The Automated and Electric vehicles act 2018!

[markjay]

A personal view.

The poor man was happy with his 2nd hand fur coat, bought off the wealthy man, and he would expect to wear it for several winters.

But Stalin then decreed that the only coats made from man made materials could be worn, some BS about saving the eco system of the forests. The new type of coat wasn't as warm in the much colder weather, and worse such coats didn't have longevity as they would deteriorate rapidly.

The wealthy man could afford to replace his coat annually, so only a slight detriment to him.
The poor man bought a coat from the wealthy man but it had no purpose after a few weeks. He couldn't afford to do this each winter anyway so from then on he was resigned to losing ability to go out each winter.

Stalin's mates were happy as their industry made money selling more coats each winter.
Stalin was happy as his mates thanked him in financial terms for creating this innovative 'improvement' to forest preservation.

The bears continued to cr*p in the woods unaware.

True.

Stalin was a fact of life that the citizens of the USSR had to deal with. So are EVs and the looming ban on ICE cars....

 

[m80]

What about the hat?

The wealthy man has no one to sell it too any longer as the poor man is staying indoors now.

Although the poor man does have the choice I suppose.
He can now work solely for the wealthy man as the wealthy man has ability to provide a coat, and a hat, each year, so that the poor man is able to venture out again.

Now that's capitalism, Russian style.

 

[markjay]

The wealthy man has no one to sell it too any longer as the poor man is staying indoors now.

Although the poor man does have the choice I suppose.
He can now work solely for the wealthy man as the wealthy man has ability to provide a coat, and a hat, each year, so that the poor man is able to venture out again.

Now that's capitalism, Russian style.

Supply and demand.... did you know that in the Soviet Union a second-hand car used to cost much more than a new one? Because you didn't have to wait for it ten years....

If there are second-hand hats and coats on the market, they will sell, the only question is at what price.

If poor people can no longer afford them, rich people will have to drop the price.

And so eventually everyone will have a hat and coat, and an EV.... not necessarily the latest or the best, but still an EV. Did I mention Nissan Leaf....?

 

[m80]

Supply and demand.... did you know that in the Soviet Union a second-hand car used to cost much more than a new one? Because you didn't have to wait for it ten years....

If there are second-hand hats and coats on the market, they will sell, the only question is at what price.

Relayed to me from Mrs Me,
after the fall of the Soviet club there were mass shortages.
Much was rationed and there was a non white market in ration tokens, the crims did so well.

Anyway seeing a queue a citizen would join, as a queue meant there was 'something' to be had.
"What is zis queue for Comrade?"
"Zis is de shoe queue."
and they would wait patiently for a few hours in hope.
If successful after the long wait, hooray. They would then have to go back the next week for the other shoe.

I would get my coat but only the rich buggers have those.

 

[markjay]

Relayed to me from Mrs Me,
after the fall of the Soviet club there were mass shortages.
Much was rationed and there was a non white market in ration tokens, the crims did so well.

Anyway seeing a queue a citizen would join, as a queue meant there was 'something' to be had.
"What is zis queue for Comrade?"
"Zis is de shoe queue."
and they would wait patiently for a few hours in hope.
If successful after the long wait, hooray. They would then have to go back the next week for the other shoe.

I would get my coat but only the rich buggers have those.

So we seem to agree that Capitalist is better than Communism then....?

 

[m80]

So we seem to agree that Capitalist is better than Communism then....?

Well yeh, but it is a BIG subject.

Capitalism needs controls, or the wealthy can create unfair advantage to themselves,
just one company owning the rights to the game of Monopoly can't be right can it?

But where is that line that means the controls are providing unfair advantages?
Cash for questions, insider info so pals can invest in lucrative opportunities provided by legislation / occasional crisis, those with power over us being on several boards as silent directors.......
How about being part of the club that creates lucrative legislation to the advantage of the elite?

But I do accept that in the main we all have a whole pair of shoes.

 

[markjay]

Well yeh, but it is a BIG subject.

Capitalism needs controls, or the wealthy can create unfair advantage to themselves,
just one company owning the rights to the game of Monopoly can't be right can it?

Ah, that's old one: "How come there's only one Monopolies Commission?"...

(I know, it no longer exists, there are different institutes now to deal with this)

 

[markjay]

But where is that line that means the controls are providing unfair advantages?
Cash for questions, insider info so pals can invest in lucrative opportunities provided by legislation / occasional crisis, those with power over us being on several boards as silent directors.......
How about being part of the club that creates lucrative legislation to the advantage of the elite?

But I do accept that in the main we all have a whole pair of shoes.

In an open market economy, monopoles and critical services are dealt-with via regulation and regulators.

This works well where the regulators are not corrupt.

Where they are corrupt... well, nothing works when the regime and public service are corrupt, regardless of whether it's a Capitalistic or Socialistic or Communist society.

 

[m80]

In an open market economy, monopoles and critical services are dealt-with via regulation and regulators.

This works well where the regulators are not corrupt.

Where they are corrupt... well, nothing works when the regime and public service are corrupt, regardless of whether it's a Capitalistic or Socialistic or Communist society.

Abserflippinlutely.

As Churchill said about the various forms of governance,
I'll be sober in the morning, ask me then madam.

 

[Tuercas viejas]

OK
I/We have been working on electric cars since 2013 and the Coda that went bankrupt a shortly there after .
We were quasi agents for them being Toyota hybrid certified, it was some sort of "fit" for the importer .
Essentially a flat platform chassis with wafer battery pack which was liquid cooled .
The single electric motor was close coupled to the front trans axle with a voltage converter on top.
Single biggest customer complaint by users was battery & voltage converter over heat with abrupt shut down.

Biggest takeaway for me was this flat platform chassis supporting the battery pack laid out along the whole frame with frequent overheating issues & poor operating reliability in hot periods.
On top a three box 4 door body which was reminiscent of most Asian brands.

Coda (electric car) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Now there have been others on the market like the Chev Bolt but again that company seems to be in a state of not knowing what direction to take on electric cars.
Now the Nissan Leaf I have written about on this forum & I have mixed views on it, since I have used one for about 6 months off & on.
Would I buy one NO ? Would I lease it? Maybe if the terms were right and its residuals weren't upside down after say two years .

So the next I evaluated was the 2021 Hyundai Ionic.

2021 Hyundai Ioniq EV - Google Search

www.google.com

OK two box 5 door incl hatchback.
Now before I go further having been in the industry for more than 60 years every vehicle inspected I tend to evaluate what draws me to base value & what is the unit cost at the the showroom floor making up its MSRP.
A quick look over the the Ionic's $40,000 sticker price draws me to determine by quick calculation that the battery amounts to about 3/5 ths of the total value .
So boiled down, an electric motor powering a trans axle with a converter on top, Traction battery is in the back aka Prius.
Drive is peppy as you would expect from an electric motor drive ,
So terms and conditions:-
Battery is warranties for 100,000 miles if you are the original owner .
Are new batteries available to the trade as replacements -At the moment No .
Do you foresee them being available to the trade No!
Do you have Techs certified to work on it? No
Any rebates?
If you lease it for 110% of value with Hyundai financing there is a $10,000 rebate after 6 months of non interrupted payments.
Footnote! After no more than 2 years from introduction, its now obsolete with a new Ionic to be introduced later this year.
Talk about a cell phone on wheels & it begs the question, what its residual value in two years with 20,000 on the clock.
Would I buy one NO! Would I lease one No especially when I cannot get residual value at the end of the lease period.
That's part one
Ford Mach E to follow.
Tuercas viejas






f




,

OK Ford's Mach E
One Saturday morning two month past I spent a few minutes scooting about nearby Fords dealers' web sites looking for Mach E inventory & test drive availability .
In short any demo's available?
I got the instant annoying response by on line reps for Ford 's car sales who I call "sales lot lizards" and got the run around by three of them, but one dealer Larry Millar Ford I do business with had one as demo.
I scudded over to this dealer after work & took test drive.

Ford dealership near me | Ford dealership Denver

Big deals on Ford trucks, and SUVs like the F-150, F-250, Ranger, Explorer, and Escape. Ford Lakewood serves Denver, Littleton, Englewood, and Golden CO.

www.lhmlakewoodford.com

First impression its an electric version of my Landrover's Evoque an ELECTRIC EWOK! (well blow me down Popeye)
OK the dash is a bit different having a slot like electronic speedo and the center console has this huge computer screen and big round twaddle knob in the middle for the infotainment & de riguer navigation gizmo.
Everything else was EWOK.
Even the trunk area was screaming EWOK but the close button switch was on the opposite side of the the tailgate!
Now the car comes in two versions currently both made in Mexico in 2 & 4WD variants.
Cost was quoted as $52, 000 for the front wheel drive unit & $57,000 for the 4WD .
Delivery was 5 to 7 weeks from receipt of order.
OK I popped the hood to see what is in there!
Well nothing really visible , just a big blow molded ABS cover with some dimples in it for shopping nick knacks.
BUT there were six slots on the cover and peering through it revealed, "just": the front transaxle with electric motor & voltage converter ,just like the Hyundai set up.
Rear drive (this specimen was 4wd was a repeat of the front axle.
So a transaxle driveline just like most of these electric cars !
Now the traction battery ran almost the whole length of the chassis platform like the Coda and I couldn't see any provision of cooling either although I my conclusion it should have something! Does it???.Dunno!

A road test gave me the sensation it was a much heavier more solid surefooted car and not quite such a cracker box feeling of the Asian Hyundai.
Of course with max torque at zero revolutions the car has more than enough power to launch and If Toyota /Lexus hybrids are any indication they all make short work of 70,000 mile tyres you install on regular ICE high end cars.
Overall this is a step up from the Hyundai crackerbox but at $57,000 .that price step margin for a car that I calculate battery content is again around 3/5ths of the MSRP sticker price.
Again a repeat like Manuel of BBC's Farty Towers & questions about range , charging, service tech support I got almost "I know nothing "Mr Fawlty"!

The take away was nice presentation good fit 'n finish being Ford, and seems like it would be a fun car to drive about like LR's Evoque.
Would I buy one NO.
Would I lease one , doubtful unless terms were favorable, very favorable and the reason is:
Sometime in the future the price of these traction batteries are going to fall ,drastically, and that ultimately means a price war between brands.
I can tell each of these popular brands are made to a price point, the use of conventional transaxles reveals that, obviously negating the need for resolver circuitry (sorry Toyota Lexus Speak) and on board control modules as you would need with pancake hub drive motors .

So where is the money fixing these things when they go down for some failure in the electron wizardry or the effect of collision damage.
Because my friends the electric car really is becoming a cell phone on wheels!
Drop your cell phone cracking it and the lights go out, so you will swap it for another!

So business opportunities I see in the future with specialty electrical & collision related repairs fixing write off's/throw aways with repurposing of traction batteries .
Tuercas Viejas .
,

 

[Petrol Pete]

Car Wizard buys a knackered Nissan Leaf . Petrol head ex US Military mechanic owner of a business that works on 'exotic' cars buy's a Leaf !. He is obviously not massively serious about it , more curious. So am I

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