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stevewm posted:I think part of this is that GM seemed to have designed it to be a EV first... instead of a ICE car with a electric motor tacked on as so many other PHEVs seem to be. It is also one of the few where the EV drivetrain is more powerful than the ICE drivetrain and also one the few that doesn’t have any compromises running in one mode or the other. The majority of PHEVs are the other way around, hence the Clarity using the ICE under heavy load, or having worse performance in EV only mode. GM Powertrain is world-class, and the Volt was high priority enough that the bean counters didn’t get too much time to nitpick it to death. They still sell hardly any of them, because GM doesn’t know how to market literally anything that doesn’t say Silverado on the side. Also worst-in-the-industry dealerships. Service departments are ok, but their sales teams are atrocious.
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Jun 3, 2018 23:42
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Make the volt a legit 5-seater and we'll talk.
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Jun 3, 2018 23:43
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eyebeem posted:Make the volt a legit 5-seater and we'll talk. This is my only concession with the Volt, especially since I have 3 kids. Good news is, the vast majority of the time the kids go with the family truckster (Explorer) and next to never are we traveling with all five of us. My oldest sits shotgun when I take the kids myself around town.
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Jun 4, 2018 00:03
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MrYenko posted:They still sell hardly any of them, because GM doesn’t know how to market literally anything that doesn’t say Silverado on the side. Also worst-in-the-industry dealerships. Service departments are ok, but their sales teams are atrocious. They do not want EVs to succeed. PHEVs are a hedge in case they can't stop them.
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Jun 4, 2018 00:47
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Ola posted:The Volt has a lot of clever design features. I don't know for sure, but I think it's the best plugin hybrid out there, and if development continues to get skewed towards all electrics, it will remain so. The only thing that scares the poo poo out of me about the Volt is the depreciation. I had a Honda Fit that I sold to a dealer for way, way more than I thought it was worth because of the badge, and I have a bad feeling that a GM product won’t age as gracefully. The Volt’s build quality from a technical and mechanical standpoint is second to none from what I can tell (and what everyone here reiterates), but that doesn’t mean poo poo if the public at large believes that Chevy = poor quality. That’s what I think might be chasing people away from the Bolt, too. It’s a shame because it’s one thing GM seems to do incredibly well yet they’re not seeing a reward for anything aside from selling SUVs and trucks.
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Jun 4, 2018 01:20
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Ripoff posted:The only thing that scares the poo poo out of me about the Volt is the depreciation. I had a Honda Fit that I sold to a dealer for way, way more than I thought it was worth because of the badge, and I have a bad feeling that a GM product won’t age as gracefully. The depreciation is what caused me to actually buy my Leaf instead of jumping on another lease. Maybe GM won't do the same, but Nissan adjusted the buyout based on how the used market was, which took $6000 off the original buyout. This really doesn't matter if you don't keep your vehicles though. I've had zero issues with my car and if fits my needs, so I won't be getting rid of it, just like I won't get rid of my 15yo car without issues(Buick).
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Jun 4, 2018 01:56
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I could see myself upgrading in a few years if we get some big jump in battery tech and then hold on to the Volt for when my son turns 16. Good car for a kid.
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Jun 4, 2018 02:02
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If you need a good dose of eye-rolling and want to feel stupider by the time you’re done, I can recommend the discussion thread to this piece on EV design: https://arstechnica.com/cars/2018/06/change-like-weve-not-seen-in-decades-high-end-auto-designers-go-electric/
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Jun 4, 2018 02:15
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drgitlin posted:If you need a good dose of eye-rolling and want to feel stupider by the time you’re done, I can recommend the discussion thread to this piece on EV design: https://arstechnica.com/cars/2018/06/change-like-weve-not-seen-in-decades-high-end-auto-designers-go-electric/ Who knew the early vision for the Jag i-pace was so "Houston donk" I wonder what type of goofy logo they would put on it, Mars bar? 
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Jun 4, 2018 03:37
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spandexcajun posted:Who knew the early vision for the Jag i-pace was so "Houston donk" I wonder what type of goofy logo they would put on it, Mars bar? 30" wheels are standard concept art affair. And honestly, that could be any suv/cuv concept. There isn't really a distinct "that a Jaguar" design to it. Phuzun fucked around with this message at 03:58 on Jun 4, 2018 |
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Jun 4, 2018 03:54
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If anyone (else) is interested in Zero Motorcycles, it looks like they updated their branding today. https://rideapart.com/articles/zero-electric-motorcycles-logo-update Old:  New:  I'm coming from ten years of car-free bicycle life and got a newbie (ICE) motorcycle a few weeks ago. Planning on getting a Zero S later this year or next spring.
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Jun 4, 2018 03:59
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Ulf posted:If anyone (else) is interested in Zero Motorcycles, it looks like they updated their branding today. https://rideapart.com/articles/zero-electric-motorcycles-logo-update Cool, so when they slap the logo on the bikes people will have even less of an idea on who makes it.  Seriously though, Zeros are so unknown that the local DMV literally has no idea it's an EV and registers the FXS as a gasoline bike. I have to repeat the name of it like 3-4 times to some folks who keep asking if it's made by Yamaha or some other Japanese brand. I had one guy refuse to believe it was a different company until I showed him the little American flag on the tail. Also which ICE bike did you get? Ironically I'd say that the FXS is the easiest bike I've ridden and is less prone in Eco mode to get me in trouble than anything I've ridden in the past. It's a hell of a commuter too, where you don't give a drat about getting stuck in traffic in lane-splitting-free states, whereas the old Duc would enter "hot oil freak-out mode" every time I got stuck behind a car. The only thing that sucks is that the range isn't exactly great for the 6.5 kWh bikes and that Zero basically abandoned the ChaDeMo charging port thing a while back in favor of just strapping larger level 2 chargers on the bike. Great for the S-chassis folks who bought their bikes in 2017-2018, but it screwed us with the X-chassis over. I wish they'd retry the DC-charging equipment because I'd love to take this thing up to some twisty roads for general assholery, but I don't feel like sitting around forever with the bullshit 700-something-watt charger slowly putting juice back into it if I take things too far.
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Jun 4, 2018 04:20
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Ripoff posted:The only thing that scares the poo poo out of me about the Volt is the depreciation. That's why you buy a three year old one for 60% off.
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Jun 4, 2018 04:41
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I actually like the new logo, though it needs a few more design rounds (a little more separation to make the "Z" more apparent, and I'd flatten the bevel a little) I tried to take the Cycle Asylum advice and just-get-a-ninja-250 but I just couldn't live with the tryhard edgy look or the Kawi green, so I found a low-mileage CBR250R that I've been loving. I thought about starting on the Zero S and just running it in eco mode while I learned, but it was less a question of power and more that I'd worry so much about dinging up such a pricey bike with a newbie mistake. I plan on getting the charge tank (allows 6.6kW charging via J Plug), it's still <1C charging but it beats the wall plug. There are lots of level 2 chargers in the I-70 corridor so I should be good there.
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Jun 4, 2018 04:42
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Ulf posted:If anyone (else) is interested in Zero Motorcycles, it looks like they updated their branding today. That looks like a cropped Mazda logo.
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Jun 4, 2018 04:45
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Ulf posted:Old: That's a snazzy new logo, I like how it is both Z for zero and a literal zero in the same space.
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Jun 4, 2018 04:46
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bull3964 posted:That looks like a cropped Mazda logo. My first impression too.
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Jun 4, 2018 05:08
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Old logo was bad. New logo is also bad.
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Jun 4, 2018 06:51
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Don't give a gently caress, electric motorcycles are so cool they could have a turd as a logo and still be OK in my book. (New logo ain't bad.)
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Jun 4, 2018 09:30
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That new Zero logo is insanely bad and looks like something out of the early 2000s.
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Jun 4, 2018 11:04
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The old logo looks like it was built from clipart flotsam, so the new one is an improvement. Hope they are rebranding because they are about to launch a major upgrade.
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Jun 4, 2018 11:12
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big crush on Chad OMG posted:That new Zero logo is insanely bad and looks like something out of the early 2000s. Like one of those chinese brand knockoffs
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Jun 4, 2018 11:40
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It looks like a knock off of the Honda auto emblem. What do Honda motorcycles have on them now? Edit, still the wing and a big blocky HONDA.
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Jun 4, 2018 12:22
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Almost every new car logo looks silly, then you get used to it and it's normal and fine. The zero logo is one of the better ones, IMO.
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Jun 4, 2018 14:32
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Paywalled article about electric ferries in Norway, but the video is playable for everyone: https://www.tu.no/artikler/dette-er-verdens-forste-helelektriske-fergesamband/438991 Shows the vacuum docking system (so the ferry doesn't have to waste energy staying in contact with the ramp) and the self connecting charge port.
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Jun 4, 2018 17:32
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Interesting!quote:World’s first liquid air energy storage plant opens in Lancashire https://www.ft.com/content/fa755eec-67e3-11e8-b6eb-4acfcfb08c11 Might be paywalled, you can go through it if you Google the title and click the search result link.
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Jun 5, 2018 00:25
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MrYenko posted:GM Powertrain is world-class, and the Volt was high priority enough that the bean counters didn’t get too much time to nitpick it to death. woah FCA dealerships still exist ok
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Jun 5, 2018 12:43
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:woah FCA dealerships still exist ok Have you shopped for a Mitsubishi?
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Jun 5, 2018 15:24
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Elephanthead posted:Have you shopped for a Mitsubishi? Was at the NY car show last year and off in a distant part of the convention center was Mitsubishi. I was shocked by a) how low their MSRPs were and b) that they were still in the US market.
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Jun 5, 2018 16:16
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Agronox posted:Was at the NY car show last year and off in a distant part of the convention center was Mitsubishi. I was shocked by a) how low their MSRPs were and b) that they were still in the US market. I also was amazed at how 1990's their "new" outlander looked inside. I had this idea I wanted a PHEV outlander until I actually walked up to one and looked inside.
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Jun 5, 2018 16:50
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I don't think anybody actually goes out intending to buy a Mitsubishi anymore, not since they killed the Evo. People just go out with a class of vehicle and a budget in mind while insisting that they get something brand new, and they end up in one because their budget really should have led them to something 2-3 years old, CPO off a lease.
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Jun 5, 2018 17:56
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Speaking of FCA dealers, don’t ever buy an EV off of their lots. Their F&I guy at the local dealer was trying to sell us on oil change plans for an i3.  FCA dealers must have a general intelligence test to be a salesperson or manager of sorts, except the higher scores flunk out and the dumber you are the higher you go.
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Jun 6, 2018 01:46
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Ripoff posted:Speaking of FCA dealers, don’t ever buy an EV off of their lots. Their F&I guy at the local dealer was trying to sell us on oil change plans for an i3. My experience has been that all dealerships are run by idiots.
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Jun 6, 2018 01:53
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Doesn't the I3 have a gas engine generator? (Optional) I did get free oil changes with my leaf but I made them trade them for a car wash book.
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Jun 6, 2018 02:06
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My Wife and I've just purchased a 2018 Nissan Leaf SV (Mid Trim) about two weeks ago, I've got to say that it's quite the experience. We felt that range anxiety until we got the Flo charger installed at the house. We've just noticed today that we haven't driven our 2nd car in awhile either.
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Jun 6, 2018 02:42
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Elephanthead posted:Doesn't the I3 have a gas engine generator? (Optional) My wife got hers in December and the readout says the next service appointment should be this August.
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Jun 6, 2018 04:34
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Ripoff posted:Speaking of FCA dealers, don’t ever buy an EV off of their lots. Their F&I guy at the local dealer was trying to sell us on oil change plans for an i3. This is thing where they’re purposefully trying to kill electric cars, right? 
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Jun 6, 2018 05:23
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movax posted:This is thing where they’re purposefully trying to kill electric cars, right? Yes. Dealerships make bank on service and maintenance, especially when they convince people to ridiculously short service intervals, like 3000 mile oil changes on modern cars. EVs threaten to seriously slash their profits, so they hate them.
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Jun 6, 2018 07:39
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KozmoNaut posted:Yes. Can't wait for the juju to start (it probably has) about "battery flushes" or other questionable maintenance practices for EVs. I guess tire places won't really care, but mechanics / regular service departments will take a beating as (perhaps if, according to some) the percentage of ICE cars drops. Not sure if there's a straightforward intercept strategy to pivot to supporting EVs; brakes are still important / require service...
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Jun 6, 2018 08:09
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Fewer moving parts = maintenance needs generally should decrease significantly. Of course, there will still be faults and such to be fixed, but that requires a different skillset compared to good old-fashioned ICE repair and maintenance, so you need to be more of an electrician -- or even a computer dude -- than a mechanic. Outside of the basic stuff like brakes and axles and stuff. It's obviously not going to change overnight, but if you're a young mechanic, definitely learn as much about electric poo poo as you possibly can. Unless you have a good business plan for a garage that keeps people's "obsolete" ICE cars running. You'll be competing with a lot of older ICE expert mechanics who don't want to/can't learn that newfangled electric drivetrain stuff, though. KozmoNaut fucked around with this message at 09:47 on Jun 6, 2018 |
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Jun 6, 2018 09:44
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