Honda is killing its EVs • Hacker News Board

Re: Honda is killing its EVs

#821

Post by prescriptivist » Wed, Mar 18, 2026, 1:53 PM UTC

TheDong wrote: post #549

prescriptivist wrote: post #512

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I want to say this with the caveat that I am generally a person who always contends with the contradictions of living in a capitalist-imperialist country and my own distaste for it. So this doesn't come from a place of American exceptionalism writ large, but I am a firm believer the we did get this part right: Public lands and culture of the ability to access wild places, whether for hunting, fishing, hiking, camping…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_protected_areas_of_Chi... > China has more than 10,000 protected areas, covering eighteen percent of the country's land https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protected_areas_of_the_United_... > As of 2022, the 42,826 protected areas covered 1,235,486 km2 (477,024 sq mi), or 13 percent of the land area of the United States. Can you be more specific? China has areas of protected wilderness…

Another comment said it, but that's basically land protected from most use, with some exceptions that are more akin to our national park system, right? I'm talking more about BLM lands in the west, or national forests in the east. Also, there are states with significant public lands holdings that are in the same spirit.

With our public lands, I can usually go to them anytime I want, I don't have to reserve anything. I can park my car, I can get out, and I can begin just walking into the woods or grasslands, sometimes on trail, sometimes off. I can basically camp wherever I want in many of these places. If there's a stream, I can fly fish. If it's hunting season, I can hunt. I can basically disappear into a place that feels wild for a bit.

Re: Honda is killing its EVs

#822

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Mar 18, 2026, 2:00 PM UTC

Dumblydorr wrote: post #765

Vinnl wrote: post #749

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AFAIK, beyond a certain speed (~25km/h?), EVs make just as much noise as ICEs, since the noise is then mainly generated by the tyres hitting the road. So I'm somewhat sceptical about this claim. Dutch city centres can be really crowded and yet actually quiet, because there are practically no cars. It's probably not Shenzen-level crowded, but I'd bet that the number of people that are being transported at busy locatio…

Source? That sounds dubious. Here in USA you hear blazing engines constantly, I’m skeptical a rubber tire is louder than that

[deleted]

Re: Honda is killing its EVs

#823

Post by dagmx » Wed, Mar 18, 2026, 2:02 PM UTC

kortilla wrote: post #601

dagmx wrote: post #464

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you base that on? Some of the best names in academia are Chinese, and in the computer graphics world, SIGGRAPH Asia has largely eclipsed SIGGRAPH for academic presentations

Chinese names at American universities

Not unless they’re going right back to China. In droves.

Re: Honda is killing its EVs

#824

Post by poopdick » Wed, Mar 18, 2026, 2:07 PM UTC

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Re: Honda is killing its EVs

#825

Post by Mawr » Wed, Mar 18, 2026, 2:15 PM UTC

Vinnl wrote: post #813

Dumblydorr wrote: post #765

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Source? That sounds dubious. Here in USA you hear blazing engines constantly, I’m skeptical a rubber tire is louder than that

The source is "I heard that somewhere", hence "AFAIK". It kinda matches my experience at least when I get closer to a highway, the noise I hear doesn't sound like engine noise anymore.

Yeah, but you probably don't walk along a highway every day to get your groceries, do you. The closer the traffic gets to where people live, the lower the speed limit, and the more relevant the loudness of an engine.

Another factor is that an EV has a noise ceiling, whereas an ICE can get arbitrarily loud — think motorcycles, buses, trucks.

ICEs also use all of their noise range all the time — revving, accelerating. Sudden harsh noise changes like that are much more noticeable and annoying than the sound of a theoretical steady-state ICE engine.

Re: Honda is killing its EVs

#826

Post by dalyons » Wed, Mar 18, 2026, 2:16 PM UTC

bluGill wrote: post #808

ZeroGravitas wrote: post #708

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One key element is whether the incentive/penalty is attached to buying the vehicle or buying the fuel. PHEVs in a world that includes externalities in the cost of fuel will be used in EV mode more. Same vehicle different outcome. Currently it's a mishmash with some countries penalizing electricity use while subsidizing fuel sales in lots of different little ways. In general it's trending in the right direction though…

PHEVs when you already own them cost vastly less in electric mode. That people don't bother plugging them in is because they don't care about cost enough to bother to see if there is a difference.

It’s also because most PHEVs sold are terrible EVs. Weak, short range, cut to gas all the time. Impractical to use as a pure ev. This style of phev is greenwashing and should be sold as a gas car for emissions rules.

EREVs are a different story, and have a place in the transition for awhile.

Re: Honda is killing its EVs

#827

Post by reverius42 » Wed, Mar 18, 2026, 2:23 PM UTC

reverius42 wrote: post #116

quickthrowman wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Denmark has 6M people. The US has 289M vehicles .

And how many new EVs did China make in the last 5 years?

Actually I have egg on my face; I looked it up and it's closer to "3 Denmarks" than "1 USA".

Re: Honda is killing its EVs

#828

Post by 0_____0 » Wed, Mar 18, 2026, 2:30 PM UTC

mbernstein wrote: post #582

0_____0 wrote: post #561

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1. Synonyms exist in language. 2. You're on a site with a bunch of programmers who regularly use weird words for stuff that already has a name. Reading through HN is wading through a swamp of made up names and tech neologisms, you're just used to it already. I once told a software guy that our team's SWEs had migrated away from React and Node to Stork.JS and Blackadder. He nodded like that meant anything. 3. I like i…

Stork.JS is a really well written piece of software, though.

devs have really got to start using NSA style naming conventions where they use the Joycean compound with random stuff that sounds cool e.g. BANNANADAIQUIRI or FOXACID.

Re: Honda is killing its EVs

#829

Post by vel0city » Wed, Mar 18, 2026, 2:39 PM UTC

rkagerer wrote: post #521

slg wrote: post #346

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…

cars that can automatically fix a "recall" with an over-the-air update are generally better than recalls that will wait to get fixed until an owner schedules an appointment Haed disagree. You've been bamboozled, too. Recalls of any kind are a signal to me the vehicle shipped half-baked. I'd rather have the car with slightly older features that took a little longer to release, but got it right before leaving the facto…

> I'd rather have the car with slightly older features that took a little longer to release, but got it right before leaving the factory floor.

Yes, I too have only ever shipped perfect code without any bugs, especially with incredibly large and complex software systems involving dozens of teams. You just need to spend another week or two and you'll get it perfect every time!

Cars have had recalls since the Model T.

Re: Honda is killing its EVs

#830

Post by devilbunny » Wed, Mar 18, 2026, 2:43 PM UTC

gambiting wrote: post #742

bko wrote: post #735

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Auto start is pretty much universally hated especially since it's ubiquitous and can usually only be turned off for a single ride. But cool, I'm glad you like it. Cameras and electronics make the car much more expensive to repair. But I'm confused, are you pro-technology in car or are you one of those that say "this exact level of technology is perfect, any more or less would be bad". I see this weird tech hater sent…

>>Auto start is pretty much universally hated especially since it's ubiquitous and can usually only be turned off for a single ride. Which I absolutely don't understand. It's a fantastic technology and I wish I could retro-fit them to some of my older cars too, it's literally fantastic. Like, who likes sitting in standstill traffic and listening to their 4 cylinder rambler working when they are just standing still???…

Great. Leave it on. I want it off, and I want it to stay off when turned off.

The start delay is not a big deal in traffic that's stop-and-go. But I have a poor-visibility situation at the end of my street, for which the only solution is "move away". There was a light indicating if a car was approaching over the hill, but when it was damaged the city didn't replace it. So when I hit the accelerator, I need the car to go right then. Not half a second or a full second later, when there might be a car that wasn't visible before coming at me.