Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

GM tells some Bolt owners to park 50 feet away from other cars

autonews.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

231–240 of 432 posts

Re: GM tells some Bolt owners to park 50 feet away from other cars

#231

Post by rdtwo »

MrFoof wrote: post #153
ineedasername wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, but an important part of that context is that electric car fires also burn longer and hotter and take significantly more effort to put out. Too little water can actually make the fire worse. Annecdotally, my recollection from other articles is that electric cars do in fact catch on fire less often. But it also seems like they may be more difficult to deal with. This may change as EV's become more mainstream & fi…

Yep. Moreover, the issue isn't new cars today. You know when you saw that old Chrysler Grand Caravan burning on the side of the road, and you hear the story that the person has been holding it together solely with thoughts and prayers and maybe $500 between tires and oil for the last 7 years of its 19 year life? That's the current inevitability. I'm not worried about someone's 6-month old Bolt or 2-year old Model 3.…

If it’s a Chrysler product it doesn’t need thoughts prayers or old age to spontaneously combust. A brand new one will sometimes so it all on its own due to bad design

Re: GM tells some Bolt owners to park 50 feet away from other cars

#232

Post by rootusrootus »

Alupis wrote: post #131
cptskippy wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't think this is fudging at all. Tesla's big selling point is the FSD package... and most people select it by default. I mean even if there weren't data showing that as completely untrue... https://electrek.co/2021/08/31/tesla-survey-take-rate-full-s... ... then why would Tesla bother to offer FSD as a subscription service if everyone is buying it?

Well, I stand corrected. My guess is the sticker price shocks people into not choosing it then. Most people I've spoken with equate Tesla with self driving... It's notable the FSD survey had a peak in 2019 - perhaps 2020+ is impacted by covid related things (reduction of income, etc). Or, perhaps it's being influence by monthly stories of Tesla's driving into parked objects and the like. Still, it was a tactic to bre…

> Most people I've spoken with equate Tesla with self driving...

I hope not, or Tesla's reputation is going to take a hell of a beating when they learn the reality.

Re: GM tells some Bolt owners to park 50 feet away from other cars

#233

Post by rootusrootus »

reitzensteinm wrote: post #140
toomuchtodo wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My Model Y, delivered within the last few weeks, has no panel gaps (edit: the panel gaps, measured with an $8 tool at delivery, are within spec). It was delivered in perfect condition and is garage safe. I can even park next to other cars safely.

I test drove a M3P six months ago in Melbourne, and the panel gap quality of the two cars in the showroom was absolutely awful. I couldn't believe it. They were the refreshed model with the chrome delete, too. Then my friend bought one, and it was as good as any other new car I've seen. It looked great. I found that quite strange. Is it a roll of the dice based on where and when they're made, or would the demo models…

There is a huge amount of variability. You just have to check the one you got before you sign for it and make sure it isn't one where everything is misaligned.

Re: GM tells some Bolt owners to park 50 feet away from other cars

#234

Post by mensetmanusman »

sbierwagen wrote: post #117
OJFord wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is that actually relevant though, or just an implementation detail? Perhaps you could argue a moving car seems more potentially hazardous? But then that's only learned from extant behaviour anyway?

A car being driven is guaranteed to have a person behind the wheel. (For now...) A electric car in an attached garage spontaneously bursting into flame at 2 am is a recipe for burning a house to the ground.

Well at this rate the refrigerator will text you if your house is burning down.

Re: GM tells some Bolt owners to park 50 feet away from other cars

#235

Post by rootusrootus »

ksm1717 wrote: post #89
aidenn0 wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TFA is about the Bolt, not the Volt.

That’s my point, why bother with Bolt et al. when the volt has already established as a clear front runner.

The Volt isn't made any more, for one. And it's smaller (lower to the ground, at least, and less head clearance). I wasn't comfortable in the Volt, but the Bolt is great.

Re: GM tells some Bolt owners to park 50 feet away from other cars

#236

Post by alex_young »

Animats wrote: post #42

Maybe lithium-ion batteries in mass-market vehicles aren't such a good idea. We may need a battery technology that can survive poor maintenance less than perfect battery construction, and low-cost vehicle designs. Tesla had to put a titanium plate under their battery. That's not a mass-market solution. BYD is converting over to lithium iron phosphate, which is much better behaved when damaged. Toyota is working on so…

Tesla is shipping LFP batteries in it’s new cars.

Re: GM tells some Bolt owners to park 50 feet away from other cars

#237

Post by rootusrootus »

cptskippy wrote: post #115
ksm1717 wrote: post #15

The Chevy volt model as established in the early 2010s is an arm and a leg beyond the next closest competitor in the electric automobile space and this is a smirch upon its namespace

While I don't agree with your statement, I do think the Volt platform was the best Hybrid platform and GM should have scaled it up for their Trucks and SUVs. The instant torque provided by the electric motor and the ability to switch to just EV mode and run silent would have been killer for ORV enthusiasts and hunters.

There are other decent PHEVs now, it's no longer a distinguishing feature. And the Volt was never the 'EV with a range extending ICE' that it was portrayed as, anyway. It directly connects the ICE to the wheels when called for.

Re: GM tells some Bolt owners to park 50 feet away from other cars

#238

Post by avernon »

beamatronic wrote: post #194
avernon wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem here is the form factor of the cell as much as the chemistry. Pouch style cells are very difficult to regulate temperature in. This is a key reason why other automakers like Tesla use the small cylinder cells. Chinese companies like BYD have always used lithium iron phosphate. It has less energy density than lithium nickel batteries like NCA and NMC, but is cheaper. The patent was never taken out in China…

If batteries are easily swappable with minimal tools, then a lot of range concerns go away as well. I think battery ownership and care needs to be decoupled from the vehicle. I also think the federal government should enforce interoperable batteries between vehicle brands.

The people I know with electric cars charge at home the vast majority of the time. Swapping adds a lot of complexity and cost in the pack design. NIO is doing swaps as another commenter pointed out, but more customers in China live in apartments. In the end, I think charging stations will be ubiquitous, even for apartment dwellers, and swaps will be rare.
Post reply on HN