Thoughts on Vehicles

I agree with Casey here. I cancelled my reservation and bought something else, despite being very interested in the R2, and the stubborn insistence to not offer CarPlay was a primary reason.

“On-the-nose” is one way to describe those headlights, I suppose. “Heinous” could be another way. 😉 I didn’t see a picture in the gallery of the mode with just one slash instead of an “X”, which sounds better. To me, it reads like Xs for eyes, like it’s dead.

This is pretty cool.

Two years ago, I made a bet with a Tesla-stan friend that the Cybertruck would get canceled (or very materially redesigned) in three years. I’ve got my fingers crossed that it finds itself on the chopping block soon. Down 48% YoY! 🤞

This is a good, basic primer on why 800V architecture matters in EVs. We’ve dealt with a similar topic in RVs. The Volta system in our Storyteller Overland MODE4x4 has a 58V architecture, while many similar RVs run at 12 or 24V systems, with similar rationale.

The Splay seems interesting in that it packs up small, so that it would be easy to pack and transport safely, but big enough to be a useful display in the van. It’s pricey, and its bulk when set up means I’d really like to try one before thinking about purchasing one.

This interview has the best discussion I’ve come across about Rivian’s decision and rationale behind not implementing CarPlay in their vehicles. Read the post on my site for more thoughts on it.

I don’t trust this report—and wouldn’t buy a Tesla in any case—but this would be quite the reversal. Maybe it would signal to others going down this path that they’re making a mistake.

Yet another reason to not trust GM with their commitment to do anything other than attempt to extract subscription dollars from people who buy their vehicles. They don’t care about their owners’ experience, they just want the money.

It’s a false premise that GM must offer either its “deeply integrated experience” OR CarPlay. GM doesn’t want to offer CarPlay next to their own experience, not because they can’t, but because they know that people want the apps that are on their phones, not GM’s.