BMW Ends ICE Production in Germany! Mercedes?

One of the problems that Tesla faces is that the features they add to previously purchased cars, for free, is thought to be causing Tesla owners to not upgrade their cars. After all, the cars look the same and pretty much act the same, plus even older cars get new features.

 

cell phone companies have same issue, phones could last ten years if they did not restrict battery updates, so they restrict the battery updates, apple even tried to slow down the older phones

it's call planned obsolescence... make things go bad in less time, so sell more, any item they sell that is not being updated, stop selling as it last too long
Refrigerators, window ac, washing machines, all these items do not last like they did in the past... planned obsolescence

 

At present, you can buy replacement batteries for smart phones on line. Maybe not all such phones, but at least for more popular ones.

Smartphones have an stupendous amount of tech crammed into a really small space. For instance they have a radio set for each of wi-fi, bluetooth, phone and gps, each with adequate antenna, etc.. How to trade off room to allocate for battery, radios, memory, etc. is a big deal.

I'd give them a break on this one. I know Apple played the same game with memory in the past, selling a code to unlock memory already on the phone. But they ended up doing large numbers of battery upgrades on the cheap as a result. It wasn't considered OK and they didn't get away with it.

 

you can, but the cell phones companies made it very hard to replace them, but yes, I replaced one that was swollen myself, but it was not easy, most would just buy a new phone

when I was growing up, replacing a battery was easy, you carried spare ones it was so easy

yep, they no longer allow sd cards, thus charging more for storage

 

Yes, I remember buying a battery now and then! It is a LOT harder now for some phones.

A family member has a Samsung smart phone and that phone accepts sd cards, which also makes it easy to use outside the usa.

One good thing some phones have added is being waterproof. That has been the death of a lot of phones - leaving them in a pocket when doing the laundry, etc. And, that makes stuff like sd cards and battery changes harder.

 

micro sd cards are the storage card.... sim cards are what you are thinking of I think

yes, but sim cards are still in those phones... is that any different then a sd card, water proofing was just an excuse, cause even the ones that are not waterproof do this

 

EV's are reaching the end of the road.
Ford EV Crisis: “Our Gen 2 vehicles won’t launch unless we can … profit”
Eric Worrall
Death of the EV revolution?

 

That article is about Ford, not the "EV revolution".

The problem Ford EV division faces is that they can't compete.

Using Ford's failure as a measure of the EV marketplace is typical WUWT "logic."

 

Canary in the coal mine.

 

Airplanes, electric lighting, computers, ICE cars ...

There is no hugely successful technology that has not seen well known corporations die.

Don't get sucked in by the uniformly idiotic logic of WUWT.

 

Unfortunately as an automotive engineer, specifically an automotive powertrain engineer, I don't get sucked in by anybodies uniformly idiotic logic.

Particularly yours.

 

Please point out your concern.

Remember my post that you responded to was about the current rate of increase of EV sales.

Anyway, feel free to state an engineering concern.

 

EVs are technically inferior vehicle that cannot handle operating under load. It's a known issue and, at the moment, an intractable one. The problem is operating on a battery and it can't be cured by "more battery".

For the last 30 years of modern EV existence, that's always been the problem with them. They will only naturally sell to people who can afford the inconveniences and that's it. We're now seeing what happens when that market hits that wall that's been artificially inflated by massive government grift.

Looks like that market is now settling into its time honored tradition of being niche vehicles for the wealthy.

But I've explained this before many times. And still nothing but "yeah, but's" from the wishful minions.

 

There is nothing I can add to #563.

 

The most popular car in the USA (in fact, the world) is the Tesla Model Y, closely followed in the USA by a Toyota.

These people didn't buy that car to tow a trailer.

I think you have to remember that the personal vehicle market is not characterized by one set of requirements covering all possible uses.

And, it never has been.

 

The most popular light duty vehicle (Class 1 or 2) in America is the F150 followed in succession by the other brand's full size pickup trucks. The problem with calling the Tesla Model Y the most popular "car" in America is that it greatly distorts the overall market for light duty vehicles by first cutting out all the most popular vehicles in the class. Since CAFE regulations became a thing in the mid-70s, "cars" have become gradually more broadly useless and the heart of the market, light trucks (including SUV's, vans, and trucks) have risen to meet the demand for vehicles that can carry more than just a driver and a briefcase while also benefitting from lower CAFE standards for vehicles called "trucks", while cars have lost share of the overall market. Trucks have now outsold cars by a significant margin for about the last decade. People don't necessarily buy trucks to ever tow a trailer either. But maybe they've got 3 kids. Or maybe they're job requires entertaining clients. Or maybe they live in a rural area without municipal trash pickup. Or maybe they just like the safety aspects of being able to see over other cars. All kinds of reasons.

In fact, most Tesla owners don't rely on it as their only vehicle. There's typically also an ICE vehicle (probably a truck) in the garage.

And I really don't care about the rest of the world. Europe's much smaller that the US. Their economies vary significantly due to things like that.

You're right, the personal vehicle market is not characterized by one set of requirements covering all possible uses. Unfortunately, EVs are really only appropriate for one single set of requirements. ICE vehicles can, and have for the last century+, accommodate all of them.

 

I've never argued with you buying a truck of your choice.

But, let's not pretend that there are no cars on the road, OK?

 

Who said there are no cars on the road? They're simply a minority.

 

But, your argument amounts to a claim that cars don't even count in our vehicular transportation economy - not just EV cars.

Surely you can recognize that claims that there is no market for cars is just flat out silly.

 

No, I did not. You said a Tesla is the best selling car in the country. The balance between cars and trucks, SUVs, etc. has been tilting towards trucks for decades. My wife drives a Jeep Renegade. Counts as a truck. You're basing your claim on cars only which is misleading.

Open the list up to all similarly classified light duty vehicles and it's pretty "so what".

 

My "argument" is that there is a significant market for cars in the USA and world wide.

Every "light duty vehicle" manufacturer believes that.

 

No doubt.

But it doesn't make EVs that important.

 

Here's another reason to watch the Super Bowl.

• 
  'Boycott Tesla' ads to air during Super Bowl

 

Why is he attacking Tesla instead of those whose products are STRICTLY driverless (not a super expensive option that does disengage under certain circumstances)?

Cruise (General Motors) recently got its self driving taxi service kicked out of San Francisco. And, last night, again in SF, a driverless taxi by Google parent Alphabet was attacked and burned.

There is already opposition to driverless cars. It's just not politically unified.

I think the issue is real, but I highly doubt the method will work. Turning it into anti-Tesla is wrong headed in that the need is for regulation and/or limitations on self driving, not better Tesla behavior.

Also, I don't believe his method will work. Tesla has been highly successful between his last ad and this one. Since his last SB ad, the Tesla model Y became the highest selling car in the world - and in the US. How does he plan to measure the impact of his ad - a key element in any advertising campaign.

 

Perhaps because Tesla is the worst?
". . . . O’Dowd said he was compelled to bring awareness to the latest issue with what he calls “the most incompetent software I’ve ever seen” in part by The Post’s investigation. O’Dowd founded Green Hills Software, which makes operating systems for cars and airplanes. . . . ."