13778 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

Replacing Brake Pads on a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N Requires a Professional Mechanic’s Login

 

Electric vehicles are, generally, mechanically simpler than gas-burning cars. But maintaining them can be annoyingly challenging due to coding.

https://www.thedrive...mechanics-login

[Mike K.]

Once a green energy advocate, tech billionaire Elon Musk shifted his focus to the artificial intelligence arms race and established “Colossus” in Memphis in 2024. An xAI supercomputer facility designed to power and train Musk’s AI chatbot Grok, Colossus is slated to be the world’s largest supercomputer.

But at what cost? The facility is currently operating 33 methane-powered gas turbines to fuel its AI technology despite holding a permit for only 15. The supercomputer facility is located in a poor, predominantly Black Memphis community with historically high rates of pollution-related illness and disproportionate rates of industrial pollutants.

The magnitude of the energy draw — and resulting pollution — at Colossus is, well, colossal. According to the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), the facility draws enough electricity to power approximately 100,000 homes.

- https://tennesseeloo...-nothing-wrong/

[Mike K.]

This was obvious, but ideology can be blinding.

The nosedive in U.S. sales of electric vehicles since the elimination of the federal EV tax credit at the end of September is the latest moment of truth for the sector.

And that truth, when free market forces determine the true value of a product stripped of artificial sweeteners and incentives for buyers, is harsh.

Ford’s report last week was a grim reminder of how precarious the way forward for EVs has become. Sales of its EVs fell more than 60 per cent last month, continuing a downward trend from October. Ford said that due to weak demand, it had paused production of its F-150 Lightning EV pickups to focus on gas-powered trucks.

Despite strong EV sales in the third quarter – when buyers raced to make purchases before the tax credits expired – Ford said its EV business lost US$1.4-billion in the period.

But Ford was not alone. Sales of Hyundai’s Ioniq EV models dropped 50 per cent in November, as did sister company Kia’s EV sales. Honda EV sales dropped 80 per cent.

The post-tax credit tumble exposes the wide valley of death between the ideological aspirations of early EV adopters and the economic reality holding back the next wave of buyers.

Prices of EVs are still too high. Charging infrastructure is still inadequate to ease range anxiety. The quality of the products made by legacy automakers continues to lag that of pure-play manufacturers such as Tesla. And the development of new models has been slow and inconsistent.

…

For too long, the EV sector has been living the charmed life of an adolescent whose mom and dad (in this case, taxpayers) have paid the freight. When the tax incentives expired, it was akin to the teenager being kicked out of the house and forced to make it on his own. He stumbled, and even recent rebates from automakers did not soften the fall.

- https://www.theglobe...hicle-industry/

[Victoria Watcher]

Got a Tesla car with the latest iteration of Full Self-Driving hardware (HW4) inside, but you haven't actually purchased FSD? Well, you'll be able to try it out for free over the holidays.

 

According to Tesla enthusiast and blogger Sawyer Merritt, Tesla has given a free trial of its latest FSD software (V14) to roughly 1.5 million Tesla owners in the U.S., and the trial lasts approximately forty days, until January 8.

 

https://mashable.com...driving-airdrop

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rome’s mayor test-drives Tesla Model 3 with Full Self-Driving

 

https://speedme.ru/e...rban-challenges

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 08 December 2025 - 07:01 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

New York, December 9, 2025 – lithium-ion battery pack prices have dropped 8% since 2024 to a record low of $108 per kilowatt-hour, according to latest analysis by research provider BloombergNEF (BNEF). Continued cell manufacturing overcapacity, intense competition and the ongoing shift to lower-cost lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries helped drive down pack prices despite an increase in battery metal costs according to BNEF’s 2025 Lithium-Ion Battery Price Survey.  

 

https://about.bnef.c...s-bloombergnef/

 

[Mike K.]

Ford has cancelled the EV F150 and says its EV gamble was a $19.5B folly. Whoops.

Toyota is looking like the smartest automaker right about now. They called the insanity what it was way back when, and didn’t jump on the EV bandwagon beyond dipping its toes.

But that category as a whole was struggling, as electric pickups failed to live up to lofty expectations — for performance and affordability, and as a result, for sales. The Lightning, in particular, struggled with reliability. Shoppers were turned off by its limited range when towing; why buy a truck that can't do truck stuff?

- https://www.npr.org/...f-150-lightning

Who at Ford thought this was a good idea?

[Victoria Watcher]

But the most popular car in the entire world is electric.



Ford Motor Company has ceased production of the all-electric F-150 Lightning, its flagship full-size electric pickup, and will focus instead on hybrid vehicles and a future line of smaller, cheaper EVs. Battery plants once intended to supply Ford trucks will now be sending batteries to bolster the electric grid instead.

Ford says the move is following customer demand, and reflecting the reality that the all-electric Lightning was a money-loser — and Ford, concluded, it always would be.







That’s the problem. They built a truck that could never make money. Tesla on the other hand, has been mostly profitable for over a decade now.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 15 December 2025 - 10:44 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares added about 4.6% to about $480 on Monday after CEO Elon Musk confirmed the company has made progress on testing of its Robotaxis, including moving towards driverless operation in select markets.

 

 

https://www.proactiv...ss-1084467.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tesla’s stock flirts with new high upon bold prediction for a $3 trillion valuation

 

While Tesla shares pare their gains, optimism is building for the company’s efforts in AI and autonomous driving

 

https://www.marketwa...uation-5387daa7

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 15 December 2025 - 11:07 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Ford has cancelled the EV F150 and says its EV gamble was a $19.5B folly. Whoops.

Toyota is looking like the smartest automaker right about now. They called the insanity what it was way back when, and didn’t jump on the EV bandwagon beyond dipping its toes.

- https://www.npr.org/...f-150-lightning

Who at Ford thought this was a good idea?

 

 

Canadian Ford plant re-opening soon.

 

 

 

 

The Ford Oakville Assembly plant in Canada is currently undergoing a major retooling, all to prepare it for production of the Ford Super Duty starting in 2026 - which could be exported to markets other than the U.S. - after it formerly built the now-discontinued Ford Edge, as well as the Lincoln Nautilus, which is now produced in China. As Ford Authority reported back in October, that process has been going well, it seems, and the new stamping building is expected to be completed in 2026, at the very same time the rest of the plant retooling has wrapped up. Now, we're getting a new update on this massive project.

 

"Since my last communication, the transformation of our Oakville Assembly Complex has progressed significantly," Kyle Cruji, Plant Manager, Oakville Assembly Complex, said in a statement. "The construction of the new stamping plant is progressing well. The final beam of the building structure was recently set in place, and the roof installation is now complete. Wall and floor construction are underway with equipment to follow. Elsewhere on the site, the re-tooling work continues, we have a new medical department, and meeting and training rooms, rest areas and other important renovations will follow."

 

 

https://fordauthorit...mains-on-track/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 16 December 2025 - 12:40 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Why Koenigsegg’s new 2,300hp hypercar changes everything

 

 

 

Mat’s flown over to Sweden for an exclusive tour of the Koenigsegg factory!

 

He’s teaming up with Koenigsegg’s CEO, Christian Von Koenigsegg, who is taking him on a guided tour of the factory to show him exactly what goes into the process of creating their extraordinary suite of hypercars. He’ll cover all different areas of the factory, from the production line of current and forthcoming cars such as the Jesko and Gemera, through to meeting some of the team who handcraft carbon fibre alloy wheels for each car (which can take up to three or four days to produce!).

 

What’s more, he’ll also have the chance to see the Gemera’s 5-litre V8 in action with the development team, seeing how much power it produces and how the team are looking to push it to its full potential. He'll also have a chance to get up close & personal with the incredible electric motors which will be used in this forthcoming hypercar. The question is, when it comes to hypercars, which would you choose: Koenigsegg, Bugatti or Pagani? Let us know in the comments!

 

https://youtu.be/Dhl...V8IYZQtluCTxGUE

 

 

Here are a few for sale, you will need a bit of money:

 

https://www.dupontre...ults/koenigsegg

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 16 December 2025 - 01:05 AM.

[Mike K.]

As I said years ago, the future that makes sense is with hybrid vehicles.

Toyota is a pioneer in that regard and has been making hybrid cars for 30 years.

[Victoria Watcher]

As I said years ago, the future that makes sense is with hybrid vehicles.

Toyota is a pioneer in that regard and has been making hybrid cars for 30 years.

 

No, it's not.  They have fire problems, and reliability issues.

 

And now you have two powertrains and all the servicing.  The electric one and the gas one.  It's not the way.

 

 

 

 

 

Pitched as a great compromise for the environmentally conscious yet road-tripping driver, plug-in hybrids — or PHEVs — have a few problems.

For one, people aren’t plugging them in.

Study after study show these vehicles — which boast an electric motor for emission-free rides and a gas engine for longer range — are actually being used more in gas mode. This means they’re polluting a lot more than a customer might think.

 

https://ca.news.yaho...-090000557.html

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 16 December 2025 - 07:13 AM.

[Mike K.]

The market disagrees with you, however. So does Toyota, the world’s largest automaker.

[Victoria Watcher]

The market disagrees with you, however. 

 

PHEVs are about one per cent to three per cent of new Canadian car registrations in the last five years.

 

 

 

????

 

 

Unless you can make a very cheap hybrid car, I don't see the advantage.

 

Thsoe who are most concerned about mileage are the ones least likely to buy expensive cars, on the whole.

 

Now you might also say people will buy hybrid beacuse they like the range.  Range anxiety is an emotional issue that is usally separated from reality.  But if you take long trips often (with hotel stays), well, again, you have the kind of money that isn't penny-pinching.  Just buy a gas car.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 16 December 2025 - 07:34 AM.

[Mike K.]

Watch them become a much higher percentage.

You know how some people without kids, try to explain to people with kids, how to raise kids? It’s the same with cars. People who aren’t into cars, or maybe don’t even drive or hardly ever drive, should not be pushing automotive policies. Their pocketbook isn’t impacted by rapid negative changes to owning and operating a vehicle, and their opinions aren’t tested by them. But increasingly that’s exactly what we see (non drivers dictating to drivers), and the results have been negative for society at-large, especially with the billions wasted on incentives that did absolutely nothing besides giving big handouts to car makers and wealthy new EV buyers.

Every time I see our NDP government pushing for bio-diesel the same thought comes to mind. They just gave up on their EV mandates and are now sinking their teeth into the next catastrophe.

Like, what’s not to love about this stuff? The NDP is all over it. Robot:

Biodiesel's drawbacks include poor cold-weather performance (gelling), lower energy density (reduced MPG), higher cost, limited availability, and potential engine issues like clogging with high blends, plus environmental concerns like increased NOx/particulate emissions and land/water use for feedstock, leading to complex food-vs-fuel debates.

[Victoria Watcher]

Tesla stock hits record as Wall Street rallies around robotaxi hype despite slow EV sales

 

 

• Tesla’s stock hit a record, surpassing its prior all-time high reached almost exactly a year ago.
• The latest rally is in part due to optimism that the company will finally make good on its promise to turn existing electric vehicles into robotaxis.
• It’s been a rollercoaster year for Tesla investors after the stock plummeted 36% in the first quarter, its worst performance since 2022.

https://www.cnbc.com...n-ev-sales.html

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 16 December 2025 - 12:52 PM.

[Matt R.]

Cyber truck top rated in its class for safety, apparently.

[Kyjen]

Just my own experience. Couple years ago, was looking for a new car. Thought for sure it would be an all-electric however I as I looked and  experimented I knew for sure I’d be suffering from constant range anxiety and wasn’t comfortable with possibilities of charging somewhere in the middle of the night when traveling.

 

Ended up with going with a plug-in hybrid and couldn’t be happier. Essentially any driving that I do in the capital region is on electric. When doing longer distance and operating in hybrid or straight combustion I’m getting great gas milage.  Over the last couple decades, I’ve driven around seven different vehicles to the prairies and back and none of them have come even close to the milage I got from the hybrid.

 

The only downfall so far … I filled the tank beginning of August after a trip to SK and now for the last few weeks I’ve been switching the all-electric switch to save mode so that I can burn that tank of fuel off and refill with fresh gas. Still have little over quarter tank to go.

[Mike K.]

I too hear nothing but praise from those who own the hybrids. That is absolutely the future. One friend with a Dodge had to get their van to the deal to have it serviced under warranty but anyone with a Toyota seems to have fairly positive, no-issue feedback.

I suspect eventually there will be a sensor if there isn’t already in some models, that will sense the lowering quality of the fuel and will force fuel use, just to ensure there’s fresh gas in the system. Today’s fuels are very low quality and start to degrade after as little as 30 days.

Can I ask what make you have, Kyjen?

[Victoria Watcher]

• Higher Fire Rates (Per Sale): Some data suggests hybrids have a higher fire rate (around 3,475 per 100,000 sold) than gas (around 1,500) or EVs (around 25) when looking at vehicles sold, though this data can be complex, say Motor Illustrated.