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Once a week I go out and start our Sienna so it doesn't just sit and so the battery won't die. We mainly use it these days as the dog mobile when we take her out because nobody wants to put her in our other cars. Plus when you fold the back seats, it fits her carrier perfectly. I decided to snap this pic because whenever she sees me do anything with the Sienna, she thinks I'm taking her out
The poor Sienna has been relegated to a doggy Uber
Once a week I go out and start our Sienna so it doesn't just sit and so the battery won't die. We mainly use it these days as the dog mobile when we take her out because nobody wants to put her in our other cars. Plus when you fold the back seats, it fits her carrier perfectly. I decided to snap this pic because whenever she sees me do anything with the Sienna, she thinks I'm taking her out
The poor Sienna has been relegated to a doggy Uber
Hahaha, that's cute. Our dogs freak out and think they're going somewhere whenever they hear the frunk pop on the Tesla because that's where we store the Tesla pet cover 😂
Hahaha, that's cute. Our dogs freak out and think they're going somewhere whenever they hear the frunk pop on the Tesla because that's where we store the Tesla pet cover 😂
I have those doggy pet covers, and the problem is that taking them in and out is sort of a pain. OK, I'm lazy . It's much easier to lay a blanket in the back of our Sienna and put her pet carrier in. She just jumps in and we are set to go. Takes less than a minute to put it in the van and take it out.
Dogs are just so freaking smart, especially GS's. She understands most of what we say, and if she even picks up a hint that we are taking her somewhere, she gets really frantic and starts following us around so we won't leave her. Prior to us getting her (Sept 2017), my wife was terrified and hated dogs. She would see how people talk to them like they are children and shake her head. Now she refers to her (Daisy) as "Mommas little girl" and talks baby talk with her. LoL
Just a little bit of commentary before I post this. This morning I'm commuting to work, and I'm totally surrounded by Tesla's. Mostly Model Y and Model 3's, but also a few S and X. I saw maybe one Rivian, one Chevy Bolt,and a Kia EV6. Than, this article pops up in my feed. It's really no surprise that Tesla owners are fiercely loyal. From my experience, this loyalty comes from the tech, driving experience, paired with their amazing no frills charging infrastructure. Just one bad charging experience can be enough to annoy someone who doesn't have the patience to wait for things to get better. Or a Polestar, Rivian owner who has a minor issue and the nearest service center is 400 miles away. If I were to rate myself on replacing my EV's, it would be the following:
Model Y: 100 percent replace with another Tesla
Polestar: 45 percent replace with another Polestar
Ioniq 5: 20 percent replace with another Hyundai (mostly due to having to deal with a dealership)
Anyway, onto the article:
Half of EV owners will go back to an ICE vehicle (not counting you, Tesla drivers) – study
In a seemingly bizarre yet tragic twist, a new study says that EV owners are a fickle bunch. After purchasing an electric vehicle, half of EV owners go back to ICE vehicles as either a replacement car or a second vehicle – all with the exception of Tesla owners, who are (no surprise) notorious for their fierce brand loyalty.
A new study from S&P Global Mobility revealed that EV owners switching back to ICE vehicles had three classic arguments: pricing, infrastructure, and range anxiety, and other consumers just felt better having an ICE or hybrid vehicle in the garage as a backup plan.
The study looked at data from this year through July on a slew of major brands, with Nissan coming in strong in loyalty to EVs at 63.2%, followed by Chevrolet at 60.6%.
Looking at the data on individual models, 37.3% of Ford Mustang Mach-E owners bought another EV, versus 45.8% opting for an ICE vehicle, with a large number of buyers transitioning from a Ford truck or SUV in both ICE and hybrid powertrains.
By contrast, of the Nissan Leaf owners who bought another EV, the most popular next purchase was a Tesla Model Y at 14.3%, followed by another Leaf at 12.4%. The Chevrolet Bolt also kept a majority of owners – 60.7% – in EVs, with 28.8% getting another Bolt. Like the Mach-E with Ford, the Bolt saw ICE households switch to Chevrolet SUVs and trucks.
What about luxury brands? Data showed that 56.6% of Mercedes-Benz EV buyers stick with the EV lifestyle, a huge jump from 24.3% in Q2 2020. Jaguar EV loyalty also increased from 25% to 56.5%, Audi was up from 25.5% to 50.1%, and Porsche saw a bump from 23.3% to 36.8%.
Tesla, the market leader, saw an increase in EV loyalty from 51.8% to 76.7%.
Electrek’s Take
What this basically boils down to is that legacy ICE automakers are feeling the heat – Tesla is picking off the competition with its high volumes of quality EVs, keeping consumers loyal to their brand and to the electrified future. Meanwhile, legacy brands are busy playing catch up, struggling to keep consumers interested. The data, however, does shed some light on work that still needs to be done in keeping consumers on the grid and not reverting back to fossil fuels.
“The OEMs are spending huge amounts of money to develop EVs,” associate director for loyalty solutions and industry analysis at S&P Global Mobility, Tom Libby said. “So the last thing they want is for an EV owner to go back to ICE.”
Just read that Lucid only delivered 1,457 vehicles last quarter. Wow that is bad!
And it's not like they are not available. When I test drove the Air Pure (was it last week??) the rep told me if I placed an order I would get delivery in two weeks...so they are available. It's the price. $83K for the dual motor Air Pure. Leasing starts at $749 a month...with $8K down LoL!
Lucid deliveries went up slightly Q over Q. Problem is production was cut in half, which is the sensible thing to do when you're producing 2x the number of vehicles people want. Rivian loses $20,000 per vehicle this is similar to where Tesla was when they were ramping Model 3. Lucid loses $300,000 on every vehicle.
Just a little bit of commentary before I post this.
i skimmed your post and saw this:
Model Y: 100 percent replace with another Tesla
Polestar: 45 percent replace with another Polestar
Ioniq 5: 20 percent replace with another Hyundai (mostly due to having to deal with a dealership)
thinking that was some wide poll
and then skimmed the article before seeing this:
If I were to rate myself on replacing my EV's, it would be the following:
but now it makes perfect sense for YOU.
The study looked at data from this year through July on a slew of major brands, with Nissan coming in strong in loyalty to EVs at 63.2%, followed by Chevrolet at 60.6%.
not surprised on nissan and chevy... makers of the cheapest EVs out there. many of those buyers are either just frugal or can't afford anything more expensive.
By contrast, of the Nissan Leaf owners who bought another EV, the most popular next purchase was a Tesla Model Y at 14.3%, followed by another Leaf at 12.4%. The Chevrolet Bolt also kept a majority of owners – 60.7% – in EVs, with 28.8% getting another Bolt. Like the Mach-E with Ford, the Bolt saw ICE households switch to Chevrolet SUVs and trucks.
wow that's poorly written. (chatgpt? lol)
so if 14.3% of leaf owners go to tesla Y and 12.4% go to another leaf, the rest go to ICE? then it says the bolt ALSO kept a majority of owners... so maybe the leaf also kept the majority of owners?
article comments are very entertaining though.
like this:
Interstate trips in my Ford Lightning SUCKED for charging. Also, charging was not substantially cheaper than gas. Part of why I sold it.
not surprised on nissan and chevy... makers of the cheapest EVs out there. many of those buyers are either just frugal or can't afford anything more expensive.
wow that's poorly written. (chatgpt? lol)
so if 14.3% of leaf owners go to tesla Y and 12.4% go to another leaf, the rest go to ICE? then it says the bolt ALSO kept a majority of owners... so maybe the leaf also kept the majority of owners?
article comments are very entertaining though.
like this:
I tried as best I could to make it clear, that was just for ME
You would think with Spell check and Grammar check would end spelling and grammar mistakes. Guess not. Electrek is not known for its outstanding journalism. They usually reference other publications and studies.
I learned the hard way the importance of a solid, reliable charging infrastructure. You can build the most amazing EV that exists, but if it can't be used for reliable travel or be properly serviced if something goes wrong, than people will become frustrated quickly.
Testing Our Lucid Air Resulted in a Loud Bang, Loss of Power, and Two Tow Trucks
What was supposed to be a fun and routine test of our Lucid resulted in an hours-long ordeal
When it comes to straight-line testing of a Lucid Air, we can typically expect a simple, quick, and impressive affair. A Lucid Air Sapphire EV sedan prototype we recently tested, for example, currently holds our record for the quickest car to finish the quarter mile. More recently, we retested our long-term 2022 Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance, but instead of the fun we've been accustomed to, we dealt with a loud bang, a sudden loss of power, and two tow trucks. Here's a breakdown of that troubling trifecta.
Why Were We Retesting This Thing Anyway?
We recently got our hands on a set of Michelin Pilot Sport EV tires and were curious to see how they compared to the Pirelli P Zeros fitted on our long-term Air Grand Touring Performance from the factory. So off to the track we went. As always, we began our instrumented testing with 60-0-mph braking. The Lucid executed six of these tests (and one additional test going from 100 to 0 mph) with no drama.
Where The Fun (And Our Car) Stopped
After braking, we moved on to acceleration testing. The Lucid Air has a launch control system that couldn't be easier to activate, and from our experience, using launch control usually results in the best numbers. So we decided to use it in this test of our Grand Touring Performance wearing Michelins. We first selected Sprint mode (sportiest drive setting), firmly pressed the brake pedal with our left foot, and fully depressed the accelerator with our right foot. After a few seconds, a "launch mode activated" message popped up on the instrument panel (along with a very cute graphic of the California bear holding a checkered flag).
From there, we released the brake pedal and held on as the Lucid rocketed from a standstill with impressive force. Suddenly, somewhere between 40 and 60 mph, we heard a startlingly loud bang, followed by a sudden loss of power. The Lucid coasted to a stop (brakes and steering were still operable), and the instrument cluster lit up with warning lights and error messages including "Drive System Fault, Contact Customer Care." After checking if all our limbs were still intact (they were), our next goal was to get our car off the test track, as we were at the tail end of our allotted time and risked delaying the facility's testing for the day. After about 20-30 minutes of being stranded on the track, the patient and helpful staff at the facility made the decision to tow our car to a nearby lot.
It's Alive! Sort Of
Shockingly, once the Lucid was unloaded from the tow truck, it seemingly fixed itself and was able to drive like normal (albeit with one warning light still on). The temptation to drive it home was strong. We explained the situation to a Lucid rep, who made the decision to have the vehicle towed to a service center in Los Angeles. After a few hours, our Lucid was on tow truck number two of the day and would be out of our hands for about two weeks while it got repaired. We ended up getting our Air back within nine days. Lucid helpfully provided us with a loaner while our car was out of commission.
What Happened?
It's been months since the incident, and unfortunately Lucid has yet to provide a diagnosis of the issue. Associate editor Justin Banner, who witnessed the ordeal, theorized it was a similar issue that affected the Ford Mach-E and led to a recall of close to 50,000 vehicles. Banner's reporting of that recall found that the problem stemmed from "the Mach E's contactors—essentially an electrically controlled switch for the high-voltage battery to connect to its motor system—that are either overheated and deformed to prevent them from making contact (and staying open, killing the power) or welding itself closed." Ford concluded that the issue was caused by repeated use of DC fast charging and driving at wide-open throttle. Ford released a software update to resolve the recall. At this point we can only hope Lucid is working on a similar solution to prevent what we went through. We'll update this report when the automaker responds.
If I were to rate myself on replacing my EV's, it would be the following:
Model Y: 100 percent replace with another Tesla
Polestar: 45 percent replace with another Polestar
Ioniq 5: 20 percent replace with another Hyundai (mostly due to having to deal with a dealership)
I've been very happy with our Tesla but I haven't spent enough time with other EV's to know if I would switch from Tesla to something else (EV) or stay within the Tesla family. I've only used a Supercharger 3 times in 10 months of ownership, so I don't really care much about that. With more manufacturers switching to Tesla's plug style, I could ultimately move away from Tesla and still use my Tesla home charger on one of those other brands in another 1-2 years. There are only a couple of non-Tesla cars that appeal to me from a design perspective that fall within what I'm willing to pay.
New UI day! This is specific to the drive mode selection screen. Stats on the right are pretty cool. You can monitor temps and see where power and regen is going on a wheel by wheel basis
I was driving around the EQS yesterday and playing with some of the different regen modes. I normally just drive it each time with regen set to "Strong" which is 1-pedal driving in Mercedes speak.
I found that I really enjoy using the "Auto" or "Intelligent" regen mode which allows the car to roll and coast freely when possible in addition to driving like a more traditional car (2 pedals). I could be crazy but it really feels like the suspension tuning is better in this mode vs 1-pedal. I swear it's doing something differently. Whether I'm in Comfort or Sport suspension modes, it's been a smoother and more relaxing ride, it seems to be responding and adapting to bumps more quickly. My foot/leg also appreciates barely having to apply any throttle (1 pedal requires deeper pedal travel). I also enjoy getting better efficiency this way. The car gets to roll and coast a lot more and I don't have to keep my foot glued to the accelerator at all times, it's kinda nice getting to move your foot around without worrying about jerking the whole car around.
I think for normal comfort cruising I'm going to continue using Auto regen and will save 1-pedal mode for more urban environments, sportier roads and sportier driving, etc. I think it's fantastic for those purposes. Either way, I appreciate being able to switch it up. It feels and drives like a different car in each of the modes. Keeps me from getting bored too soon
Brakes
So when the EQS first launched, I immediately heard negative press regarding the feel of the brake pedal. Then driving the car, it's like ahh, I see what they mean. The way they've tuned the pedal, it really feels like the car is under-braked because of how hard you have to press the pedal if you really need serious braking force. I would say it's the most pedal effort of any car I've had. I've basically only been using 1-pedal mode to avoid using the brake pedal. All of this, combined with knowing it's a 6,200 lb beast, it can seem a little sketchy and like you won't be able to stop this giant thing.
So here's where it gets fun It turns out, it really is just poor pedal tuning because the EQS actually has excellent brakes. I just found out that it has a shorter braking distance than the Model Y. Motorweek just tested the EQS SUV and got a 60-0 braking distance of 111 feet. That is AWESOME for a 6,200 lb car (not including driver weight). The Model Y braking distance is 117 feet. The EQS is almost 2,000 lbs heavier. Color me impressed. My old GS 350 F-Sport even has a longer braking distance of 113 feet. Crazy.
There's a menu in the car which shows you how much the accelerator and brake pedals are being pressed. I used this screen a few times to see where 100% braking was and get used to how much force and travel this requires, so that in combination with knowing this thing can stop damn well, I'm feeling a lot more confident in it and better about using the brake pedal now and just braking in general. It had been a concern of mine, not knowing if I'd be able to stop that big barge if something ran out in front of me or whatever. I have a lot more peace of mind now that I know it can stop on a dime and I know how much pedal force it would take to do that.
Front Cross Traffic Active Braking
I went for a coffee run, then had to run to Autozone for a couple detailing supplies I needed. As I was leaving the parking lot, I was approaching the intersection of a busy highway with lots of semis rolling through at the time. As I was rolling to a stop to wait my turn to pull out into traffic, I guess the car thought I was going to roll out in front of the semi that was about to cross in front of me because it activated the front cross traffic alert and slammed on the brakes SO hard. I can confirm they do in fact work, too well lol. It spilled a good amount of coffee on the screen and cupholder area that I had to thoroughly clean when I got home lol.
10-15-23, 05:48 PM
