G. David Felt

Very cool, official Chevrolet Blazer EV production has started in Mexico. First sellable Chevy Blazer EV rolls off the production line (electrek.co)

Cool, @oldshurst442 should like this. GM Defense Incorporates GM Defense Canada

@Robert Hall @bobo @loki Thank you for letting me know about the birthdays, for some weird reason I no longer see them on the home page.

Good read on the differences of EV versus ICE for maintenance. Key Differences Between Gas and Electric Car Maintenance (businessinsider.com)

I wonder if anyone will offer charge port change services for those that have CCS and want an NACS port instead. ?

Seems SAE is moving forward to make the NACS the new standard for charging. SAE International Announces Standard for NACS Connector, Charging PKI and Infrastructure Reliability VOLVO is also the latest to join the NACS club, Starting with all EVs built for the North America market in 2025 will come with the NACS port. Electric Volvo car drivers will get access to 12,000 Tesla Superchargers across the United States, Canada and Mexico as Volvo Cars adopts North American Charging Standard - Volvo Car USA Newsroom

Chevrolet has posted a complete e-Crate powertrain. Seems the BOLT powertrain will live on in e-Crate form. GM’s Electric Vehicle Future | Performance (chevrolet.com)

Seems Ford is taking a $9.2 Billion loan out backed by the GOV to build their Ford Blue EV campus and 3 battery plants. Ford agrees to $9.2 billion US government loan | CNN Business

SK of Korea has also jumped on the NACS band wagon for ensuring their chargers have NACS plugs. SK Signet Adds NACS Capabilities to its EV Charger Line-up | SK

Gotta Love it that GM is leading in the most autos on the J.D. Powers Initial Quality Survey. 2023 U.S. Initial Quality Study (IQS) | J.D. Power (jdpower.com) Highest-Ranking Brands and Models Dodge is the highest-ranking brand overall in initial quality with a score of 140 PP100. Among mass market brands, Ram (141 PP100) ranks second and Buick (162 PP100) ranks third. Among premium brands, Alfa Romeo ranks highest with a score of 143 PP100. Porsche (167 PP100) ranks second and Cadillac (170 PP100) ranks third. The parent corporation receiving the most model-level awards is General Motors Company (seven awards), followed by Hyundai Motor Group (five) and Toyota Motor Corporation (four). Among brands, Chevrolet and Kia receive the most segment awards (four). General Motors Company models that rank highest in their respective segments are Buick Encore GX, Cadillac Escalade, Cadillac XT6, Chevrolet Camaro, Chevrolet Corvette, Chevrolet Equinox and Chevrolet Tahoe. Hyundai Motor Group models that rank highest in their respective segments are Genesis G80, Kia Carnival, Kia Forte, Kia Rio and Kia Stinger. Toyota Motor Corporation models that rank highest in their respective segments are Lexus GX, Lexus IS, Toyota Camry and Toyota 4Runner. Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. has the highest-ranking model overall, the Nissan Maxima with 106 PP100, and the Nissan Murano ranks highest in its respective segment.

Nissan is in a weird place, the auto business is a small part of the much larger Nissan conglomeration of businesses. As such, they already did not want to put much money into the auto business as to why they partnered up with Renault. I can easily see the larger parent company just decide to sell off rather than invest in the auto industry. Just my personal opinion on it.

But you have other than Porsche, stated 3 EV's that have not gotten there yet that is really aimed for the 1/10th of 1% from a price standpoint. Porsche is the really only 4/5 person EV that covers the 1% to the top 10% group. Lamborghini and Ferrari, do not make any 4/5 person EV sedan, just an SUV. I also do not expect all the current Legacy ICE auto companies to survive. I think Mazda, Nissan will end up in select markets only, if not outright bought out and merged in to a stronger auto companies' portfolio much like how Subaru is a subsidiary of Toyota even though it is a publicly traded company, Toyota owns a controlling interest due to GM's bankruptcy.

Very interesting read in the following press release from Hyundai: 'Hyundai Motor Way' Sets Course for Accelerated Electrification and Future Mobility Goals at 2023 CEO Investor Day - Hyundai Newsroom Generation 2 of their EV platform will be known as IMA platform or Integrated Modular Architecture and this next gen EV platform will support 13 new dedicated EV models for Hyundai, Kia and Genesis. This platform standardizes modules and parts across the full EV portfolio allowing to reduce development complexity and cost. This new platform also fully supports from Micro-Compact all the way to Full-size trucks and suvs using an assortment of battery pack designs. A much-desired enhancement to their current E-GMP platform that had considerable restrictions.

I would not be surprised to see Hyundai/Kia/Genesis also be one of the first Asian auto groups to join the NACS pac.

I disagree, you can clearly see the Lambo influence in the front end design and for a high end luxury EV option, I can see the 1% class wanting a family hauler in a sedan and SUV like this. I would not be surprised to see this exceed the limited options of Lamborghini or Ferrari. Lamborghini and Ferrari have both stated they will stay focused on performance autos and yet while they have offered a 4 person suv option, they have clearly not cared about the 4/5 person sedan market. Why else would Filippo leave the top spot at Lamborghini to go to a startup, he was limited and wanted to expand the portfolio, but the CEO and Board did not. I fully expect this high end EV company to survive, how long in the current format is another question.

While I have much more in-depth experience with chatGPT than most and will leave my personal feelings out of this pushed A.I. to the auto as I would really like to see what others think of this. I will say that having looked at all the images, I think Mercedes has made a major mistake in NOT having some physical buttons, switches, dials, etc. I remember when Cadillac first started with haptic buttons and how my own parents, wife and others responded to not having a physical button for basic items such as radio, heat, AC, Wipers, etc. the basic stuff there is over 100 years of people learning and using it and eventually all will probably be fine with just a touch screen for everything and or voice control, but for now, we need a gradual change over and I think the basic use of physical buttons, switches, etc. is needed.

12,000 Tesla Supercharger stations and growing in North America, the Supercharger stations by Tesla are the largest EV charging stations around North America as well as the world when looking at Europe and Asian. Rivian emailed out today that all Rivian owners will gain access to the Tesla Supercharger station network. Starting in Spring 2024, Rivian will offer an NACS to CCS adapter for purchase for existing R1t and R1S customers who want to take advantage of the Tesla Supercharger network. In 2025, Rivian will incorporate NACS charge ports as standard on R1T and R1S EVs along with the adapter for allowing use to older CCS chargers. No matter where you are, Rivian says that this will grow the access to over 25,000 DC fast chargers across North America enlarging the Rivian Adventure Network. Rivian upon release of the NACS to CCS adapter in Spring 2024 will then also via OTA update the Rivian Infotainment system to add the available NACS sites and update the phone app to include the Tesla Network. Rivian has stated that this collaboration does not affect their plans to expand the Rivian Adventure network to over 3,500 fast chargers at more than 600 sites including trail heads for off-roading. View full article

Cadillac's first-ever all-electric full-size SUV, Escalade IQ, Cadillac's most iconic nameplate will reveal the reinvention of the full-size Luxury SUV on August 9th, 2023. This continues Cadillac goal to become an all-electric vehicle brand by 2030. The Escalade IQ will be produced at Factory ZERO Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center, which was renovated and retooled with a $2.2 billion investment to serve as the launchpad for GM's EV strategy. View full article

Tesla Fanboy logic is not just here @ C&G, it is crazy funny to read all the comments posted on this one about Tesla Semi Truck. Tesla Semi recall suggests production is still slow | Electrek

AEHRA is an Italian EV startup that believes they can deliver a vision with a mission to the world. This company was assembled with an introduction of their leadership team in June 2022. AEHRA Vision Synthesize the elegance of Italian design global engineering, and American customer service with the future of EV monobodied manufacturing. AEHRA is intensely-focused on creating a driving experience that is always extraordinary. For business or pleasure, AEHRA is a valued necessity to everyday life that is as beautiful as it is functional. AEHRA Mission The mission of AEHRA is to provide customers with an unparalleled driving experience that is beautiful, environmentally respectful, and functional. AEHRA is led by a team of industry experts who has deep auto credentials including the fact that they brought in former Lamborghini design boss Filippo Perini who is the Chief Design officer that is overseeing both their SUV and Sedan. While the SUV was revealed in November 2022, the sedan was revealed at the 2023 Milan Motor Show this past Friday, June 16th 2023 to what one would call an Auto Fashion Show. What is AEHRA? The company in their press release has stated that they will be a new global ultra-premium electric automotive brand. AEHRA EVs will have an exceptional three-meter (108 inch) wheelbase, providing class-leading occupant space, setting new standards for comfort, technology, materials and usability. AEHRA believes that their bold strategy unlocks the full potential that only an EV focused platform affords. The AEHRA platform offers an avantgarde exterior design, while delivering a revolutionary interior concept. The AEHRA EVs exceptionally short overhangs, long wheelbase and completely flat floor have enabled their designers to create unique solutions that transforms the interior environment for drivers and passengers. While AEHRA has not shown an actual interior for the autos, they did release the following interior design drawing. AEHRA dashboard is what they call the HMI or Human Machine Interface. To quote them: "The screen sits in a lower position, to display all the information the driver requires, such as speed, range, heating and ventilation settings and navigational instructions. The two outer areas of the screen serve as virtual exterior mirrors, relaying high-definition images from two front exterior side cameras. When the vehicle is parked, occupants can choose to extend the screen upwards, instantly transforming the AEHRA into a home theater or an office environment. This is a direct result of the game-changing approach taken by AEHRA to the exterior shape of its EVs. In traditional vehicle layouts the interior dimensions do not allow the front row passengers to operate such a flexible and expansive HMI screen because it would sit too close to their eyes. AEHRA has filed a patent for this solution, and it believes it will set new standards in terms of productivity and entertainment inside a vehicle." To quote AEHRA Chief Design Officer Fillippo Perini: “With the screen fully extended, the occupants can relax and enjoy a movie, perhaps when the car is charging or when a parent is waiting to pick up a child from school or a party. And for those who have work to do, the screen and the spacious interior afford the perfect solution for video conference calls. Instead of staring at your smartphone or laptop, you can sit back and not only see all the participants on the call-in perfect high-definition clarity, but also listen to them with crystal-clear, pitch-perfect audio quality.” As one can see in the pictures above, there is a secondary smaller touchscreen, this enables both front-seat occupants to control many of the vehicle's functions such as navigation, heating, ventilation as well as entertainment. The aeronautic industry has been drawn on for inspiration in strength from lite weight design. As such, the seats have been created for low-weight, high-strength construction and optimum comfort levels. The seats will be constructed from Aluminum, recyclable carbon fiber composite and leather as one would find in first-class aircraft accommodations. Rear seats will have reclining levels greater than the front seats and on par with business class airline accommodations. Where you have the SUV above, the Sedan also has the same inspired aeronautical seats but with a slight door difference. AEHRA has stated that production will start in 2026 for both the SUV and the Sedan. The only other specification given at this time is that the driving range will be 800km or 497 miles of range for the sedan, a little less for the SUV. The rest of the specification will be released when reservations are opened to the public. AEHRA-SEDAN-finale-lq-transcode.mp4 AEHRA-Video-SUV-lq-transcode.mp4 AEHRA Electric Sedan and SUV - Cheers & Gears (cheersandgears.com) View full article