Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

dino001

oldfarmer50 said:

These spam posts are getting to be a real problem on platforms like YT. I can’t look at the comments section without half of them being from some bot promoting a bogus financial advisor who is going to make me a millionaire if I just give them my money.

You mean you want to pass on such a great opportunity? No wonder you're a poor farmer...

snakeweasel

@oldfarmer50 said:
These spam posts are getting to be a real problem on platforms like YT. I can’t look at the comments section without half of them being from some bot promoting a bogus financial advisor who is going to make me a millionaire if I just give them my money.

I’m guessing they have discovered AI systems which post this nonsense everywhere for little cost to them.

Just ignore them and send your money to me for a good investment. But no checks, cash only and in small unmarked bills.

snakeweasel

@dino001 said:
Add cold/hot weather and the range drops by much more than 10 percent. That's one of the issues with EVs - the range numbers are not exactly reliable. Something that gets better with length of the ownership - with time the owner will figure out how to interpret "range" message on the dashboard depending on the circumstances, but in comparison with ICE vehicles that range of the range (pun intended) is just too wide for a normal person that is too busy with living their life to notice that 100 miles on the dashboard just turned into 70 after going only 10 or 15 miles.

Just sitting outside on a hot or cold day will slowly drain the batteries of an EV.

Now in the Hyundai I have noticed that the distance to empty is on the low side. So if it reads 100 miles of gas left after 15 miles it might read 90 miles left.

Haven't really noticed how the BMW is on that.

dino001

snakeweasel said:

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Just sitting outside on a hot or cold day will slowly drain the batteries of an EV.

Now in the Hyundai I have noticed that the distance to empty is on the low side. So if it reads 100 miles of gas left after 15 miles it might read 90 miles left.

Haven't really noticed how the BMW is on that.

My BMW is the opposite most of the time, i.e. the estimate is likely conservative. Probably because I tend to drive highway speed/traffic more than 70 percent of the time of my commute, so the estimate comes based on some past averaged mileage taken conservative, but at any given moment I'm more likely using less fuel than that estimate, so the actual range comes up higher.

oldfarmer50

dino001 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

These spam posts are getting to be a real problem on platforms like YT. I can’t look at the comments section without half of them being from some bot promoting a bogus financial advisor who is going to make me a millionaire if I just give them my money.

You mean you want to pass on such a great opportunity? No wonder you're a poor farmer...

Well, that’s an OLD farmer but if I believe that Mrs. Olivia Newton John will give me $10k a week returns on a $2k investment, I might end up a poor farmer.

roadburner

snakeweasel said:

@dino001 said:

Add cold/hot weather and the range drops by much more than 10 percent. That's one of the issues with EVs - the range numbers are not exactly reliable. Something that gets better with length of the ownership - with time the owner will figure out how to interpret "range" message on the dashboard depending on the circumstances, but in comparison with ICE vehicles that range of the range (pun intended) is just too wide for a normal person that is too busy with living their life to notice that 100 miles on the dashboard just turned into 70 after going only 10 or 15 miles.

Just sitting outside on a hot or cold day will slowly drain the batteries of an EV.

Now in the Hyundai I have noticed that the distance to empty is on the low side. So if it reads 100 miles of gas left after 15 miles it might read 90 miles left.

Haven't really noticed how the BMW is on that.

I really think that the smart move would have been to offer incentives to buy PHEVs as an intermediate step to EVs. Of course there will always be the ignorant fools who never plug them in, but I think most people would appreciate the advantages.

stickguy

I agree that the sweet spot is a PHEV. can have ranges of battery sizes (like with EVs) to get some that are around town EVs and some that are close to a "real" EV range. would IMO cover the majority of people the majority of the time as EV users, with no issues about range or finding charging. Battery runs low, it just turns into any other hybrid. And will be immune from oblivious owners who still just need to put gas in it!

Michaell

Has anyone seen the new Ramcharger truck? Similar in concept to the Volt - an onboard 3.6 V6 engine set up to recharge the onboard batteries. Supposedly almost 700 miles of range, and no degradation of range if you tow.

Not a PHEV - the gas engine does not drive the wheels through a conventional transmission.

roadburner

I believe that is called a series hybrid- like the i3 REx

tjc78

@Michaell said:
Has anyone seen the new Ramcharger truck? Similar in concept to the Volt - an onboard 3.6 V6 engine set up to recharge the onboard batteries. Supposedly almost 700 miles of range, and no degradation of range if you tow.

Not a PHEV - the gas engine does not drive the wheels through a conventional transmission.

I got an email and checked it out today … could be a nice replacement when my lease is up.

explorerx4

My 2017 F150 was rated at 23 MPG highway and had a 36 gallon tank.
The big questions are, how much is a Ramcharger going to cost and much will it weigh?
It's not going to be class leading in payload or towing.

Michaell

@roadburner said:
I believe that is called a series hybrid- like the i3 REx

I couldn’t remember the name of the power train, but yes.

tjc78

@explorerx4 said:
My 2017 F150 was rated at 23 MPG highway and had a 36 gallon tank.
The big questions are, how much is a Ramcharger going to cost and much will it weigh?
It's not going to be class leading in payload or towing.

2625 lbs of payload and 14,000 lbs towing.

explorerx4

@tjc78,
Payload is more than 600 lbs less than than max F150 has been for years.
Towing is about the same over max F150, not that you would ever want to push either of them to that.

stickguy

most likely I will not want a full sized PU but if I did, I would want one like this.

even better if they could downsize the concept into something the size of a ranger (with a 4 banger engine most likely)

tjc78

@explorerx4 said:
@tjc78,
Payload is more than 600 lbs less than than max F150 has been for years.
Towing is about the same over max F150, not that you would ever want to push either of them to that.

I think for 90% of the end users the capacity is there. 4.4 seconds to 60, 140 miles of pure electric range and 690 total miles combined with the gas engine makes for a very nice package.

I’m not sure what bed size that 2625 was based on. If I’m not mistaken to get max payload on the F150 you need the long bed which is extremely rare with a crew cab.

oldfarmer50

Michaell said:

Has anyone seen the new Ramcharger truck? Similar in concept to the Volt - an onboard 3.6 V6 engine set up to recharge the onboard batteries. Supposedly almost 700 miles of range, and no degradation of range if you tow.

Not a PHEV - the gas engine does not drive the wheels through a conventional transmission.

I drove a Ram etorque the other day. I’m not sure if that’s the same thing or even what purpose the battery serves. Maybe a boost under acceleration? I didn’t notice much difference between that and a regular 5.7L.

explorerx4

@oldfarmer50,
Here's some Vermont etiquette. Maybe SB55 can confirm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snji7XmKN94

stickguy

from driving through occasionally since I moved up north, the Subaru comment is true. Though the Sube can be replaced with any brand of old domestic pick up.

qbrozen

@oldfarmer50 said:
I drove a Ram etorque the other day. I’m not sure if that’s the same thing or even what purpose the battery serves. Maybe a boost under acceleration? I didn’t notice much difference between that and a regular 5.7L.

It doesn’t add any power, it just absorbs some of the duties to net about 2 mpg average. Not worth the added complexity and parts costs, IMHO.

Michaell

@oldfarmer50 said:
I drove a Ram etorque the other day. I’m not sure if that’s the same thing or even what purpose the battery serves. Maybe a boost under acceleration? I didn’t notice much difference between that and a regular 5.7L.

Nah, that’s just a special name for the V8. There might be a mild hybrid system attached but the Ramcharger is an all new type of power train.

tjc78

I have the Etorque. I think it is there mainly to aid in restarts when you have start/stop engaged.

It also is supposed to supply more torque when needed, but I can’t imagine it is much.

Most people probably don’t realize but the motor/generator that is the core of the system replaces the typical alternator.

sb55

explorerx4 said:

@oldfarmer50,
Here's some Vermont etiquette. Maybe SB55 can confirm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snji7XmKN94

I live in Grand Isle county, which is only 1 county away from Chittenden County. We don't talk like the Northeast Kingdomers, but I have heard that accent.

kyfdx

"Northeast Kingdom traffic jam"

snakeweasel

oldfarmer50 said:

dino001 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

These spam posts are getting to be a real problem on platforms like YT. I can’t look at the comments section without half of them being from some bot promoting a bogus financial advisor who is going to make me a millionaire if I just give them my money.

You mean you want to pass on such a great opportunity? No wonder you're a poor farmer...

Well, that’s an OLD farmer but if I believe that Mrs. Olivia Newton John will give me $10k a week returns on a $2k investment, I might end up a poor farmer.

I would be shocked in Olivia Newton John could give any return on any investment as she passed away last year. However her estate might need your help getting her money out of Australia.

snakeweasel

roadburner said:

snakeweasel said:

@dino001 said:

Add cold/hot weather and the range drops by much more than 10 percent. That's one of the issues with EVs - the range numbers are not exactly reliable. Something that gets better with length of the ownership - with time the owner will figure out how to interpret "range" message on the dashboard depending on the circumstances, but in comparison with ICE vehicles that range of the range (pun intended) is just too wide for a normal person that is too busy with living their life to notice that 100 miles on the dashboard just turned into 70 after going only 10 or 15 miles.

Just sitting outside on a hot or cold day will slowly drain the batteries of an EV.

Now in the Hyundai I have noticed that the distance to empty is on the low side. So if it reads 100 miles of gas left after 15 miles it might read 90 miles left.

Haven't really noticed how the BMW is on that.

I really think that the smart move would have been to offer incentives to buy PHEVs as an intermediate step to EVs. Of course there will always be the ignorant fools who never plug them in, but I think most people would appreciate the advantages.

Well I might be interested in a plug in hybrid in my next car but at this point regular ICE's won't be off the list.

stickguy

I’m fully on the hybrid train after having one. and would seriously look at a plug in for the next car though that could be a long time from now.

snakeweasel

roadburner said:

I believe that is called a series hybrid- like the i3 REx

Yes it's called a serial hybrid where it has a gas engine to produce the electricity that runs the car, commonly labeled as range extenders. The best example of this would be diesel locomotives, yes trains are hybrids. However few PHEV's are serial hybrids, most are parallel hybrids where the gas engine drives the wheels directly.

stickguy

It’s just an EV towing its own generator.

roadburner

I wish Mercedes could fit the drivetrain from the S580e PHEV into an AMG C Class or E Class- 510 hp and an electric-only range of over 50 miles.
The 2024 M5 PHEV also sounds like fun; the electric-only range will probably be just 30 miles, but hp will be somewhere between 644 and 738.

stickguy

My BIL and SIL like their recently purchased X5 PHEV. I think they said they did 30-35 mile runs all electric. And they just charge off a 120 outlet I think.

dino001

stickguy said:

My BIL and SIL like their recently purchased X5 PHEV. I think they said they did 30-35 mile runs all electric. And they just charge off a 120 outlet I think.

I've heard of these - Lexus has NX - I saw some very positive reviews. I think they may have even a bit larger EV range. That's kind of concept I may like - mild PI hybrid, with all- electric first that essentially makes work commute and errand runs on electric and then seamlessly engages gas engine on longer trips.
This is something even I could get interested in, as an idea, but unfortunately there is very little supply of them and they are also very expensive out of the gate (e.g. NX 450h+ is 65 grand plus taxes and junk fees, perhaps ADMs, too).

jmonroe1

roadburner said:

I wish Mercedes could fit the drivetrain from the S580e PHEV into an AMG C Class or E Class- 510 hp and an electric-only range of over 50 miles.
The 2024 M5 PHEV also sounds like fun; the electric-only range will probably be just 30 miles, but hp will be somewhere between 644 and 738.

————————————————
It sounds like you are a total BMW defector now.

That’s enough HP to slick back your hair even without it be a convertible and a neck brace is probably needed too.

jmonroe

explorerx4

Uncle Tony going off on the 'Ramcharger'.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFFeJFfY35c

stickguy

that was painful to listen to. he should have been outside on his lawn yelling at the clouds.

I guess he is against all plug in hybrids?

the Ramcharger addresses the big drawback of the EV trucks that guys like him love to yell about. while still getting all the efficiency and power benefits of electric motors.

the generator model is actually a lot simpler, not needing all the extra mechanical parts in the hybrid drive. and the engine will keep the batteries charged, so that rant makes no real sense.

he is right though, that 1/2 tons now are way too big.

stickguy

and actually at the end, screaming for a practical small truck, he just asked for a maverick!

qbrozen

@stickguy said:
and actually at the end, screaming for a practical small truck, he just asked for a maverick!

Nah. My first gen Dakota had a 6.5’ bed and could tow 7k lbs. Maverick isn’t in that league. He is talking about a Ranger/Colorado/Tacoma/Ridgeline. But he is delusional thinking a mid-size body on frame truck can be built at a $20k pricepoint these days.

stickguy

he wanted a 4 cyl, cheap and good mileage. And enough bed room to carry normal stuff. That's a Maverick.

roadburner

In other news, there have been four murders in my county since last Friday. The latest one was today- a woman shot execution style and left in a ditch.
The world is going off the rails.

qbrozen

@stickguy said:
he wanted a 4 cyl, cheap and good mileage. And enough bed room to carry normal stuff. That's a Maverick.

Guess I didn’t get that far. I heard him say first-gen dakota-size with 4-cyl for $18k-$20k.

stickguy

well, depending on the number of doors, it was either a foot shorter or longer than a Maverick, and 6" narrower.

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

@oldfarmer50,
Here's some Vermont etiquette. Maybe SB55 can confirm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snji7XmKN94

LOL. Sounds like those two were from Eastern VT (northeast kingdom) over near St. Johnsbury . The thing about Subarus and pickups is true. Whenever we bring either to our offices they react like kids on Christmas morning.

I’ve never had anyone in VT give me the finger greeting although I’ve had a few in NY give me the one finger wave.😩

qbrozen

@stickguy said:
well, depending on the number of doors, it was either a foot shorter or longer than a Maverick, and 6" narrower.

Oh, I goofed. I had a 2nd gen.

Still, 6.5’ bed and 7k towing capacity makes it far more of a capable work truck vs a lifestyle vehicle such as the Mav or Santa Cruz. I’m not knocking those, but they ain’t trucks.

oldfarmer50

snakeweasel said:

oldfarmer50 said:

dino001 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

These spam posts are getting to be a real problem on platforms like YT. I can’t look at the comments section without half of them being from some bot promoting a bogus financial advisor who is going to make me a millionaire if I just give them my money.

You mean you want to pass on such a great opportunity? No wonder you're a poor farmer...

Well, that’s an OLD farmer but if I believe that Mrs. Olivia Newton John will give me $10k a week returns on a $2k investment, I might end up a poor farmer.

I would be shocked in Olivia Newton John could give any return on any investment as she passed away last year. However her estate might need your help getting her money out of Australia.

I used her name because all these bot scam financial advisors seem to have 3 names, like Lee Harvey Oswald or other similar combinations. That probably means they are being concocted by the same AI program.

On some financial videos the comments section has multiple bots working at once, all with a three name advisor. Seems like an awful lot of effort but I guess if they snare one or two suckers they can make money.

oldfarmer50

dino001 said:

stickguy said:

My BIL and SIL like their recently purchased X5 PHEV. I think they said they did 30-35 mile runs all electric. And they just charge off a 120 outlet I think.

I've heard of these - Lexus has NX - I saw some very positive reviews. I think they may have even a bit larger EV range. That's kind of concept I may like - mild PI hybrid, with all- electric first that essentially makes work commute and errand runs on electric and then seamlessly engages gas engine on longer trips.
This is something even I could get interested in, as an idea, but unfortunately there is very little supply of them and they are also very expensive out of the gate (e.g. NX 450h+ is 65 grand plus taxes and junk fees, perhaps ADMs, too).

Junk fees and ADM seem to be particularly prevalent in Florida. As if $1000 doc fees weren’t enough.

My BIL’s grandson bought a new Honda Accord near Orlando and the add-ons brought a $32k car up to $40k.

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

In other news, there have been four murders in my county since last Friday. The latest one was today- a woman shot execution style and left in a ditch.

The world is going off the rails.

I’m guessing drug gang disputes. That’s the main cause of murders in the small city of Albany where as of a month ago we had 16 murders in 2023. The politicians call that “improvement” since last year we had 22 in a city of under 100k.

stickguy

qbrozen said:

@stickguy said:

well, depending on the number of doors, it was either a foot shorter or longer than a Maverick, and 6" narrower.

Oh, I goofed. I had a 2nd gen.

Still, 6.5’ bed and 7k towing capacity makes it far more of a capable work truck vs a lifestyle vehicle such as the Mav or Santa Cruz. I’m not knocking those, but they ain’t trucks.

He really seemed to be talking about 1980s Nissan Harbodies, stuff like that. None of which could sniff a 7K towing rating with a 4 banger. That was later larger, V8 models that got lousy gas mileage and were not that cheap.

and heck, these days, the standard bed on an F150 is only 5.5'. and you ain't getting one of them for $20k!

you might be selling the Maverick short as a truck, because it is a real one (santa Cruz, that is a lifestyle vehicle mostly). Mav has a payload IIRC of about 1600#s? or 1,200. But it can carry a good amount of weight. And tow rating of 4K. So it can do plenty of real truck things and even the bed, while a little short, can carry quite a bit. Certainly as much as most pickups ever carry.

dino001

oldfarmer50 said:

dino001 said:

stickguy said:

My BIL and SIL like their recently purchased X5 PHEV. I think they said they did 30-35 mile runs all electric. And they just charge off a 120 outlet I think.

I've heard of these - Lexus has NX - I saw some very positive reviews. I think they may have even a bit larger EV range. That's kind of concept I may like - mild PI hybrid, with all- electric first that essentially makes work commute and errand runs on electric and then seamlessly engages gas engine on longer trips.
This is something even I could get interested in, as an idea, but unfortunately there is very little supply of them and they are also very expensive out of the gate (e.g. NX 450h+ is 65 grand plus taxes and junk fees, perhaps ADMs, too).

Junk fees and ADM seem to be particularly prevalent in Florida. As if $1000 doc fees weren’t enough.

My BIL’s grandson bought a new Honda Accord near Orlando and the add-ons brought a $32k car up to $40k.

Yeah, Honda is now the worst of them all. As long as enough people sign on the dotted line, they'll keep doing it, especially that Florida is generally bought and paid by car dealers and real estate agents - or so it seems.

My current BMW dealer, which used to be a single store owned by a family, was bought out couple of years ago by chain. It's unrecognizable - junk fees jacked up beyond any reason (I think it adds up to almost 2 grand, has three or four names), plus of course "protection package" for something like another 2 grand (5 thousand dollar retail value - whoo hooo!!! I think using their pricing scheme, my pants are worth somewhere around $1000) on all cars (they carry five brands, every car, every brand has same cr?!p posted on in), the same salesman that sold me a car back then sings ADM tunes on those more rare cars like they were a normal thing (previous owner had max. MSRP policy). Even the store ambience is much less "cozy" - nice walled offices are now replaced by glass boxes, so the customer is sitting there like in aquarium. Basically no different than the the average Kia store. Just sad - I see more and more family stores being displaced/bought out by the corporate soul sucking vampire companies.

fintail

roadburner said:

I wish Mercedes could fit the drivetrain from the S580e PHEV into an AMG C Class or E Class- 510 hp and an electric-only range of over 50 miles.
The 2024 M5 PHEV also sounds like fun; the electric-only range will probably be just 30 miles, but hp will be somewhere between 644 and 738.

I'd take that in my wagon too - and keep it subtle, no flares and gills and big wheels, nor weirdo EV styling. Inconspicuous. Some modern cars ae like 1958 redux, and not in a good way.

Even better, MB (and BMW) should retool their 80s era designs with modern powertrains.

fintail

roadburner said:

In other news, there have been four murders in my county since last Friday. The latest one was today- a woman shot execution style and left in a ditch.

The world is going off the rails.

It's off the rails fully, has been for some time. I read old local newspapers online - 70s and 80s, and plenty of insanity then too. Add to it the past 40 years of socio-economic malaise, weapons proliferation, failed war on drugs, etc, and here we are.