391–400 of 919 posts
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A friend of mine has a dozen panels in central France and pretty much provides all the energy for his Kia eNiro. He reckons the payback time is under five years.
Panels on the rooftop of the car...
In Shenzhen for a tech meeting. The streetscape is quieter, despite high traffic levels and I hear not only MORE birdsong, but the birds do more complex songlines. The air is clean. For sure some of this is because it's a coastal city and has fresh sea breezes, but I've been in other Chinese coastal cities in times past and the air was significantly less clean. There are social upsides for an almost-all-EV city. This…
I think Japanese automakers by sticking to ICE vehicles have admitted defeat - that they no longer have the engineering prowess to compete. they dominated in the era of small engines. with EVs - the Chinese have run away with the stick & sadly no one is catching up. I wish the Japanese made good EVs - Germans are the only ones besides the Chinese making decent EVs
That's not nearly the case. They have made one of best EVs back in years, but decided to focus on hybrids. And that makes total sense.
> It makes really good engines, and that's starting to matter less and less. Maybe. But here's the thing... most cars today feel completely lifeless. Honda knows how to build an engine and wrap it in a car that actually makes you feel something. That still matters. Anyone here driven an S2000? It's still the best car I've ever owned. Light, raw, grippy, and genuinely fun -- every drive felt like an event, not just tr…
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>Heck you can put panels on your rooftop and slow charge it during the day. The breakeven for this is so bad that it's only worth it for the gullible "wow" factor from the general public asking about it.
A friend of mine has a dozen panels in central France and pretty much provides all the energy for his Kia eNiro. He reckons the payback time is under five years.
I think Japanese automakers by sticking to ICE vehicles have admitted defeat - that they no longer have the engineering prowess to compete. they dominated in the era of small engines. with EVs - the Chinese have run away with the stick & sadly no one is catching up. I wish the Japanese made good EVs - Germans are the only ones besides the Chinese making decent EVs
Earlier quoted context omitted.
>you're buying a vehicle that already has the capabilities, but are disabled, then paying rent (or a fee) to turn them on. This is very much not what "software-defined vehicle" means which itself is very much not the same thing as EVs. It's possible to criticize the explotative business practices you mentioned (or bad UI practices like moving everything to a touchscreen instead of physical buttons) without linking th…
That's all motherhood and apple pie, but I'm sorry: the reality that we live in and incentives at play are such that if a capability can be exploited, then it will be exploited to the detriment of the consumer. Full stop.
Smart doorbells and thermostats that upgraded in the night often became a nuisance or an expensive brick. But a faulty software upgrade on a car can kill you and others. Car company execs need to take a chill pill followed by a reality serum. Monetizing subscription based basic features and delivering in-car advertising is the absolutely worst way to go. As consumers we need to stop buying into the bells, whistles an…
Or manufacturers should learn from Tesla. Did you know - if your Tesla shuts down (screen goes blank) you can still drive it! If done right, it works like magic.