AD #3189 – Tesla Lands Massive Order from Hertz; XPeng Shows Off Flying Car; Canada Slams Union EV Tax Credit
October 25th, 2021 at 12:00pm
Listen to “AD #3189 – Tesla Lands Massive Order from Hertz; XPeng Shows Off Flying Car; Canada Slams Union EV Tax Credit” on Spreaker.
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Runtime: 10:13
0:08 Canada Slams Union EV Tax Credit
1:07 Tesla Lands Massive Order from Hertz
1:48 GM Won’t Return to High Inventory Days
2:39 Lucid Skeptical About Robotaxis
3:51 XPeng Shows Off Flying Car
4:38 BMW Kicks Off i4 Production
5:44 Daimler Trucks Receives License to Test Fuel Cell Trucks
7:15 Indy Autonomous Challenge Highlights
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CANADA SLAMS UNION EV TAX CREDIT
The Biden Administration continues to get push back for its EV credit proposal that would give an extra $4,500 to union-made cars in the U.S. Last month, a group of 12 foreign automakers sent a letter to Congress urging it to drop the proposal. Tesla has also criticized it. Now the Canadian government is slamming the union tax credit saying it would damage the North American auto industry and that it isn’t consistent with current trade agreements. Canada’s trade minister says the tax credit would have a negative impact on Canadian production, which would also harm U.S. workers because the country’s supply chains are deeply integrated. And in an interview on SiriusXM, VW of America CEO Scott Keogh said the extra tax credit for union made EVs is “fundamentally wrong” and that all vehicles assembled in the U.S. should qualify equally for the credit.
TESLA LANDS MASSIVE ORDER FROM HERTZ
Tesla just landed a massive order. Hertz just signed up for 100,000 Teslas that it will rent out to customers in North America by the end of 2022. And Hertz signed up seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady to do television commercials to promote this. Customers will be able to use Tesla’s charging network and Hertz is going to install thousands of chargers at its locations. Interestingly, the interim CEO at Hertz is Mark Fields, who as many of you know was formerly the CEO at the Ford Motor Company.
GM WON’T RETURN TO HIGH INVENTORY DAYS
GM is making some progress on the chip shortage. The automaker, like other companies, was building vehicles and parking them until they got the necessary chips to install them. But now the head of GM’s North American operations, Steve Carlisle, says it’s more than halfway through shipping pickup trucks it had parked due to the shortage. He says GM will clear out 2021 model year trucks by the end of the year. But while the company is starting to boost inventory for dealers, Carlisle says GM won’t return to its high-inventory days and will prioritize building its high profit models that sell the fastest. Carlisle says it’s now aiming to have between 30 to 60 days of inventory. That will allow it to charge more for vehicles while at the same time reducing incentives.
LUCID SKEPTICAL ABOUT ROBOTAXIS
Cruise, Tesla and Waymo are some of the leaders in autonomous vehicles and are very bullish on the tech, but Peter Rawlinson, the CEO of Lucid, says fleets of robotaxis are still a ways off. He says they’re 10 years out, even with the most advanced sensing systems in the world. Adding, there’s “an intellectual mountain to climb in terms of software.” We wonder if Rawlinson thinks there won’t be any robo fleets or if they won’t be commonplace? Because we can see there being some by that time. And if he thinks this is just in the U.S. and Europe. There’s some Chinese companies that I’m sure would be glad to challenge his claims. But what do you think? Is Peter Rawlinson right that robotaxi fleets are still a decade away?
XPENG SHOWS OFF FLYING CAR
Chinese automaker XPeng released a video of a flying car and it sure can capture your imagination. It’s an exotic-looking sports car with a super long rear-end that stores two giant rotors. Two gull wing doors at the rear open and the rotors swing out from the car, which can then fly away. The VTOL is made by Xpeng’s subsidiary HT Aero. It claims it has made over 15,000 flights, though this video is clearly computer generated. The plan is to go into mass production in 2024 with a selling price of about $156,000.
BMW KICKS OFF i4 PRODUCTION
Despite major disruptions to production, automakers are moving ahead with their plans and BMW just kicked off production of the all-electric i4 at its plant in Munich. That means that plant now makes the ICE and hybrid versions of the 3 Series, including the M3 as well as the 4 Series Gran Coupe. In order to get ICE and BEV cars coming out of the same facility, BMW had to make an investment of 200 million euros, but somewhat interestingly, it says it did it all without halting production at the nearly 100-year-old plant. It helps that 90% of the existing systems in the body shop are still used on the i4 and it really only required new ones for the floor and rear end. But the moves pave the way for more EVs. BMW says more than half the vehicles that come out of its Munich plant will have an electric drive by 2023. It’s also phasing out engine production in Munich. That will be gone by 2024 at the latest.
DAIMLER TRUCKS RECEIVES LICENSE TO TEST FUEL CELL TRUCKS
We know that automakers are turning to batteries to help clean up their commercial fleets, but Daimler Trucks thinks those vehicles will mainly be used for lighter loads and shorter distances. It says long haul and heavier loads are more likely to be handled by fuel cell trucks and it just received a license to test those vehicles on the road in Germany. It’s using the opportunity to test prototypes of its GenH2 truck, which aims to have more than 1,000 kilometers or over 620 miles of range. But more than just testing the GenH2, Daimler will also compare the trucks to its battery-electric eActros as well as pantograph and fuel cell powered trucks from other manufacturers. However, these are still early tests. Daimler doesn’t expect the first series-produced GenH2s to hit customer hands until 2027.
INDY AUTONOMOUS CHALLENGE HIGHLIGHTS
The Indy Autonomous Challenge ran on Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was both a historic achievement and a bit of a letdown. Instead of a race with 10 cars on the track at the same time, it was conducted as a time trial with individual runs by each car. That’s because rainy weather in the days leading up to the event prevented a number of teams from completing their testing and getting a final sign-off. Even so, there was plenty of action. Every car had to make qualifying runs and avoid obstacles that were placed on the track at random. Several cars suffered sensor malfunctions which had them spinning off or even hitting the wall. Three cars qualified for a final sprint that would determine the winner, with a million-dollar prize at stake. They had to do 4 warm up laps to get the tires up to temperature, then do two timed laps. Two Teams emerged as the class of the field, the German TUM team from Munich, and the Euro Racing team with members from the University of Pisa, Zurich and the Polish Academy of Sciences. The German team posted the best 2 lap average of 135.944 miles an hour, going over 150 miles an hour on the straights. The Euro Racing team should have beat them. It posted one lap over 150 miles an hour, but then mistakenly shut down on its second timed lap because the team thought it had run its allotment of laps. It was a million-dollar mistake and they were devastated.
The event attracted a lot of attention from corporate sponsors, politicians, academics and the public. Spot, the robot dog from Boston Dynamics, was even there to wave the green and the checkered flags.
The real purpose of the race was to generate a new generation of university students who are experts at developing software for autonomous vehicles. No doubt there are some future billionaires amongst those students who will launch their own AV startups, just as we saw happen with the DARPA Challenge. Remember, not one vehicle was able to complete the first DARPA Challenge. It wasn’t until the third DARPA Challenge that most vehicles could complete the course. And we expect the same thing to happen as the Indy Autonomous Challenge runs more events, hopefully starting next year.
But that brings us to the end of today. Thanks for joining us.
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Comments (74)
October 25th, 2021 at 12:15 pm
Robo taxis in 10 yrs? Sounds like a reasonable amount of time given the results of the Indy challenge which would be a far easier test than navigating streets with traffic and different types of weather, at least in my unqualified opinion.
October 25th, 2021 at 12:22 pm
And just like that Tesla is 1/3rd fleet/rental sales…
October 25th, 2021 at 12:29 pm
$4500 dollars extra for Union produced vehicles? I’m not even on board for the first $7500 tax credit (giving money away, that we don’t have, to the more wealthy car buyers) now. I include myself in the group of wealthy enough to buy ‘new’ but I think it is unfair to do so.
October 25th, 2021 at 12:30 pm
Robo taxis in 10 years are probably within reach in certain areas. Certainly in sunny California, AZ and locations where the weather is ideal for cameras and sensors they will work sooner. I would say it will be much later for AV to work in the Midwest and Eastern states. We have roads that disappear with alight snowfall with no edge lines and freezing rain and snow will play havoc with cameras and sensors not to mention the salt spray that turns your windshield to bathroom glass.
That AV bus service that is slated to start in Detroit will soon learn they will have limited use.
October 25th, 2021 at 12:31 pm
Hertz: thinking of its future, post bankruptcy, as Tesla will have better used car values as a 2nd hand car, it has the least time in Used car lots, Did Mark Fields, interim Hertz boss just get a BEV Baptism?
October 25th, 2021 at 12:31 pm
I had a feeling that the Indy Autonomous Challenge was going to fizzle somewhat; it did.
October 25th, 2021 at 12:34 pm
That’s a genius move by Hertz! If Tesla rental is popular, they’ll be first in. If it’s not, they will have lots of lightly used Teslas to sell off at a profit. Any word on what discount Tesla gave them? No rental company ever paid retail, or even wholesale.
October 25th, 2021 at 12:34 pm
The Biden Administration has been bought by the Union$, and the Unions are now collecting the due$!
October 25th, 2021 at 12:35 pm
I dont agree with the EV tax credit but if your gonna do it using US tax dollars, it should be a sliding scale based on US content and assembled in the US. I don’t care if its union assembled or not. If the largest amount is 10K then it needs to have 90-100% US made content you get down to only 20% US content you get 1K in credit.
October 25th, 2021 at 12:37 pm
I find irony in the statement of Scott Keogh (i.e., an extra tax credit for union made EVs is “fundamentally wrong” and that all vehicles assembled in the U.S. should qualify equally for the credit). NO EVs should qualify for a credit. Stop complaining.
October 25th, 2021 at 12:38 pm
#8 Go for it! Tesla is the one of the most US made cars by US Content.
October 25th, 2021 at 12:39 pm
I thought the autonomous challenge was going to be on the road course, but it was on the oval. I guess they needed to use the oval because it has walls to contain the out of control cars, while much of the road course does not.
October 25th, 2021 at 12:41 pm
#9 Then take of Fossils subsidies as well, like when there is an Oil spill make sure that is on the Oil driller and provider for cost of fixing environment and damages.
October 25th, 2021 at 12:43 pm
Hope the Indy Autonomous Challenge is here to stay! IMS is a great facility for all kinds of racing!
October 25th, 2021 at 12:43 pm
The Euro racing team has to be besides themselves. All that technology, Smart individuals and all that work to miss the prize by the team not counting to 6. Prime example of being super focused on the hard stuff and letting the easy stuff kill ya. That’s too bad.
Glad to see the race did have some obstacles but they really need to race at the same time.
October 25th, 2021 at 12:47 pm
Hertz order for 100,000 is about a little over a months Teslas total production,as of last qtr, and possibly less than a month if and when Giga Texas ramps up( modY will be first to run off lines in Giga Texas, TSLA oct 25 2021 , @$ 996 mid day.
October 25th, 2021 at 12:51 pm
Sean; No word on if the Xpeng flying car is an EV or ICE? Also if they have done 15,000 flights then seems they would have a actual video of it flying. Either those flights all ended badly or was just the car getting 2″ off the ground. Sounds like we should wear boots for that story.
October 25th, 2021 at 12:54 pm
Rey the TSLA ticker tape you never asked for.
October 25th, 2021 at 12:58 pm
#17 lambo, Tesla first company making Cars that just crossed the trillion dollar market cap.
October 25th, 2021 at 12:59 pm
#17
October 25th, 2021 at 1:00 pm
Rental fleets are perfect for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. Mostly urban, short range, and 100% SOC tolerant, it is a perfect rental fleet solution.
October 25th, 2021 at 1:05 pm
20 LFPs are good as flight pack batteries for R/C airplanes. They are starting to replace nicad and NiMH.
October 25th, 2021 at 1:11 pm
2 Norm, I chuckled heartily at your observation! The only reason Tesla would do a fleet deal is because their production capacity is getting ahead of their retail sales demand. They may also be hedging their bet because of the new competition from many other OEMs. It will help to keep their factories running. Not fantastic for the bottom line though. I’m sure Mark Fields drove a hard bargain.
October 25th, 2021 at 1:11 pm
#20 Tesla will always leave Hertz with a”full tank” and there will be thousands of SC stations all over the place , and one can always plug @ home before returning if one has a plug ouside the house- overnite recharge,,and if Hertz allows others to use their Tesla SC , it will be extra cash., I’m sure those details are being worked out.
October 25th, 2021 at 1:12 pm
Regarding Hertz buying Tesla cars, will you have to return the car with a full charge, or get charged a fee?
October 25th, 2021 at 1:14 pm
#22 Please do your research , Tesla is booked until spring 2022,, just raised their price by $5000 ,now the GM bolt????? Still waiting for the Total Recall?
October 25th, 2021 at 1:17 pm
Nearly every other electric flying rotor craft these days has six or more propellers. That provides an additional margin of safety in case something happens to a prop or motor.
If the Xpeng car suffers a problem with one of its rotors, its game over. Not a chance I would climb into that thing. Not sure the FAA would ever certify a craft like that. And with the regulation of the airways and flight paths, its not likely you would be able to take off or land anywhere other than a local airport. So, where is the advantage that outweighs all the compromises of the car/plane concept? This is Popular Mechanics cover illustration pipe dream that is just never going to fly (pun intended).
October 25th, 2021 at 1:17 pm
#24 if you charged @ home will be cheaper, now try getting gas @ home, maybe siphon gas from the Gas Mower?
October 25th, 2021 at 1:23 pm
25 So? Nearly every OEM could make the same claim. Have you seen the empty dealer lots? I would not be surprised if their production capacity is sold out well into 2023.
However, the Tesla plants in CA, TX and China will get busier if the Berlin plant is not approved. It will really be something if they have to tear that plant down. That would be some major egg on Elon’s face. For now, we are on “approval watch” from the German government once the second public comment period concludes. Pretty risky building an entire assembly plant on preliminary conditional approvals.
October 25th, 2021 at 1:24 pm
24 If I am at home, why do I need a rental car?
October 25th, 2021 at 1:32 pm
Let the Chinese develop the A/V Flying car / Drone , by the time they have mastered it the US will be so far behind they,( US Customers) will buying Chinese ones as nobody will have thought of making them here, now think how far behind we North Americans are in affordable BEVs ( other than Tesla), XPeng has the G5, and Geely has one as well, and so does BYD
, all under $30,000,& class leading as well, the XPeng is not a Bolt competitor, it has the latest in ADAS.
October 25th, 2021 at 1:33 pm
#12 my comment was about modality technology (vehicles), not energy (fuel) source, which is a separate issue. Fan boy.
Yes, by the way, I agree that fossil fuels, AND wind and solar (BTW) have heavy subsidies which should not be given.
The irony continues . . . with all VWs plants in Germany being unionized, but not in the U.S.
October 25th, 2021 at 1:35 pm
24 The only “at home” charging will be the very few who rent a car, because their own car is was crashed, and being repaired. Some hotels, though, mostly expensive ones, have Tesla “destination” chargers which would be useful to rental customers.
October 25th, 2021 at 1:37 pm
28 It took 13 months to get my Corvette, and a friend has waited 6 months, and counting, to get a RAV4 Prime.
October 25th, 2021 at 2:04 pm
#28 not sure what you’re talking about , the GIGA Berlin has held its Berlinfest and it will be producing cars before the end of year and the battery factory down the road should be online with 4680 cells by summer or fall next year, Keep hating the most American company and the most valued by Map, because you legacy auto is sunk, especially GM as Ford will have its own GIGA facilities in Tennessee and Kentucky to run away from Unions.
October 25th, 2021 at 2:08 pm
#34TSLA just crossed the Trillion Market Cap, Tesla the most successful company making Autos, because it is thinking of their future , a future without Fossil as the main propulsion means of motive.because going forward with oil is so……..
October 25th, 2021 at 2:16 pm
Most of the commenters on this website are Fossil lovers , and that is why Tesla will be hated,they can’t stomach the fact that their industry has been disrupted, but this times, they are a changing, live with it.
October 25th, 2021 at 2:33 pm
34 Come on Rey, do your homework, man! We count on your to keep us informed on all things Tesla.
BERLIN, Oct 21 (Reuters) – “An online consultation for local citizens to express objections to Tesla’s (TSLA.O) huge factory near Berlin will be repeated, the regional environmental ministry said on Thursday, over concerns the process did not comply with regulations. The repeated process, only open to those who expressed an objection in previous public consultation rounds but were not satisfied with the response from Tesla or the environmental ministry, will run from Nov. 2-22, the statement said.
The pre-approvals Musk has received from local authorities to build without final permission are legal, but rarely used by German firms because of the associated risk: if final approval is not granted, Tesla must pay to tear everything down.”
Being realistic, the plant will most likely receive final approval. A local official last week estimated the chance for approval at 95%.
October 25th, 2021 at 2:34 pm
Most of the commenters on here are in touch with reality and understand that major shifts in almost any industry doesn’t happen overnight. Tesla is doing great and leading the way as the most successful EV start up to date. So not like we need daily reminders we are well aware. Good for them and I will continue to wish them well. However exciting and as anticipating the shift to EVs may be the many commenters here are very aware of their short-comings too and to have any negative comment about Tesla or an EV doesn’t really require a debate. Its mostly peoples opinions and we already are well aware of yours Rey. To bombard the site with continual Tesla stock price and news that has nothing to do with the show makes it seem you are a Tesla or Sandy Munroe plant. Just on here to be controversial with your insults and constantly spew Tesla propaganda.
Maybe you cant stomach that most people don’t care for your daily cheerleading. Live with that.
October 25th, 2021 at 2:38 pm
Hertz ,may want to rethink that big Tesla order. EV rental cars are a hard sell. The few EVs that the local rental place had were always the last to go. and only when nothing else was available.
October 25th, 2021 at 2:44 pm
Tesla is making big because it doesn’t have all the legacy costs that the Big 3 do. They are paying more people to sit on their asses then they do to work. .
October 25th, 2021 at 3:16 pm
39 There should be a rental market for those who want to test drive a Model 3, if the rental cost isn’t too high, and Hertz has the cars at all of their rental outlets. Hertz rental outlets are everywhere, but Tesla stores are not.
October 25th, 2021 at 3:38 pm
Mark Fields/Tesla/Tom Brady – that’s a lot of cash to get this going,and I would think a home run.
October 25th, 2021 at 3:49 pm
39 It could be good or bad. It might introduce folks to an EV that they like enough to buy one. Thus increasing sales or as you stated they could be avoided and sit on Hurst lots costing $$. The constant voice that seems to fall on deaf ears is that EVs work great for certain people in certain circumstances. That group is not all encompassing and so why they continue to think of EVs as a 100% replacement for ICE it cant. yet! Hopefully the renters wont be expected to return on full especially if Hurst is going to install hundreds of chargers. Will they be smart enough to place them close to where they clean them for the next customer so it can be charged while being prepped?
October 25th, 2021 at 4:04 pm
the city I live in pop 80,000, has 3 locations with free charging paid for by the City.
October 25th, 2021 at 4:12 pm
I doubt business people going to a meeting will rent an EL because they don’t want the added burden, plus most will take a taxi.
Traveling sales people have better things to do than finding and waiting for a re-charge.
Same for vacationers. How many chargers are available in the national parks? And if only going to visit Grandma, do ya really think she has one?
EV rentals will be a niche item, just like anyone renting an exotic or Mustang GT.
October 25th, 2021 at 4:41 pm
The Model 3 rentals will be a good way for people not near a Tesla store to test drive one. As far as business or vacation rentals, do many people normally drive rental cars many miles anyway? I don’t. Also, some hotels have Tesla destination chargers for an overnight charge.
October 25th, 2021 at 4:47 pm
#40 , really should do more reading! Or follow the news, VW CEO says it takes them 3 times longer to make their BEVs to Tesla 10 hours,maybe you go ask John McElroy for clarification.
October 25th, 2021 at 5:07 pm
46 Does VW use 3 times the person hours to build the car, or do you mean it is 3 times as long from the start to end of the assembly line? If the latter, so what?
October 25th, 2021 at 5:38 pm
Rentals are a great way to introduce a vehicle to a prospective customer. So many times at the dealership I have heard ‘We rented this veicle on vacation or while ours was being repaired, and we liked it so much we decided to purchase/lease one!’
October 25th, 2021 at 7:56 pm
CEO Keogh ( VW America) states that something is fundamentally wrong for union made EVs, but that’ not what was said a year or two ago. Then, VW thought it was a good idea to unionize U.S. plants so all plants globally operate to one policy. It was two senators from Tennessee who threatened to remove VW tax credits if they didn’t adopt their views. Perhaps voting out the senators should be VW’s first task. Then, with a fair election, the workers have a chance for a balanced work/ family life.
October 25th, 2021 at 10:47 pm
29,32, Agreed, most cars are rented away from home, but there are exceptions. When I was working and had a management lease car, insurance included, I would rent a car when my son was on vacation from college. It was a lot cheaper than owning another car that would be idle most of the year.
October 26th, 2021 at 7:31 am
It takes less time for Tesla to make cars because of Automation, new processes and machinery , like the Gigapress which eliminates welding robots and stampings and jigs inthe subframe, the batteries have less wiring the wiring are designed to be put together easily. Tesla spends a .ot on R& D to maximize efficiency and is not encumbered with old thinking.
Sandy Munro criticized the Front subframe and rear of the mod3 in his first Tesla teardown, questioned why so many parts? Elon even had said ” that person responsible for that isn’t with us anymore”.Then Elon starts looking @ a die-cast toy ” why can’t a car be made like this toy? Talks with some industries chats with IDRA who comes up 6000 Pounds of HP Injection Molding/ Casting machines, these house sized machines are then shipped and installed in Fremont and Shanghai.Production from Giga cast machines are 80 to 90 seconds per MegaCast piece,1000 Megacast in one day,one Megacast per end of the car, as John McElroy says Legacy Auto might have to adopt this technique to compete.Oh in some Youtube Videos there are revelations that say Space X metalurgist experts were responsible for the new alloy,you can look it up in Youtube Tesla Megacast,
Tesla has ordered some 11 of this giant IDRA Gigapress machines , half of them for Giga Berlin , half for Teslas almost mile long Giga Austin Texas, which has 3-4 floors and is about 70 feet tall, There are several Tesla fans covering the builds with daily drone Flyovers in Youtube , both Giga Berlin and Texas,oh the first Drone Flyovers were over Giga Shanghai,that guy still doing it I think, Yes I’m Rey, from Canada
October 26th, 2021 at 8:18 am
51 Again Tesla does try and think outside the box from traditional automakers as they did when they tooled up for the model 3 and bought all kinds of robots to do assembly work that they were not capable of doing. A robot cost typically between 40-80K and how many did they buy and not use? So sometimes that “new way of thinking pays off and sometimes it doesn’t.
Same thing with the large castings. That’s a great idea when it comes to assembly and manufacturing. Its a great pay-off for Tesla the consumer may not think its so great when they get into a 35 MPH accident that normally would have been a $800 repair and now becomes a $5000 repair as a whole sub structure needs replaced. So when insurance companies realize this you can expect the rates to also increase. Sometimes the consolidation of components is great. The problem is the manufacturer is really the only one that benefits from it. They may pass on a lower price to the consumer for its initial purchase and everyone wins as long as you don’t ever need a repair. Have one accident and your car might be totalled.
October 26th, 2021 at 8:28 am
51 Not sure if you know what cycle time is but all assembly lines are heavily automated. Most GM lines have a 30-60 second cycle time meaning a car comes off the line every minute or less. You say Tesla castings run at 80-90 seconds which is actually slower. So either they have two machines or are not as fast.
What you probably mean as far as faster is from start to finish may be 2.5 hours for an ICE and Tesla is probably less than that due to reduced complexity. Their line would be shorter with less stations but not kicking out more cars per hour.
October 26th, 2021 at 8:36 am
#52 a car is disposable , id rather have a safe car and I survive than have a good salvageable car but im incapacitated rest of my life, Thats why on buys insurance, the castings have crush rails that has sacrificial ends, anything compromising the Mega casts pieces means the impact was not survi able, scrap the car not the person, like I said Insurance scrap cars all the time, i should know , I bought 3 scrapped cars from the wreckers, in hindsight I know why the insurance companies scrapped them, once “branded” they have no value, I put one together perfect but it was still ” Branded” – here in Ontario it is in the OWNERSHIP papers, buyers will run once they see that ownership / car registration paper.
October 26th, 2021 at 8:44 am
#53 Like I said , ask John McElroy, He is more an expert , not me as I just say what I read and see as it is explained by Sandy Munro, and he is all about efficiency and getting assembly process as simple and cost effective as can be done “Lean Design ” is his motto, im no expert John McElroy and Sandy are, and Sandy would know more than you and I and probably John McElroy put together, after all the Chinese fly & hire him@ times to help them.
October 26th, 2021 at 9:03 am
#53 As I explained once here,cars are loaded with sensors and on ICE carsmany Engine parts are damaged in a small fenderbender, as was explained in one of the AD episodes , they were scrapping Genesis cars as the Sensors , airbags, headlights and probably parts of the engines need replacement, I know that and one Subaro Forester that I bought needed such repairs, that was lesson & car #2, #1 being a Honda Civic, Lesson #3 and last one was a Toyota Sienna , Those 2004 to 2006 cars were simple compared to today’s cars, Audis of any model will be a fortune to repair, I used to go to Auto Wreckers, 3 -4 experiences is enough,lesson learned, And that is why CarFax Reports exist.
October 26th, 2021 at 9:07 am
Today, Tesla sells every EV it makes with months of backlog. Adding the Hertz fleet is like putting out a fire with gasoline. The number is large enough institutional investors who are not gear heads will (are) taking notice.
Other winners will be hotels/motels that cater to business travelers. They will be adding L2 (208 VAC, 40 A), free-to-guest chargers. Restaurants and parking lots will also add L2 chargers.
October 26th, 2021 at 9:18 am
#53NUMMI , the ex GM / Toyota plant used to have have top production #s @ 423,000 units annually of Corolla, Geos and Pontiacs, cheap hatchbacks , Todays Tesla production of highend/ Premium sedans and mod X, 4 models altogether is @ 500,000- 600,000 units annually , and that includes making their own seats inhouse, The “tent”that everybody laughed at?it is now a permanent structure ,Tesla applied for it to become, and taught Tesla more about assembly and more innovation, and such lines were then implemented in Giga Shanghai.Have you seen the ongoing construction and daily drone shots in Giga Texas? There are at least 3 Vloggers there, maybe their names are LARRY , like mine is .
October 26th, 2021 at 9:25 am
54 Having a single piece casting doesn’t correlate to being a safer vehicle, unless you have some data to support that claim. All vehicle have crumple zones and are designed to provide the best passenger safety they can. The manufacturing process is just a reduction in complexity and components and I doubt is has very little affect on crash worthiness. Other than when that large casting is damaged you replace the whole thing.
Repairing any vehicle with a salvage title isn’t worth the effort unless its something you want to keep. So many states and insurance companies make it difficult to register and insure them. Typically cannot get full coverage on a vehicle with a salvage title. So even a fully restored 60K car at half price is a hard sell for someone to throw 30K on something they cant insure fully. Not to mention many banks will not provide a loan on a salvage title vehicle so you need a cash buyer too.
October 26th, 2021 at 9:34 am
Salvage title – It can depend on what your plans are. Many years ago our daughter was looking a GEO Prism with a salvage title. Of course the price was lower than market price w/o salvage title. I advised her if she wanted to sell it in a year or two, stay away. If she planned on driving it for many years go ahead. Long story short is that she put at least 200,000 miles on the vehicle & the deal worked for her.
October 26th, 2021 at 10:03 am
Won’t there be a lot of creaking and broken glue joints with temperature change in the Teslas with the huge aluminum castings attached to steel body parts?
October 26th, 2021 at 10:22 am
60 Exactly. A salvage title vehicle can be a decent buy if you plan to keep it. Fixing them to flip is a tough gig. Or as you said to buy and sell within a few years is likely a losing proposition. Also they’re only a good buy if the repairs were done correctly cause something slapped together by some hack will be nothing but problems. Even a good job done right can miss a frayed wire somewhere and provide a whole mess of electrical problems that are tough to pinpoint.
October 26th, 2021 at 10:29 am
#61 if anything it is going to be quite ridgid,as in no body flex and feel like a vault , Vlogger Autofhugl testdrove MIC Tesla modY , i think he is in Germany. The mod3 beats all auto sales of any brand, last month in Europe, ICE or BEVs , check out the sales # s in inside Evs. ModY comes in several flavors in China and Europe ,SR single motor LFP Battery and LR dual motor, more expensive, USA gets only Dual motor, with front and rear Megacasts. Not sure about the mod3 but it now comes with SR & LFP battery that can charge to 100% without much effect on battery degradation, this is what Hertz is buying I presume, the price was full price@$42,000 , No Discounts whatsoever, price was before the last price increase which is now $44,000 ,and all to be delivered by end of next year, anew is out there , easy to find , GOOGLE helps.
October 26th, 2021 at 10:36 am
#61 Ford F150 is alum on Steel frame? Does it creak? Serious question, as I’ve never been in one,never had a pickup yet only vans of all sizes and small FB series Hino trucks.
October 26th, 2021 at 10:43 am
64 As usual, little vehicle choice in the US. No RWD station wagons from MB. No wagons at all from BMW, and now, only in America, Tesla has mandatory 4WD for the Model Y.
October 26th, 2021 at 10:48 am
65 To my knowledge, the F150s don’t creak any more than other pickups, but they have bodies mounted to a frame using bolts and rubber grommet isolation. Aren’t the Teslas essentially unibody, with the castings and steel parts glued and bolted together, without isolation? Just asking.
October 26th, 2021 at 11:44 am
A ridged structure mounted with rubber isolators probably isn’t anymore or less noisy than a series of spot welded steel panels that have seam sealer on them. I would be surprised if a cast structure has any advantage other than reducing components and assembly time. Its a win for the manufacturer and that’s about it.
October 26th, 2021 at 11:49 am
There are several Youtube testdrives of MIC modY in Europe, those are both ends Megacasts pieces, some are single motor i presume as these will be the SR models and dual motors are mid to high end trims and will have different type batteries like LG 2170 cells 300 mile versions ,LFP is standard range as in 240 mile, and in single motor versions,
I’m sure Sandy Munro has ordered a latest version of modY for end pieces Teardown, Tesla has no model year updates, as the cars are continually improved as they roll off the line,they might look identical from afar but inside and underneath might be different, case in point the Octovalve HVAC system vs now Heatpump HVAC, another is the mod S , the 2015 has little in common with the new Teslas , and even tho the exterior style is much unchange the cars are sold out to spring summer of 2022, the mod Y is sold out till summer 2022, even @ 800,000 annual production rate, you Corvette C8 is a halo car, much doubt GM will make beyond 500,000 total if that, maybe you can tell me? 2 friends had the 78 and 80 vintages when they were working @ Bombadier Aero in Toronto, getting in it needed a shoehorn, and the long hood felt like it was a mile long, my BodyShop/ collision friend has one, maybe a 76.
October 26th, 2021 at 12:03 pm
Kit, Giga Berlin has pictures, and ,, a Germa vlogger has 6 videos detailing the factory and some assembly process, his surname is Voight , should be easy to find in Youtube.Tesla is revolutionizing car assembly processes from the Wiring to batteries and new materials and machinery, hate the company if you wish but the changes and processes they implement will force others to update to remain competitive, This is acknowledged by by VW CEO Herbert Diess in his pleadings with his management boards and Unions in Germany, not to mention Tesla incomparable Software advantage over OEMs.
October 26th, 2021 at 1:03 pm
70 2021 C8 production was about 26,000 with some lost production due parts shortages, etc. Maximum is probably 30-some thousand/year.
October 26th, 2021 at 2:11 pm
Rey @ #48 What the hell does your comment have to do with what I said @ #40 ?
October 26th, 2021 at 5:37 pm
#72 kit , i see 30,000 units / yr is a low number and will be a collectors car eventually and will hold value for sure as it will be the last of the affordable mid engine cars, maybe the first and last ME Corvette?, if so a true collectible, and if it was me id keep the miles low, i had the last of the Buick GN , a 1987, was supposed to be a garage queen,LOL,even stored it one whole winter, New was $21,000+ Tax=24,000 ,put 43,000 kms on it in two yrs , sold for $17,000 lost maybe around $6,000,
One thing i learned from that is cars are no investment, the house i sold to buy that car , i bought for $89,000 sold for $121,000 after six month, had over $24,000 cash in hand bought the GN , that same house is $700,000 – $800,000,
Hope you enjoy your trip to Florida, a friend was trying to sell me his lot there in 1982 for $32,000 , he had bought 3 lots near or in Fort Myers or Port Charlotte,used to come home with boxes of mangoes, then his wife got brain aneurysm, had to medivac Air ambulance her home her , the one year they did not buy Blue Cross insurance, that was 15 years ago ,she had her stroke, RIP 5 yrs later, Be careful,have a safe drive.