FWIW, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the car companies, and the electric utilities have been working on EV fire safety since the mid-1990s. Whether or not the updated procedures and updated gear have made it out to every firehouse...?

You are exactly right.

I agree. 17 miles is...

What about the Crosstrek PHEV?

(Background: we’ve had two BEVs as well as a BMW i3 REx and loved them).

Agree. And this begs the question: “how does one provide feedback to the OEMs?” Letter? Email? Twitter? The dealer? Cardboard signs posted outside HQ? Something else?

Some of the GT1s had a sweet bumper sticker on the back “Made in Flacht.” FWIW, Flacht is the neighboring village to Weissach; Porsche’s racing department on the far side of their R&D center in Weissach technically sits within the “city” limits of Flacht. 

Sat in one of these at the last LA Auto Show. The beltline felt like it came up to my ears and I’m 6'6".

“So you’re saying there’s a chance...”

How building codes get made and approved are a bit obsure, but very important:

Yes, also the hood crush and side impact standards (which raise the beltline) and rollover crash standards (which thicken the pillars).

Yup. In Germany, that’s called the TUV. It’s a small dial of a sticker that goes on the license plate for all to see that shows month and year.

The regulators need to take a hard look (based on data and common sense) of the tradeoff between rollover standards (thick pillars, high beltline) and accidents caused by poor outward visibility (thick pillars, high beltline).

Especially with a lift.

I’ve wondered this too. Which specific crash regulations couldn’t this pass?

It also doesn’t help how big kids’ car seats are.

We needed a rig that was station wagon 90% of the time and off-roader (access an off-the-grid family cabin, able to ford water, etc.) 10% of the time for a family of five with a dog.

I love old 4x4s and a buddy had an orange long roof Traveler with the 345 V8, but it’s unclear how nostalgia for a limited brand of the 60s and 70s justifies a brand new factory with investment costs in $Bs.

No kidding. Do you get a discount for just taking primer gray?

You are my hero. I’d also change the irregularly shaped back window between the C and D pillars and make all A-D pillars as thin as possible.