I thought electric vehicles were more 'stable'? Or am I misunderstanding that? They're mostly solid state. What's unstable?
And why are SUVs even less stable?
o Arrived w/o Tow pkg (Tesla "forgot" it, was installed via service center appt)
o falcon wing doors improperly adjusted, leading to wind noise and water intrusion
o Loud wind noise and fogging passenger side windows: Due to improperly installed "triangle" window on passenger door
o Worn half shafts caused shudder under acceleration, replaced at ~20k miles
o fogging drivers side A pillar camera after rain, leading to "navigate on autopilot unavailable"
o Drove in "low" mode to preserve half shafts, caused excessive tire wear. Wore inner rear tires down to a puncture around 30k miles. Replaced tires and had car re-aligned to run in "low" mode.
o Half shafts replaced again at 38k miles
o Upper control arms shot around 39k miles, car out of warranty, and Tesla wants $1k to fix.
All in all, I'm thinking to get a different car since I need a car that works. I don't want a non-Tesla EV since the charging options for non-Tesla EVs suck. I'm currently looking at PHEVs.
What I am curious about is if fuel prices flatten or become cheaper, will people still keep flicking to electric vehicles?
I've said many times that my Kia has better quality feel than any Tesla I've been in.
If I was in the market for a new electric car, I'd definitely be considering the Kia EV6. Which supports the point I've made before that I seriously doubt Tesla can compete with other manufacturers' ability to spin up reliable and quality new models.
But I feel it just earns them too much money from the people trying to show off the dancing falcon doors to scrap it.
If I need an electric (most likely), and unless my finances improve sharply to include luxury models, I will probably be able to count my options on one hand.
In the non american world, where "trucks" are not a daily commuter, a sedan is not out of date. Nor is a hatchback, nor is a ferrari. The family wagon, truck and hybrid truck/suv have been an out of date style for the last 50 years in the developed world.
There is no commonly agreed-upon definition of an SUV, and usage of the term varies between countries. Thus, it is "a loose term that traditionally covers a broad range of vehicles with four-wheel drive."
As such I am happy to claim, given there is no formal definition of what is and what isnt an SUV; that they dont exist at all, if only wishing made it so.
If one wants to claim they do indeed exist - there are plenty of examples from the 1940s and 1950's. “Sport utility vehicle” appeared for the first time in 1974 in the brochure of the first-generation Cherokee. So by the measure of marketing material, they have not been around 50 years, they have been around 47 years.
And it's not a US thing - the Germans, French, and British are also more and more switching their focus to the SUV form-factor.
Even allowing for the massive definition creep that basically every car where the bonnet / windscreen angle is shallow being an SUV. No - around 30% would be my best guess.
I think Ford, that massive iconic US car brand, have discontinued all sedans in the US now, since they're so unpopular.
pretty sure members of ((the set "truck") + (the set "suv")) have existed for more than 50 years, because that union includes trucks
The Ford Bronco was introduced in 1965. The Jeep Cherokee arrived in 1974. I remember seeing a lot of them as a kid, though if I had to pinpoint the start of the SUV craze, it would probably be closer to 1990 when the Ford Explorer first came to market.
Teslas currently have the advantage of the extra supercharge network, although in the Uk that is being opened to other electric cars which will level the playing field.
This will be a solved problem in the future though. Just growing pains.
Absolutely not true. This is one of those things Tesla diehards keep repeating as if it was 2015 still. You have commercial super-chargers widely available already that can charge a car 80% in 20 minutes: https://youtu.be/ZgeZikh88Wc?t=776
Things will expand for sure and I’m happy about it, but this looks like marketing to me.
You own and drive an EV I take it? What’s your experience been like?
In the USA, it is still 2015 basically. Everything I've seen on charging non-Tesla EVs in the USA makes it seem like its a total dumpster fire. One of the YT's I watch has experiences like this all the time: https://youtu.be/jGjUQuXozYc?t=862
At least Meijer has a small bourbon selection so I can try and find a bottle of Buffalo Trace from time to time.
I've done about 20k miles in road trips in my Tesla, and I think I've plugged in to 1 charger that didn't work at all. I've suffered degraded speed at other chargers, primarily due to them being older chargers that share capacity between 2 chargers (so my speed was halved when somebody else plugged in to the mated charger).
The worst problem I've had with Tesla chargers is the locations. Sometimes finding them is hard (the one near Dulles in Reston took me forever to find for example), sometimes getting to them is hard (chargers in malls are a nightmare around the holidays).
I live in a large town, population about 60K, and the ChargePoint app shows these options near me right now. This includes ALL charging networks, but only J1772 plugs that fit my car:
16 "public" ports are in the area:
- 4 are actually inside an apartment complex
- 2 are at Whole Foods, but I know 1 has been broken for years.
- 2 are BEHIND car dealerships. That's not really public.
- 3 are at someone's house?
- 2 are at the gym, but 1 has been broken for years.
- 2 are at a high school. I don't spend time there.
- 1 is at the library, and it's always occupied or broken.
If I expand the search to other places I shop:
- 2 ports are at the mall, but 1 of them is broken, and because they're close to the entrance, they're often ICEd.
Thankfully, I drive a PHEV so I can charge at home overnight, and burn gas for long distances. To date, 75% of this car's miles were electric.
My advice: get out while you can and the prices are so high.
We are working from home so just drive a Model 3. Waiting on a Model Y and will sell the 3. Great cars though.
I have a ‘99 Isuzu Rodeo that I spent a weekend replacing a half-shaft two years ago.
From the article:
> The issue, Consumer Reports’ Fisher told CNBC, is that the company has the tendency to “add so much tech that is not necessary.” And while this makes for a product that varies wildly from year to year, it is part of the Tesla brand that enthusiasts adore.
From the linked Reuters article:
> Electric vehicle drive systems, or powertrains, are not the main source of problems, Fisher said. The issues reported by owners are with other features.
> Manufacturers "are using EVs as a technological test bed," Fisher said. "Those are the things that go wrong."
"Electric SUVs as a vehicle category is the absolute bottom in terms of reliability," Consumer Reports director of vehicle testing Jake Fisher said Thursday during a presentation to the Detroit Automotive Press Association.
https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/tesla-electric-suvs-get...
There's no reference at all to instability in the article.
I suspect a transcription error on the part of SFGate and Joshua Bote.
As a result, it makes sense that even though Tesla and Lincoln are the lowest-ranked in terms of reliability, they continue to fare well among its buyers and rank high on its customer satisfaction index — proof that buyers may value brand loyalty and innovation over stability.
I believe 'stability' here refers to "an overall pattern of reliability", and not describing road handling. If the author wanted to use another word, perhaps 'dependability' would better than 'stability'.
> Electric vehicle drive systems, or powertrains, are not the main source of problems, Fisher said. The issues reported by owners are with other features.
> Manufacturers "are using EVs as a technological test bed," Fisher said. "Those are the things that go wrong."
That's instability leading to poor reliability.
If it's about the predictability of a given vehicle's projected maintenance requirements, use unreliability.
If it's about the excessive technology leading to unreliability, maybe discuss complexity.
And if it's about a quality record of the manufacturer which changes markedly over time, discuss variability or inconsistency.
But I'd expect instability in discussion of vehicle-related matters to refer to road-handling, steering, or the like. If that's the case, then discuss uneven handling. And if it's not the case, then avoid confusion (or unjustified criticism) that might be caused.
If you've got to argue for or justify the language in a mass publication, it's poor language.
A "stable marriage", for example, is conceptually stable in the same way a plane or car is physically stable.
To then take that analogous usage form and re-apply it back to where the actual, original meaning makes more sense, is indeed confusing.