AD #3035 – Sienna’s Powertrain Disappoints; GM Battery Improvements; Hyundai’s Wild Van Concept
March 12th, 2021 at 11:48am
Listen to “AD #3035 – Sienna’s Powertrain Disappoints; GM Battery Improvements; Hyundai's Wild Van Concept” on Spreaker.
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Runtime: 9:48
0:08 BMW Invests in CO2-Free Steel
0:44 GM Teams with SES To Improve Batteries
1:46 Bollinger Reveals Class-3 EV Platform Pricing
2:38 Hyundai Unveils Wild Van Concept
3:35 Sienna’s Hybrid Powertrain Disappoints
5:46 ZF coPilot L2 Update
6:01 Australia Enacts Legislation to Protect Car Dealers
7:20 EVs Aren’t the Only Way to Fight Climate Change
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
BMW INVESTS IN CO2-FREE STEEL
Conventional steel is produced in smoldering blast furnaces, which produces carbon dioxide. But BMW is investing in a way to make CO2-free steel. It’s teaming with Boston Metal, which uses an electrolysis cell to produce pig iron that is later turned into steel. If the electricity for the cell is generated with renewable energy, then the steel production is carbon free. The next step will be to set up demonstration facilities for the process over the next few years to see if it can be developed for use on an industrial scale.
GM TEAMS WITH SES TO IMPROVE BATTERIES
General Motors announced it’s jointly developing better EV batteries with a company called SES. It used to be known as SolidEnergy Systems, but despite the name, it doesn’t make solid state batteries. They gave up on that. Instead, SES developed an ultra-thin lithium-metal anode for batteries. The specs are impressive: 400-500 watt hours per kilogram. That’s 43% to 78% better than the best batteries used today. And it matches Tesla’s claims for its next generation battery. SES also claims over 1,000 watt hours per liter. That’s 43% smaller and lighter than the best today. Last year at Tesla’s Battery Day, Elon Musk said their new battery would be available in 3 to 4 years. SES and GM say they’ll go into pre-production in 2023. So now the race is on to see who gets there first.
BOLLINGER REVEALS CLASS 3 PLATFORM PRICING
EV startup Bollinger announced pricing for its B2 CHASS-E Cab and CHASS-E platforms. The rear-drive B2 costs $70,000, the dually version starts at $72,500 and with AWD, the price jumps to $100,000. The rear-drive CHASS-E costs $55,000, the dually version is $57,500 and with AWD it costs $80,000. Bollinger is coming out with its own SUVs and trucks based on the Class 3 platform but it’s also going to supply them to other companies, which will use them for things like commercial trucks, defense vehicles, kit cars, autonomous cars and emergency vehicles. Deliveries will start in 2022.
HYUNDAI UNVEILS SLEEK VAN
Hyundai is teasing a wild van it’s going to come out with, called the STARIA. There’s very little information to go on, like we don’t know if it will be gas, diesel, electric or some combination of those. We can tell you it will be used for both businesses and families and available in select markets, but that’s all we’ve got for now.
SIENNA’S HYBRID POWERTRAIN DISAPPOINTS
The all-new Toyota Sienna minivan strutted its hybrid-only wheels through the Autoline Garage and two things jumped out at us right away. First, the powertrain stinks. It pairs a 2.5L 4-cylinder engine with either a single motor or dual setup for all-wheel drive, which combines for 245 horsepower. Sure that’s plenty of power to get you around and we were averaging an impressive 27 MPG combined, but because power is sent through a CVT, it constantly sounds like the engine is being overworked. Over time it’s one of those things that falls to the background, until you have to get up and go and that awful sound comes roaring back. Like the PHEV Prius Prime or RAV4 Prime, there needs to be a Sienna Prime with a bigger battery pack that allows the wheels to be driven in electric-only power more often. We think it would make the driving experience much more pleasurable. The second thing that stands out, is that the Sienna has an awesome chassis. It rides nice on the road, soaking up the bumps and it felt well planted when entering the freeway on a clover leaf. It also does a great job of keeping outside noises outside of the cabin. Sticking to the inside, even though we had a top-of-the-line Platinum model, the interior looks too plastic-y. Some soft-touch, premium materials were used, but we think too sparingly. It would have been nice on top of the door panels. But we did have a lot of quality content with our model. Big center screen, inductive charging mat on the dashboard and a rear seat entertainment package for the kiddies with the ability to plug into an HDMI outlet or mirror your phone. Although I think more customers are starting to expect more than one rear screen. Our Sienna Platinum was priced at over $53,000 and while it’s a very good vehicle overall, I think it’s leaving the door open for other automakers to pass it in the premium minivan space.
Yesterday we reported on ZF’s CoAssist L2 system that Donfeng is using. We said it uses a camera from MobilEye, but ZF tells us it actually makes the camera, which is based on MobilEye’s technology.
AUSTRALIA ENACTS LEGISLATION TO PROTECT CAR DEALERS
When GM abandoned the Australian market, its dealers and customers were hopping mad. So was the government. So legislators enacted a code of conduct. Automakers who willfully break franchise laws or reject legitimate warranty claims can be fined up to $10 million. GM and Honda dealers say they are not being fairly compensated as those automakers back out of their franchise agreements. The Australian Automotive Dealers Association says the new law will protect the investment that dealers make in their franchise.
And coming up next, John says EVs aren’t the only way to fight climate change.
EVs AREN’T THE ONLY WAY TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE
The auto industry is pretty much on board for fighting climate change, but it’s told the only way it can do that is by making electric cars. I think that misses the opportunity to come up with faster and cheaper solutions.
The problem with internal combustion engines is not the engines. It’s the carbon in the fuel they burn. Carbon neutral fuels, like efuels, can take care of that problem. In Europe, there’s a big effort underway to develop efuels and Mazda and Porsche are involved in that effort. In fact, Porsche says if Formula One adopts efuel, it will start racing in Formula One.
More importantly, we need to look at total life-cycle emissions of greenhouse gasses from cars, not just what comes out the tailpipe. We need to count emissions from mining raw materials, making cars, driving them and recycling them.
Manufacturing EV batteries uses massive amounts of energy. If that energy comes from renewable or nuclear sources, no problem–at least from a GHG standpoint. But most grids rely on fossil fuels. In China, it’s mostly from coal.
Recycling EV batteries is an issue. A number of companies are working on ways to recycle batteries in a high-volume and cost-effective way. I’m sure that will get resolved, but so far it’s being done with small pilot lines.
It’s going to take decades to turn the global fleet over to electric. I think we can come up with faster and cheaper solutions if we take life-cycle emissions into account. After all, the goal is to fight climate change. So why not create more options to solve it sooner?
And that wraps up the week for us, see you on Monday.
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Comments (37)
March 12th, 2021 at 11:59 am
What Toyota needs is for customers to complain about the powertrain. Though the media and outlets like this can be an influence, it’s really the buyers that make the immediate difference. As a long time customer owning numerous Toyotas I can attest that Toyota does in fact listen and respond. Whether regarding a vehicle, ESPECIALLY a dealer, or Toyota itself, they definitely respond.
March 12th, 2021 at 12:07 pm
It’s interesting how different things bother different people. I haven’t driven new Sienna yet, but I suspect the noise would be similar to my Camry hybred, with a fair amount of noise when it’s floored, but you barely hear the engine at all at constant speed. That doesn’t bother me, though significant engine noise at steady speed would bother me. It sounds like engine noise on hard acceleration is quite bothersome to Sean.
As far as acceleration, CR got 0-60 in 8.2 seconds with the new Sienna, probably better than my turbo manual Caravan, which was the hot rod of minivans in 1989.
March 12th, 2021 at 12:12 pm
Also, with the Sienna, probably the way to buy it would be the lowest, or next to lowest trim level, MSRP ~$35K-37K. You wouldn’t get much for the extra money with the top trim levels.
March 12th, 2021 at 12:14 pm
1 I’m not in the market for a van, but the next time I’m at the Toyota store for an oil change, I’ll test drive a Sienna. I’m curious about all this noise.
March 12th, 2021 at 12:20 pm
Interesting to see that BMW is partnering with a company in Boston on advancing steel production methods when Germany is home to the giants of the steel industry.
Also, even though its been out for several years now, it would seem that the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid still has the best overall solution for a great minivan that gets really good mileage with no sacrifices in the driving experience.
March 12th, 2021 at 12:20 pm
Driving any vehicle where you need to floor it to get up to HWY speed or where it sounds like the engine is being taxed hard to accelerate is bothersome to me. For an everyday driver I don’t need it to be fast by any means but I also don’t like the feeling of using everything its got, to get going.
Totally agree with John on his segment today. The long debated environmental impact of battery technology vs ICEs will continue. Its very simple to just look at emissions going down the road but looking at the whole picture and taking into consideration the mining and recyclability of EV’s vs ICE, The “Greener” solution could still be ICE.
March 12th, 2021 at 12:27 pm
Wow! The Bollinger prices seem pretty high for a chassis cab. Seems like a well engineered and built product from what I have read, but those prices are going to keep this brand in the niche category.
Its funny to hear that the Australian government is “hopping mad” (is that a kangaroo joke, Sean?). The Aussie gov’t is responsible for all of the changes in their automotive market. After they changed the financial supports for the OEMs that had been in place for a long time, all of the auto companies closed their factories and left. They warned the government that they would have to do this if they revised the financial supports, and the government went ahead and did it anyway. So, if they want to be mad at somebody, they should just look in the mirror.
However, GM and the other OEMs should be respecting the agreements with their dealers in terms of warranty service and providing parts availability. Not doing so would be a significant ethical lapse.
March 12th, 2021 at 12:32 pm
5 The Pacifica hybrid wouldn’t get the mpg of the Sienna, but would be more refined. For those who do short trips, the ~30 miles of plug-in range of the Pacifica hybrid would be very useful.
I’ve always liked the idea of nuclear power, but I’m curious about how “green” it is, considering the huge amounts of concrete and other energy intense materials it takes to build a nuclear plant. I suspect a nuclear plant would “pay for” its energy use to build in a fairly short time, but I haven’t been able to find any info about it.
March 12th, 2021 at 12:34 pm
Don’t get too excited about efuels, there are efficiency issues with making them that would have to be solved. https://theicct.org/blog/staff/e-fuels-will-not-save-ice
Ultimately, all the different approaches to a cleaner world, comes back to getting the power grid mostly converted to renewable sources.
The other thing to remember is that when you take energy in form and try and convert it into a different form, its never 100% efficient. So an EV can use the electricity without conversion (minus the battery loss) is still going to be must efficient. The best use of efuels might be in airplanes where low weight is the most important thing.
March 12th, 2021 at 12:34 pm
So many vehicles have been sales flops because the manufacturer didn’t give it enough power. Usually it’s more of a sports car or truck but lots of people use vans for towing of larger loads, hands capping it with a barely adequate motor doesn’t see like a good plan.
March 12th, 2021 at 12:46 pm
Toyota is not known for exciting cars but reliability. Our 2015 Sienna [snore] was replaced by our similarly sized Tesla X which blasts the doors of our C7 My son test drove a Prius Prime and said “It’s a car” What can I say, Gearheads unite against boredom
March 12th, 2021 at 12:49 pm
10 The best selling non-pickups in the US, RAV4 and CR-V are no quicker than the Sienna. Yeah, the sound of those under hard acceleration is probably more pleasant, or might be. The best selling “Detroit three” non-pickup is Chevy Equinox, which is more than a second slower to 60 than a RAV4 or CR-V. I’m using CR acceleration numbers. They are easy to compare using their web site, and the vehicles are all tested the same way, so should be good to compare.
The new Sienna is not rated to tow, and if towing more than a few hundred pounds, I’m sure there would be too-frequent loud engine noise, even for me.
March 12th, 2021 at 12:55 pm
9 The best use of e-fuels is to burn used fryer oil in the trucks delivering to McDonald’s.
March 12th, 2021 at 1:23 pm
Here are even more easy and effective ways to reduce GHGs without needing to wait for EVs.
1. Switch coal generating plants to natural gas. Natural gas is inexpensive and plentiful and conversion can be as simple as re-jetting the boilers. You only need to build a completely new plant if you need the extra few points of efficiency a new plant would have.
Also, coal mining is much more energy intensive and polluting than natural gas exploration, so you win twice.
2. Ban all gasoline powered lawn care equipment. Electrical versions exist of all lawn care products, right up to ride on mowers.
It is only a choice to use gas powered equipment. Most of that equipment is imported as well, wasting energy and creating pollution on it’s way here. This could be phased in by banning new sale and repair of this equipment.
3. Ban ‘off road only’ exemptions for all transportation equipment. There is no reason that aircraft, boats, freighters, dirt bikes,
ATVs, skidoos, Kubotas, portable generators and construction equipment can’t meet existing environmental standards.
Again, this could be phased in by banning new sale and repair of this equipment. In some US states (Utah for example) you can get an ‘off-road only’ exemption that allows you to pollute, then drive the vehicle on the road anyway.
4. Instead of subsidies for electric vehicles, add taxes to non-electric. This doesn’t change the amount of pollution, but should make people more aware plus help the government treasury.
5. Ban commercial vehicles from non-corporate use. The whole point of the car vs truck distinction in the fuel economy and pollution regulations, was to allow businesses to have ‘more capable’ vehicles when they need those capabilities.
A soccer mom does not have a legitimate need to tow 30,000 lbs in her Hemi or diesel pickup.
6. Ban corporations from claiming fuel costs as an expense on their taxes. This is much like the restriction that prevents companies in Canada from claiming liquor and lunches as a business expense. It doesn’t stop them from spending the money, it just penalizes them if they do it wastefully. (especially when combined with #5)
7. Only certify the top 50% of vehicles for sale based on pollution efficiency. People buy what is available in each ‘usage class’.
If the worst polluters were not available, no one could buy them. People would still have lots of choice and electric, hybrid, CNG, and start-stop offerings would quickly become standard across the board.
8. Require that ALL government owned or funded vehicles be the most pollution efficient ones available. No more Hemi-Chargers for police cruising. They use aircraft to follow serious speeders any way.
9. Electrify or CNG all train routes. Just as fast and convenient. Way less polluting.
March 12th, 2021 at 1:41 pm
14 I was in the market for a riding mower last spring when up north, and checked out electric ones. The one I considered was a Ryobi, but it would be marginal for doing my lawn on one charge. Also, it used lead acid batteries which would probably last only 3-4 years. Some reviews I saw said less than that.
I use a push mower for “trimming,”, and if I need a new one, it will definitely be electric. I use the push mower only about twice a month, and the one I have, while far from worn out, never starts very easily. Battery electric would be great for that use. I suspect if I hadn’t needed a new rider for another year or two, I would have gotten an electric one. I’m sure more, and better ones are coming to market all the time.
March 12th, 2021 at 1:47 pm
14,4 As I mentioned yesterday, US states are adding “surcharges” for registering electric cars, that are more money than the gas tax for an ICE vehicle driven a “normal” ~15K miles a year. It’s crazy that even Georgia or Florida would enact a punitive tax on EVs.
March 12th, 2021 at 2:06 pm
#8 – Nuclear Power – Many years ago I was a fan of this, however, while taking evening classes at U/M back in the 70′s some of the students worked in the nuclear power industry & I learned about the high decommissioning costs of nuclear plants.
At the time, decommissioning costs were rarely mentioned. & learning how high these costs were changed my opinion. Having said all that, not sure if the situation is different today.
Similar to how rabid EV fans don’t seem to acknowledge pollution from generation electric power, & only talk about how their EV’s don’t generate pollutants when they drive.
March 12th, 2021 at 2:17 pm
15 Since we’ve had a couple days of nice weather I’ve been doing some much needed yard work and tree trimming. I don’t need or use a chainsaw much so I bought an electric one. Its not cordless but my yard isn’t so big that I cant reach anywhere without 100″ cord. My brother has a gas saw but much like me doesn’t use it often enough and so its always a PITA to get started and rarely runs right without a lot of messing around. This electric saw just needs plugged in and some bar oil and worked great. I even took down a 50′ pine tree about 16″ in diameter at the base. Never stalled the electric motor and I am impressed. Best part was it was less expensive than a gas counterpart (about half) much like EVs should be. When my mower needs replaced I will certainly look at an electric one. Quieter and also runs every-time no stale gas problems.
March 12th, 2021 at 2:42 pm
The production of gas is just too carbon dense so ICE is not the long term solution. However, I agree with John. We need to do something now, not just wait around. The existing car fleet will be with us for decades. Lets clean them up fast with better fuel. It would be a big improvement.
I don’t hold out much hope though. Remember the decades of stalling by the oil industry about getting sulphur out of diesel? Maybe the gov’t needs to threaten the $22B to $50B support given annually to the industry in the U.S.?
March 12th, 2021 at 2:52 pm
18) I’ve had a battery electric push mower for 5 years now. The brand is EGO. I have not needed to replace the battery or do literally anything. Just put the battery in and go year after year. So much nicer than anything gas powered I have had in the past. Much quieter too. I could mow at 4AM and nobody would know it. I won’t ever do that, but I could.
Electric ride on would be a challenge though. Luckily my lawn is not large enough for an electric ride on mower. The commercial lawn care persons probably would not be able to do full electric due to the run time that they would need per day. Unless they carted around a trailer full of batteries and another with equipment.
March 12th, 2021 at 3:58 pm
20 Does your mower have lithium batteries?
An electric riding mower with enough run time to mow two acres or so should be easily doable with lithium batteries, but might be pricey. Where I am in Florida, it seems like most people use mowing services. For that type of use, mowers would need to have quick change batteries to get through a day’s use.
18 A corded electric chain saw would be great. I have a 40-some year old gas one that will no longer run, and was always a pain, only being used about once every three years. The corded electric would be perfect, as long as you have a long enough cord. It could sit for 10 years, and then work perfectly. Gas ones certainly won’t, nor would a battery electric.
March 12th, 2021 at 5:37 pm
I tried a small corded electric chain saw for pruning trees and it worked OK but the oilier kept leaking when I would store it so I got a Ryobi battery electric reciprocating saw that works great, no oil needed and I can change saw blades in about 5 seconds to handle whatever size branch or small diameter tree I need to cut. I’ve had pretty good luck with Ryobi tools and batteries over the years for all my yard work, they’re not perfect but so much more convenient than gas powered tools of the same size and cost.
March 14th, 2021 at 4:11 am
eFuels are a non starter, clearly they use a lot of energy and even if that energy was free/clean you’d get a lot further using it in an EV.
I’m all for considering any zero (or close to zero) emission solution but still burning stuff is not the answer, you’ll still get pollution and even if you don’t believe in man-caused climate change, you can see/smell air pollution (even though much of the pollution is odourless and colourless).
I don’t understand John’s enthusiasm to try keep burning stuff when it’s now clear EVs are already viable, affordable and the batteries (lasting longer than any one thought) can be 100% recycled. EVs are better than their ICE counterparts, it’s not like we asking folks to downgrade.
March 14th, 2021 at 6:41 am
Concerning the Toyota Sienna, Motor1 pinpoints the problem, quote: “Our only complaint is that the transition between the gas engine and electric motors can sound harsh, but it’s only an issue when you really give it the beans”. Unquote. Incidentally, the much-lauded RAV4 Prime features a very much bigger battery.
As the grid gets greener, so do EVs. And the big corporations are at the forefront of dialing in supplies of utility-scale renewable power.
VW’s Zwickau plant (where the ID.3 is built) runs on renewables, and Tesla’s Berlin/Brandenburg factory will benefit from the regions large-scale investments in wind energy. GM has similar ambitions in the US.
I happened to see my first big electric garbage truck this week (in Europe) – it’s really no contest.
That being said, for fun I still like my underhood explosions and manual gear selection.
New nuclear power plants in Western countries regularly come in way over budget and colossally late (France, Finland, the UK, Vogtle in Georgia for the US).
Maybe a new generation of smaller, simpler, and safer modular reactors will allow manufacturing cadence to pick up.
But in the US, equivalently sized (onshore) wind and solar power plants are going up in record time, even compared with many other countries. It’s actually really impressive.
March 14th, 2021 at 9:14 am
23 Corn based ethanol is a big industry in Indiana, both for mega farmers that grow the corn, and companies that process it. It never seemed to make much sense, environmentally, given that it takes a lot of energy to process the corn into methanol, and it runs up food prices.
March 14th, 2021 at 9:36 am
24 A little surprisingly, for a new model, the Sienna’s battery is NiMH. I think Toyota is still using NiMH for some versions of Camry hybrid, and maybe Prius, though my Camry LE hybrid has a Li-ion battery. There would be plenty of space in the van for the smallish, 1.9 kWh battery, but I’ve read that Li-ion has a little better charge-discharge efficiency, so I’m surprised they don’t use them.
I just read the Motor 1 review, and they seemed to like the powertrain in the Sienna just fine. Such things are in the eye (ear) of the beholder. Surprisingly, CR got a very good 8.2 second 0-60 with the 4585 pound Sienna, a tenth better than the V6 Pacifica hybrid, and better than most of the compact CUVs. I guess those electric motors help give the Sienna a good jump off the line.
March 14th, 2021 at 5:33 pm
I agree with John! EV proponents never seem to consider let alone mention where the electricity comes from. I believe that non-green sources of electricity currently out number green sources which would minimize the advantages of EV powered vehicles. Nobody seems to mention the cost of upgrading existing power distribution systems either and surely that will be required as the number of EVs increases. And absolutely no one mentions the fact that each vehicle whether EV or ICE has a heat signature (ie: cooling system) that is warming the atmosphere of our planet. Like John says, i think as many solutions to global warming should be explored as are available and reducing/eliminating global warming should be the focus not the technology.
March 14th, 2021 at 6:43 pm
27. EVs are much more efficient than ICE vehicles, but the efficiency of the nat gas and coal power plants and distribution also matters. Of course, renewable power sources are best.
The thing I’d like to know, is what is the total environmental footprint of making, and ultimately recycling the batteries? That comes in several forms, from greenhouse gas emissions to environmental damage at mining sites. It seems difficult to find information about that, at least from google searches.
March 15th, 2021 at 6:21 am
I can’t verify the data (see link) but it remains, that the ‘elephant’ in the room is still southeast Asia (predominantly China). While our efforts are gallant, we’re still spitting into the wind in our effort (without a global approach). https://www.carbonbrief.org/mapped-worlds-coal-power-plants
March 15th, 2021 at 8:26 am
23 An EV certainly would be a downgrade for me. I would have to spend more money for a vehicle that gets less range takes way longer to refuel and without a home charger I would also need to upgrade my home electrical system and add a charger. I would probably still need to find some places where I could charge nearby which in the city of Toledo there are currently only 5 charging stations and 3 Tesla stations. Spending more money for something less convenient seems like a definite downgrade.
March 15th, 2021 at 8:47 am
28 I too would like to see a good breakdown on a true comparison of an ICE and an EV. Take away all the things that are similar like chassis, body, tire’s and interior that basically use the same materials and are capable of being made identical for recycle purposes.
So the main differences are the (battery/motor) and (engine/transmission/fuel system). Take the carbon footprint to takes from start to finish and you would have a much clearer picture. I suppose it would be difficult otherwise it would have been done already. But when you try and decipher a total impact to drill for oil and mine for Ore and Bauxite to make iron and aluminum castings and then the machining and heat treating etc. Break all that down for a single vehicle and do all the same for an EV and the battery production and electric motor would be a huge task.
Then comes in operating impact and as everyone points out depending how your electric is generated makes a huge difference.
So someone could go through all those calculations and get a fairly good idea and discover that the overall difference isn’t that great, or maybe its huge but it still doesn’t resolve the shortcomings that are holding EVs back. I think the obvious result is we need more renewable energy and a way to replace the coal and NG burning electric plants. As our government is wasting billions of our dollars on support to other countries and pet projects under the guise of a stimulus check it sure would have been nice to actually have made an impact in this area.
March 15th, 2021 at 9:23 am
Lordstown Motors in the news, and not it a good way.
https://www.thedrive.com/news/39755/lordstown-motors-faked-orders-for-electric-pickup-thats-years-behind-schedule-report
March 15th, 2021 at 10:00 am
The transition is going to need 15 years at least, and that’s just for the daily drivers. I think it pays to keep that in mind. Though it doesn’t follow new vehicles with ICEs will remain economically viable that long.
Battery prices will continue their gradual descent while improving on other parameters, and recycling costs and capabilities will follow a similar curve.
The latter is going to be a good business for innovative companies to be in. There’s quite some action in the sector, and that will only increase.
While presently, a smaller EV can actually be nicer to drive than a bigger ICE with an identical price thanks to that insta-torque. But it clearly doesn’t work for everyone – yet.
On the power production side, the price of renewables means only natural gas still stands a chance as an alternative. While some people are all agog about the magical 100% target (easy to postulate…) we really have a lot to learn, but getting nearer can be done.
Germany generated 45% of its electricity with renewables in 2020. See https://www.statista.com/statistics/736640/energy-mix-germany/
A small aside: even Texas’ big nuclear plant went offline during the recent fiasco.
March 15th, 2021 at 10:38 am
32 Well that’s not so surprising as many here mentioned when they were touting the 100k in pre-orders, that it seemed hard to believe. So Steve Burns “allegedly” got some of his buddies to create companies that placed pre-orders to the tune of 735 Million to drive up stock. Which I think a lot of the EV start -ups are doing.
Even Tesla had enough pre-orders to cover 18 months of production before they even started but somehow people were able to order 6 months in and get delivery within the first year of production and no one ever questioned it. Luckily for Tesla the demand did seem to propagate as time went on. Sadly with these other EV truck manufacturers, investors may find a severe drop in sales month after start of production. Yeah this is not good news for Lordstown and I’d bet Sean will talk about this today.
March 15th, 2021 at 4:03 pm
MotorTrend magazine also thinks the Toyota Sienna minivan’s powertrain sucks. Think they said it was down about 45HP compared to last years model.
I would never buy ANY VEHICLE that uses a CVT. Bad technology. Period.
March 15th, 2021 at 7:08 pm
35 Down on power, but twice the city mpg, and barely slower acceleration.
March 15th, 2021 at 10:39 pm
22, I haven’t used my gas chain saw since I bought my cordless Milwaukee Sawzall about ten years ago. Slower than a chainsaw but good enough for cutting most branches. I leave the big stuff to the pros.
14,I worry about the fate of collector cars when the government starts talking about banning the sale of replacement parts.