Dunno. Our five-year-old loves repeatedly pushing it to hear the “walk” come out of the speaker over-and-over. Then you push it enough times and it suddenly screams “WAIT TO WALK.”

A major Japanese automaker’s PR firm also did a big push recently on how regular hybrids are better and then sprinkled that opinion through the industry.

Expect strong PHEVs starting in model year 2026. What’s a strong PHEV? One with a 50 mile range and a big electric motor such that the battery powers the car in nearly any “punch it!” situation.

Just like the SFMTA’s claims, this would be much more accurate and useful if it was split into those caused by the AVs and those caused by humans involving AVs.

Great overview. Thank you.

2nd Gear: The People Don’t Want Autonomous Cars

Thank you for writing this.

Except now the rear windows roll down plus there are rear seat vents. I’m looking at you, 1981 Chrysler Aires K station wagon. Sat six; the three in back nearly suffocated.

Have had both a Bolt and an i3 REx, I agree. One caveat: if you use the four doors often, the Bolt is probably more convenient. The Bolt is also more stable at higher speeds; the i3 was more twitchy (although less so than a Jeep CJ). Everything else? Advantage i3.

Now that’s funny.

The 2024 Volvo EX30 has entered the chat.

This. The Nissan LEAF has its niche, but it’s tiny. And how many Mitsubishi dealers remain, anyway?

Maybe 2130? I wish it were 2030, but it takes way too long to get anything done.

They are pushing leases. Due to a loophole, all leased EVs qualify for the $7,500 from the feds - at least for now.

This report is pretty weak (surveyed a Mitsubishi/Nissan dealer?), but the point is that there is a demand curve, and as long as dealers keep gouging, some customers will balk. Here in the Bay Area, there still are plenty of dealer markups on EVs. It’s still really tough to get a long-range Ioniq5 here. My coworker…

Did you have a punchy Chevy Volt or a weak Prius Prime?

Unless you plug it in. 21 miles of electric range covers a lot of daily driving for many people.

And scale it up into the Silverado/Sierra and Tahoe/Suburban line. Curious to see what Ram will do with its upcoming PHEV stablemate to the BEV pickup.

There also is another major market push for PHEVs: CARB updated its regs a year ago (see “Advanced Clean Cars II”) which basically encourage strong PHEVs starting with model year 2026.

Also the Lincoln Aviator GT and Lincoln Corsair.