EV news. Hybrid News. A Path Forward.

Considering most of the USA isn't that bright the pool could be pretty large. My EV will come from inheritance when I get my parents $30k golf cart. I'll park it right next to my gas guzzling 73 Trans Am.
;-).

 

You can’t say you have a 73 Trans Am and then not post pictures for us.

 

The be fair, most are on blocks

 

https://www.carscoops.com/2022/12/toyota-ceo-says-silent-majority-of-auto-industry-is-doubting-ev-only-future/

Toyota chief executive Akio Toyoda claims that he is among the “silent majority” of those in the automotive industryquestioning whether electric vehicles are the only way forward.

 

I find it interesting to ponder why he is positioning.

Toyota is a publicly traded global corporation in an on-going battle with VW to be #1. Toyota already makes multiple different models with many technologies for different markets and the future will be no different.

What it seems like he is trying to do is buy time with the stockholders who may think the VW will overtake Toyota with broader and more competitive offerings in a future EV-heavy world of Europe and portions of the US market.

With 2021 revenue clocking in at $277B, yes billion, they certainly have a lot at stake.

Personally we have a Toyota Rav4 Prime PHEV on order. We are at the 9-month waiting point and likely will have to wait another 6 months to give Toyota our money. That is an example that Toyota can make a compelling EV product. The fact that it will be > 15 months to fill a delivery is a disappointment in Toyota on the planning and execution side.

In this abnormal 2022/2023 market I’ll put up with the wait. In the future when the automotive market is back to normal behavior I won’t wait for Toyota.

 

The Toyota CEO is no different than Musk. They both say whatever is necessary to keep investors happy. The trick for us plebes is to sort through the BS to get to the truth. I think Toyota is behaving like Sears back when they were the biggest retailer. To be fair to Sears they were too big and too entrenched in they way the did things. For them to fight off Amazon would require a complete change in culture, huge investments in facilities, and years of down stock prices until the internet caught up. Wall Street would rather see a company fail completely than have years of poor stock performance. Toyota has billions invested in ICE manufacturing. If they offed a compelling EV it would cannibalize their ICE sales and profit. The fact that you're willing to wait over a year for a hybrid is proof of that point. I don't think Toyota will fail completely like Sears, more of a GM fade into a shadow of their former self.

 

Mostly agreed, and everyone I think needs to remember they're a business which exists to make profit.

GM in no small part faded by building a substandard machine and then not making it right. My 2006 Colorado blowing the head and then costing me a fortune isn't what I expect from a "professional grade" vehicle. Of course my Tacoma needed a frame..but Toyota took care of it and did the right thing.

 

Eh, they did what they needed to do for a window of time. Tons of people are stuck with rotted out frames for one reason or another, and not making it available by VIN is absurd to me. All companies are out to make money, and Toyota is absolutely not different in that regard.

 

brand loyalty is absurd to me - at least for new cars.

 

Only thing I’m loyal to is resale value

 

Going for that F-250 are you?

Pick up with the best resale vale for 2022.

 

I’m generally a fan of Toyota’s, but not at any price and any wait…We are waiting a loooong time for that R4P…

Without the competition (and regulatory evolution) Toyota would be happily churning out boring vehicles with 200HP motors with 4 speed transmissions and without airbags. They would likely all be very well built since they would be the 10 millionth example off the very mature line.

I think they are playing it too safe and are very much at risk of being out maneuvered by VW. Since most people buy on features and monthly payment playing it too safe only will make Toyota number 2.

 

Toyota is very conservative when it comes to manufacturing which is fine. If it was up to me they could still build a 1st gen Tacoma regular cab with manual looking hubs, a vehicle that size I could live with out power steering.

The problem is they won't be able to build such a conservative design for ever. Take 5th gen 4R and 3rd gen Tacoma, sooner or later saftey regs will take those vehicles off the market, minus a design change to meet saftey regs.

Look at the new Tundra, it's only in it's 2nd year of production. The competition is already 5 years ahead in both technology and desing, it's all BS IMO, but the competition is working on design refreshes and next gen models. Same with Sequioa, and Toyota wants a big piece of that market.

 

Coworker has a diesel 250 Tremor. It’s a nice looking rig.

 

True, and of course part of it was I had knowledge of the prior issues..my wife had a 96 that was bought back in 2008. I did get the letter to bring mine for the initial inspect/coating though, but I was already expecting it.

For many years I bought at auctions so I couldn't be as picky as I'd have liked, especially on a minimal budget as well.

 

Tesla bubble?

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-used-car-price-bubble-pops-weighs-new-car-demand-2022-12-27/

Tesla buyers who waited months for their new car have had an unusual choice for much of the past two years: keep the new electric vehicle, or sell it at a profit to someone with less patience.

But the days of the Tesla flip are numbered - a potential threat to new car prices that are already getting cut.

Prices of used Teslas are falling faster than those of other carmakers and the clean-energy status symbols are languishing in dealer lots longer, industry data provided to Reuters showed.

 

Ive been watching the prices of used Model 3s in the area and many dealers have lowered the prices quite a bit and the cars are still on the lot. Granted they were way over priced to start.

 

Prices on the used 2022 Model Y have fallen a lot. When I took delivery back in January I could have easily sold it for $10K more than I paid. Now used Model Y's with the same mileage as mine, 24K, are selling for what I paid. Haters got to hate, but 24K miles and zero depreciation isn't too bad in my book.

 

Nope, basically drove it a year free.

 

Will Electric Vehicles Crash The Grid?
We speak to two industry experts to find out if the grid will be able to handle tens of millions of electric vehicles by 2035

https://insideevs.com/news/628885/will-electric-vehicles-crash-grid/

https://youtu.be/KNnYYImey2k

It's a long video, so we've provided chapters to skip to select topics of interest:

• 2:36 Eric Cahill, Sacramento Municipality Utility District
• 4:20 California's ban on combustion vehicle sales by 2035
• 14:48 Is California's timeline for EV adoption reasonable?
• 20:40 How can apartment dwellers charge their EVs?
• 28:20 Will California's grid crash once everyone has an EV?
• 31:04 John Markowitz, New York Power Authority
• 33:47 Can we transition the fleet in New York to electric vehicles by 2035?
• 36:40 Incentivizing EV owners to charge at specific times
• 37:35 Some of the biggest challenges
• 43:01 Is New York ready to expand DC fast charge sites with additional stations as needed?
• 48:32 Vehicle to home & grid services
• 52:40 Demand charges and DC fast charging
• 57:20 Should New York be forcing people to drive electric vehicles?