Electric cars will increase net demand, but they usually do not increase peak demand, which is what power grids have to be designed around. EVs can even mitigate peak demand shortages by discharging into the grid, and only charging during off-peak times. At the same time, distributed generation (i.e. roof top solar…

I’m not convinced the Toyota floor mat case was fair to Toyota. At least, not as I remember it. Weren’t people double-stacking mats, or using aftermarket products?

Yeah, it was actually only slightly more than the Flex I usually rent. They charge a 2x premium for a Flex in California over a minivan.

It was ~$850 for a week. I’m not sure they do daily rentals.

My Herz rental last month was Shelby GT350H. All Track Settings were functional, contract did not preclude using them, and they did not even check data log when I turned it in:)

YES! I sure hope it is at least this capable:

I agree, that’s not normal behavior, unless you’re towing, in which case it is recommended.

My E350 seats 8 while maintaining 6' or cargo space behind the seats, so it’s like having a short-bed with a tall canopy that happens to HVAC. But yeah, the new SMB Classic runs about $140k which is why my next one will be either a used body swap onto a new cutaway chassis, or a Turtle Top body.

Door interlock only works using the door controls. Most drivers flip the bypass valve on the door when they go on break, so they can manually push it open and closed.

Huh? Have you driven the Ford 2.0 Turbo? The low, flat torque band is way more satisfying, while still being respectfully efficient on the highway. In town its a bit of a gas hog, mostly because you don’t hear any engine strain at all, unlike the V6s which wind out to make power.

Just buy an Econoline. Yup, still in production. Plently of aftermarket bodies to pick from, with Sportsmobile duplicating the classic van look (and hence calling it the “Classic”). Now with the 6.2L base motor. GCWR with the V10 is 22,000 so towing 15,000 is very achievable.

Crossovers are for amateur outdoor enthusiasts. The real ones drive vans. Especially now that tall vans are becoming affordable (used Sprinter, new Transit etc).

Portland transit (TriMet) has real time bus and train tracking, which is fully integrated into Google Maps as well as their ticketing app.

Why wouldn’t they? It’s actually pretty nice inside, and the 2.3L is a good powerplant.

You can get a long-travel, IFS, 4WD E350 built at Agile Offroad in San Diego.

There are no more regular Class C diesel motorhomes. You have to either downgrade to a Sprinter or Transit B+ (Cutaway chassis, but no overhead bunk) to get a small diesel, which maxes out at 24', or jump to a 35'+ Super C built on the Ford/Ram 550/5500.

Same here. Mostly Google maps for me, but blocking that out is enough for me to disable car play. And Sync3 is pretty good now too.

I think the gen-2 EcoBoost is not a big cost increase. Seats probably don’t cost anything extra. Dampers and diff diff upgrade would the largest expense of that package. I think $54,000 would be a good starting point. That’s a modest increase from the top of the line Flex now, and matches the Explorer Platinum. But…

Ford Flex. I really hope Ford doesn’t kill it. Instead, swap in the 450 HP gen-2 EcoBoost 3.5L and matching 10-speed transmission, add in the bolstered bucket seats from the Taurus SHO, the magnetic dampers with pothole-algorithm from the Fusion Sport, and the torque-biasing rear diff from the Focus RS. With drift…

Because Cummins pre-certifies their motors. There was a little scuttle over the 2500 where FCA used an alternate vender for some configurations, but for the most part, they just build the exhaust and program it per Cummins specs. The affected 2500s had some action taken, but I think its been resolved.