tHe AdUlTs ArE bAcK iN cHaRgE. 
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From Electrify America…
I haven’t been to an EA station since Tuesday morning, and I’m currently more than 2,000 miles away from my car.
These outrageously-delayed texts started a couple of weeks ago.
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Glad I’m not the crazy one for thinking my EA got hacked
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We don’t. Not on anything close to that scale. You’re delusional if you think we do.
Example: in 2008 California voters approved a project to build high speed rail between L.A. and San Francisco. It was supposed to be 520 miles long, be complete in 2020 and cost $33 billion. The latest estimates are 171 miles long, complete 2030 and $128 billion.
For comparison Morocco also inked a deal for high speed rail in 2008. They opened 201 miles of track in 2018 for a cost of $2.1 billion. Meanwhile much of the California route has yet to pass environmental review, while well funded lawsuits have delayed progress through farmland by a decade (so far).
The first step towards fixing a problem is admitting there is one. By suggesting that the US can simply do what China and other countries have done you’re not admitting the problem. You’re then suggesting a strategy that assumes the problem you won’t admit doesn’t exist.
If you want to tackle fixing the problem be my guest- more power to you. But proposing things that rely on a fix with no apparent concept that they’re completely unworkable is counterproductive at best.
America doesn’t do the consensus required for large projects well anymore. We’re more individualistic than most, and we’ve set up a system that lets nearly any individual throw billion dollar spinners into the works of mega-projects with environmental reviews, spotted owls, water rights, etc. On the other hand we’re great at innovation and bringing new technologies to scale. About 15 years ago “future mobility” conferences were all abuzz about self-driving cars that would be triple the carrying capacity of our existing highways. That project- dedicated, separated lanes on existing highways that can carry 4x the car volume for a given space, is the type of project America is much more suited to these days.
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Hi speed rail in CA is a bad example. That was just to line some pockets of the friends of an outgoing administration. There was zero chance of it working.
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I went to an EA station last week, was all messed up, it appeared that my car wasn’t charging, but it was, and it never charged my credit card
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Then take your pick. Honolulu’s 20 mile downtown rail, begun in 2006 at an estimated 4 billion, currently estimated to cost 3x that and fully open in 2031. The East span of the Bay Bridge went from a 250 million estimate to 6.5 billion. There are innumerable ways we screw ourselves here in the US. I’ve built big projects on three going on five continents now. The US is a nightmare compared to any of them, even Europe. Every county has a different permitting process with different rules. If during a site walk someone spots an endangered species you can add a year to the schedule of a small project, easy. Spot an artifact during construction? Call the archeologist to make sure it’s not ancient Native American; if so add another massive chunk to the schedule. And that’s after the NIMBY crew has already thrown years of permit delays and expanded environmental impact reports at you. There are plenty of reasons we suck at building big things these days.
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Put it this way, all land in CA is owned by someone. The Railroads bought their land years ago and have teams of lawyers to ensure no one else puts another railroad on their land. They can only rent it. So a high speed rail would’ve enroached on their land.
The state could’ve used Emmient Domain and seized it, but after all , it was just a money grab. It was never intended to be a serious project and was earmarked for failure.
I agree with you, that the way the US is setup that we cannot have such nice things, but the CA Boondoggle (as it is called here) was never a serious attempt, it was just a way to funnel funds to certain groups.
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if it makes you feel any better i got an EA charge today and i don’t even have an electric car.
Was EA her initials? lol
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This seems to track with the deals we see on LH here:
https://electrek.co/2023/10/22/ev-leases-sub-400-month-ioniq-6-solterra-niro-mini-more/
I’m really tempted by the Solterra.
Sat in a BusyForex at the OC Auto Show and it’s not too bad. I like the higher ground clearance compared to the other crossover EV SUVs and the mid-trim Limited for Subaru has the 360 cam.
I wish the Ariya deals were still around because it’s between that, the BZ/Solterra and the ID.4.
out of the 3 listed, why would you just not go straight for ID.4? Nissan just sucks all over, and BZ/Solterra are like EV beta made just so everyone will leave Toyota and Subaru alone for not having EVs on the market.
Have to go to Pro S Plus for the 360 camera (never confirmed if it has that now because of the on/off again stories) and of those 3, when I sat in the ID4, seemed the least roomy (or maybe tied with the BZ/Sol).
I actually liked the Ariya the best… roomiest interior (subjective) and lots of features. I think it or the BZ/Sol have the slowest charging.
ID4 has the best free charging program (if you don’t mind EA).
The BZ/Sol was never in contention until the recent low Solterra lease deals (I think for the trim/features. the Limited is better than any current ID4 lease deal).
Don’t forget you need at least the Evolve+ (3rd trim) for the 360 cameras on the Ariya (52k)
I hated the Solterra, when sat in the car I couldn’t easily reach the shifter.
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ID4 hands down
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Yeah… I was working numbers on this trim back when Nissan had better deals and it was favorable compared to the ID4 Pro S Plus (what is the deal with iPhone trims?).
I wouldn’t mind an ID4 Pro S Plus if there was a deal comparable to Solterra Limited leases I am seeing.
Sadly… none of these 3 have true one-pedal driving but at least they have Auto Brake Hold (not sure about the BZ/Sol).
I’ve got about 1k miles of driving on a Premium Solterra and if I like it. Maybe I like it because I pay $162 a month and anything that cheap is likable (and dealers in MA apply the $3500 state rebate at point of sale now to help get there). But it’s genuinely a better ride and similar room to the Rav4 Prime.
One pedal driving requires the battery to be a little drained and for you opt in with a button push (and it resets with each time you turn the car off). There’s no glove box and the premium trim is Subie basic. But if you have access to your own charging overnight it’s a great 2nd or 3rd car.
Inventory around here is dwindling a bit, no idea when the 24s arrive and dealers didn’t really order these once they started to sit.
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Hi, what was the msrp discount you got? If you like to other details, mf, mileage per year, that would be great. Thanks