InsideEVs Podcast episodes

My Model 3 odometer shows over 23,167 miles in 13 months. The second month, Autopilot saved us from five accidents. The recently updated software automatically comes to a stop at STOP signs, YIELD signs, and TRAFFIC lights unless I press the pedal. The 12 sonic sensors, 8 cameras, and radar look 360 degrees and the Autopilot software changes lanes faster, more precisely, and consistently than humans can. Driving is with just a finger while the navigation and auto-steering does the heavy lifting.
 
Still enjoying your podcasts each weekend while I'm out hiking. Can you get an update from Kyle as to when his RateYourCharge app is going to be ready, for Android? And does he think companies like EA will even care? Charging in my area along US 395 is actually regressing. We had EA stations, and some Caltrans 50 kW chargers that added redundancy, but now basically all the Caltrans chargers are DEAD, and EA's reliability is lousy. People get stranded to the north because the EA charger is offline. Its bad. And CA expects to add millions more EVS on the road. The EVs now - if you can afford one - are fantastic. The CCS networks are not.
 
danrjones said:
Still enjoying your podcasts each weekend while I'm out hiking. Can you get an update from Kyle as to when his RateYourCharge app is going to be ready, for Android? And does he think companies like EA will even care? Charging in my area along US 395 is actually regressing. We had EA stations, and some Caltrans 50 kW chargers that added redundancy, but now basically all the Caltrans chargers are DEAD, and EA's reliability is lousy. People get stranded to the north because the EA charger is offline. Its bad. And CA expects to add millions more EVS on the road. The EVs now - if you can afford one - are fantastic. The CCS networks are not.
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I haven't heard back from Kyle today, but as for whether or not networks care - they do. They are very aware of how EV owners feel about their services. It just doesn't seem to stop them from doing things we don't think serve the EV-owning public very well. Sometimes I'm sure they have great reasons for doing what they do. Other times, it kind of boggles the mind.
For instance, if Electrify America is the only CCS charger in an largish area longer a major route, it's extremely important there's service. They took the station near me offline so they could replace them with new cabinets. Terrible communication, so people were pulling up unaware there was no service, and so they would have to figure out where in town there are actual chargers they can use. We have a couple DC installations, but not especially powerful and not especially easy to find/get to.
When Tesla has done things like that, they bring in a portable charging. I'm not sure that's something other networks have even considered investing in.
I do think the CCS charging situation is going to improve greatly, because if you can't compete with Tesla on reliability, beating them on price doesn't mean quite so much. So, if they can't get their ish together, they'll just go away and network that can will fill the gap.
Electrify America has a new CEO who we've spoken with and I feel like he should be able to turn things around, but the clock is ticking.
 
Domenick said:
Electrify America has a new CEO who we've spoken with and I feel like he should be able to turn things around, but the clock is ticking.
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Thanks for the excellent reply!

I know the charging model has been discussed by you guys a few times - does EA get any money from the site owners, such as wall mart? Kyle was raving about circle-K and hot dogs on the last podcast, and that charging model has always made more sense - 7/11 and Circle-K don't need to make money on the chargers, they need to get you in the store for Kyle to buy a hotdog and soda. Makes sense to me. But EA doesn't have that advantage - I don't think I've ever heard Walmart pays them any money?

I know I'm being a bit over critical, and as others have pointed out, we have years until the CA "mandate" comes into fruition, but when i go to plug share, and filter out either bad charging stations or low powered charging stations, the map doesn't look good. We have a long way to go. There are whole routes around me that are terrible but are actually listed by some of the EA / CA / Fed planning as "well covered". I'm truly concerned we are setting up EVs for a massive fail - mainstream buyers will not tolerate charging woes, and pushing EVs before charging is solved could actually hinder / set back EV adoption overall. Massive failures will also be used as a political football. I said somewhere else that I don't personally see TESLA saving us completely. YMMV but I think the few V3's they have are really just a test, and I do not expect to see much more TESLA CCS until V4.
 
danrjones said:
Thanks for the excellent reply!

I know the charging model has been discussed by you guys a few times - does EA get any money from the site owners, such as wall mart?
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I don't know if they do. I would be surprised, though, since it helps EA a lot more than it does WalMart to have these here. At least, for now.


danrjones said:
I know I'm being a bit over critical, and as others have pointed out, we have years until the CA "mandate" comes into fruition, but when i go to plug share, and filter out either bad charging stations or low powered charging stations, the map doesn't look good. We have a long way to go. There are whole routes around me that are terrible but are actually listed by some of the EA / CA / Fed planning as "well covered". I'm truly concerned we are setting up EVs for a massive fail - mainstream buyers will not tolerate charging woes, and pushing EVs before charging is solved could actually hinder / set back EV adoption overall. Massive failures will also be used as a political football. I said somewhere else that I don't personally see TESLA saving us completely. YMMV but I think the few V3's they have are really just a test, and I do not expect to see much more TESLA CCS until V4.
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If there are huge issues with the networks two years from now, the automakers that have just invested many billions in new EV platforms, battery and manufacturing factories will be in for a lot of pain, so hopefully they're also closely examining how this all works out on the ground. They are they missing link here - they've invested some money into infrastructure, but not nearly enough. Especially considering their future existence depends on it.
I think if Tesla realizes the money it can make on CCS, it's going to expand installations and possibly make up for some of the shortfall of others.
 
I'm kinda busy with other projects and will eventually play the full podcast. However, the little bit I heard Tom talk about the new Prius Prime was spot on. No, I'm not going to trade in my 2019 Tesla Model 3 for a Prius Prime. But had today's Prius Prime had been the 2017 Prime I did buy, I might still have it.

Bob Wilson
 
Excellent podcast ... even Tom's joke about '100s of miles of elevation.' The tone is much improved with appropriate references to Tesla's technology ... not as advocacy but a metric to understand new products.

I had been impressed by other reviews of the Ioniq 6 but Kyle brought a sense of reality to the product. I was not enthusiastic about the Ioniq 6 beyond it seemed a significantly improved product.

Bob Wilson
 
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Domenick said:
Episode 157.

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Congrats on the anniversary!

My feedback would be to once again agree with Kyle - on the Ram Rev. As much as I'd like a 200+kWh battery, I don't see how anyone can afford it. I know I can't. Trucks have gotten insanely expensive, but you can still walk in, get a base model f150, and it can do everything I need my truck to do. It can tow long distance, even with the cheapest model. My ideal EV truck would be just what Kyle said - give me 75-100 kWh pack and give me a range extender. Even if it meant giving up half, or even all, of the frunk. I know folks aren't wild about still using gas, but I think trucks are going to need to do that for awhile. We will need some technology breakthroughs we just haven't had yet for a truck to tow cross country with pure BEV. And the charging networks where trucks DO tow just aren't there yet. And of course cost matters - if the truck is 100 grand, it doesn't do me any good, since I can't afford it. I need a 50k truck (or less)., that can do what I do with my current truck. Maybe I'm a niche case, but I don't think so.

Great work guys!
 
danrjones said:
Congrats on the anniversary!

My feedback would be to once again agree with Kyle - on the Ram Rev. As much as I'd like a 200+kWh battery, I don't see how anyone can afford it. I know I can't. Trucks have gotten insanely expensive, but you can still walk in, get a base model f150, and it can do everything I need my truck to do. It can tow long distance, even with the cheapest model. My ideal EV truck would be just what Kyle said - give me 75-100 kWh pack and give me a range extender. Even if it meant giving up half, or even all, of the frunk. I know folks aren't wild about still using gas, but I think trucks are going to need to do that for awhile. We will need some technology breakthroughs we just haven't had yet for a truck to tow cross country with pure BEV. And the charging networks where trucks DO tow just aren't there yet. And of course cost matters - if the truck is 100 grand, it doesn't do me any good, since I can't afford it. I need a 50k truck (or less)., that can do what I do with my current truck. Maybe I'm a niche case, but I don't think so.

Great work guys!
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I like the idea of building battery into the trailers so they can pull their own weight. And then use them when not towing as energy storage for your house.
As the price of batteries continues to fall, I can see this being relatively common eventually.
 
Domenick said:
Episode 157.

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I watched this episode, mainly because of the mention of test driving the Ioniq 6. This was the first viewing of these for many months. But unfortunately was reminded again that they are mostly a waste of time. Kyle is clearly a Tesla fanboi and his comparison to the M3 was very intellectually dishonest. And he had the gall of accusing other reviewers of the same.

I have extensive driving experience with the M3, Kona EV and now the Solterra. From a ride perspective, comfort and features, the M3 is at the very bottom. In particular the M3 has very uncomfortable seats, with no perforations and ventilation. The ride is rough and the car is road noisy. The Autopilot driver assist is not the best. The cruise control does not work well in freeway stop and go traffic. It lags both in slowing down and taking off after traffic resumes. In that respect my older 2018 Subaru Crosstrek is actually the best of all these cars with its dual stereo cameras. The Solterra is pretty good, too, and really stays in its lane when hands off around corners. The M3 sometimes likes to take off into an exit and you have to quickly reign it back in. The Solterra does not do that. No Android Auto or Carplay in the M3. That is a big show stopper for me. And of course that distracting centre console. The Kona EV had a very nice popup HUD, and the Solterra also has its front dash up high just like a HUD. With the Tesla you have to keep looking out of the corner of your eye just to see your speed. If there ever was a case for a HUD, it would be in the Teslas.

I could go on about many more M3 shortfalls, but Kyle's comparison to the Ioniq 6 is very ignorant. He was not specific what software he liked that was not there. But from what I know the Ioniq 6 has everything we need and more in that respect. Both are trip cars (the Solterra and Kona are not), and the comparison should have focused on those parts. Ride and comfort should be a top priority for that category EV, and clearly the M3 falls short. The M3 might have fast enough charging but not range, unless you go with the LR version. Even with that the Ioniq 6 beats it.

I will be taking the Ioniq 6 for a test ride in a couple weeks (if my dealer gets his demo car), so should have a lot more comparison info then. But again, very poor review job by Kyle. Reminded of the Munro tear downs of non Teslas, very ignorant and biased.
 
R P said:
I watched this episode, mainly because of the mention of test driving the Ioniq 6. This was the first viewing of these for many months. But unfortunately was reminded again that they are mostly a waste of time. Kyle is clearly a Tesla fanboi and his comparison to the M3 was very intellectually dishonest. And he had the gall of accusing other reviewers of the same.

I have extensive driving experience with the M3, Kona EV and now the Solterra. From a ride perspective, comfort and features, the M3 is at the very bottom. In particular the M3 has very uncomfortable seats, with no perforations and ventilation. The ride is rough and the car is road noisy. The Autopilot driver assist is not the best. The cruise control does not work well in freeway stop and go traffic. It lags both in slowing down and taking off after traffic resumes. In that respect my older 2018 Subaru Crosstrek is actually the best of all these cars with its dual stereo cameras. The Solterra is pretty good, too, and really stays in its lane when hands off around corners. The M3 sometimes likes to take off into an exit and you have to quickly reign it back in. The Solterra does not do that. No Android Auto or Carplay in the M3. That is a big show stopper for me. And of course that distracting centre console. The Kona EV had a very nice popup HUD, and the Solterra also has its front dash up high just like a HUD. With the Tesla you have to keep looking out of the corner of your eye just to see your speed. If there ever was a case for a HUD, it would be in the Teslas.

I could go on about many more M3 shortfalls, but Kyle's comparison to the Ioniq 6 is very ignorant. He was not specific what software he liked that was not there. But from what I know the Ioniq 6 has everything we need and more in that respect. Both are trip cars (the Solterra and Kona are not), and the comparison should have focused on those parts. Ride and comfort should be a top priority for that category EV, and clearly the M3 falls short. The M3 might have fast enough charging but not range, unless you go with the LR version. Even with that the Ioniq 6 beats it.

I will be taking the Ioniq 6 for a test ride in a couple weeks (if my dealer gets his demo car), so should have a lot more comparison info then. But again, very poor review job by Kyle. Reminded of the Munro tear downs of non Teslas, very ignorant and biased.
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I almost wonder if we listened to the same show. Kyle was effusive in his praise of the Ioniq 6, except for its software and the charging network. It's ride and handling were terrific, it charges great, range is decent, though closer to Ioniq 5 than he expected. Fit and finish / build quality is great.
In a comparison, he chose the Model 3 over the Ioniq 6 because of value: what you get for the money and the charging network. And that's not even Hyundai's fault - they just aren't elegible for the tax credit.
He's said the Ioniq 6 is pretty much like the Ioniq 5, which was one of the top cars he's driven recently.
 
Domenick said:
I almost wonder if we listened to the same show. Kyle was effusive in his praise of the Ioniq 6, except for its software and the charging network. It's ride and handling were terrific, it charges great, range is decent, though closer to Ioniq 5 than he expected. Fit and finish / build quality is great.
In a comparison, he chose the Model 3 over the Ioniq 6 because of value: what you get for the money and the charging network. And that's not even Hyundai's fault - they just aren't elegible for the tax credit.
He's said the Ioniq 6 is pretty much like the Ioniq 5, which was one of the top cars he's driven recently.
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That was my point. Even if it costs more, there is a whole lot more value with the Ioniq 6. And if you compare prices, you need to compare with the M3 LR, and even then range doesn't match the Ioniq 6.
https://canadianautodealer.ca/2023/02/hyundai-ioniq-6-bests-tesla-model-3-in-epa-range-tests/

There are just so many ways where the M3 falls short of the Ioniq 6, you can't compare on purchase dollars alone. And in case you are not aware, you can get the benefit of the $7500 tax credit if you lease the car. As for charging networks that is quickly changing in the US. Here in Canada and in BC, Tesla doesn't have the same coverage, only on main routes. CCS on the other hand are not only on the main routes but many are also in the boonies, where Tesla drivers need an adapter to charge on the chademo side.
 
R P said:
There are just so many ways where the M3 falls short of the Ioniq 6 . . .
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IMHO, Kyle did a fair and balanced report. He use the M3 as a well known standard that has existed since 2017. I'm still waiting on the EPA metrics but lay reports suggests the Ioniq 6 is a reasonable alternative to today's Tesla Model 3. When the EPA reports, I'll be willing to do a point-by-point compare and contrast.

Bob Wilson
 
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bwilson4web said:
IMHO, Kyle did a fair and balanced report. He use the M3 as a well known standard that has existed since 2017. I'm still waiting on the EPA metrics but lay reports suggests the Ioniq 6 is a reasonable alternative to today's Tesla Model 3. When the EPA reports, I'll be willing to do a point-by-point compare and contrast.

Bob Wilson
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EPA spec is out. Look at the link in my previous post. And also this one.
https://insideevs.com/news/645292/hyundai-ioniq6-impressive-epa-range/
 
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