phases for many years.

I don’t know. We allow bikes and motorbikes that are more dangerous in crashes.

[aastra]

 

Haven’t we spent decades making vehicles safer for occupants, then suddenly golf carts are permitted on local roads?

 

Dude, you still don't understand how 21st-century innovation works. It's all about exempting a new thing from longstanding rules and regulations simply because the new thing is branded as if it were something different. Air B&B versus traditional hotels, Uber versus traditional taxi services, etc.

 

Heck, at this point you could probably invent some innovative new mode of transportation, maybe call it Speedster or something, that gets from A to B much more quickly than ordinary automobiles. You know, because it would be exempt from traditional speed limits.

[Mike K.]

Only if it has an app.

Why can’t someone buy a bus, and offer an alternative to transit?

It’s no different than someone buying a condo, and turning it into a hotel. Or someone buying a minivan, and turning it into a taxi.

[aastra]

Well, of course it would have an app. Duh. A registered app would be required to operate every Speedster. And the driver would be required to be staring down at his phone at all times in order to be legally exempt from speed limits. If he gets in a crash while looking up at the road then he assumes all legal responsibility.

[aastra]

^Innovation. "Why didn't we think of this before?" And so forth.

[aastra]

 

Haven’t we spent decades making vehicles safer for occupants, then suddenly golf carts are permitted on local roads?

 

Dude, have you been living in a cave? Electric vehicles are commonplace today. Cars, scooters, bicycles, skateboards... If they're allowed on the roads then why shouldn't electric golf carts be allowed on the roads?

(Please pay no attention to the fact that electric golf carts were probably the very first ultra-commonplace post-1945 electric vehicle, and yet they were never allowed on the roads until now, because reasons.)

[Mike K.]

How long before one ends up in the harbour, visible from the Johnson Street Bridge?

I’m j/k (reference to u-bikes).

[LJ]

 

 

 

 

So this type of vehicle is presumably allowed for anyone that owns one?   Are there any being driven around now by local owners?

Yes, lots of them. My neighbour has one, I have one.

[LJ]

Why do we tariff Chinese ev’s at all? We don’t have a domestic industry to protect, do we?

Because the US did, we thought they would treat us nicely if we did as well.

[Mike K.]

The EV industry is tapped out.

Electric vehicle sales have dropped by nearly 45 per cent from what they were a year ago and they’re not expected to rebound soon unless Ottawa resurrects its EV incentive.

Without federal incentives “I anticipate sales will continue to fall,” David Adams, chief executive officer of Global Automakers of Canada (GAC), an industry group, said in an e-mail.

…

That means EVs counted for 6.5 per cent of all the vehicles sold in March, down from 12.9 per cent the previous March.

…

While EV sales suffered in March, overall vehicle sales grew 9.4 per cent from the previous March, mainly owing to a surge in gas-powered SUV sales.

- https://stocks.apple...YQfOjoLLS0l4tYQ

The EV market is deader than dead. Resale values have plummeted, and dealers that used to take any EV for resale now quote go-away prices.

It’s not a bad time to buy used, though, if you’re set on one. But don’t expect it to retain any value.

[Victoria Watcher]

Like TVs maybe. The next model is cheaper and better, why would you want to buy a used one?

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 16 May 2025 - 07:49 AM.

[Mike K.]

Buying used is the smarter way to go. Teslas lose about 50% of their value within 18 months, and you can’t tell them apart from year to year. There is a refresh coming but whatevs.

[Victoria Watcher]

Tesla Diner will be 24/7.

 

[Victoria Watcher]

Storied British automaker Jaguar recently rebranded itself with a new logo featuring the letters of its name in a rounded and mixed-case typeface, a lurid color scheme, and gibberish vibe slogans such as "create exuberant." More suggestive of fashion or sexual wellness branding than fast cars, the campaign was a dud. The company is firing its ad agency.

Jag took heat from every corner of the media and car enthusiast worlds over its change, which saw it shift to electric vehicles and abandon any sense of traditional auto design. The vehicles it showed were comically overdone and painted in Easter Egg pastel colors, leading many to note that the automaker had left its core audience behind.

Not a single car was shown in the initial ad, whose facile corporate diversity messaging gave the worst people something else to complain about. Here's how you might do woke in 2025: hard racy EDM cover of the The New Seekers, I'd Like To Give The World a Jag. British flags, British colors.

 

https://boingboing.n...el-rebrand.html

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 18 May 2025 - 04:46 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Lithium battery recycling firm Li-Cycle files for bankruptcy protection in Canada

 

https://www.theglobe...for-bankruptcy/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 18 May 2025 - 05:31 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

BIG TRUCK ENERGY! Exclusive First Drive of the Telo MT1 Mini-Truck | Jay Leno's Garage

 

https://youtu.be/pw2...lnwUQHpRYZznOhM

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 20 May 2025 - 03:02 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

FIRST LOOK: Jeff Bezos’ $20k Pick-Up Truck

 

Just when we thought we’d exhausted all talk of a billionaire’s electric pick-up truck, another one casually slides into the chat. Only this one (backed by Amazon’s own Jeff Bezos) has no fancy party tricks or out-there promises. Rather, Slate Auto offers just a cheap, simple EV for day-to-day workhorse duties...

 

 

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/wCT...zm2DCG6j3mXRUKi

 

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 21 May 2025 - 12:22 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

General Motors to Invest $888 Million in Propulsion Plant

 

Investment marks GM’s largest single investment in an engine plant

 

 

 

 

GM plans to invest $888 million in its Tonawanda propulsion plant to support production of its latest V-8 engines.

The company said Tuesday the investment marks its largest single investment in an engine plant, and makes Tonawanda its second propulsion plant to produce the sixth generation of V-8 engines.

The plant, located in Buffalo, N.Y., will continue to produce the fifth generation of the engine while it prepares to start production on the new engines in 2027, the company said.

 

https://www.wsj.com/...-plant-23ea7636

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 28 May 2025 - 10:11 AM.

[Matt R.]

Definitely not getting thst grocery rebate now.

[Victoria Watcher]