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Software Hell.
Your comment on software struck a nerve with me. I see numerous issues with "unsolvable" problems with vehicles as reported on a FB page related to the company I retired from. And I don't think that they're alone in this. It's really time somebody put a stick into the spokes of the software development "wheel of progress" and stopped any new stuff until the old crap gets sorted and fixed permanently. The idea that mechanical problems can be fixed with "new" software is just ludicrous. The current chaotic state of automotive operating software exists only because the companies allow it to continue. Unless fixed, it's going to become worse and worse. The idea that a vehicle can sit at a dealership unable to be fixed because nobody understands the computer software is just astonishing. I'm thinking the ideal vehicle may be something from the mid-70's which ran on good old mechanical systems.
DJV
Wilmington, North Carolina
"The Line" delivers racing.
“The Line” as always, is great. I don’t actively watch much racing these days except for Moto GP, I get the results here! I’m kind of sorry I didn’t watch IndyCar, because Dixon is my favorite driver. You just can never count him out of any race. I really enjoyed the RRDC tribute to Stewart as I think he is one of the all-time greatest F1 drivers, not just because of his results but his legacy, making racing safer for drivers. A whole lot of racing drivers are alive today thanks to him. An extremely great racing driver and an absolutely wonderful human being.
Ted R
Raleigh North Carolina
From the "It Won't Be Long Now" File.
So, is the 10-minute recharge/600-mile range battery technology still "just around the corner"? These outlandish claims, backed up by politicians who believe their legislation can override engineering and physical laws, have been folly from the onset. The present situation is pretty much how I saw it turning out. The one big difference which surprised me was the huge investments car companies made to chase this previously mostly non-existent segment. Did someone hold a gun to the management team's heads, or are they just plain stupid? I think they just didn't like being showed up be Elon Musk, and wanted to put Tesla in its place, because Wall Street dared them not to. And of course, when you take your marching orders from people whose motto is "You make money, we make money. You lose money, we make money.", you are just gambling. And I believe one or more that went all in are going to lose EVERYTHING.
Wayne Knodel
Medicine Hat, Alberta, CANADA
Profound ignorance.
In typical fashion, DC thinks that they can just make ideological edicts from on high and POOF! they magically become reality. How has that thinking worked for them in, say, the last 50 years?
Their policies have hobbled the generation of reliable electrical power and sent the country down the path of having an electrical infrastructure that can barely support the current load on it, let alone millions of EV vehicles. They've shot themselves in the foot and can't even comprehend the fact. Until they get serious about building up a reliable and robust generation and distribution system, their dreams of an EV future are wet ones.
Charging stations? Until a person can roll up to charger and "fuel" their vehicle in 5 to 10 minutes that's another dream of wetness. As it stands today, even if the vehicles were affordable, people would want chargers present where they live for practical convenience. How many dwellings in this country have electrical service of sufficient size to accommodate an onsite charger? Very few. Even if they did, how many utilities could meet the demand of that many in-home chargers? Few to none.
Sadly, it's becoming apparent that our governments, and businesses, are populated with people of profound ignorance and it's beginning to show in ways that are, as you put it Peter, a big steaming bowl of not good.
TS
Southern Minnesota
Cybersuck.
The Cybertruck's only value is to stroke the ego of the person behind the wheel. It has no real-world purpose. Gone are the days of graceful and elegant styling. Purposeful design that made a buyer yearn for a vehicle. The Cybertruck buyers want a “look at me I’m different” vehicle and will spend a shit ton of cash to do it. And when that feeling wears off, they are left with poorly built, ghastly “truck” that has the ability to do nothing more than polarize used car buyers. It sucks, end of discussion.
JRR
Plymouth, Michigan
Elaborating a bit on your discussion of UAW and VW. The union showed great strategy and sophisticated understanding when it targeted a European company first because unions are so strong and accepted as a matter of routine there. The union was even brighter to go to VW first. The German metalworker's union IG Metall runs the company because of the partial state ownership and the mandatory requirement of co-determination. There was no way that VW AG could have been seen acquiescing in VW of America strongly opposing the union. The considerable landslide did surprise me; it could only have resulted from truly horrible plant management. I worked 30 years for VW and know a little about what I am talking about. I still love and respect the company well and drive an Audi A8 daily. I would not buy anything but a VW Group product regardless of who represents the workers who built it. I predict Mercedes next, and the others maybe never. Well, I also happily drive my UAW-built Corvette. OK, with me.
Joe Folz
Bonita Springs, Florida
Some get it, some not so much.
Automakers touting the complete electrification of the auto industry by 2030 or 2035 were driven by the demands of pipe dreaming politicians. Want per unit retail tax subsidies? Preach the government line. Want billions in plant and equipment incentives? Preach the line, Mary (Barra). I was a Pontiac dealer. What turned that division around? Was it a government mandate? No, it was management that listened to their customers. Ask Semon E. Knudsen, Pete Estes and John DeLorean. I think all three of those gentlemen would have told politicians to just stay the heck out of their way. Why was the GTO a success? Everybody WANTED ONE. It wasn't demanded by a politician with no business experience. Remember when congress became the best friend of Ralph Nader? That's when they knew that they could "control" the rampant auto industry. And what did Nader aspire to be? President of the USA! Now they demand that we eliminate fossil fuels? Just how do we do that? Flip a switch? Look around wherever you are reading this and figure out how many of the objects you are looking at or using right now were derived from petroleum? Now throw all of those objects away and see how your day would go? If government were a true corporation, they would be bankrupt and liquidated. Market demand has and always will determine the success of a product and innovation from the manufacturer. Make an Edsel and you lose. Make a Mustang and you win. It's simply called market demand. Will the auto industry evolve? Without a doubt. Some automakers get it, some not so much. Product is everything. Folks with power and no intelligence are dangerous. Too many of them run for office.
RJ
South Haven, Michigan
Tesla rules.
I must take exception to your comments about Tesla. Agreed that Elon Musk is an "unctuous prick", as you call him. Yet despite the fact that he conned the government - federal and state - out of loads of cash to promote his EV vision, not to mention leaning heavily on underappreciated subordinates, we must give credit for this stunning achievement: The Tesla Model Y was the world's best-selling car in 2023. And that by a "startup", at least in comparison to legacy auto companies who have been around for decades. No, I don't own a Tesla, but instead recently bought a 2023 Chevy Bolt EUV, and also have a 2016 Chevy Spark EV, a city car with limited range. Both are excellent cars with excellent value. Maybe one day, when Tesla gets the price down further and adds a few more buttons and knobs in the cockpit like a conventional car, I will own one. For I think they are super cool.
Your comment about EV prices being too dear - save for a few exceptions that you list - is spot on. It's something of a chicken-and-egg thing: prices will drop if sales go up, but that won't happen because prices are too high. Subsidies by the fed will help. (I enjoyed this in purchasing my Bolt EUV). Europe, and especially Norway has much higher EV sales market share than US due to heavy subsidies. Chinese EV manufacturers are massively subsidized and have taken over the domestic market, while pushing aside the foreign companies that offer mainly ICE vehicles. (Didn't we always know that when the Chinese auto companies got all the tech they needed from their foreign "partners", they would send them packing?) Tesla is an exception. Unless there is action by the US government, these Chinese EVs will soon be flooding the US market, forcing the established players to compete or die.
L. Moore
Cleveland, Ohio