Tesla isn't interested. However it is rumored they solicit sites for Superchargers using the carrot of, "We will bring customers with money to spend while they wait." Some are believed to give Tesla a free lease to bring customers in for only the cost if 8-12 parking spaces. Parking spaces customers would need anyway.
Ford EVs can now charge at Tesla Superchargers
- Thread starter JeffKeryk
- Start date
OVERKILL
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You are going to have to actually explain that opinion, crapping on mine because you don't agree with it isn't sufficient.
What part of “30 minutes” do you not understand? Do not understand how 30 minutes differs from 1 month, 1 year, or 10 years?
Just look at how BMW treated i3 buyers. An i3 is virtually worthless today because it is so poorly supported.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
What part about "you are going to have to actually explain that opinion" do you not understand?
I certain do. I owned an Audi e-tron for a little over a month, traded it in on another Grand Cherokee SRT, of which I've owned three. It doesn't change my opinion on the i4 M50 being a better car than the Audi or the Tesla (and the Audi is significantly better appointed than the Tesla and massively better insulated). I also owned a BMW M5 for several years, which was a great car.
The i4 isn't the i3, the Tesla Roadster is also incredibly poorly supported, do we condemn the Model 3 because of that? Of course not.
You need to actually explain your statement that "no EV equals Tesla in the long run", because that's the claim you made when I questioned you on this one:
Which you also failed to adequately respond to regarding your experience with EV's other than Tesla and what makes them "mediocre to bad".
I'm willing to listen to why you feel this way, but being a prick about it and implying I'm mentally deficient because I'm not willing to just take your statements as fact isn't the way to go about it.
Either engage in good faith or don't engage at all. If you are incapable of answering my questions, that fine, but say as much then, don't beat around the bush pretending that your inability to provide adequate information is somebody else's deficit.
There are no survivors in the EV market from 10 years ago but Tesla. BMW got handed their hat to eat on the i3 and i8. Audi is muddling along but wasn't good enough for you to keep.
No one makes the equal of Tesla's drive units, batteries, or the Supercharger network.
Tesla deserves to be dinged for poor suspension tuning.
The suspension does leave a bit to be desired. The biggest fix is giving up a hint of range for putting a reasonable air pressure in the tires. 44 psi in a 3,800lb Model 3 RWD is ridiculous. I run ours at 40-41psi without any abnormal wear and we're 10k miles in on these tires. The suspension isn't perfect, but this helps a lot. It's still too stiff for someone who isn't looking for a sport handling and ride setup. I wish it had adaptive damping like my GTI. I can get the suspension as stiff as the Model 3 in sport mode, but then back it off to the point that it rides nearly like a luxury car even on extremely low profile tires.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Sure, and none of the other auto manufacturers had made any serious efforts to produce a competitive EV 10 years ago. That's not the case now, which is why I asked which of the current crop of EV's from marques other than Tesla you've had some experience with.
While there have been some (considerable) bumps along the way, most of them have brought, or are bringing, competitive EV's into the market now.
The i3 was never a Tesla competitor, the i4 is. The i8 wasn't an EV and was also extremely expensive.
And I couldn't bring myself to buy a Tesla (I was considering a Model Y Performance), based on the materials selection, road noise and general lack of appointments. At least the Audi was properly equipped in that respect, but my wife found it too quiet, and it drove her nuts, so we got rid of it.
Except the Supercharger network is now being opened up to other brands. Tesla doesn't have a monopoly on good drive units, and the i4 M50 is faster than the 3 Performance from a roll. Tesla has changed battery styles several times now (even using prismatic cells in some variants, which is what BMW uses in the i4) and on the most recent models, not only are they fully potted, but they are structural to the car, IE, not designed to be replaced, while their competition has made their batteries modular and serviceable so you can swap out individual cell modules for example. Tesla's approach is very "iPhone", they want you to just buy a new car.
Amusingly, that was far from my biggest complaint about the S and 3 that I drove. I still owned my M5 when I test drove a physician friend's S and was quite underwhelmed at the interior compared to the bimmer, as both cars targeted roughly the same price point.
The 3 (which my client friend owns and loves), I couldn't get over the road noise and interior materials. Yeah, the suspension tuning wasn't great, but it was the cheap feeling interior and lack of a HUD which really turned me off. The i4 is a much better car in this respect (he has not driven the i4).
Despite Ford's issues with the Mach-E, it's a really nice EV in its own right (and I have considerably more than 30 minutes of seat time in one of these, as we seriously considered buying one and had it for a few days, using it as a DD). It drives very well, the interior doesn't feel "Dollar General", road noise is low...etc.
Tesla still has an advantage in BMS programming I suspect. They have considerable data by way of telemetry that has allowed them to fine-tune that, but other marques will catch-up as they amass similar data.
The EV space is a moving target and as Tesla's competitors field their offerings, it's good for everyone, as competition drives innovation and forces everyone to up their game. Maybe we'll even see real leather and a HUD from Tesla at some point
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
My wife drives a loud truck (RAM 1500 with a Borla S-Type cat back) and the Jeep, even with the factory exhaust, had some rumble. The Mach-E plays sounds, which is apparently sufficient to satisfy her, as she liked it (so does BMW). The Audi e-tron is like coffin quiet inside, it has absolutely incredible sound proofing. I didn't mind it, thought it was a plus actually, but it drove her insane and made her hate the car. Since we share vehicles, that ended up being a considerable point of contention and so I decided to just get rid of the car rather than her dreading (and complaining about) driving it every time I had the truck.
I think GM is catching up. Now they just need to produce the vehicles!
I am not always a huge fan of Kyle - he talks too much but overall, look at these offerings! And some of the specs/trims he mentions in the video are not quite accurate. BUT to me that is a good lineup of competitive EVs. With good interiors!
Are they tech-forward like Tesla? No. Do I think it's stupid none of those have Android Auto/Apple CarPlay? Yes. But Bolt LFP is coming in 2025, Equinox EV is coming later this year, Blazer EV is for sale now, Silverado EV is apparently on the road as Hertz rental cars?
I am not always a huge fan of Kyle - he talks too much but overall, look at these offerings! And some of the specs/trims he mentions in the video are not quite accurate. BUT to me that is a good lineup of competitive EVs. With good interiors!
Are they tech-forward like Tesla? No. Do I think it's stupid none of those have Android Auto/Apple CarPlay? Yes. But Bolt LFP is coming in 2025, Equinox EV is coming later this year, Blazer EV is for sale now, Silverado EV is apparently on the road as Hertz rental cars?
Makes sense to me. For myself I find it weird when EVs make fake noises, but I love a solid vocal engine. My GTI has a hint of simulated noise. I did disable it out of spite that it existed and ended up hooking it back up because for some reason I prefer it over hearing nothing with the windows up since it is rather well insulated too. It's pretty bad that with a little music going and the windows up without the Soundaktor making noise it's really easy to bang the rev limiter if you aren't paying attention to the tach.
I'll have to watch this. I'll say that Silverado looks great in this frame. Black with machined finish wheels is a good look on it.
Equinox EV looked good in the video. Interior similar to Blazer EV. Lots of parts sharing across the whole lineup. I'm still very excited for Equinox EV. I think Volvo EX30 is going to be a hit and will have a cost advantage for sure but it's going for a more minimalist cheap interior while the Equinox EV seems to be going for a more traditional interior. It's also a bit larger than EX30 from what I understand.
I’m starting to think Ford has some catching up to do. I’m sure with discounts on the Lightning the demand for the Silverado in similar trim will be $30k-$40k more. Ford should have used a bigger battery. The Silverado looks like it could legitimately be used as a real truck where the Ford doesn’t have the power reserve to make up for that. Maybe the Lightning will tank a bit more in price. I still kind of want one.
I don’t want a crossover, but the Blazer EV is pretty attractive as far as crossovers go.
In another sandbox one mounted 18” wheels on his Y Performance for winter tires and loved it so much purchased another set for summer.
