13911 replies to this topic

[lanforod]

Theres a difference between a podunk premier and the prime minister of course. I don't know if the premier even gets much security outside of larger events. 

[Mike K.]

It’s a show of force and an outward display of power, don’t you think?

[Tony]

Comparison of the Canadian PM  vs US President cars....BOT

 

Canada: discreet survivability

The PM’s vehicle is built to blend into traffic, maintain mobility, and delay threats long enough for the RCMP to extract the principal. It’s fundamentally a civilian SUV with integrated armour.

 

United States: fortress on wheels

The U.S. President’s limousine is a custom-built, multi‑ton armoured capsule engineered to withstand extreme, multi‑vector attacks. It prioritizes maximum survivability, even at the cost of speed and subtlety.

 

Any reflections on each society?

[Victoria Watcher]

Yes. The USA is 1000x more important than Canada in terms of maintaining a democratic world order where possible. The guy needs more armour, and opposition to freedom is high against him.

[Mike K.]

It looks like Eby is following in Horgan’s footsteps in terms of vehicle. That’s good to see.

[Mike K.]

Harper had a Cadillac sedan, referred to as a “limo” by the press. Is a four-door sedan a limo? At least that’s what I was able to find. There was a lot of press when the ‘limo’ was sent to India.

Trudeau started off with an armada of large SUVs, and that tradition continues to this day.

Anyway, not a big deal, but these large American SUVs are now the status quo. Maybe soon they’ll switch to Kias.

[splashflash]

CATL announced on January 29, 2026 that, under ideal conditions, its next generation battery will retain 80% of its capacity after 3000 full charge/discharge cycles at 5C, which translates into an expected battery life of more than 1.8 million kilometers.

C rate measures how quickly a battery can be charged and discharged in relation to its size. according to Car News China. For example, an 80 kWh battery at 1C can be charged at a maximum of 80 kW, theoretically allowing a full charge in one hour. At 5C, the same battery could theoretically be fully charged in 12 minutes using a charger with 400 kW of power. CATL notes that the life expectancy of its new battery is about six times the current industry average and may exceed the vehicle’s lifespan.


https://cleantechnic...tion-5c-battery
Charge in 12 Minutes, Drive for 1.8 Million Kilometers, CATL Just Raised the Bar
https://thenewswheel...meter-lifespan/

Sounds like this will go to market in mid-2026.
https://www.autoevol...ion-265383.html

"The Changan Nevo (Qiyuan) A06 is our only reference about that, but the derivatives with the new sodium-ion batteries will only be put for sale by the middle of the year.
...

"The A06 will get a pure 45-kWh Naxtra battery pack, made entirely of these Na-ion cells. With an energy density of 175 Wh/kg, it should tip the scales at 257 kilograms (567 pounds), which sounds way too optimistic. That's because there are several other components in a battery pack. The final weight is something we will only know for sure when the production car reaches dealerships.
...

"CATL would not have chosen to replace the trustworthy lead-acid batteries with a Na-ion unit if it did not fully trust it would beat the old-timer.
When it comes to high-voltage battery packs, Na-ion cells have more potential to fix the Achilles' heel of BEVs than the celebrated solid-state batteries (SSBs). Their potential to be cheap and to last for a long time is what used BEV owners want to see confirmed. Time always has the last word on these matters, but hope is what makes the wait more bearable.

Edited by splashflash, 10 February 2026 - 03:59 AM.

[LJ]

This should be a positive influence, glad I bought my CATL stock a couple of months ago.

[Victoria Watcher]

BYD unveils major 10,000 cycle breakthrough in its solid state and sodium EV battery technology

 

https://supercarblon...ery-technology/

[Victoria Watcher]

TESLA SEMI FINAL SPECS: 500-Mile Range and 1.2 MW Charging Confirmed!

https://youtu.be/fqU...2GHUtsh_GX35Ny8

 

 

 

Tesla is quoting customers $290,000 for the 500-mile Long Range version of the Tesla Semi, Electrek has learned. The pricing is consistent with data from California’s HVIP voucher program, finally giving us clarity on what the production electric truck will cost after years of speculation.

 

[...]

 

The $290,000 price point represents a significant increase from the original $180,000, roughly 60% higher. However, it’s still well below the industry average for class 8 electric semi trucks. CARB data shows the average cost of a zero-emission Class 8 truck was $435,000 in 2024, meaning Tesla is undercutting competitors by about $145,000 – but the electric trucking landscape is changing fast and some manufacturers have been known to boost prices to take better advantage of incentives.

 

 

https://electrek.co/...ric-semi-truck/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 11 February 2026 - 05:51 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Robot:

 

New conventional diesel Class 8 semi trucks typically range from $150,000 to $250,000+ (USD), with many popular models falling in the $170,000–$220,000 range for well-equipped sleeper versions.

[Victoria Watcher]

Honda reported Tuesday a 42 per cent drop in profit for the nine months through December, compared to a year earlier, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs hurt the Japanese automaker’s earnings.

 

Tokyo-based Honda Motor Co.’s profit over the three quarters totaled 465.4 billion yen (US$3 billion), down from 805.2 billion yen.

 

That marked the second straight year that profit declined during the period at Honda, the maker of the Accord sedan, Civic compact and Odyssey minivan.

 

Sales for the three quarters dipped 2.2 per cent to 15.98 trillion yen ($102.6 billion) from the previous year. Honda stuck to its full fiscal year profit forecast at 300 billion yen ($1.9 billion).

 

The slowdown in electric vehicles in the U.S. market was one negative factor, according to Honda, while the relatively healthy performance in its motorcycle division worked as a plus.

 

Honda lowered its global EV sales ratio projection for 2030 to 20 per cent from its previous target of 30 per cent. It also said it canceled the development of some EV models, because the EV market was changing.

 

 

https://www.bnnbloom...makers-results/

 

 

 

 

 

Honda’s EV results in the most recent financial quarter are creating an unexpected problem for General Motors: fewer orders for electric vehicles that Honda asked GM to build.

 

The Honda Prologue and Acura ZDX electric crossovers were co-developed with GM and share the same underlying platform used by the Chevrolet Blazer EV and Cadillac Lyriq EV, with assembly also handled by GM plants. But after Prologue and ZDX sales fell off a cliff, Honda reduced the number of cars it plans to order from GM.

 

According to a new report from Automotive News, the lower output means Honda will need to pay GM for the difference in procurement, meaning even as Honda rethinks its EV strategy, GM still gets paid for vehicles it doesn't have to build anymore.

 

https://www.autoguid...-sales-44630062

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 12 February 2026 - 04:08 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Electric Vehicles Outsell Gasoline Autos in Europe in December

 

https://www.institut...pe-in-december/

 

 

Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) overtook those of gasoline-powered vehicles in the European Union in December 2025 for the first time, with “hybrid” vehicles outselling both. The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association found that registrations of battery electric vehicles reached 217,898, up 51% year-on-year from December 2024, with a market share of 22.6%. Sales of gasoline-powered cars in the EU fell 19% year-on-year, from 267,834 in December 2024 to 216,492 in December 2025, with a market share of 22.5%. Hybrids had the largest share of sales at 44% in December. The figures exclude hybrid vehicles that run on gasoline with regenerative braking and plug-in hybrid vehicles that also have battery power. Despite the good showing in December, for the 2025 calendar year, EV sales in the EU were 17.4% of the market, up from 13.6% in 2024. Registrations of gasoline-powered cars fell by 18.7% in 2025, with all major markets in the EU seeing a decrease. Total EU car sales rose 5.8% to almost one million vehicles in December, and by 1.8% to 10.8 million for the year.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 12 February 2026 - 04:11 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Rivian R2 Official Specs Revealed — 87.4kWh Battery, 650HP & 5G Connectivity

 

YouTube:  https://youtu.be/QFk...ICpaBdUx71JTCqB

 

 

 

 

 

Rivian surges over 20% on delivery guidance, R2 launch in Q2; CEO says 'key inflection' reached

The EV maker also posted a gross profit for Q4, driven by its software and services unit.

https://finance.yaho...-143919862.html

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 13 February 2026 - 07:30 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

https://x.com/elonmu...409484757147983

 

[Victoria Watcher]

What makes America’s EV backsliding such a disappointment is that other countries are going electric in a decisive way. In 2025, consumers bought a record 20.7 million EVs worldwide, up from just three million in 2020. In several countries, EVs now account for a significant share of new car sales:

Norway: 96 percent

China: 51 percent

UK: 24 percent

Korea: 20 percent

U.S.: 9 percent

 

https://www.thefp.co...tm_medium=email

[Mike K.]

Finally, an honest (Canadian) assessment of EVs vs ICE.

I will be post quite a bit from this article because this information is very relevant and as far as I can tell, the most honest we’ve ever seen from a driving publication.

Can you recommend an online calculator to compare life-cycle costs between and EV and hybrid and ICE vehicles?

Tim, a most excellent question. And unfortunately, I can’t offer easy salvation on this. While I have seen some calculations that claim to offer a quick comparison, they are mostly — and sometimes grossly — inaccurate. The basic factors that need to be taken into account are purchase price, fuelling and repair costs, insurance, and, most often overlooked, depreciation. The problem is that such costs, especially the estimates on annual repair bills and depreciation, are often an aggregate for all makes and models. I have seen repair “estimates” for new Hondas and Toyotas, for instance, that would keep a 20-year-old Chrysler Sebring running.

If you’re shopping an EV versus an ICE or hybrid, it also depends on your purchasing habits. For instance, if you keep your cars until they’re ready for the junkyard, you won’t care that electric vehicles depreciate at an ungodly rate. If you trade in every four years, any monies you’re saving on gas versus charging at home will likely pale compared to how much you get fleeced on the trade–in. Try comparing the resale value of a Honda or Toyota hybrid versus any kind of German electric vehicle for an illustration.

Are EV sales down, or is it all new personal-vehicle sales that are down? Is this a reflection of the technology itself, or of the economic struggles of the average person?
Article content
Nicole, another excellent — and loaded — question that, unfortunately, also defies an easy answer. Nonetheless, I will take a stab at it.

First of all, the technological struggles are, of course, real. So, too, are the costs. In fact, they are often intertwined. Battery energy density and range anxiety, for example, are inextricably tied to cost. First of all, bigger batteries may go farther, but they also cost much more and can make the vehicle unreasonably heavy. Solid–state batteries promise better energy density, and to increase range and reduce weight. Unfortunately, they will also be very expensive, a major roadblock when most EV makers around the world are putting much more effort into developing LFP (lithium-iron-phosphate) batteries that cost less but have less energy density and charge slower than the NMC (nickel-manganese-cobalt) currently in vogue for legacy automakers. It is, to say the least, a conundrum.

There’s much more here.

- https://driving.ca/c...networkboosting

[Victoria Watcher]

Fully autonomous vehicles will require major policy changes, too. So while we may have fully autonomous vehicles available for purchase by 2020 they may be illegal to operate on public roads for a very long time to come.

 

[Victoria Watcher]

Yeah, but...

 

  - Those cars are really expensive:

    - outfitted with a bunch of sensors, most of which will interfere with each other if thousands of cars have them

    - have a lot of computing power going into them

  - The routes have to be meticulously pre-mapped before the car can successfully navigate them

 

I agree, it'll happen, but consumer grade in the next 5 years seems optimistic.  10 years maybe, with a phasing in period, maybe...

 

 

[Victoria Watcher]

Well, whoever gets the first autonomous car in Victoria come and pick me up and I will buy you a coffee.

 

That doesn't sound like much now but coffee will be about $50 a cup then.