GM Spending Big Money on EV Production Plants

[ABN_CBT_ENGR]

I have my schedule planned the way I want it thank you. I did learn about being rude to others just for no reason somewhere along the line too. I think it was from my mother. She also taught be humble and don't put on airs. We are all in this together here on earth, try to be kind to one another.

Translated: When the technical points I proffer are factually rebuked, I resort to emotionalism and ramble off in other directions.

Every EV has it's own motor design, some are better than others.

So is almost every other machine on Earth- its an 'adaptation" of a principle to perform at a given rate in a given dimension for a given price with a forecast lifecycle. "Better" is a meaningless comparison unless all parameters are specified and measured equally against a common scale. Again, nothing different.

The Prius Prime battery, Toyota says, is "designed to last the life of the car."

"Everything" is designed for the "life" of something ( in terms of cycles against a fatigue model) but notice they never seem to define what that "life" is or how it was calculated?

He also tears down the Bolt and makes the calculations comparing the Spark EV motor to the Bolt.

Was it less filling or just tasted great? A meaningless exercise without the scales referenced above.

The Spark has a much more powerful motor but the Bolt puts more torque to the wheels due to gearing.

You do see the false dichotomy there don't you?

 

[JeffKeryk]

Could you elaborate a bit more?

Thanks

Sure. In business, "pure play" refers to focusing on a single technology and the products that are based on that tech. For example, I did business analytics for Symantec in Mt. View, CA for 6 years. They were really 2 businesses: Corporate and Consumer security. Corporate products were developed and marketed to businesses; the biggest was the US Army. Most businesses were far smaller, of course. The software ran on huge servers and was hosted. The Consumer side of the house was sold primarily on the Internet: Norton and Lifelock. The Corporate side had a worldwode sales staff and support team; more than 1,000 people. I worked for Corp. Symantec struggled to make acceptable profit; we rarely made our numbers. The BOD decided to sell off the Corporate business to Broadcom and become a "pure play" consumer business. The idea is, there are limited resources. A company has to ultimately decide how to use those resources. I hope this helps.

 

[UncleDave]

I have not read the whole thread but when I read things like this I would sure get battery anxiety.

1m+ in California to lose power,PG&E fear fallen tree could spark fire

Pacific Gas and Electric may cut power to more than 1 million people in Northern and Central California on Sunday from 10am for as long as 24 hours as strong winds increase the risk of wildfire

www.dailymail.co.uk

Everyone gets anxiety because gas stations shut off as well.

I've now lived through half a dozen of these PSPS events.

My staff is prepping 3 Cat 12K's today to carry us through PGE's latest power outage from the main grid, to the "Microgrid" power we get put on.
this is enough to power our IT, but not the building itself.

We made our own distribution boxes (bunch of engineers - dont trust off the shelf )

Thes picts are form last seasons PSPS.

 

[4WD]

Everyone gets anxiety because gas stations shut off as well.

I've now lived through half a dozen of these PSPS events.

My staff is prepping 3 Cat 12K's today to carry us through PGE's latest power outage from the main grid, to the "Microgrid" power we get put on.
this is enough to power our IT, but not the building itself.

We made our own distribution boxes (bunch of engineers - dont trust off the shelf )

Thes picts are form last seasons PSPS.



View attachment 32468

UD … are those Chonda Cats ? … don’t look like 3412’s … LoL

 

[ABN_CBT_ENGR]

Sure. In business, "pure play" refers to focusing on a single technology and the products that are based on that tech. For example, I did business analytics for Symantec in Mt. View, CA for 6 years. They were really 2 businesses: Corporate and Consumer security. Corporate products were developed and marketed to businesses; the biggest was the US Army. Most businesses were far smaller, of course. The software ran on huge servers and was hosted. The Consumer side of the house was sold primarily on the Internet: Norton and Lifelock. The Corporate side had a worldwode sales staff and support team; more than 1,000 people. I worked for Corp. Symantec struggled to make acceptable profit; we rarely made our numbers. The BOD decided to sell off the Corporate business to Broadcom and become a "pure play" consumer business. The idea is, there are limited resources. A company has to ultimately decide how to use those resources. I hope this helps.

Must be Silicon Valley Jargon because no other industry I work in uses that term with that definition. It did help. Now I understood what you were saying completely ( and agree with your reasoning). Thank you

 

[UncleDave]

UD … are those Chonda Cats ? … don’t look like 3412’s … LoL

Yes- I hated to buy them but they were the biggest quasi portable thing we could get that had acceptable THD and were carb compliant.

Growing up in Peoria made it especially hard.

 

[4WD]

Yes- I hated to buy them but they were the biggest quasi portable thing we could get that had acceptable THD and were carb compliant.

Growing up in Peoria made it especially hard.

Heard that … Look like nice units … just bought a Westinghouse 12k which looks similar …

 

[JeffKeryk]

I have not read the whole thread but when I read things like this I would sure get battery anxiety.

1m+ in California to lose power,PG&E fear fallen tree could spark fire

Pacific Gas and Electric may cut power to more than 1 million people in Northern and Central California on Sunday from 10am for as long as 24 hours as strong winds increase the risk of wildfire

www.dailymail.co.uk

Exactly. Infrastructure is key. PGE are criminals in my book. They burn down our forrests and rural communities. While giving their executive staff huge bonuses. Then they take out a full page ad in the San Jose Mercury-News saying how responsible they are.
PGE contunues to put profits ahead of reliability and safety. CA needs to to fix or replace them.
It is possible that a for profit energy company is not a viable solution going forward. I am confident CA will move forward with a safety and reliability solution.

 

[4WD]

It is possible that a for profit energy company is not a viable solution going forward. I am confident CA will move forward with a safety and reliability solution.
[/QUOTE]
so what non profit solutions you have in mind ?

 

[UncleDave]

On the BEV hummer, or any of the new GM unit the Ultium battery setup with cells and pouches is going to require a bunch of busbar and threaded fastners compared to the newer Tesla scheme using their 4680's, which means its going to weigh more and be harder and costlier to make for a given KWH capacity, they haven't described yet how they are going to keep it cool especially in a modular config.

Right now its looking like GM is behind before unit 1 ships - which bums me out as they should be leading this.

My current ice fleet is holding up well, but likely the replacement for my 138K long in the tooth but still working well lexus RX400H (knock on wood) will be something with a battery. With its relatively small tank 17.2 and 75MPH economy of about 22MPG its not too functionally different on my standard 465 mile Nor cal to So cal trips the way I travel with one meal stop and one snack/ bio stop per direction I fill up at each - which works perfectly for a 3 or Y or something that will be about this specs at replacement time.

I dont have to bomb through 800 miles like Cujet with no stopping. His f150s 34 gallon tank helping out a ton on that comparatively.
Some guys road trip with a texas catheter and do nascar style fuel stops.

If my lexus can hold out another year the current winner at replacement time looks to be a 4680 powered model y but Im one of those guys that is always open to whatever is best.

As for a replacement for my half ton truck - we're a long way away from that under tow - driving around with air on the hitch and in the bed sure - but I dont need to do that - the midsize truck sure, the hard working half ton not a chance right now.

 

[Nick1994]

I just roll my eyes when people say "But you can't go on a road trip in it without stopping to charge it". Yeah Karen, this is for commuter vehicles. Drive your other car for the road trip. Most people have more than 1 car anyways. How often is the average Joe REALLY going on a road trip for it to matter? If you're a special case, then don't buy one.

It takes time for technology to evolve. When ICE cars first came out, they sucked. Slow, unreliable, poor range, etc. but over time look at what we have now. We have to start somewhere.

I'd love an EV for my commute, and when I go out of town I can drive one of my other cars. Free charging at work too. I'm waiting for less ugly and more affordable electric cars.

 

[JeffKeryk]

It is possible that a for profit energy company is not a viable solution going forward. I am confident CA will move forward with a safety and reliability solution.

so what non profit solutions you have in mind ?
[/QUOTE]
4WD, the answer is far above my paygrade. All I know is what is happening, and that is horrible.
Here is an editorial from the Merc:
PGE - Fix or Replace

Our energy costs are some of the highest in the nation and the product is horrible.
I will say I have confidence in CA; we are the 4th largest economy in the world.
The need (aka opportunity) is here. Let's do something.
I put up solar panels and bought an EV partially in support of research.

 

[4WD]

Yeah … not sure who blocks competition from state to state, but happy with mine.

Our line provider is very quick to get us back behind a storm … and if I’m not happy with my rates, in a matter of minutes (online) I shopped, “ran them off” and signed up at a cheaper rate … (with some info on energy source) …
Not the cheapest … but at least I can do something about it …

 

[UncleDave]

Yeah … not sure who blocks competition from state to state, but happy with mine.

Our line provider is very quick to get us back behind a storm … and if I’m not happy with my rates, in a matter of minutes (online) I shopped, “ran them off” and signed up at a cheaper rate … (with some info on energy source) …
Not the cheapest … but at least I can do something about it …

LADWP was expensive but really good.

PG&E - There are something like 20K miles of line in the sierras - lots ignored for years while the bonuses rolled.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Yeah … not sure who blocks competition from state to state, but happy with mine.

Our line provider is very quick to get us back behind a storm … and if I’m not happy with my rates, in a matter of minutes (online) I shopped, “ran them off” and signed up at a cheaper rate … (with some info on energy source) …
Not the cheapest … but at least I can do something about it …

In most of the SF Bay Area, PGE is the only provider. That's a huge problem.

 

[OVERKILL]

so what non profit solutions you have in mind ?

4WD, the answer is far above my paygrade. All I know is what is happening, and that is horrible.
Here is an editorial from the Merc:
PGE - Fix or Replace

Our energy costs are some of the highest in the nation and the product is horrible.
I will say I have confidence in CA; we are the 4th largest economy in the world.
The need (aka opportunity) is here. Let's do something.
I put up solar panels and bought an EV partially in support of research.

Shutting down Diablo Canyon (along with SONGS) are two steps in the wrong direction.

 

[JimPghPA]

I hardly ever drive more than 38 miles a day, and often only around 20 or even 18. If I were to buy an electric I would like something that was lower cost because it came with a battery that was small with limited range, and the option to stop by the local dealer and quickly temporally swap in a higher larger capacity battery, or additional battery for the rare long range trip.

Also with only around 5K miles a year, the cost of a battery that goes bad in something like 13 to 18 years is not worth it if you drive short distances every day, and the expensive battery is made for 300 miles of range or more. And you want to keep the vehicle for a very long time.

 

[blingo]

Short people tellin' great big lies ...even display a certain beauty of ignorance, like when financing Sono Motors' Sion for a flittle surcharge directly fueled from the reactor over Munich, the city formerly overshadowed by BMW.

 

[Trav]

Exactly. Infrastructure is key. PGE are criminals in my book. They burn down our forrests and rural communities. While giving their executive staff huge bonuses. Then they take out a full page ad in the San Jose Mercury-News saying how responsible they are.
PGE contunues to put profits ahead of reliability and safety. CA needs to to fix or replace them.
It is possible that a for profit energy company is not a viable solution going forward. I am confident CA will move forward with a safety and reliability solution.

In Germany I would own a Tesla 3 without a second thought, they have an ultra reliable grid and lower night time electric rates for some things like electric storage heaters and use a dual tariff meter.
Here in MA it could only be a second car in many parts of the state, a third world sub Saharan grid with one of the highest utility rates in the country outside of Hawaii and suffers from extended power failures is not a place for an EV as a primary vehicle.

 

[Cujet]

Again, 5 additional hours to a 10 hour highway trip is what EV's can do today.

Of interest, 5 years ago, people were predicting that by 2020 we'd have 600 mile highway range. Yet here we sit, with 200.