2025 EV & self-driving news

Page 3 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Kaido

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
50,886
6,853
136
manly said:
Is VW really this far along???


tech.slashdot.org

Volkswagen's Autonomous 'ID Buzz' Robotaxi Is Ready, And Cities And Companies Can Buy Them Soon - Slashdot

The classic VW bus got an all-electric update — but that was just the beginning. Now there's an autonomous driving version (that's intended for commercial fleets, reports Jalopnik, "a level 4 vehicle that drives set routes" that's "going into full production" as the ID Buzz AD. (The AD stan...
tech.slashdot.org
Click to expand...

I didn't even know they were working on a system!

www.jalopnik.com

Volkswagen's Autonomous ID Buzz Robotaxi Is Actually Real, And Cities And Companies Can Buy Them Soon - Jalopnik

This turnkey solution for Level 4 automated driving has its sights set on Waymo.
www.jalopnik.com www.jalopnik.com

1750724279312.png

1750724382234.png
 
Kaido

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
50,886
6,853
136
manly said:
I know what you're thinking: a used & depreciated one in about 5 years would be amazballs! :p
Click to expand...

A lady in my town got a yellow EV bus & I REALLY like it! But 234 miles for $70k is NUTS lol. #Ecoboost4lyfe lol

The new 2026 Silverado EV Max has an absolutely massive 493-mile range, but I'm not really interested in it tbh. I liked the Cybertruck because it was so weird (crazy design, stainless steel panels, 4-wheel steering, etc.); regular-looking trucks in general aren't really all that appealing to me personally. I'd definitely go for a 500-mile VW Bus tho!! Crazy that they didn't fit a larger battery in it!
 
Brainonska511

Brainonska511

Lifer
Dec 10, 2005
28,036
12,631
136
Kaido said:
A lady in my town got a yellow EV bus & I REALLY like it! But 234 miles for $70k is NUTS lol. #Ecoboost4lyfe lol

The new 2026 Silverado EV Max has an absolutely massive 493-mile range, but I'm not really interested in it tbh. I liked the Cybertruck because it was so weird (crazy design, stainless steel panels, 4-wheel steering, etc.); regular-looking trucks in general aren't really all that appealing to me personally. I'd definitely go for a 500-mile VW Bus tho!! Crazy that they didn't fit a larger battery in it!
Click to expand...
Considering that most people don't drive that far on a daily basis, 234 miles is fine. You are an extreme outlier to need such a high level of range.

And people spend all sorts of bs amounts of money on things they don't really fit their needs. Look at all the pickup trucks on the road that are just pavement princesses.
 
Kaido

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
50,886
6,853
136
Brainonska511 said:
Look at all the pickup trucks on the road that are just pavement princesses.
Click to expand...

I know so many dudes with $80k pickup trucks...feels like you should own some kind of crazy Corvette for that price lol
 
9

96Firebird

Diamond Member
Nov 8, 2010
5,738
334
126
Brainonska511 said:
Considering that most people don't drive that far on a daily basis, 234 miles is fine. You are an extreme outlier to need such a high level of range.
Click to expand...

However, that bigger battery also (presumably) equates to further distance while towing/hauling. I think this is where the real win of the "long range" truck is.

Edit - After looking at the electrek article, I don't understand the pricing.

478mi LT Max is $91,295, while the 478mi Trail Boss Max is $88,695?

Also, +$16k-$20k for 68 miles more of range?

Edit2 - Looks like the numbers are messed up in the chart for the LT Extended/Max MSRP, as the paragraph below it says $68,95 and $76,295 respectively.
 
Last edited:
Brainonska511

Brainonska511

Lifer
Dec 10, 2005
28,036
12,631
136
96Firebird said:
However, that bigger battery also (presumably) equates to further distance while towing/hauling. I think this is where the real win of the "long range" truck is.

Edit - After looking at the electrek article, I don't understand the pricing.

478mi LT Max is $91,295, while the 478mi Trail Boss Max is $88,695?

Also, +$16k-$20k for 68 miles more of range?

Edit2 - Looks like the numbers are messed up in the chart for the LT Extended/Max MSRP, as the paragraph below it says $68,95 and $76,295 respectively.
Click to expand...
Yes, longer hauling, but that's almost certainly a niche thing for most truck buyers. There are also diminishing returns to stacking more heavy batteries into a vehicle to extend range.

It's just a relatively crazy thing that people complain about vehicle prices, range, and towing capabilities when they aren't using the range or bed space more than once a year. Financially speaking, they'd be better off buying a cheaper and lighter vehicle, and using the money saved to just renting or pa for delivery for the rare times they need something different.
 
Kaido

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
50,886
6,853
136
Brainonska511 said:
Yes, longer hauling, but that's almost certainly a niche thing for most truck buyers. There are also diminishing returns to stacking more heavy batteries into a vehicle to extend range.

It's just a relatively crazy thing that people complain about vehicle prices, range, and towing capabilities when they aren't using the range or bed space more than once a year. Financially speaking, they'd be better off buying a cheaper and lighter vehicle, and using the money saved to just renting or pa for delivery for the rare times they need something different.
Click to expand...

That's my take too:

The average round-trip commute in the U.S. is about 40 miles.
Click to expand...

1. Buy a cheap EV
2. Rent an ICE for trips (car, truck, RV)

I was excited about the prospect of the Cybertruck. I wanted the 500-mile version for work & my wife was going to get to get the base. $39k with a bed was a bonkers deal for how little maintenance would be required!

The estimated maintenance cost for a Tesla Cybertruck over 5 years is $1,986.
Click to expand...

As both turned out to be vaporware (among other issues lol), we switched to a 240-mile Slate EV for her & I'm sticking with #EcoboostPowa for now lol. There are a LOT of options in the 400+ mile range now tho!

1750884332606.png

1750884399510.png

1750884472312.png
 
Kaido

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
50,886
6,853
136
Tesla Robotaxi command center:

* View the live cameras of the Teslas
* See all the rides
* Monitor the weather
* etc.

If they can crack this code, their profits will be CRAZY due to the vertical integration...build the cars, the FSD software, build the fuel network, the AI, and the taxi service...

1751122446365.png

 
  • Like
Reactions: Brovane
Kaido

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
50,886
6,853
136
‘Lidar is lame’: why Elon Musk’s vision for a self-driving Tesla taxi faltered:

www.theguardian.com

‘Lidar is lame’: why Elon Musk’s vision for a self-driving Tesla taxi faltered

The company’s rollout of its new driverless cars has gotten off to a wobbly start – and rival Waymo remains well ahead
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

My thoughts:

1. Tesla Autopilot is fantastic for what is is
2. However, for progress towards FSD, there are simply hardware limitations with using a vision-only system
3. Curious about how Cybertaxis are going to handle bad whether & how remote operators are going to take over if they can't see...

Musk’s insistence on camera-only technology has landed Tesla in hot water over fatal crashes involving drivers using the full self-driving feature. The company is now the focus of government investigations and civil lawsuits, which allege that full self-driving is impeded by weather conditions such as sun glare, fog, dust and darkness. There have been at least 736 crashes and 17 deaths involving the technology, according to an analysis by the Washington Post.

“Tesla continues to have this fetishistic view that it’s going to operate its system solely on cameras, despite every intelligent human being in this entire space saying that can’t be done,” said Brett Schreiber, an attorney who represents several alleged victims of Tesla’s autopilot failures.

“Everyone who has been following collision-avoidant technology since the 90s knows that the holy trinity is radar, lidar and cameras.”

Schreiber said he was not surprised to see the wobbling rollout of Tesla’s robotaxis in Austin.

“What you’re also going to see, which is the true tragedy of this thing, is people continuing to be injured and killed by this technology,” he said. “And that’s where it becomes less of a ‘Oh, isn’t that cute? The vehicle can’t make a left’ to now we’re actually at someone’s funeral because of the choices Tesla makes.”
Click to expand...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Brovane
Fenixgoon

Fenixgoon

Lifer
Jun 30, 2003
33,116
12,527
136
Hmmm used 2023 Mustang Mache-E vs. new 20205 Chevy Equinox? With the tax credit, the equinox is almost the same cost, shockingly
 
  • Wow
Reactions: Kaido
Fenixgoon

Fenixgoon

Lifer
Jun 30, 2003
33,116
12,527
136
Fenixgoon said:
Hmmm used 2023 Mustang Mache-E vs. new 20205 Chevy Equinox? With the tax credit, the equinox is almost the same cost, shockingly
Click to expand...
Investigating this more. Chevy has 0% financing through August.. holy shit.

Gonna try and test drive a barebones one this weekend if I can.

I know some people will bitch that GM ditched android auto and apple car play for it's own android based solution. But 26k/0% is a hell of an offer. Like I'd legit take that same cash and throw it in an investment account.
 
Kaido

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
50,886
6,853
136
Fenixgoon

Fenixgoon

Lifer
Jun 30, 2003
33,116
12,527
136
test drove an Equinox EV RS today. So, way loaded in terms of features compared to what I was aiming for (closer to base model)

It's nice. Acceleration and braking were fine. One-Pedal Driving mode really leans into the brake regen, which is new territory to me. My main complaint would be that OPD is on the touchscreen. A function like that should IMHO be on the steering wheel for the driver to readily (de)activate.
The HUD is nice but takes some getting used to. Same with the electronic rearview mirror (which can be disabled). It definitely takes a second for my brain to adjust to looking at a screen vs. a proper mirror.

The Android Autmotive OS worked well enough. I didn't play around with that too much. I know many people do not like the intentional omission on GM's part of Carplay/AndroidAuto (which is separate from Android Automotive OS).
Cargo space in the back is very good. There is no frunk. My GF did not like ride quality in the rear passenger section. I felt the front to be quite comfy.

Most EVs to me seem like transportation utilities and I mean that in the best way possible. Overall, I'd say it's a very competent vehicle. I don't think buyers of it will be disappointed.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kaido, Brainonska511 and Brovane
Brainonska511

Brainonska511

Lifer
Dec 10, 2005
28,036
12,631
136
Fenixgoon said:
My GF did not like ride quality in the rear passenger section. I felt the front to be quite comfy.
Click to expand...
I don't think I really gave much thought to rear-seat ride quality when I was purchasing a car nearly 3 years ago. It's just my wife and I, so if the back is not the greatest, it's really no big deal because we don't ride back there.
 
Fenixgoon

Fenixgoon

Lifer
Jun 30, 2003
33,116
12,527
136
Brainonska511 said:
I don't think I really gave much thought to rear-seat ride quality when I was purchasing a car nearly 3 years ago. It's just my wife and I, so if the back is not the greatest, it's really no big deal because we don't ride back there.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it's just me and the GF and neither of us wants kids. But I figured it was worth noting just in case.

I need to re-drive a Mach-E for comparison as well as an Ioniq5
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom