I don’t understand your friend’s math. Was gas so much cheaper than the electricity (equivalent)?

PHEVs were a non-starter in Europe. In hindsight, the rules were laughable. The early European PHEVs had single digit electric range and since so many folks (like my German buddies) get a company car with a gas card as a perk, why plug them in if you have to pay for electrcity?

We actually will see more PHEVs in a year or two. The regulators updated the rules in August 2022 to allow more “strong” PHEVs. What’s that? It’s a PHEV with a 50 mile range and a big burley electric motor such that the electric motor moves the vehicle in nearly any “punch it!” type situation. Looks for more PHEVs…

Yeah, Ford made a PHEV Ranger for Australia. Bring it here!

Arcata, yes. Fortuna, very much no.

Thank you. Much appreciated.

How is the outward visibility from each of the three rows? Low beltline? Thin or thick pillars? 

We would love a PHEV Grand Highlander.

1. How is the outward visibility? Low dash? Thin A pillars?

Sign us up for a VF3. Work out the bugs, VinFast. And bring this to the U.S.!

We’ve had a FIAT 500e, an i3REx, and now have a hybrid station wagon (three kids and big dog). The VF3 would be a perfect second car for us. Where do I sign up? By the time it gets here (fingers crossed), hopefully VinFast will learn from its early struggles.

Or the Central Valley. Bros gotta bro.

I was out-of-the-house by then, but late in 1993, my folks bought a red metallic 1993 Accord EX sedan with a moonroof and the five speed stick. That just may have been peak car.

EVs aren’t perfect (despite us expecting them to be), but subsidies aren’t the hill to die on:

But it has graphics packages which are extremely useful off-road.

This.

Completely. Audi offered that on TT. Ugh.

I agree. And it’s less about hybridizing the Civic, Accord, CRV, Corolla, and Camry, and more about hybridizing (for MPG) the Odyssey, Pilot, Ridgeline, 4Runner, Sequoia, Tacoma, Tundra, etc. It’s interesting that Toyota has offered the iForceMax hybrid as the bridge to... more power.

Yup. Many of those headlines needed to be updated to say: “Demand for our (Company X’s) EVs that we chose to design, build, market, and sell at a certain price is increasing/decreasing/staying flat.”

This. Privatize the gain and socialize the costs. Winning. /s