Volvo To Go All Electric By 2030 (reuters.com) 176
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Volvo's entire car lineup will be fully electric by 2030, the Chinese-owned company said on Tuesday, joining a growing number of automakers planning to phase out fossil-fuel engines by the end of this decade. "I am totally convinced there will be no customers who really want to stay with a petrol engine," Volvo Chief Executive Hakan Samuelsson told reporters when asked about future demand for electric vehicles. "We are convinced that an electric car is more attractive for customers." The Swedish-based carmaker said 50% of its global sales should be fully-electric cars by 2025 and the other half hybrid models.
Owned by Hangzhou-based Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, Volvo will launch a new family of electric cars in the next few years, all of which will be sold online only. On Tuesday it unveiled the first of those models, the C40, a fully electric SUV, which will have an initial battery range of around 420 kilometers (261 miles). Volvo will include wireless upgrades and fixes for its new electric models -- an approach originally pioneered by electric carmaker Tesla Inc. This means the C40's range will be extended over time with software upgrades, Chief Technology Officer Henrik Green said. Volvo said it will "radically reduce" the complexity of its model line-up and provide customers with transparent pricing. The carmaker's global network of 2,400 traditional bricks-and-mortar dealers will remain open to service vehicles and to help customers make online orders.
Owned by Hangzhou-based Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, Volvo will launch a new family of electric cars in the next few years, all of which will be sold online only. On Tuesday it unveiled the first of those models, the C40, a fully electric SUV, which will have an initial battery range of around 420 kilometers (261 miles). Volvo will include wireless upgrades and fixes for its new electric models -- an approach originally pioneered by electric carmaker Tesla Inc. This means the C40's range will be extended over time with software upgrades, Chief Technology Officer Henrik Green said. Volvo said it will "radically reduce" the complexity of its model line-up and provide customers with transparent pricing. The carmaker's global network of 2,400 traditional bricks-and-mortar dealers will remain open to service vehicles and to help customers make online orders.
Wishful thinking (Score:4, Insightful)
"I am totally convinced there will be no customers who really want to stay with a petrol engine"
That might be true for the people who drive Volvos, but it would probably be wrong to extrapolate too much beyond that.
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That might be true for the people who drive Volvos, but it would probably be wrong to extrapolate too much beyond that.
I think you could extrapolate pretty far beyond that...
Don't get me wrong--there are plenty of people who love their cars and they will continue with the ICE long after everybody has switched to electric. But I think there are far fewer than you think. And I think a lot of them will enjoy tinkering on electric cars. I've seen a few YouTube videos of people who have "electrified" various cars and there seems to be a bit of a closet industry out there doing these things.
I mean, I will definitely miss shift
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long after everybody has switched to electric. But I think there are far fewer than you think.
How many do you think? Because we have EV's on the market today and not _everyone_ is choosing to buy one. Personally I think (pure gut feel) about half the market don't want/can't afford an EV. So sure the EV market will continue to grow, but it's naive to think it solves everyone's problems for all use cases.
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long after everybody has switched to electric. But I think there are far fewer than you think.
How many do you think? Because we have EV's on the market today and not _everyone_ is choosing to buy one.
Not yet. So?
Personally I think (pure gut feel) about half the market don't want/can't afford an EV.
Most people don't give a shit and just want a car that goes and stops and is shiny, so forget don't want. And most people buy used, so amend that to can't afford yet.
So sure the EV market will continue to grow, but it's naive to think it solves everyone's problems for all use cases.
Society as we know it was built around the gasoline engine because it was cheap and convenient. But now we've learned that the total system is not convenient, and we are in the process of correcting our behavior accordingly. It will take some time to overcome the inertia of designing life around the ICEV.
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It's about cost and practicality. For a lot of people the running cost of an EV would be beneficial, as would the convenience of driving to work and back then letting it charge overnight.
However for a lot of people the up front cost is prohibitive. With ICE these people buy used cars, but used EVs tend to have worn out batteries which severely decreases range.
A lot of people also have nowhere they can leave the car to charge. Even those who do might incur extra cost, for instance my grandparents have a priv
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"With ICE these people buy used cars, but used EVs tend to have worn out batteries which severely decreases range."
No, they don't. People worry about this, but it's not a real thing. Here's the calculations for my Renault Zoe:
- Battery state of health (SoH) guaranteed above 80% for 8 years or 100k miles, so Renault obviously plan for only a small %ge of their EV batteries to fail at that stage or this will get expensive for them
- In fact, they anticipate 750+ full discharge cycles before SoH drops to 80%
- 7
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I mean, I will definitely miss shifting gears. I will miss the sound of nicely tuned engine
I won't miss them at all. I will continue to enjoy them.
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no, sales are just down because of pandemic. They'll roar back, with ICE engines.
Most people don't want what they can't charge anywhere. That 120VAC outlet in the garage will give you 2 miles per hour of charging... which is a joke.
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Not only are sales of new vehicles down, availability of used vehicles has increased. Many families might have had multiple vehicles before the pandemic, but now only need (or can only afford) 1.
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Weird. In the UK, people put in 7kW chargers at home that deliver 21 to 28 miles per hour of charging, depending on what EV you have. And in Europe, lots of people have triple phase and put in 22kW chargers that deliver 63 to 84 miles per hour. But 7kW is more than enough for overnight charging, which remains the dominant model for domestic charging: once a week (or less), plug in car in at night and it's fully charged in the morning. It's as hassle-free as you could ever want.
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Mod parents up please. (Score:2)
And throw in a 240v, and that covers more that 95% of all drivers for at least 95% of their driving. Then you only need a supercharge BETWEEN towns/cities.
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Yep. What I meant by "weird" is "why would anyone stick with a 120V AC if they needed more, when it's dead easy to put in a higher power outlet, all the way up to 7kW or more?" Obvs it costs a bit, but not that much. Sparkys aren't nothing, but someone was talking about 1500 bucks for a dedicated charger, which seems like daylight robbery. 500 tops seems more realistic.
Nice to hear a Manc accent on here, by the way. (In me 'ed, anyway...)
Re: Wishful thinking (Score:2)
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Also, most any car depreciates the moment you drive it off the lot. If you are worried about that you are doing it wro
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"I am totally convinced there will be no customers who really want to stay with a petrol engine"
That might be true for the people who drive Volvos, but it would probably be wrong to extrapolate too much beyond that.
You're right. A bunch of Slashdot readers want to return to 1940's cars. And anything EV appears to trigger them worse than assuming a radical feminist's gender.
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Actually electric cars have been available for a long time, and in the late 1800s - early 1900s were more widely used than ICE vehicles. The world moved to ICE in the 1900s because they were cheaper, faster and more convenient.
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Actually electric cars have been available for a long time, and in the late 1800s - early 1900s were more widely used than ICE vehicles. The world moved to ICE in the 1900s because they were cheaper, faster and more convenient.
Right, Slashdotters aren't that regressive. They just want to return the the salad days when cars were boats, gas was 20 cents a gallon, and it had tetraethyl lead in it - just like God intended.
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And now we're moving back to EVs because they are cheaper (in terms of TCO), faster, and more convenient*.
* If you are one of the people with off-street parking and a reasonable commute, anyway
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Actually they moved to ICE in the 20's because they became more convenient, you're likely right about the cheaper and speedier.
The big thing was the invention of the starter motor, along with automating things like the spark advance. Easy to start, especially for women.
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Nothing against BEVs either, if that is what you like then it's great you have an ever increasing choice and constantly improving technology.
But as with many things in life, it is still wrong to think that everyone else likes the same things you do. Unless you drive a Volvo apparently.
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"A bunch of Slashdot readers want to return to 1940's cars."
I didn't think they made cars in the 1940's. The factories were converted to make jeeps and M4 tanks.
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"A bunch of Slashdot readers want to return to 1940's cars."
I didn't think they made cars in the 1940's. The factories were converted to make jeeps and M4 tanks.
Not so much after the middle of the decade.
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You known that the vast majority of people don't care about their car, right? It's just a tool to move things, whatever the technology is. So if it costs less to run and is easier to maintain, it's more desirable. People are not buying electric in number because they're very expensive and there's no second hand market. Once the price comes to the level of ICE and the second hand gets filled, the only ICE cars that will be bought will be from enthusiasts, i.e., very few people.
In France, over 60% of the cars
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Strangely Europeans also make some of the most fun cars. For the rest of the world to buy apparently.
(of course I am just as biased as Tesla fans are, I'm buying a new M240i this summer)
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In France, over 60% of the cars are crappy small diesel that every car enthusiast would hate because it handles like a combine while costing a bit more than its gasoline counterpart. Why such a high number? Because for years the tax on diesel was much lower than that on gasoline, and diesel cars tend to be slightly more efficient on long trips. So pure economical reasons over pleasure to drive...
Same here. It's pretty hilarious watching people whine about their precious ICEs being replaced when the vast majority of them are boing silver boxes with tractor-like TDIs that run out of what little power they had at 2.5k rpm, or downsized turbo 3 cylinder gas that either don't go when out of boost or guzzle worse than a V6 when it spools up. I have no intention of buying an ICE car with either of those and would be very happy when they're all replaced with electric motors.
In the meantime Mazda is still m
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I think the only customers who want to stay with a petrol engine are those who haven't experienced an electric one.
Otherwise I think everyone *wants* to switch to electric but comes with up various problems legit (I lack of ability to charge at home because I rent or live in an apartment) or otherwise (I drive 500miles a day over the arctic Tundra and everyone I've ever met in my life does the same).
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I think the only customers who want to stay with a petrol engine are those who haven't experienced an electric one. Otherwise I think everyone *wants* to switch to electric.
LOL. You may think that, but I don't think it is based in reality. It's like saying everyone really wants an iPhone. Many people expect other people to like the same things as them, but they are often wrong.
I've driven electric cars. They have lots of torque, and little character. Like an appliance. Some people will be fine with that. Many won't.
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It's like saying everyone really wants an iPhone.
No it's not. That would be saying everyone wants an expensive Telsa. A more accurate analogy would be that everyone wants a Smartphone. And guess what, that turned out to be correct.
and little character.
There will always be a few weirdos who think judge cars purely by their sound. But I assure you that you people are in the minority, like those people in 2020 who proudly declare they don't want a smartphone. Basically every normal use case for a petrol car an EV can achieve better providing they can be afforded and charged. The
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A more accurate analogy would be that everyone wants a Smartphone. And guess what, that turned out to be correct.
I think that would be more analogous to everyone wants a vehicle. They pick the type they like, and only for a subset is cost of ownership the primary factor.
In fact, looking at the number of pickups and SUVs around here, I would say cost of ownership is only a factor for a minority. Might they want an electric (or more likely hybrid) pickup in the future? Perhaps. But it won't be because they are cheaper to run, because for many people that is not important. They will have to compete on other basi
Increased range with software upgrades? (Score:4, Insightful)
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maybe the IBM of paid upgrades to unlock all ready installed hardware.
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no not really. Basic range stayed the same, 9 to 15 mile range increase ain't huge.
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You misunderstand: once we are on 27G wireless networks, the towers will beam so much power to your cell phone that you can charge your car with it.
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They're referring to range tweaks from improving BMS, motor control etc. A few miles. Not nothing, but not 50% increases for sure
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Quite a few manufacturers do this. They start out with a large amount of reserved capacity that the owner cannot access, which is there to protect the battery from over-discharge and over-charging. Lithium batteries degrade faster if charged to 100% constantly, or if discharged below a certain level.
As they gather data on battery degradation and gain confidence that it isn't going to result in excessive warranty claims they can re-evaluate the amount of reserved capacity. A software upload unlocks a kilowat
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A software upload unlocks a kilowatt-hour or two.
A kWh or two is nothing in a EV. For example, the smallest battery Tesla has ever used was 60 kWh. A extra kWh or two would be 2-3% more, which is 2-3% more range. 3% more range is not significant.
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But over time, you can get statistics on how to optimize battery pack life via how you handle charging an
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Software can optimize battery usage, but itâ(TM)s not going to really extend range significantly.
If Software can optimize battery usage, why shouldn't it be able to significantly improve range? Over time they can learn under exactly what conditions they get efficient operation out of the battery. A change as simple as reducing C rate slightly while the battery is at certain voltages and temperatures might well significantly improve system efficiency.
they will bankrupt in 2025 UNLESS (Score:2)
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Depends if they can be charged. The standard 120VAC outlet in the garage ain't going to cut it.
Re:they will bankrupt in 2025 UNLESS (Score:5, Informative)
If you've got a garage then you can very likely get at least a dryer outlet, which for most people will "cut it". They might pay a few hundred bucks to have one put in, or maybe a few and another few too if it's especially difficult.
For people without long commutes, though, the 120V outlet might actually be enough.
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For people without long commutes, though, the 120V outlet might actually be enough.
I agree. This shows that a PHEV will do nicely for a lot of people that want a zero emission commute without range anxiety that comes with weekend trips to visit family or cold and snowy weather.
I believe that as electric vehicle technology develops this will open up the market to the PHEV. There will be a rising cost for batteries as demand increases and one way to address that is with smaller batteries. To make up for that will come a number of ways to fit an ICE into the vehicle to extend the range.
I
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For people without long commutes, though, the 120V outlet might actually be enough.
I agree. This shows that a PHEV will do nicely for a lot of people that want a zero emission commute without range anxiety that comes with weekend trips to visit family or cold and snowy weather.
No, it shows that EVs are ready for prime time for most people.
I can recall surveys that show that most BEV owners have more than one vehicle, and only one is a BEV. This is because a BEV can't tow the family camper trailer.
What? Who told you that? They lied.
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we resemble this remark. We have a BMW i3 that we plug in a a 120V outlet. There's never been a time in 2 years that it hasn't been charged the next time we need it (we use it for wife to commute and for most of our local running around). When I do the next wiring project (for other reasons), I'll go ahead and install a 50A 240V outlet in the garage for future needs, but this car charges fine overnight on a normal outlet.
We do, indeed, have a monster truck for hauling our camp trailer around, long trips,
Re: they will bankrupt in 2025 UNLESS (Score:2)
Re: they will bankrupt in 2025 UNLESS (Score:2)
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Wrong. The only place I've seen dryers/washers in garages are the cheaply built homes in California.
That is not a valid reply to the comment I left, which talked about installing an outlet. Learn to read before replying, WindBlow.
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You criticized something I didnt even say.
If you knew anything about anything it would be a goddamned miracle.
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Many people can't even afford the $14k ICE (or don't want to deal with depreciation), so they buy a used ICE for a fraction of that price. While a properly maintained used ICE will be a perfectly good and reliable vehicle with just as much range as when it was new, a used EV is likely to have a worn battery and significantly less range which might render it useless. The cost of replacing the battery will generally eliminate any savings gained from buying the older used vehicle in the first place.
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First off, it is much cheaper to own an EV, compared to LICE.
Secondly, Competition is finally coming and batteries have dropped in prices. The EV prices WILL keep going down.
Personally, I would say, pay attention to the cost of electricity vs. gas/diesel.
Volvo has little choice (Score:5, Insightful)
Electric cars only comprise about 2% of auto sales in the US but this going to change quickly. Battery technology is rapidly improving, both in terms of how long it will last on a single charge and how long the battery itself will last. I suspect that in a few years we will see batteries that will go 400+ miles on a single charge.
Maintenace on an electric car, apart from tires and suspension, is virtually nill. The cost of the cars themselves are coming down as production scales up. The next Tesla (some are calling it the "Model 2") will probably start at around 30K. That's about the same as a mid level Camry.
Volvo used to make really, really good cars. Safe, solid and dependable. The cars they make now, while luxurious, are junk in terms of reliability. Electrifying their fleet gives them a chance to go back to when they made reliable cars. Eliminating the dealership will be a welcome move. Nearly everyone hates dealerships. The American car makers are legally bound to dealerships and it will probably lead to their eventual downfall.
With the Democrats running the show in Washington look for electric car subsidies to continue.
As much as I love ICE cars, having worked on more than my share back in the day, the writing is on the wall. Electric cars are coming and coming fast. Manufacturers that ignore this do so at their peril.
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Their Polestar 2 is by all accounts an excellent car. Polestar is their EV brand.
Expensive but well made, and good to drive.
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Looks like they are off to a good start.
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The cars they make now, while luxurious, are junk in terms of reliability.
The cars they make now are a mixed bag in terms of reliability. The companies that analyse the cost of maintenance and realibility of vehciles show that Volvo's current lineup is all over the place. The C30 is excellent, one of the (if not THE) best non-Japanese compacts in terms of reliability. The C70 is run of the mill average. On the flip side their SUV the XC60 is utterly junk.
Volvo *Cars* (Score:3)
Just to clarify:
Volvo Cars is a Chinese automobile company with production in Sweden.
Volvo is a Swedish group of companies that make trucks, buses, construction machines, marine stuff etc.
This statement is, as far as I can tell, for Volvo Cars.
Re: Volvo *Cars* (Score:2)
They have multiple factories in China (mostly for Chinese market Volvos and Lynk & Co cars) but also for global market Polestar cars. They also have factories in Sweden, Belgium, and the US because itâ(TM)s good to not put all your eggs in one basket and itâ(TM)s also good to produce a marketâ(TM)s most desirable cars in close proximity to that market.
What's a Volvo? (Score:3)
Let's be honest here: This is slashdot, we're all virgins and we've yet to see a volvo in real life. So tone down your so called "expertise"...
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What's a "BEV"? (Score:2)
It's always been EV for Electric Vehicle, why are some people now adding a "B" in front of that?
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Who cares? (Score:2)
What are the odds that Volvo will even exist in 2030?
Dealer incentives? (Score:2)
So they want to have purchases online on a car which will require extremely little in the way of ongoing maintenance.
What incentives are there for dealers to stay afloat?
(No, I'm not at all a fan of dealers. But the reality is that Volvo dealerships do exist.)
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So they want to have purchases online on a car which will require extremely little in the way of ongoing maintenance.
What incentives are there for dealers to stay afloat?
(No, I'm not at all a fan of dealers. But the reality is that Volvo dealerships do exist.)
Choice:
1) support online ordering through deliveries (get some money for completing the process), what little maintenance you'll make from the basics (air filter, repairs, road hazards issues), charging stations, and trade-ins
2) we go out of business and you lose all you've invested in your franchise
That's why you're seeing the weaker brands going all-electric first (Cadillac, Volvo) because they don't have much to lose besides closing the brand. Cadillac told dealers to invest in electric or get bought out
Re:Test drive (Score:5, Informative)
It's a volvo. What is there to test?
I have never driven a Volvo, but when looking to purchase a vehicle I like to feel the feedback from the steering wheel, how the car handles, how the seat controls work, how controls in general work and their relation to my driving position, how the car sounds (ambient noise), how the interior looks/feels, fit and finish, and how many bodies I can fit in the trunk.
Call me old fashioned, but I like see and feel what I'm going to spend thousands of dollars on.
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I have never driven a Volvo, but when looking to purchase a vehicle I like to feel the feedback from the steering wheel, how the car handles, how the seat controls work, how controls in general work... Call me old fashioned, but I like see and feel what I'm going to spend thousands of dollars on.
It sounds like you'll systematically opt for cars that are familiar to what you've already driven, while the adjustment period for a new car would be under a month until it too feels natural?
I remember switching from a Honda Accord to a BMW 325i convertible stick-shift (which I only got because it was cheap). Everything felt uncomfortable at first. After two years the two cars both feel natural. When I switched to a Honda Odyssey it felt weird to be so high up, to not have rear visibility except through a c
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Some vehicles have objectively superior handling and/or steering feedback. This is a fact. It's like having the lowest latency in a multiplayer game. The more feedback you get from the steering, the better.
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Some vehicles have objectively superior handling and/or steering feedback. This is a fact.
Oh yes I fully agree. Like you said, this is objective. Therefore there's no need for a test drive to find it out yourself; you can learn objective facts from automotive publications, like Ars Technica.
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Every human body is different. Every human has different preferences. Car manufacturers have to guess at the averages for their customer, and guess at the preferences of their customers. Buying a model of car you have never seen, tested or sat in isn't smart. It's a roll of the dice. It might work out for you. Statistically it should if the car manufactur
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Increasing steering feedback tends to increase NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) in a car. You can get incredible steering feedback if you use a race car suspension and steering setup (no power steering, rose jointed track rods instead of ball joints, poly or metal control arm bushings instead of rubber (or none at all), limited suspension travel, tires with almost no sidewall flex. All those things make a car nearly undriveable on the street.
So no, it's not a question of "the more feedback the better." It'
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while the adjustment period for a new car would be under a month until it too feels natural?
I'm sure that people in prison get used to that too, the point here is that you don't get to choose what I spend my money on.
Re:Test drive (Score:4, Informative)
The last Volvo I owned was garbage. It leaked oil from everywhere including the steering rack. The ever present glow of the check engine light was reassuring during my daily commute. Water leaked into the door and shorted out the electric lock so it would buzz and never really lock (until I snipped the CAN bus wires). The leather seats were comfortable though.
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Yeah I've heard of Volvos like that in the 70s. These days the cars rate above average for reliability. It's no Toyota sure but the point is in 2020 you really can't look to the past as to the reliability of cars. The former prince of reliability VW spends more time in the workshop than ever (even when it isn't being rechipped for emissions scandals) and usually for something expensive. The king of faulty electrics but otherwise mechanically reliable BMW tends to now suffer from less crappy electrics and mo
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Mine was 1998 S80 T6. The previous owner had a stack of repair receipts so I figured it was a decent buy. Only spent $3k on it luckily. The cam seals started pouring out oil on the timing belt and of course that engine uses some convoluted VVT setup with spring loaded cams. Changing that belt was a major pain in the ass. After fixing the oil leaks the transmission went into limp mode and I dumped it on craigslist.
I've owned two benz's since then and would definitely buy one again. If I was wealthy a new BMW
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I've owned two benz's since then and would definitely buy one again. If I was wealthy a new BMW or Audi would be great but you couldn't give me a used one.
There is no practical difference between used German cars. They all use bosch electronics, all but the Mercedes use ZF transmissions (Mercedes has corporate transmissions instead... but they are just as fiddly and fragile as ZF) and they all age poorly.
Re: Test drive (Score:2)
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No reason it cannot be done everywhere.
There's plenty of reasons why it can't be done everywhere in 9 years...
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It's a volvo. What is there to test?
I have to test a vehicle to see if I can fit in it comfortably. I'm in the top 1% of the adult male population by height, and in the top 1/3rd by weight, which means I will want to at least sit in the driver's seat before I even consider buying any vehicle. If I can get in and out easily then I might take it for a drive.
I might be in a rather unique situation for being so tall but I can recall people complaining about a recently acquired vehicle because of the HVAC controls, how the windshield wipers work
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Cant buy volvo until my apartment has a charger then
Only 9 years left. Start saving those pennies.
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Have you requested a charging station in the street from your local council or a charging station to be built in the apartment? My neighbour did, he had the charging point installed within 2 months.
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A big part of Tesla's early success was creating their own charging infrastructure and using that as a selling point.
But most likely infrastructure will come from consumer demand. As consumers see the value and quality gap between electric and gas vehicles grow, apartment buildings, stores, res
Re:I wish I had kept all those links... (Score:5, Funny)
It's true, there's been almost no progress in the past 20 years since GM's vehicles were killed (see "Who killed the electric car"). Why even bother Volvo? Until every single person that might ever want a car has access to a charger in their living room, and until they exceed gasoline vehicles in every aspect including going across the country and back without stopping and hauling a house behind you (in the winter on a dirt road, mind you) there is no way any person ever will buy these things. There's no room for half measures or shades of grey, this is how it is going to be, and why no one ever is going to mass produce or purchase an EV. That's what I know and I'm going to stubbornly stick to it no matter what "facts" are brought into the contrary!
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that GM car killing is rubbish, the tech wasn't advanced enough to make practical electric car. Tesla is *barely* there now and price is somewhat too high.
Re: I wish I had kept all those links... (Score:5, Insightful)
Why do people think that you absolutely need to have the gas station experience with an electric car? Like go to a charger with an empty battery, stand next to it for 10 minutes until it charges up completely, then drive it for 600 km or so.
Let's face it, it's going to be different.
Do you have a home garage or plug at work? It charges up overnight or while you're in the office - for those who still commute to an office in 2021. You wake up every morning with a full battery.
OK, you don't have a garage. Do you go shopping? Plug it in a 50kW charger in the mall parking lot. Come back in one hour, there's 300km of range (city driving) added. That's more or less a typical commute for a week. Actually you don't even want to charge faster, otherwise you'd have to return to the car too early and you can't even finish your shopping!
What about a highway trip? a 120 kW charger next to a service area shop and restaurant will put 200 km of range at highway speeds in ~20 minutes. Assuming you leave home with a full charge, you can have a 4-5 hours trip with only one stop. Most people are having that stop anyway.
We don't need fancy new technology. We need widespread availability of chargers using current, mature technologies - and that's a business problem, of cost and sales and economies of scale. If there are enough electric cars on the road, it's going to be worth it for businesses to install those chargers.
Re: I wish I had kept all those links... (Score:4, Interesting)
I live in a flat and the owner won't fit a bulb in the alleyway. KW power chargers are out, and I cannot run my own cable down to the car.
My nearest store would need to install HUNDREDS of chargers.
Or convert hundreds of lampposts, car parks, fuel stations etc. to majority electric charging. So when that happens, I'll look at buying one, and not before.
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Do you not realise that, with the infrastructure, I would buy one tomorrow? In fact, I'd have bought one three years ago when I bought a brand new car - for cash.
Fact is, the option isn't a viable purchase until the infrastructure is there.
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Infrastructure is definitely the biggest limitation to adoption IMO. Which is why I'm frustrated the government is spending money subsidizing expensive new cars finstead of developing charging infrastructure which would benefit everyone and encourage adoption.
I think a 500km range and knowing you can easily get a charge wherever you are would be sufficient to convince most people (me included). There's always going to be someone who insists they absolutely must drive 1000km in one go, and hell I drove from
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Why do you expect all these public charges to be free in a world dominated by a large number of electric vehicles and the likely lack of home charging options for renters or people without other charging options?
Somebody has to pay for the electricity and the installation and maintenance of the charger. Free public charging is a low-use publicity stunt now, any kind of public dependency on it is almost certainly likely to be leveraged into a revenue opportunity, at a minimum justified by the expansion of c
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Do you have a home garage or plug at work? It charges up overnight or while you're in the office - for those who still commute to an office in 2021. You wake up every morning with a full battery.
OK, you don't have a garage. Do you go shopping? Plug it in a 50kW charger in the mall parking lot. Come back in one hour, there's 300km of range (city driving) added. That's more or less a typical commute for a week.
*Many* people don't have a garage. All of the new development around here (Dallas area) is high-density apartments, and even the new ones are putting in a whopping 2-3 chargers for a 400-unit complex. My fiancee lived in a new complex; the two chargers were ALWAYS occupied when I drove into the garage. The typical apartment complex can basically handle topping off about 4-6 cars in the time after people get home from work and before everyone goes to bed and isn't coming out to move their charged car out of
Re:I wish I had kept all those links... (Score:4, Informative)
...to the press releases of all the automakers who said their lineup would be all electric by 2021.
EVs as the format of the future: always been, always will be.
Well, the future is here then. There are now competitive EVs in far more segments than ever. In a market like Norway, EVs are now more than 50% of sales. Total stats (in Norwegian): [dagbladet.no]: 53% EVs, 28% plugin hybrids, 8 % hybrids - and just 11% of old fashioned gas or diesel.
Personally, I've got an EV - a Jaguar I-Pace. The Car of the year 2019 [topgear.com]. Switching back to an old fashioned fossil car? Absolutely not going to happen. The silence, ride, performance and lack of fumes makes that very undesirable.
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Dumb statement, some cars are quite uncomfortable to sit in with fixtures on the door cramping leg and arms. Controls and displays can be badly placed, you can read reviews and see the complaints.
Test driving is what a smart person does.
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To add to a previous point, some of us need to test fit a car before we can test drive it.
At 6' 5", there are several cars that I simply wouldn't want to drive. Most of those are in the compact and subcompact classes, but there are some larger cars I don't like because the side pillar configuration leaves sizeable blind spots.
I'm considering either a hybrid or EV for my next vehicle, but there are other considerations that I have to take into account.
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To add to a previous point, some of us need to test fit a car before we can test drive it.
At 6' 5", there are several cars that I simply wouldn't want to drive. Most of those are in the compact and subcompact classes, but there are some larger cars I don't like because the side pillar configuration leaves sizeable blind spots.
On that note, the two brothers on the Click and Clack auto program on NPR occasionally had really obese or tall callers asking for recommendations for a suitable vehicle. Their suggestion was the Volkswagen Beetle of all things.
I'm considering either a hybrid or EV for my next vehicle, but there are other considerations that I have to take into account.
FWIW, I only ever bought 1 car without a test ride. It was a 73 Mustang Mach 1. And that was because there's a high demand for them, and if I didn't pounce, someone else would have picked it up.
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