Yeah, even the regulators are realizing the role for plug-in hybrids as long as they are designed / incentivized correctly. Even CARB tweaked the regs late last year, encouraging strong plug-in hybrids starting in model year 2026. What’s a strong PHEV? One that has 50 miles of all electric range and has a big electric…

It’s partly getting around the minimum credit card fees and partly about racing to get and keep the customer data.

Why is recharging an electric car so damn hard in America?

Yeah, and many of the original PHEVs came to Europe with low power electric motors and small batteries leading to short all-electric driving range. Couple that with the fact that many cars (in France and Germany anyway) are included as a business perk as a bundled low cost lease that includes a gas card but not an…

There also is a middle ground - strong plug-in hybrids with a 50 mile electric and a big electric motor such that the electric motor moves the car/truck in every “punch it” type of situation. CARB just changed their regs late last year to account for this. Strong PHEVs kick in for model year 2026. This sidesteps the…

So much this. Thank you.

Unless those let go were low performers and then has the opposite effect.

Exactly this. Getting rid of poor performers is not “layoffs,” but rather doing the right thing for both the company and the employees who are working hard. Layoff is when great people are let go but the company doesn’t have the funds to pay them anymore. That’s different.

Similar to other commenters, we enjoyed a homemade car play set too. Back in the late 70s, Mom made us kids a play town and streets out of various pieces of felt with sponges for buildings. So many awesome memories with Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars.

What does the data show on drivers who failed to compensate (meaning move their head to look around) for the thicker A pillars/higher hoods of post-2008ish vehicles and hit a pedestrian? Asking for a friend.

True, but CAFE’s footprint rule has cascading impacts into EVs (while making the ICE vehicles bigger). I do agree with you though; things like GM’s Hummer EV are absurd.

Tom,

It’s actually the CAFE “footprint” regs that give us bigger and bigger vehicles, but yes.

This is an easy one: rollover safety standards and the cave-like cabin they create. In other words, I’d pay for excellent outward visibility (lower beltline, thinner pillars, more glass area) and take on the risk of possible more injury in a crash. Good data in appendix A, here: https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Pub…

Couldn’t agree more. Obviously no one wants anyone hurt or killed due to rollovers, but the fact that there is no data on the worse visibility/blind spots leading to more accidents make it hard to do any kind of tradeoff analysis.

That’s awesome. It does seem manufacturer dependent. Subarus and Hondas are up there with better forward and side visibility. OEMs are catching on; the launch of the current-gen Ford Escape as well as Jeep Grand Cherokee lauded the “bigger side windows/thinner pillars.” Someone out there is listening. It’s a tough…

Yeah, the terrible outward visibility is due to the current safety regs with rollovers. And no, there isn’t data on number of lives saved due to better and thicker pillars versus number of accidents, including those with pedestrians and bicyclists because the driver can’t see them...

This.

Crappy outward visibility due to the high beltline and thick pillars. Also Toyota styling inside and out.

BMW i3. No better city car.