Let us hope this is not the sign of the times. If the US was still moving ahead on the eventual elimination of internal combustion engine, and building out electric vehicle infrastructure I could see states doing something like this. However, this is not whats happening. This seems more like a fine from the drug dealers behind the world’s addiction to oil.
I don't hate the policy. There has to be a way to continue funding road infrastructure maintenance and improvements. Policies such as this one will likely roll out in other states in the coming years. As time goes on these policies will be revised and refined. Heck registering an EV in PA is a 400 dollar affair for a 2 year renewal...
They are too long, I agree. I put them on my second screen and let them run in the background while doing other work, really only tune into the stops and the moments where they encounter issues. Since EVs are rolling computers it has been interesting to see the issues the teams encountered so far and how good or poor the charging stops have been. Heck the Escalade IQ took down an Alpitronic HYC400 dispenser... ( vehicle and charger ramped up and then everything went dark like it blew out a fuse) How the heck did it take out one of those...
Maybe. They still have many, many hurdles to cross. They are losing a lot of money on every vehicle produced. The quality still isn't there, and if you are the FB Rivian group, you can see the new Rivian owners act just like Tesla owners, i.e. they claim there cars are the greatest ever, and they have zero defects. All the while, attacking those who have problems. I sure those types don't hijack Scout. Anyway, what is RJ's plan to change that, just beyond offering a cheaper(if 60k is cheap) EV SUV? I think it's all hype to get the stock to move, and to get the investors off his back. At the end of the day, a Rivian is still a Rivian, and it will be a boutique brand.
It's certainly a small volume seller currently with the two current models starting at high price points. But and this is a big but... If the R2 can come in at $45,000 and offer decent range (I'm thinking base range of 280 miles?) then they have the potential for a very high volume seller. They better get their QC issues sorted for this new R2 though... I hope they nail it.
Amazes me they don’t backlight them in some way. With all the flexibility LED’s offer and as cheap as they are another $3 would have been worth every penny
VW has added backlighting to some vehicles.
www.thedrive.com
Yeah-pricey enough here in PA with so many taxes and the highest tolls for turnpike in the country which apparently is also supposed to support road improements. My hang up is now the current admin is rolling back CAFE standards so add some tax to the ICE vehicles as well to offset their pollution etc… which we will need to eventually be paying for as well as clean up and if not ahead-perhaps at that point-the ICE drivers can pay to cover those costs. They should establish a set fee for all behicles in categories as part of sales tax. Passenger cars, passenger trucks, dualies, then commercial.
I’ve thought this would seem to be a fair way to do it as well. Remove gas tax and charge the same method for all vehicles. I don’t like the argument for weight on EVs because although my Tesla Model 3 is heavier than say a Toyota Corolla, it is still much lighter than a regular ICE F-150s or Suburban etc. and there are a lot more of those on the road not paying a higher tax for being heavier.
My Bolt EUV weighs 3,680lbs
IMO, a reasonable fee/tax would be based on MSRP, curb weight, and vehicle area (total length * total width).
Fossil fuels are already heavily subsidized by the public, beginning with the insanely low lease costs for mineral extraction rights on public lands.
QC is something that startups struggle with tesla still struggles with it. Scout will probably be okay since they have the VW experience backing.
That’s been my hope all along. VW isn’t always stellar but German engineering and some U.S. common sense should make for a very solid vehicle.
Their base level should have an 8-Track player graphic.
To go along with the linear analog speedo, Great pairing.
