AD #3063 – Cadillac Reveals More Lyriq Details; Biden Urged to Ban New ICE Cars By 2035; Infiniti QX55 Pros & Cons
April 21st, 2021 at 11:48am
Listen to “AD #3063 – Cadillac Reveals More Lyriq Details; Biden Urged to Ban New ICE Cars By 2035; Infiniti QX55 Pros and Cons” on Spreaker.
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Runtime: 10:54
0:08 Biden Urged to Ban ICE Cars By 2035
0:55 GM Adopts New Work Policy
1:55 Peugeot Goes Old School to Deal with Chip Shortage
3:02 Lordstown Fails to Complete Off-Road Race
4:13 Auto Industry Group Wants Crash Test Ratings Updated
5:17 Infiniti QX55 Pros & Cons
7:51 Cadillac Reveals More Lyriq Details
9:34 Citroen Ami 6 Celebrates 60th Anniversary
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BIDEN URGED TO BAN ICE CARS BY 2035
The governors of 12 states are telling President Biden it’s time to ban the internal combustion engine. They don’t want any new ICE cars being sold after 2035. And they want specific milestones set along the way to monitor progress. Those states account for over 40% of all new car sales in the U.S. The governors also want to set standards and provide incentives to ensure that by 2045, all sales of new medium and heavy-duty trucks are zero-emission. The White House didn’t comment on the governor’s proposal but last month the Administration proposed to spend $174 billion to boost incentives and improve the infrastructure for EVs.
GM ADOPTS NEW WORK POLICY
General Motors adopted a new work policy with so many employees working from home due to the pandemic. It’s a simple directive called Work Appropriately. That’s an amazing change for a company that used to be known for its bureaucracy, thick policy manuals and strict procedures. The new policy is a simple guideline because when and where people come back to work varies by region and by job function. Now, GM is trying to figure out the best way to keep employees engaged as they work from home. It’s holding Happy Hours, treasure hunts and fitness challenges. It’s holding meetings with off-the-cuff discussions to generate spontaneous ideas and creativity, as well as for career mentoring. It seems to be paying off. GM says it’s finding it easier to recruit new employees because they don’t have to relocate. And it’s getting more diversity amongst those who are joining the company.
PEUGEOT GOES OLD SCHOOL TO DEAL WITH CHIP SHORTAGE
Peugeot came up with a way to restart production at one of its factories that was hit by the chip shortage. Reuters reports it’s going to put old-fashioned analog gauges into the 308 rather than a digital speedometer. Not only does the move allow Peugeot to ramp production back up, it will free up chips for its more popular models when they start coming in. A French news channel also reports Peugeot is considering a 400-euro discount for the vehicles with the analog gauges.
LORDSTOWN FAILS TO COMPLETE OFF-ROAD RACE
You can learn a whole lot about a vehicle by taking it racing and Lordstown learned it miscalculated the amount of energy it would use during the San Felipe 250. We reported about the EV startup’s plans to enter a modified version of its Endurance pickup in the off-road race, but unfortunately for the team, it only completed 40 of the 280 miles. Pre-race, Lordstown estimated a 3X energy consumption while racing off-road, but due to larger tires and driving in deep sand, the true energy usage was 4 times normal levels. So, it determined the second leg, of about 65 miles, could strand the truck in the middle of a mountain with no place to charge it. Lordstown says it looks forward to next year and we hope it does compete again. There’s a lot to learn and tweaks to be made. But this also shows why Jeep and Rivian want to install charging stations at trail heads. And it also might not be a bad idea to open a tow service near places like Moab and Rubicon Trail.
AUTO INDUSTRY GROUP WANTS CRASH TEST RATINGS UPDATED
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents most major automakers in the U.S., is calling on NHTSA to update crash test ratings to include modern safety technology. The Alliance wants the New Car Assessment Program, or NCAP for short, to include things like forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, automatic high beam headlights, lane departure and lane keeping technology in its evaluations. The Alliance argues that the current ratings are pretty much meaningless to consumers since a majority of 2020 models received 5-star ratings and the rest 4 stars. The Alliance says tests should not only focus on crash worthiness but also crash avoidance. It also wants NHTSA to regularly identify new safety technologies to add to the ratings, meet with the auto industry on an annual basis to discuss R&D, evaluate how effective the ratings are and update them every three years.
INFINITI QX55 PROS & CONS
The all-new QX55 is an extremely important CUV for Infiniti. The brand really struggled in the first quarter in the U.S. market, with sales down 25% compared to a year ago. It’s counting on the QX55 to help turn that around since this is the fastback version of the QX50, which is Infiniti’s best-selling vehicle. The QX55 is a roomy 5-passenger vehicle with styling that stands out, though some may consider it a bit garish. It’s powered by a 2-liter turbo with 268 horsepower and 280 pound feet of torque, which provides plenty of get up and go whenever you need it. At light throttle it sounds like it’s got a hangover, but once you really step on it, it generates a guttural exhaust note that sounds terrific. All-wheel-drive is standard. The steering is adaptive, which is fine for maneuvering in tight parking lots, but it adds a bit of imprecision in spirited driving. Worse, the safety system kicks in anytime you cross lane makers without using the turn signals. It emits an annoying warning buzz and applies the brakes which gets to be tiresome for those of us who like to clip the apex or haul ass on an on-ramp. Inside, the QX55 offers wide, spacious seats, fairly intuitive controls, and a comprehensive infotainment system. While a base version costs $46,500, our test car was a fully loaded, Sensory trim line that costs $59,000. We think it should sell well. While the discriminating enthusiast may find fault with some of its features, it will meet the needs and aspirations of its target customers.
CADILLAC REVEALS MORE LYRIQ DETAILS
Cadillac dribbled out a few more details about the first version of the all-electric Lyriq that goes on sale in the first quarter of next year, which is about 6 months earlier than it originally announced. The starting price is $60,000, including destination. It comes standard with a 19.2 kilowatt Level 2 home charging module at launch, but it will become an option after that. Cadillac claims you’ll be able to get over 50 miles of range for every hour of charging, which is pretty good for Level 2, but you need a 100-amp circuit to be able to get that. The launch vehicle will feature a 100-kWh battery pack that Cadillac estimates will deliver over 300 miles of range. It’s driven by a single electric motor on the rear axle that generates 255 kW of power or 340 horsepower and 325 lb-ft of torque. And this might be a bigger vehicle than you realized. It’s about the same overall length as the XT6, but its wheelbase is about an inch longer than the standard-length Escalade and it weighs as much as a base Escalade with 2WD, a little over 5,600 pounds. Cadillac says it will start taking reservations in September.
A quick reminder to be sure to join us for Autoline After Hours. The topic is about sustainability because our special guest is Deborah Mielewski, who’s in charge of sustainability at Ford. So join us this Thursday for a deep dive into the benefits of using more environmentally friendly materials in vehicles.
CITROEN AMI CELEBRATES 60TH ANNIVERSARY
For a lot of people, there’s no middle ground when it comes to Citroen design. You either love it or you hate it. And the same could be said for the Ami 6, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary. It garnered nicknames like the Atomic Cockroach. But it was the brainchild of famous designer Flaminio Bertoni and still features one of the most distinctive styling cues of all time, the inverted rear window. It’s called the Z-line roof because when looked at in profile it looks like a “Z.” Citroen went on to sell over a million Ami 6s, which included a station wagon version that was added in 1964.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching.
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Comments (54)
April 21st, 2021 at 12:05 pm
The Acura EV SUV based off GM Ultium platform is also going to look good!
April 21st, 2021 at 12:11 pm
Didn’t Mercury have the inverted rear window in 1957. Not sure but it might have been on the Turnpike Cruiser
April 21st, 2021 at 12:13 pm
News flash:
EV company admits it estimates range incorrectly; doesn’t achieve rated range in real world application!
But glad to see a company tackle it head-on.
April 21st, 2021 at 12:16 pm
I’d pay $400 less to not have my car look outdated in 5 years. While analog gauges will eventually date a car, I think flashy lcd designs will age really quickly as designers keep making them look fresh and the displays improve.
April 21st, 2021 at 12:21 pm
Of those 12 governors encouraging the banning of ICEs I wonder how many own or are driving EVs now.
Actually wish the NHTSA would rate vehicles 1-5 with a 3 number system. 1)Crash safety 2)Crash avoidance 3)Cost to repair Like 25 MPH hit. So they get a three digit rating like 435 or best 555. Then for those that don’t care about crash avoidance features might be interested in a car that’s a 505. Preformed well but has no avoidance tech.
The Citroen didn’t look too bad as a wagon.
April 21st, 2021 at 12:23 pm
It seems like politicians are rushing head first into this ICE ban with out looking at the reality of the situation. There are no electric powered motorcycles that can be used like an ICE one. There isn’t a network of charging stations for mass charging. Emergency vehicles- Are there any that will meet this new standard?? Will police forces need to have an extra 40% cars so some can be charging up while the rest are out? and same with ambulances. Firetrucks? We will need ones that can operate for at least 12hours at a time.
Should be interesting to watch
April 21st, 2021 at 12:24 pm
The QX55 sounds awesome, well after you turn off the electronic nanny system.
April 21st, 2021 at 12:25 pm
2 I remember some ’60s Mercuries, and maybe Lincolns, that had reverse slanted rear windows that opened.
April 21st, 2021 at 12:50 pm
A college housemate had a ’64 Mercury Monterey with the inverted window. My sister-in-law had a late 80′s Cougar with an “almost” inverted window – nice style.
April 21st, 2021 at 1:01 pm
My guess is by 2030 Most ICE passenger cars will have been very uneconomical to produce and keep on the road, at least ROI on it will be quite expensive,the price of Fossil fuels is starting to hurt many motorist in Canada now, the lineups @ Costco to save $6 -$10 , more if you drive a “premium car” needing premium ⛽ gas quite long 15-20 minutes. A BEV takes about 5 seconds to plug in, wake up to a” full tank”
April 21st, 2021 at 1:01 pm
My guess is by 2030 Most ICE passenger cars will have been very uneconomical to produce and keep on the road, at least ROI on it will be quite expensive,the price of Fossil fuels is starting to hurt many motorist in Canada now, the lineups @ Costco to save $6 -$10 , more if you drive a “premium car” needing premium ⛽ gas quite long 15-20 minutes. A BEV takes about 5 seconds to plug in, wake up to a” full tank”
April 21st, 2021 at 1:17 pm
Just a quick google search and the median home age in the US is 37. However if your in the Northeast that median age is closer to 57. So that means at least half the homes in the NW were built before 1964. Those homes most likely came with a small 60 amp fuse panel. Sure lots have had upgrades but consider that something like only 64% of homes have a garage and only 15% use them to park their car that leaves a lot of people without a place to easily charge their EV.
Realistically even if everyone in the US wanted an EV I bet only 30% have a place or the ability to charge a vehicle at home without a major investment in the homes electrical system. Good time to encourage your kids to become an electrician.
April 21st, 2021 at 1:17 pm
12 meant NE
April 21st, 2021 at 1:19 pm
5,6) You make good points and I would like to add that they seem to be singularly focused on the automotive sector, with no concern about other products that use ICE’s. They only talk about banning vehicles with an ICE, but what about lawn equipment, generators and other non automotive applications of the ICE?! It has been reported that they are just as bad collectively as what is claimed of automobiles, but with little or none of the technology that automakers use to contain and control emissions on their vehicles! Forcing OEM’s to make the chances is only going to drive up cost, causing potential buyers to hold on to their ICE vehicles longer. Here is the thing, if they continue BEV incentives and allow consumers to make the switch on their own, people will see the benefits for themselves and that will have a much more lasting effect on the consumer. I know someone who bought a Chevy Bolt and uses it for work. He’s an older gentleman, retired and is working part time, until his Social Security kicks in. He gets a mouthly mileage stipend along with his biweekly pay and with the tax incentive he got for purchasing the Bolt and his mileage check, he drives the Bolt for free! He says getting the Bolt was one of the best vehicle purchase decisions he’s ever made. A coworker just purchased an electric lawnmower and he too was very impressed with the buy, saying he’s never going back to an ICE mower ever again. He says it’s lite weight, quiet, he never has to get gas before he uses it and much easier to clean then his old gas one. Having had such a good experience with a battery powered tool, it might not be long until he’s willing to invest in a bigger purchase with a BEV. Yet if the cost is beyond his budget because of forced regulations, that may work against the governors motivation to encourage more to buy EV’s.
April 21st, 2021 at 1:29 pm
6 There are electric motorcycles that can be used like many people use motorcycles, including myself, but they don’t sound like a Harley with the mufflers removed. Also, they certainly wouldn’t work for extended highway trips.
I’d probably buy a Zero bike, if I didn’t already have the motorcycle and big scooter, in perfect condition, that I already have.
April 21st, 2021 at 1:37 pm
12 My house in Indiana, built in 1932, originally had 40 amp main fuses. A 100 amp breaker box was installed in the early ’60s. A 30 amp, 240v service could be added, which would charge an EV at about 20 miles/hour.
April 21st, 2021 at 1:46 pm
My mom had a ’64 Mercury with the slant back window. It was electric and we loved it. We could fit long 2×4 wood in the car. My Dad built a simple rack for the enormous trunk to help support what we got at the lumber yard.
It was also nice to provide flow through ventilation at a time when that was not on cars. Rain didn’t get in, and since it was so far from the tailpipe, no exhaust fumes either.
April 21st, 2021 at 1:48 pm
14 I’ve heard that lawn equipment contributes more to urban pollution/smog than vehicles. Even though the engines are small, I wouldn’t be surprised if that is true, because the engines are uncontrolled, and many/most of the string trimmer, blowers, etc. are still two-stroke.
I recently bought a lawn tractor, and checked out a couple electric ones, but what I found was not quite “ready” for my purposes. An EGO that I checked out was pricey, and it used lead acid batteries. Multiple reviewers said the batteries only lasted 2-3 years, not good. I use a push mower for trimming, and if my current one dies, the replacement will be battery electric.
April 21st, 2021 at 1:51 pm
17 I suspect with the back window open, you could have any, or all of the side windows open without thumping/buffeting.
April 21st, 2021 at 1:52 pm
I think everyone is going to be inconvenienced as we switch to an EV world.
Those with EVs will spend more money to buy the vehicle and have inconveniences around charging on the go.
Those with ICE vehicles will be banned from some inner city areas, have increased maintenance costs as fewer cars need oil changes etc. and eventually will have difficulty finding gas stations that are open and have fresh fuel.
Sounds like fun all around.
April 21st, 2021 at 2:05 pm
@Marshy – I’m with you. I’d pay less to have analog.
April 21st, 2021 at 2:08 pm
So this proposed ban is on new cars which are year over year cleaner than the ones that proceed them. So when are they going to drop the dirty little secret that they want to ban ALL ICE vehicles. Which would screw those that live in burbs . All this to force people to buy a not yet ready for prime time product. Lambo at 5 you can all but guarantee that those rules would be rules for thee not for me when it comes to politicians while they are all being taxi’d around in Suburbans and Escalades.
April 21st, 2021 at 2:15 pm
11 that sounds great until you wake up to find you have a tripped breaker or had a power failure overnight while you slept and your car is now sitting with a still empty “tank” . There are no free lunches when it comes to EVs . Like everything there are plus points and negatives. It will up to the individual to decide which outweighs the other.
April 21st, 2021 at 2:23 pm
@15 but if they can’t be used on a longer run – which they can’t then they don’t work like an ICE bike. Wanna go on a 2 week ride across some states or Provinces ? Yea well not happening. I live in a remote area. Top of Lake Superior and everything is a long drive.
April 21st, 2021 at 3:12 pm
I’m slowly making the transition to electric yard tools. My weed whacker and hedge trimmer are now cordless electric even though I still have a working 2-stroke. Just bought an Electric chainsaw which I was impressed with. Lots of torque and is probably better than a gas saw. My next push mower will likely be elect, but the one I have is only 4 years old.
I would buy and EV motorcycle if the price/range and charging was on par with my ICE cause I don’t care about the loud exhaust. I actually prefer a nice relaxing quiet ride.
Just find it hard to believe that a EV battery and motor would cost more than a cast block/head all the machining and parts that make an engine and transmission, fuel system, exhaust. An EV bike should be cheap.
April 21st, 2021 at 3:46 pm
24 I’m not saying they would work for everyone, but they would work for more than half of the motorcyclists I know, who never take trips longer than about 50 miles.
25 EV motorcycles have a ways to go to be price competitive. A Zero bike with the 14.4 kWh battery, giving ~200 mile city range and ~100 mile range at 70 mph costs about $15K, more than twice as much as my KLR650 cost new.
April 21st, 2021 at 3:46 pm
25 Is your chain saw plug-in?
April 21st, 2021 at 4:08 pm
The catch with “electrical everything” is that you need a service that is big enough to run everything at once. You come home from work on a hot day. What do you do? 1. Plug in your EV. then 2. Go in the house and flip house AC to high, then 3. turn on the stove to cook dinner. Unless your car charger has a timer on it, your breaker should flip about now, and if everyone is doing the same 3 steps, the grid is going to die.
April 21st, 2021 at 4:23 pm
27 Yeah its corded which is fine for around the house. I can reach just about anything on my property with a 100ft extension cord. Just bought the house in Dec and the outside hasn’t been kept up in years so had lots of trimming and a few trees to take down. Its a 14″ Craftsman so nothing great but not like I’m clearing some woods. I did drop a 24″ dia oak limb and a 18″ pine tree and was impressed with the how quick I got it chopped up. Plus I live in town so I’m sure the neighbors appreciate the lack of noise a typical chainsaw makes. I don’t feel bad if I want to start at 8:00 in the morning.
April 21st, 2021 at 4:24 pm
28 I could probably have a charger with 40 amp breakers at my old house with 100 amp service and get by. If the water heater, clothes dryer, and all the burners on the stove were running at the same time, it might be marginal, but that would be unlikely.
April 21st, 2021 at 4:31 pm
29 I suspect it will do everything the small gas ones do. If you had 200 or 300 feet of cord, you might need abnormally large gauge cord, but for 100 feet, probably not.
April 21st, 2021 at 5:08 pm
# 23 xa 351 gt , my next house is going to be off grid , solar and wind powered and have lithium Phospate batteries , i will kiss off the utility bills i will have a 2 or 3 wheeler Battery MC or trike.
#25 , lambo , you should try EGO lawn equipment , unless you do lawnwork work commercially or
have acres of Bush and lawn the Eogo line is all you need, i have multiple batteries and a 16 inch chansaw a weedeater and a blower, those tools are awesome and every bit as good as a gas powered tool, your yanking arm will thank you,.twofully charge batteries good enough for 1/2 day of chainsaw work during a bad storm, and your ears and neighbors will thank you for not making all that noise and racket.
April 21st, 2021 at 5:08 pm
# 23 xa 351 gt , my next house is going to be off grid , solar and wind powered and have lithium Phospate batteries , i will kiss off the utility bills i will have a 2 or 3 wheeler Battery MC or trike.
#25 , lambo , you should try EGO lawn equipment , unless you do lawnwork work commercially or
have acres of Bush and lawn the Eogo line is all you need, i have multiple batteries and a 16 inch chansaw a weedeater and a blower, those tools are awesome and every bit as good as a gas powered tool, your yanking arm will thank you,.twofully charge batteries good enough for 1/2 day of chainsaw work during a bad storm, and your ears and neighbors will thank you for not making all that noise and racket.
April 21st, 2021 at 5:37 pm
32,33 When I checked out an EGO riding mower, they used lead-acid batteries that would last only 2-3 years of normal use. Maybe they now use li batteries, which would last much longer, if kept in their middle 70-80% of charge.
April 21st, 2021 at 6:49 pm
The Governors wishing to ban the ICE in 2035 is wishful thinking.
It should be evident, ever since the manufacturers exited the car industry with the lame excuse of non-profits, they have moved towards the more costly SUV and trucks, which continue to increase in price. Unfortunately, consumers have accepted these higher prices as normal. However, manufacturers and politicians talk of EV’s as becoming price compareable to these ICE vehicles, but we must keep in mind that since the SUV and truck is over-priced, so is the EV.
The only salvation to this dillusion is due to the Asian’s insight to capitalize on the smaller car market vacated by others and at reasonable prices.
For this reson, the ICE (IMO) will be around for a much longer time than predicted.
What’s this BS of the double comments? Some of it is intensional just to gain attension. Grow up!
April 21st, 2021 at 8:56 pm
“Autopilot” grey zone.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tesla-drives-autopilot-regulatory-grey-032727954.html
April 21st, 2021 at 10:39 pm
35 I’ve wondered how the double posting even happens. Sometimes I submit a post and it doesn’t show up, so I submit it again, and always get a notice that “you already said that,” or some such wording. After that, sometimes it shows up, once, and occasionally it never appears.
I hope someone, like Toyota, keeps selling cars for as long as I am around and want them. For years, I haven’t been able to buy what I’d really like, a “mainstream” brand, fuel efficient mid-size station wagon. The last one sold in the US was probably the Passat wagon, and it’s been gone from the US market for years. If gas goes up to $6/gallon while ICE vehicles are still sold, wagons might return.
April 22nd, 2021 at 3:12 am
LYRIQ – I’m intrigued by the Lyriq’s relatively low price of entry and expect there to be more powerful versions to follow.
At that size, it will mainly appeal to North American buyers, though not only. Glad Cadillac went for a more distinctive design.
ICE Bans – Please no. I’m vocal in support of sensibly speeding up the transition to EVs and substantially more renewable energy (and “better” grids), but the world can very well accept some people choosing to stick with what they like or works best for them.
Economically, the case for EVs will be clear far before this decade peters out. I suspect there will also be more choice in the kinds of vehicles that make sense to use, like the really cheap (but agreeable) little metropolitan runabouts we just know are over the horizon.
April 22nd, 2021 at 3:24 am
LYRIQ Junior? A car one size below with a little zingier but tasteful styling would be just the serious re-entry to world markets Cadillac merits. Give it optional, built-in espresso machines or an almost-always-on cooler [seriously!] and ta-dah.
The excellently crafted interior could be modeled after various iconic American architectural styles – Frank Lloyd Wright (clean swooshy wood), Mies van der Rohe (clean geometric metal), chrome and neon modernism, bubble homes and Disney. Well, maybe not the latter two. Though who knows?
April 22nd, 2021 at 7:08 am
I have transitioned to a battery weed trimmer and blower and both work fairly well. The blower is powerful enough, though my old gas blower was more powerful. The string trimmer also works well but with the motor positioned at the lower end by the cutting area it is quite heavily biased and harder to wield than the gas trimmer it replaced. Charge time and length of charge has not been an issue (and I can do both blowing and trimming using the same battery on the same charge). These type battery tools make more sense to me as they are replacing 2 stroke gas engines (heavy polluters) and even the 4 stroke garden engines aren’t very clean so these ‘electrics’ I deem worthy.
April 22nd, 2021 at 7:11 am
I know this may be a little off topic, as much as I like the new interior of the EQS and the Lyriq looks very promising, looking at the “old school” leather and wood interior of Infiniti QX55 has its appeal too! IMHO, some of those those more traditional luxury OEM’s who are making the switch EV’s (I’m thinking like Jaguar, Aston Martin, Bentley and Rolls Royce) may not want to go the full on interior tech-y technology approach of some of the upstarts and mainstream automakers. They can carve out a niche all their own that, while keeping a few digital screens, recognizing that there are customers who may want that look and feel of craftsmanship and rich appointments, who are not up in age.
April 22nd, 2021 at 7:52 am
40 In addition to being clean, your battery weed whacker and blower have the advantage of being easy to start. It seems that those little two stroke engines with the diaphragm carburetors are always temperamental.
April 22nd, 2021 at 8:20 am
The problem with battery operated tools is that batteries are not universal. Each manufacture has its own design, so I find numerous charging bases in my cabinet for each tool. Some tools of the same make can use the same battery. But if the tool is too old the battery is no longer available. Also, When a battery dies, the cost to buy a new tool is about the same as buying a new battery.
Until manufacturers agree on a one-fit battery design, just the number of batteries required for each and every tool cannot be good for the environment.
April 22nd, 2021 at 8:21 am
I like a digital speed readout, but other than that, I am fine with analog gauges with needles, like for fuel level and coolant temperature. For “performance” driving, you absolutely need an analog tachometer, or a good digital simulation. My recently acquired Cayman has the tach right in front of the driver, where it should be in a car like that. One of the few options in my Cayman is an “old timey” steering wheel with no controls, except for the horn button in the middle. You get extra steering column stalks with that wheel, four in all.
As others have alluded, I don’t think wall-to-wall video screens belong in Bentleys, Rolls-Royces, or S-Classes. Those cars should have wood, leather, and a generally traditional look of luxury, with round analog gauges.
April 22nd, 2021 at 8:25 am
43 For the reasons you mention, I have never bought a battery tool, and probably won’t.
April 22nd, 2021 at 8:26 am
40, 42, & others – Enjoyed the discussion on battery powered lawn tools. Last year I purchased a H-F battery powered 10 ft tree trimming chainsaw. While not used that much, very impressed with performance & battery charge life.
If I needed additional new tools I would go cordless electric, although with 4 gas chainsaws (4 years to 44 years old) I doubt if I will even need another one. And I would get battery lawn mower for trimming if my 1994 Toro with Suzuki 2 smoke engine ever dies. I do tend to keep things for extended period.
April 22nd, 2021 at 8:26 am
40, 42, & others – Enjoyed the discussion on battery powered lawn tools. Last year I purchased a H-F battery powered 10 ft tree trimming chainsaw. While not used that much, very impressed with performance & battery charge life.
If I needed additional new tools I would go cordless electric, although with 4 gas chainsaws (4 years to 44 years old) I doubt if I will even need another one. And I would get battery lawn mower for trimming if my 1994 Toro with Suzuki 2 smoke engine ever dies. I do tend to keep things for extended period.
April 22nd, 2021 at 8:27 am
Sorry for double post – I need more patience. LOL.
April 22nd, 2021 at 8:45 am
43 I too wish they would agree on a universal cordless battery because like most people consumers rarely go out and buy $800 to $2000 at one time to get all their lawn equipment at the same time. So I might need a weed trimmer this year and buy a saw next year get a hedge trimmer and edger the following year and the problem is the batteries change about every 2 years and by time you get three or four items even if they are the same brand the batteries are different.
The manufacturers certainly aren’t going to agree on a universal battery because its in their best interest to be different. That’s their best chance of getting you to keep buying their products and maybe use the same battery if bought within a year or so.
I always see those package deals at Lowes for like a circular saw, drill and flashlight. But you only get like two batteries and a single charger. Plus I could care less about a flashlight. Not sure if I’ve seen package deals on the cordless lawn equipment. But I’m sure for a weed trimmer, chain saw, edger, Hedger the package would be over $800.
I guess that’s best way to do it though is just buy all of them at the same time.
April 22nd, 2021 at 8:53 am
I’m curious about these double posts. I don’t want to double post, but I’m curious about how they happen. Can someone tell me? If I get impatient with a post showing up, and send it again, I get the message:
“Duplicate comment detected; it looks as though you’ve already said that!”
I post using various devices, including a Windows computer and android phone using Chrome browser, and an iPad using Safari. I get that same message with all of them, if I post the same thing twice.
April 22nd, 2021 at 9:06 am
A solution for the tools would be to have the quick change batteries use standard cells, like 18650, and design the battery so the cells can be replaced easily when they fail. I have a portable multi-band radio that uses one 18650 cell. It should last for years, but when it fails, I won’t have to throw the radio away.
April 22nd, 2021 at 9:18 am
I found that some, or most of the Ryobi batteries use 18650 cells, but they don’t make them particularly easy to replace.
April 22nd, 2021 at 10:13 am
32/33 I hope you are planning live the sun belt, because trying clear snow off the panels would be a PITA , Also make sure you live in a rea where it is LEGAL to be completely off the grid . There are some places you HAVE to be on the grid you have no choice.
April 22nd, 2021 at 10:48 am
EV’s will really become a viable choice when they are able to get their power directly from the roadways, as in-ground conductive charging. Taking a drive where you venture more than a couple hundred miles from home on battery charge is a terrifying thought. Just try to find a place to charge up your vehicle could prove impossibly difficult.