Auto sales in general have stagnated. I have a theory: many consumers are looking forward to EVs and assume they’ll buy eventually, but they’re not convinced yet and they’re holding on to their current rides a few years longer.

The Highland M3 is a great car, but for casual observers it’s little different from its predecessor. As for the S, it’s a great car (I rented one and loved it), but in terms of sales volume it’s now a rounding error.

Begley has always walked the talk, even understanding the derision it’s left him open to (he leans into it from time to time; he’s appeared as a character on The Simpsons as a stereotypical “greenie”). He’s definitely committed to this.

It may be premature to say that motors have “peaked”. I’ll grant that from this point we’re looking at incremental improvements, but Lucid’s stellar efficiency comes from their precision design/construction tech and that suggests there’s still money on the table.

I believe EV tech is at about the same place ICE was in the 1920s; cars were still a pretty debatable proposition for people outside cities, but it was on a development curve that made them WAY more practical for many more people in short order.

They’re going up the Dempster in Canada, not the Dalton.

There’s getting to be a fair number of EV drivers doing this now. One thing these guys are doing that’s SUPER cool is they’ve brought an L2 charger for Eagle Plains, which desperately needs it.

My only quibble about it is that the Capri nameplate would have fit better than “Cougar” but I liked these quite a bit in the day. I agree that it’s one of Ford’s more attractive efforts.

I’m going to be “that guy” and point out that while the Bolt had the fire issues, it was not on the Ultium platform at all but used an older design for the battery infrastructure. There have been no fire issues with the Ultium-based GM EVs.

I think the Airflow predated the Traction Avant.

And the car may not be fully-powered by solid-state batteries, either, but probably a mixture of conventional and SS batteries, at least to start.

There’s a reason why swappable batteries aren’t catching on in cars: they add weight, complexity, points of failure, and leave less room for actual BATTERY.

How many times a month do you drive to Mount Shasta?

To me, there’s a relatively affordable, effective solution: workplace charging.

Because people are weird and inconsistent. And I’d rather they stay that way than try to conform to what will work better for the ‘bots, thanks.

That’s no more problem than Plug & Charge is on existing EVs. There’s a handshake protocol that needs to happen with WiTricity before the charging starts.

Ultimately, we need wireless charging. Yes, it already works.  No, it isn’t inefficient (WiTricity claims roughly as efficient as DC fast charging). No exposed infrastructure to steal/vandalize.

What this demonstrates is that there needs to be a reasonable cost for charging. The chargers installed at my new office cost $1 per session, and I’d happily spend $5. Make them enough of a profit center to justify regular maintenance.

Are the drunken idiots already going up and vandalizing power lines on a regular basis?

In Europe, yes, you bring your own.