Extra, Extra....Read All About It!

[bwdavis7]

If the fossil fuel subsidies ended, the savings on EVs would be painfully obvious while also saving trillions in tax dollars.

I was ignorant to (or at least forgot) the fact that our government subsidizes fossil fuel. I learn so much on this forum and once I dig a little deeper outside of these posts, I realize that there are probably many folks like myself that are unaware. Here's a portion of what Google AI returned when I asked "Does the US government subsidize gasoline":

"Yes, the US government provides subsidies to the fossil fuel industry through a combination of direct tax breaks, such as deductions for drilling costs, and indirect subsidies. These subsidies are estimated to be worth billions of dollars annually and include both explicit financial support and implicit costs, like not pricing in the environmental damage from pollution."

The details are even more disturbing.

Also, I have difficulty reading comments on Facebook for the Scout ads. Like this one..."Nice looking vehicle. Now all it needs is an iron block turbo-diesel engine". The original Scout was ahead of its time as an SUV and look at where the SUV market is now. I applaud Scout Motors in having the vision for the new Scout. It may be a little ahead of it when it rolls off the production line for the first time, but hopefully some of the misinformation and negativity of EVs will have settled by then. I'll keep my old Scout for its ICE but looking forward to have an EV as my daily driver. I think the ICEs will still have there place in the future and I currently plan to hold onto my 79 Scout for the nostalgia and maybe even a restoration.

Thanks to those in the forum who educate and enlighten.

 

[J Alynn]

I was ignorant to (or at least forgot) the fact that our government subsidizes fossil fuel. I learn so much on this forum and once I dig a little deeper outside of these posts, I realize that there are probably many folks like myself that are unaware. Here's a portion of what Google AI returned when I asked "Does the US government subsidize gasoline":

"Yes, the US government provides subsidies to the fossil fuel industry through a combination of direct tax breaks, such as deductions for drilling costs, and indirect subsidies. These subsidies are estimated to be worth billions of dollars annually and include both explicit financial support and implicit costs, like not pricing in the environmental damage from pollution."

The details are even more disturbing.

Also, I have difficulty reading comments on Facebook for the Scout ads. Like this one..."Nice looking vehicle. Now all it needs is an iron block turbo-diesel engine". The original Scout was ahead of its time as an SUV and look at where the SUV market is now. I applaud Scout Motors in having the vision for the new Scout. It may be a little ahead of it when it rolls off the production line for the first time, but hopefully some of the misinformation and negativity of EVs will have settled by then. I'll keep my old Scout for its ICE but looking forward to have an EV as my daily driver. I think the ICEs will still have there place in the future and I currently plan to hold onto my 79 Scout for the nostalgia and maybe even a restoration.

Thanks to those in the forum who educate and enlighten.

Thanks for posting and sharing. We all learn something new here every day

 

[J Alynn]

Well this was FB find but worthy of Extra, extra!

 

[bwdavis7]

I'm OK with the body of that Audi, but not a fan of the front end. Reminds me of Angry Birds for some reason.

 

[THil08]

I'm OK with the body of that Audi, but not a fan of the front end. Reminds me of Angry Birds for some reason.

Its definitely ain't no Scout

 

[Mousehunter]

There are a few 4x4 vans, probably a couple companies that lift them. My family enjoyed our Sienna a lot, so the offroad version interested me.

 

[cyure]

Well this was FB find but worthy of Extra, extra!
View attachment 9899

It really looks like a Defender. I wonder if that is that Audi Hard Core project that I saw mentioned in an article a while back.

 

[J Alynn]

I'm OK with the body of that Audi, but not a fan of the front end. Reminds me of Angry Birds for some reason.

Wow-you said it, I looked and you are right. I can see that. I know Audi is changing the corporate face again and this is somebody’s render-doubt it’s official but I think they could do better on front end. While my wife doesn’t want a Scout (she’s happy I do) I can see her wanting an Audi version

It really looks like a Defender. I wonder if that is that Audi Hard Core project that I saw mentioned in an article a while back.

could be. It’s been discussed in several early articles that Audi wants a legit off-roader so guessing at some point VWAG will allow Audi to play in the Scout sandbox

 

[cyure]

The Barbers are racing again this weekend?!?!

 

[THil08]

Pulling a @J Alynn for the next few days. Hitting up disney, for free via a friend who works at Disney. Got a crap ton of inside information from her. Ill share shortly.

Alot of monorail information

 

[J Alynn]

Pulling a @J Alynn for the next few days. Hitting up disney, for free via a friend who works at Disney. Got a crap ton of inside information from her. Ill share shortly.

Alot of monorail information

Will be interested to hear that. Great concept for travel but wasn’t pleased this time and we stayed at a resort on the monorail loop. Ended up using the boat transportation as much as we could because-hey-why not enjoy time on a lake in a boat with 15 people rather than 200 shoved in a monorail
Enjoy your trip. Was gonna recommend a couple bars we tried this trip then remembered you are 21. Hit me up when you are.

 

[THil08]

monorail facts:

- 600volt architecture
- about 15miles of high voltage track
- they have about 100hp and 75kv motor
- they are cheap to run
- Disney has a Monorail "shop" which maintains all 12 monorails.
- They use Bombardier Mark VI
- She tried to get me into the shop... but they wouldn't allow me in. She said she will try to get me pictures to share.
- They don't have a true batteries.
- They use a contact strip that gives them the energy to run.
- She also is gonna try to get a few pictures of the motors if one is out when she goes into the "shop".
- and they aren't due for an upgrade for another 20 years.

 

[J Alynn]

monorail facts:

- 600volt architecture
- about 15miles of high voltage track
- they have about 100hp and 75kv motor
- they are cheap to run
- Disney has a Monorail "shop" which maintains all 12 monorails.
- They use Bombardier Mark VI
- She tried to get me into the shop... but they wouldn't allow me in. She said she will try to get me pictures to share.
- They don't have a true batteries.
- They use a contact strip that gives them the energy to run.
- She also is gonna try to get a few pictures of the motors if one is out when she goes into the "shop".
- and they aren't due for an upgrade for another 20 years.

Wow. Very cool. My dad retired from Bombardier. He was a procurement officer. He was involved in all of Septa’s trains and some other lines across the country. He only purchased for US jobs. The systems they use are very fascinating

 

[cyure]

You can tell we are in a Rivian town. Local pumpkin patch.

 

[THil08]

https://www.autoblog.com/news/bmw-just-built-the-worlds-first-ai-car-factory

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Here’s a decent explainer about EV battery technology and why solid-state is so difficult to bring to EVs.

How close are we to solid state batteries for electric vehicles?

Superionic materials promise greater range, faster charges and more safety.

arstechnica.com

 

[Hedrock]

Here’s a decent explainer about EV battery technology and why solid-state is so difficult to bring to EVs.

How close are we to solid state batteries for electric vehicles?

Superionic materials promise greater range, faster charges and more safety.

arstechnica.com

Great share! A few quotes I found interesting:

• “only about 25 EVs catch fire out of every 100,000 sold, versus some 1,500 fires per 100,000 conventional cars”

Presumably US numbers. I wonder if there are major safety differences in battery packs sold in US vehicles vs abroad, the way there often are with crash structures?

• By April 2025 lithium-ion battery prices had plummeted to $115 per KwH, and were projected to fall toward $80 per KwH or less by 2030

I hadn’t realized batteries were so cheap! Time to revise my tolerance for what’s included on a base trim. Though I still don’t want things like forced power frunk and liftgate. Put that margin into easy to clean interior and flat folding front and rear seats (also, suspension). Or a good quality base sound system with a sub (looking at you, Bronco!).

• “With lithium-ion batteries the game is over—China already dominates 70 percent of the manufacturing,” she says. So for any country looking to lead the next battery revolution, “solid-state presents a very exciting opportunity.”

It almost seems like we should be subsidizing the equipment necessary to spin up mines and manufacturing instead of putting taxes on its import

 

[J Alynn]

Great share! A few quotes I found interesting:

• “only about 25 EVs catch fire out of every 100,000 sold, versus some 1,500 fires per 100,000 conventional cars”

Presumably US numbers. I wonder if there are major safety differences in battery packs sold in US vehicles vs abroad, the way there often are with crash structures?

• By April 2025 lithium-ion battery prices had plummeted to $115 per KwH, and were projected to fall toward $80 per KwH or less by 2030

I hadn’t realized batteries were so cheap! Time to revise my tolerance for what’s included on a base trim. Though I still don’t want things like forced power frunk and liftgate. Put that margin into easy to clean interior and flat folding front and rear seats (also, suspension). Or a good quality base sound system with a sub (looking at you, Bronco!).

• “With lithium-ion batteries the game is over—China already dominates 70 percent of the manufacturing,” she says. So for any country looking to lead the next battery revolution, “solid-state presents a very exciting opportunity.”

It almost seems like we should be subsidizing the equipment necessary to spin up mines and manufacturing instead of putting taxes on its import

We got lucky when we had the Bronco and got one of the last ones built with a sub. Still can’t believe they did that

 

[cyure]

We got lucky when we had the Bronco and got one of the last ones built with a sub. Still can’t believe they did that

We have to wait till November 14th to find out if our Supra is affected by a recall. Something that could make it spontaneously catch on fire.

 

[THil08]

We have to wait till November 14th to find out if our Supra is affected by a recall. Something that could make it spontaneously catch on fire.

Is it due to the BMW engine starter heat issue?