[jreddington]

California gave Teslas to an isolated farmworker community. Why did the cars vanish overnight?

In a small San Joaquin Valley neighborhood surrounded by miles of nut and citrus groves, six electric vehicle charging stations sit abandoned. Their parking spots are empty, their screens shattered. Over five short months and with nearly $2 million, the state powered a fleet of Teslas and Chevy Bolts that lent residents of this isolated community a transportation lifeline. Then one day at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cars vanished.


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Full article:

https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article271591982.html

Reference is behind a pay wall.

 

[jreddington]

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My photos doesn't capture the amount of bolts stored here near me in Antioch calif. I'll estimate 8k after seeing 17 k German diesels stored here during the VW diesel scandal.The first photo was take about a month ago ,maybe 1 k then.Been seeing truck loads of bolts headed this way lately on the highways. I heard a radio news brief (KCBS am740)about a CAN proposal to give $9500 discounts towards a used bolt inorder to get old polluting autos off the road here in central calif said to be in use by low income residents (farm workers) . I'd like to learn more about this if you can direct me to more info if appreciate it. View attachment 53994

That’s a lot of lot rot.

 

[jreddington]

Tow No! The Ford F-150 Lightning Struggled in Our Towing Test

We towed 3100-, 5300-, and 7200-pound travel trailers with Ford’s electric truck and didn’t get very far from home.

www.motortrend.com

Dang tests.

Plus maneuvering into and out of a charging spot with a large trailer every 90 miles (or less) adds a whole other level of inconvenience.

 

[jreddington]

The Ford Maverick Hybrid seems to be a hot seller because it can do the limited number of "truck things" that suburban drivers would like to do (haul bulky or dirty items in the bed that can be hosed out, instead of in the interior), even though it is otherwise more similar to a Focus or Escape in other respects. I.e. it is more like a 37mpg modern Ranchero that is really what the suburban pickup driver actually uses the capability of.

An EV version of such could also be attractive to the subset of those drivers who would want an EV.

But then there are still many suburban drivers who want a full size pickup that they are unlikely to use the extra capability it has over something like a Maverick.

Or a Maverick plug in hybrid could hit the sweet spot. Enough EV range to cover a good part of a commute plus the ICE for the longer, heavier hauls. Perfect for the weekend warrior.