It’d be cooler if we had more trains, but I’m down for cheaper EVs in general.
I just wish it was easier for renters to find a place to charge because that’s the largest barrier to my family getting one. Also we have relatives a few hours away that we visit fairly often, maybe once a month, and there’s only one charger on the route (and it’s sort of out of the way).
I don’t know what the current laws are in each province, but we if we don’t have them yet, we really need new laws that require
-
Apartments/Condo’s to install chargers if paid for by the renter/owner. This is obviously less ideal for apartments, and more about condo’s, but it becomes a start for apartments as well. You could install a plug (not a charger) at an apartment and use your own charger which would at least reduce costs if you were going to stay a long time and weren’t worried about being evicted for some reason.
-
New builds must have at least X amount of 120v outlets available for parking spots at a bare minimum. Make them NEMA 5-20 outlets which give a few more amps and can charger the cars a little bit faster (10-12km/h vs 6-8km/h), but will also work with regular 5-15 plugs. Ideally, also require some 30amp or 50amp plugs, but we gotta start somewhere at least.
Seriously, the 120v everywhere is a big step, afaik you’ll get 8-10 km per hour on a standard wall plug (depends on model obviously) just plugging in wall at work for the day would more than recoup the charge needed to get to work for most people. We still need some fast chargers but slow charging is totally practical for how most people use their vehicles every day, need to change your mindset to keep it topped up instead of refill when empty like ICE, but it’s totally doable.
I don’t know about other manufactures, but on a LR Tesla you’ll get 7km/h. I think 10 would probably be pushing it for others, but that’s where the NEMA 5-20 with 20amp wiring (which is common practice now) would make the big difference.
I’m probably over remembering, but even 5 km/hour would do for a lot of commutes if you could slow charge at home and work, just at home would go a long way to push needing to go to a charging station.
I’m totally in favour of higher amp circuits being available, just thinking that there’s not as big of a barrier as some people suggest there is.
I looked it up once and the average Canadian/USA commute (at least in non winter weather) can be done on a 120v 5-15 outlet.
Harsher winters would probably need the 5-20 outlets (or indoor parking) to maintain that level though.
Edit: and ya having charging at work would make the winters better as it adds an extra 8 hours of charging you’d lose otherwise.
-
Woah, big if true!
I’m stoked for cheap cars! hopefully they’re reliable in winter and on shitty roads.
while we do need competition and variety on the market, electronics with Chinese origin raise serious concerns though. given China’s present political trajectory it’s not too far fetched to assume that vehicles will have remote backdoors that could be used for remote control of a vehicle. So unless those are “dumb” vehicles (which is highly unlikely) this is unlikely to be a good thing in a long run
Apple phones are made in China as are most laptops, servers and pretty much most electronics we use.
I just read that Ford is trying to patent a technology to report speeding directly to the police.
I don’t like the Chinese Government but it’s not like all North American companies are altruistic.
This Ford patent made me wonder. After looking it up, Ford stated that this technology would be for Ford police cars, not regular Ford cars.
UPDATE 7/31/2024 @ 3:30p ET: After publication, Ford reached out with a statement to clarify that the idea “is specific for application in law enforcement vehicles, such as the Ford Police Interceptor, and it’s a system that would automate a capability that law enforcement already have in use today, except this would utilize the built-in system and sensors in the vehicle. This patent does not state that driving data from customers’ vehicles would be shared with law enforcement, which is what some media have incorrectly reported. And note, patent applications are intended to protect new ideas but aren’t necessarily an indication of new business or product plans.”
Source: https://www.thedrive.com/news/ford-researching-tech-that-snitches-on-speeders-to-the-police
Thanks for that. Doesn’t sound too bad when they put it this way.
There’s a difference between made by and controlled by though. Apple is not a Chinese company, although the phones are made there, they’re not beholden to do what china wants. China can’t say “turn off every iPhone in North America” and have it happen.
With a Chinese owned and operated company that can absolutely happen. If they don’t do what the government wants they or their families are put in jail or killed. “Shut off every car in Canada and the US”!
Click.
You get to walk. Or maybe the order is to overload and blow up the battery packs.
Even the Chinese government is wary of US based manufactures having their cars near sensitive areas because of all the cameras. Tesla had to ensure that all the data was stored in and didn’t leave a facility based in China before they allowed the cars to be in those areas.
It’s a legit problem for every country. It’s possible other countries might require the same.
Hun? What are you talking about sensitive areas? Where did that come from?
The conversation was concerns about what China can do to the cars, but China is also concerned about what other manufactures can do with their cars. The concern goes both ways, it’s not just the west afraid of china. The concern about these highly connected cars is legitimate for everyone on both sides.
I believe now that Tesla stores the data in China that some of that has been relaxed.
The threat that chinese EVs pose to north american consumers has been vastly overblown by paranoid US nationalists and protectionist automakers who don’t fancy the competition. I’m not saying the chinese government is amazing no notes, just that this is a nothing issue.
I wish that cars in general had fewer reliance on electronic systems though, and some non-critical modules could be optionally disabled by the owner without rendering the car inoperable…
In my experience you can typically just pull the fuse for the cell transmitter is you don’t want the vehicle phoning home, though they annoying tend to rely on the radio module for things like carplay and radio so it’s not a perfect solution.
Some manufacturers rely on the same module for the key fob though, so some research is required.
Definitely wish it was just an option in settings, but i’m not sure I would trust it if it was.
More physical kill switches in electronic devices would be nice in general.
The boat has sailed on that one unfortunately.
Safety requirements outright demand these things nowadays, and these safety things do save lives, of the occupants, pedestrians, and the other vehicles involved in the crash.
I’m not talking about disabling safety systems though.
The safety systems require the cars to be what you don’t want and the requirements just keep increasing.
@droopy4096 In addition to this, it’s well-reported now that several American automakers share vehicle acceleration data with insurance companies, so drivers are being monitored without their awareness and could face a hike in insurance fees if they’re detected as being a little too reckless in the passive acceleration data monitoring. I haven’t heard of any non-American automakers doing this. And while the consequences of the “Chinese government shutting down all EVs in NA via some electronic backdoor” are greater than this, one is speculation about the future and the other’s current fact
It will probably just listen to us and try to sell us stuff, just like the many of the others.
How do you pronounce the company name? Is it “bid” or B-Y-D?
In Chinese it’s 比亚迪 which sounds like Biyadi [insert fancy Winnie the Pooh meme here]
buyd, byed/byid
