The Inflation Reduction Act was a cornerstone policy of the Biden White House, and one that was quickly removed under the current administration. Because of a quirk in the interpretation of the law, the vast majority of electric car transactions for most brands were leases. Those leases are starting to expire and will temporarily remake the used car market.
Grab your red fedora and trench coat, because The Morning Dump is a global affair today. From the hallowed halls of Congress, I’ll whisk you off to the hippy hills of California, where the state is hoping to keep its EV dreams alive.
I’ll then take you south of the border, down Mexico way, where Volkswagen is claiming the United States isn’t holding up its end of the USMCA. And, finally, it’s off to Europe, where China and the EU seem to have come to terms on what to do about the sudden influx of cheap cars to the continent.
Rockapella voice: Where in the world is… The Morning Dump?
It’ll Get Interesting For Used EV Buyers In 3-4 Months
Back in 2022, then-President Biden and then-WV Senator Joe Manchin managed to sneak the Inflation Reduction Act through a Congressional backdoor. Did it meaningfully reduce inflation as the name promised? Not in any obvious way. Did it dramatically increase inflation as some warned? No, not that either. It’s just a political name to describe something that had way more to do with creating green jobs and incentivizing EV production and purchases than with inflation.
Most, though not all, of the Inflation Reduction Act was Uno-Reverso’d by the One Big Beautiful Bill, including the provision that provided $7,500 off for the purchase of specific electric cars. Because America’s European and Asian allies freaked out a little bit about this (this was back when the White House cared about having European and Asian allies), the Biden White House carved out an exemption big enough to drive a Kia EV9 through.
Specifically, the law said the $7,500 could apply to any commercial vehicle, whatever the country of origin. The IRS interpreted a lease as a commercial vehicle. Senator Manchin freaked out about this, but ultimately, the lease exemption stayed.
As you can see in the chart above, anything that’s orange is a leased vehicle. I wrote about this before, but for most automakers, leasing was how they moved electric cars. Most leases are 24 or 36 months, which means that there’s going to be a point where all of these leased electric cars are going to get returned. Courtesy of the Q4 Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index Call presentation, you can see exactly when that’s going to start:
Those green vehicles are leases being returned, and the dark blue ones are PHEVs. As you can see, starting in approximately April of this year, the market is going to start getting flooded with potentially up to 40-50k used EVs every month.
Granted, many people could buy out their leases, but I think this is probably not a great idea for most lesees. As outlined before, our advice has always been to lease a new EV or buy a used one. The argument to lease has mostly gone away, but the idea of buying a used one still makes a lot of sense.
It’ll be a case-by-case basis, but for it to make sense for someone to buy out their electric car lease, a consumer will have to love the car and have either previously negotiated a buy-out price that reflects the significant depreciation that’s occurred, or be able to negotiate that again. I suspect that as more, say, used e-trons and Polestars get dumped on the market, used car values will drop further.
There are potential counterweights here. The lack of affordability in the market and the likely increase in electric car costs might balance it out a bit. Overall, this represents a great opportunity for someone to get a potentially good used EV at a great price. I suspect a lot of these vehicles will be CPO as well, which brings some peace of mind.
As an example, here’s a Hyundai Ioniq 6 with just 16,000 miles for just over $25,000 with tons of warranty left and even more on the battery/motor. I’d keep an eye on vehicles like the Ioniq 6, the MachE, et cetera. Also, this isn’t going anywhere. It may start in April, but it’ll continue on for the next 24-36 months.
The one caveat here is that I would check to see if the vehicle was used as rideshare car, as these tend to get charged up to 100% more frequently in my experience and may have a lower battery life. (Though modern batteries seem to be holding up well).
Will California Give You A Discount On A Used EV?
California has pledged to continue its own statewide EV tax rebate plan, setting aside $200 million for on-the-hood discounts. It’s not clear how long it’ll last, and it’s not clear if that’ll also work for used EVs purchased at a dealership.
California Air Resources Board Chairwoman Lauren Sanchez said in an exclusive interview with USA Today that her state is stepping up to offer EV tax credits because “the rest of the global market is moving toward” Zero Emission Vehicles, despite the backsliding in the level of federal support under Trump.
Sanchez said embracing EVs is “point of pride in California” because “a third of EV sales are in California.”
Under California’s previous EV tax credit program, which ran from 2013-2024, the state spent $1.49 billion to cover credits for 586,000 vehicles, according to CARB.
Asked specifically about used EVs, Sanchez told USA Today that “The team is taking a hard look at how we can [sic] a used incentive work.”
Fingers crossed for folks in the EV market.
Volkswagen: This Isn’t Fair
This is hard to quantify, but the sense that I get from most automaker execs–whatever their own personal politics–is that they don’t want to upset the President while also avoiding seeming political in a way that might upset people who disagree with the administration. It’s not worth it. Tesla’s CEO being so obviously political is likely to cost Tesla hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars.
One of the big sticking points between automakers who sell cars in the United States and the White House is the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). This was a modification to NAFTA, and it continued the idea of a trade zone between the three countries. It was also a major policy of President Trump in his first term. President Trump doesn’t like the deal anymore and has clearly tried to discourage continued production in these countries, and most automakers have adjusted by trying to announce big projects in the United States while trying to take advantage of some transitional offsets.
Volkswagen is not one of those automakers. It has a huge footprint in Mexico and is saying the quiet part out loud as the Associated Press reports:
Though some in the auto industry have privately suggested that Trump’s tariffs amount to violations, companies have been hesitant to issue public positions saying so. Instead, they have mostly stuck to questioning the merits of Trump’s actions while also offering constructive recommendations on how U.S. trade policy should proceed.
That trend largely continued in a series of letters filed this week by automakers, suppliers and trade groups regarding the USMCA’s automotive rules of origin provisions. The Trump administration previously solicited broader comments on the trade deal in November, but the latest request for comments was for autos only.
Volkswagen, amid falling U.S. sales, was more critical of the Trump administration than industry competitors in its public filing. Europe’s largest automaker pleaded for tariff relief and requested that existing USMCA rules not be made stricter after the review.
I don’t know that this means that VW is exactly joining the Resistance alongside the Fed Chair and, uh, Wine Moms, but it’s a notable difference from most carmakers.
China And The EU Are Friends Again, Sort Of
As anyone who reads TMD regularly knows, Chinese automakers created a huge production capacity for EVs. There aren’t enough consumers in China to absorb all that demand, so it’s been trying to export cars. This is good for markets where no one makes cars, as those folks get cheap EVs. Everyone else? Not so much, so the EU slapped high tariffs on Chinese importers.
The Chinese government got mad and threatened to make French wine and other random things expensive. Now, according to the European Union, there’s a plan that should make everyone happy enough.
In its “Guidance document on submission of price undertaking offers” document, the EU offers up a plan whereby automakers will set a reasonable “Minimum Import Price” (MIP) that will counter the impact of subsidization. How will this be determined?
- Based on the CIF prices of the exporter in question in the investigation period of the proceeding leading to the imposition of the measures, increased by the relevant margin of the countervailing duties imposed.
- Basing the MIP on the non-subsidised EU-produced BEV’s sales price in the Union of the same product type (or closely resembling, appropriately adjusted for physical differences), which includes Selling, General and Administrative expenses (SG&A) and a reasonable margin of profit.
It’s complicated. For the moment, the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU seems cool with it:
The China Chamber of Commerce to the European Union (CCCEU) warmly welcomes and highly commends the positive outcome achieved through dialogue and consultations between China and the European Union, which has enabled a soft landing in the electric vehicle case. This important result responds directly to strong concerns from the business community, including the automotive sector. It not only supports the healthy and stable development of China–EU trade, investment, and bilateral relations, but also sends a clear and strong signal to global markets that both sides remain firmly committed to managing differences through dialogue and consultation, and to jointly upholding a rules-based multilateral trading system and an open global economy.
Given all of the above involving the United States and its trade position, expect China to continue to fill the EV demand left by the United States in various places around the world.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
It’s impossible to pick one Grateful Dead song to honor the passing of Bob Weir, but “Truckin'” seems appropriate for the site.
The Big Question
Is there a used EV you’d consider? How cheap would it have to be?
Top photo: Hyundai
We bought a used 2024 id.4 last fall. Even then it felt like a steal, at something like half off MSRP, with less than 10k miles and a CPO warranty. EV depreciation was such that when buying used, it seemed like we could we could get a better/newer EV than a PHEVs or even hybrid. And the ID.4 seemed particularly depreciated-it’s much reviled online, but I found that many of the issues that drove reviewers and forum posters wild about the ID.4 (yes, the switches are baffling!) were either resolved by 2024, things you get used to, or aren’t relevant very often. Meanwhile I bought it in large part because the visibility and especially the turning radius are good for a modern car, which I appreciated every day driving in the city. The EV-ness is great, we can charge at home so it’s like having a genie that boosts your acceleration and fills up your tank every night as long as you promise to take longer breaks during road trips. We’ll keep the old manual ICE car for fun, but for the main family hauler I’m never going back. Long live EV depreciation!
RIP Bobby!
I have a friend who recently took a used EV9 for a 24 hour test drive. He wanted to see how big a pain it would be to charge.
Attempt 1. After hooking up the car the charger told him it was out of order.
Attempt 2. At a different location a different app wouldn’t accept any of his credit cards.
Attempt 3. At a third location the car told him it needed an update to continue. Upon accepting he learned the update would take 20 minutes. He decided to give up but the car wouldn’t run until the update was complete. After the update the car still said it needed updating. He couldn’t charge but he was able to drive off.
It was clever of him to test charge. He passed on the car. He’s now focused on hybrids. He can’t install a charger where he lives so this was valuable information.
I’m very pro EV but I would never recommend one to someone who couldn’t charge at home (at least at this stage of infrastructure).
I’m 5 months out from the end of a 24/10k lease on my ’24 EV6 GT. The residual? A delusional $40K.
At $325/month, I’m basically stealing this car. There’s no universe where I walk into a dealer today and drive out with a comparable EV at that rate.
So the play is simple: extend 6 months, then hopefully another 6 after that if Kia is game.
June 2027 me can figure out what comes next. Present me is going to keep enjoying the arbitrage.
EV6 GT in yacht blue is at the top of my list. The ICCU issues have kept me away so far.
My wife picked up a used Mini Cooper EV last year. 20k miles for $20k. Not sure if that’s a good price or not, but that’s what she wanted. Been a reliable and fun car to drive.
I plan to buy an EV as soon as we finish our house and have a place to charge it. We live in a rural area, and don’t drive particularly far on a daily basis. It would be REALLY nice to charge at home instead of remembering to swing by the gas station in town.
Price wise, we’re already there. A nice off-lease Mach-E for $35,000 Canadian is already entirely reasonable. If it gets even cheaper I’m all in.
I suspect there are a lot of people like myself waiting in the wings with ‘intent’ to buy an EV once some t aspect of their life is settled.
That’s another excellent point. Charging at home for rural folks removes another thing to do when in town. No more range anxiety with a gas car on fumes because someone forgot to fill it the last time in town.
Was talking with my wife about a cheap used EV since she no longer has a commute… Maybe something like an e-golf? Dunno, most of the EV’s I find appealing enough to actually own are still worth more than what I would consider “cheap”.
Until I have to stop making once or twice 1,500+ mile round trips from Washington to California due to my mom’s declining mental health. An EV is not in the works. A PHEV? maybe. Or an EREV? maybe. But with a paid off Accord with now ~75K miles on it? I just don’t see it happening anytime soon. And now with snow season starting up I will likely fly down and rent a car until springtime.
Sorry to hear about that.
Thanks. She wrecked her car in March, and it’s just been a rapid decline from there. Fortunately, my brother lives nearby, so between the two of us, we are doing our best.
Man, parental health issues are rough. I’m glad y’all are there for her, but hopefully y’all will make it through okay.
Going Down the Road Feeling Bad…
Just sayin’
It sounds like many others in the thread are in the same boat as me. I’m watching closely and may pull the trigger this year on a used Equinox EV. Even the new ones are heavily discounted and can be had for thousands off MSRP right away. The other thing I need to do is see how much it’ll cost to insure.
The main drawback for me is the continued use of a CCS port rather than NACS (which the new Bolt has). Though maybe that doesn’t matter so much because they put it in the wrong spot to easily use anything but the newest gen Superchargers.
Having leased an Ioniq 5 since ’24 and an Equinox EV since late ’25, I’d suggest you give the Hyundai/KIA cars a closer look against their Ultium competition
My wife has a Kia Sorento we love so I’m not opposed on principle, but the ICCU thing scared me off. I’ll be ok once they know what the problem is and have a fix. It’d be a third car so I have no problem taking it in for service
The ICCU issues are on the EV6, Ionic5 and Ionic6 and the Genesis variant e-gmp car.
When I was looking into buying these models failure rates (as a percentage of total sold in the US market) were hard to find, it appeared much below 10%. A gamble probably worth it if leasing, though not for me bc I was looking at buying.
None that Ive seen on the EV9 or the Ionic9 bc the tech specs on the iccu used is different it has 2x as many switches inside acct. to a Munro Live video breakdown I watched. I suspect bc of the larger physical size and weight Hyundai/Kia wanted to take advantage of the Y and delta wave config. Switching allowing for better low end torque to get moving and then switching to the delta configuration for better higher speed economy.
CCS or NACS do not matter. Whatever port your car has, you really need an adapter to use chargers on “the other side.”
Adapters are fairly inexpensive. Lectron sells them for $150 or so.
I see Lextron adapters all over Amazon and other places. How’s the quality?
I’ve been using one for longer trips in the past 7 months for my Polestar 3. So far so good I’d say. It seems to be a quality product with substantial electrical leads.
I fly RC planes and helis that frequently draw 250A+, so big beefy electrical leads make me happy.
The “pile of dongles” thing is a turn off for me. Gives it that “beta product” feel. Also I just personally find CCS very clunky feeling.
Regarding third party adapters, sounds like a reason for GM to void my battery warranty when it melts…is the quality known to be good?
Pretty good I’d say–see my response to RC in CA.
Clunky is good–I like’em thick.
Equinox EV comes with a CCS to NACS adaptor, at least ours did and it appears to be a quality unit. I’d guess thr other GM ev’s do as well, though that IS a guess.
I kind of wish I had bought into the 12 month lease thing on the new Dodge Charger, it was like 150 a month, but still had a 2K Down payment and I think you could put no more than 1000 miles a month on the thing, but I would have had 250 or so dollars a month’s worth of fun being the guinea pig on those things.
“Is there a used EV you’d consider?”
For me to switch the car and all running costs need to be at least comparable to a gas car. Right now they’re not. Electricity where I live is consistently pricier than regular. I hear insurance and tire costs are also an issues for some EVs.
I also want switches, knobs, sliders and mechanically opening doors. I want a giant touchscreen (preferably integrated into the dash) but for it to exclusively control nothing.
It’d be a local runabout/commuter so right now the canidates are 2013+ Leaf, Volt, Bolt, Spark EV, maybe a REX i3.
“How cheap would it have to be?”
How cheap you ask? $1-7k depending on range, age, condition and features.
I looked at picking up an Ioniq 6 a year ago, but couldn’t stomach the depreciation I saw on the used market. I am not sure how low the price needs to go before I would buy an EV, primarily because my current commute and lifestyle fits the hybrid vehicle I already have so well. I suspect my first EV purchase will probably occur when EREVs become common place, at which point I also suspect EV depreciation will have tapered off a bit as more folks see the benefits of the EREV setup.
Does it count if I already did? I picked up a ’20 Model S Performance (Ludicrous) in June as a CPO with 58k miles. It hasn’t been completely trouble-free (yay, warranty) but I still love the car. Comfortable road tripper and daily driver with the air suspension and all the driver assist doodadery. Oh, and dropping the hammer on a 700hp AWD full size sedan is a real hoot.
I would like to see it side by side with one of the Rivian R1S Quad Motor. see if what they put on paper is the same in real world.
I’m shocked, just shocked. This administration is so renowned for holding up its end of bargains.
What’s the early return policy on that lease? Asking for a country.
Yep. Can we return an orange President? One that I never signed the papers on.
Vegetables and fruit can’t be returned.
Nor meat.
Can we please trade that festering orange lease for something better, like a Nissan Altima?
(and y’all know my feelings on Altimas, ugh)
Estimated Pro[fit]?
I never understood the association with psychedelics and The Grateful Dead. The music just doesn’t have that…extra something…that I like from bands like Pink Floyd or Tame Impala.
Tame Impala…that’s a new one for me. Are they more like early years Floyd or later years Floyd?
I don’t know Floyd well enough to say.
This is one of my favorites for long road trips. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ed6UeDp1ek&list=PLr9Yx3twkzdL4wKU2r70Zct0GNuG4qOmn&index=25
It’s good but very different from Floyd. I love Floyd but I’m careful about playing it on long drives as it can be hypnotic.
“ I love Floyd but I’m careful about playing it on long drives as it can be hypnotic.”
Floyd is also great if you get into running. I was into running for a while and I’ve experienced ‘runner’s high’ while also having The Great Gig In The Sky playing in my head.
It was great!
I used to be. I’ve since found cycling is a LOT easier on the body!
Yeah I prefer cycling over running these days as well… easier on the knees in particular.
I don’t have knee problems and I’d like to keep it that way.
I had a weird click in my knee that cycling (and maybe drinking a lot more water) has helped me exorcise.
Their first three or so albums have a very 60s-psychedelia sound to them. Their later stuff skews more toward pop but is excellent for what it is.
Cool. I’ll add them to my que.
I was lucky to attend the special show they did for the 10th anniversary of the Lonerism album – at Desert Daze in 2022. They played the album in order from beginning to end. A fantastic show!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWZsLHbCwS0
Tame Impala is pretty cool! I have only heard a few of their songs, but now I am inspired to sample more. And CB, I would put them in a completely different genre than Pink Floyd. Later generation. Totally different sound.
Someday, when I start using psychedelics to “blow the carbon out” of my brain, I think I’d rather be listening to Pink Floyd.
I’ve added them to my que so I’ll find out for myself in short order.
PF is right behind the Moody Blues on my list of favorites. And the Beatles. There are more contemporary artists that I like as well. When people ask which band or artist is my favorite, it’s almost impossible to pick just one.
Tame Impala is club music today. Earlier albums had the extra something: Innerspeaker and Lonerism.
Tame Impala is a good call. Those first three albums are trippy as all hell.
My thermonuclear take on the Grateful Dead is I’ve just never found their music to be all that interesting. Don’t get me wrong, they have some great songs (Truckin, Shakedown Street, Casey Jones, etc) and it’s not like I ever hear them playing and immediately go OH GOD TURN THAT OFF or anything. But a whole lot of it is just kind of cookie cutter baby boomer soft rock.
I’ve never really understood the level of hero worship they get. I guess maybe they’re a “you had to be there” type of deal, but I’ve always concluded that their art and branding is way cooler than the actual music and what people really gravitate towards. The dancing bears are rad! They have some of the best album art of all time. The skull logo is beyond iconic.
IMHO that’s what’s special about the band…but then again I’m not really much of a jam band guy outside of a brief Phish and Umphreys phase in college that was more about getting my hands on drugs and meeting other musicians than the music itself.
“cookie cutter baby boomer soft rock” Ouch. I’d say explore their music more, but lord knows I don’t have time to dive into some band’s 50 year long back catalog just to be convinced they’re actually great. If it ain’t your thing, it ain’t your thing!
I keep trying to find the thing Dead fans see in that music, and keep failing. It just sounds like the average boomer dad weekend cover band. Nothing wrong with boomer dad weekend cover bands, they get more gigs and playing than I do. But they don’t get smelly fans following them around from city to city. I’ll never get that.
Same with Phish. The Trey worship is baffling to me. There’s a better, more interesting guitarist in every other town in the US.
> it’s not like I ever hear them playing and immediately go OH GOD TURN THAT OFF or anything
You’re a better man than I.
*runs away*
If they sound like an average boomer dad weekend cover band, it’s probably because the average boomer dad weekend cover band is trying to sound like the Dead.
I’m a jam band guy (to an extent, I’m a fan of a few smaller acts, Phish, and the remnants of the Dead) and the appeal is 100% in the live experience, not just culturally, but the fact that the shows are never the same, and in general you’re looking for those moments where the band locks into something in a way you haven’t heard before. Those are the sorts of communal experiences that you don’t get from recordings, or from bands that play their songs straight live. For the most part you have to have am open mind and a lot of patience, or you know, decent drugs.
I will admit, getting into any of these bands is a commitment. It’s the music equivalent of a long-standing series of fantasy novels. Lots of lore, fan theory, inter-band personal stuff; not to mention of course a gigantic catalog (see: Phish). It’s certainly not for everyone (which is fine).
As a guitarist I think Trey is really good when he’s playing within a structure. His technique is also very advanced and he clearly has spent years and years studying music theory to be able to write some of the stuff he does. IMHO of the Phish guys are stellar musicians.
The problem is that they aren’t very good at writing music. Phish’s lyrics might literally be the worst of all time and vast swaths of their catalogue are unlistenable noodling. Furthermore my take that infuriates their fans even more is that studio Phish is actually the best Phish.
The handful of great songs they have are best enjoyed as recorded in a studio because it forces structure on them. Live Phish is like 80% garbage. Just a totally pointless, self-indulgent mess that isn’t even vaguely musical, and when they do manage to pull off some near improvisation or embellishments I would be willing to bet good money they just fluked their way into them.
Basically, Phish is either the best bad band of all time or the worst good band of all time and they’re perpetually less than the sum of their parts. Honestly I’d love to hear Trey play some actual jazz because I think he’d be pretty good at it but again…jazz is inherently less structured by design so I’m not sure if he could do it without his playing devolving into musical masturbation…
thermonuclear? that’s like the most common take on The Dead.
def not cookie cutter. they practically invented the cookie in this type of metaphor.
I didn’t understand it either until I read this book:
https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/dark-star-an-oral-biography-of-jerry-garcia/9780061715723.html
Essentially experimenting in psychedelic drugs was part of the band right from the very start.
Also my initial exposure to The Grateful Dead started with their stuff from the 1980s (the In The Dark album).
But if you listen to their early music like the song Dark Star, you’ll understand it more.
More recently I’ve gotten into their older stuff and it has grown on me.
Also apparently their live performances were an experience on their own.
Sadly I’ve never had the chance to do that. Theoretically I could have. And a part of me wishes I could go back in time and tell myself to go see them live… and of course give myself the money to do it.
I’ll check out the book and definitely listen to their early stuff. I notice more Grateful Dead bumper/window stickers on cars than any other group so I know I must be missing something. I get that it’s a “had to be there” kinda thing but the music, itself, didn’t connect with me in a way that made me think I shoulda been there.
“I must be missing something.”
What you’re missing (and what I too missed) is the whole subculture tied to attending their live performances.
One thing of note… before they’d record a given song, in a lot of cases, the group had already been performing that song for live for a few years.
They would ‘work out’ new songs in live performances and record them later.
And the reason for that was that in early years, all the band members were piss poor and didn’t have lots of money for lots of time in the recording studio.
They were also well known for always changing things up in their live performances and doing some very extended versions of some songs and combining some songs.
An example of that would we how they often combined Scarlet Begonias and Fire On The Mountain… which fans would refer to as ‘Scarlet Fire’.
Here’s an example of what I’m talking about
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V70MrjzLFyo
It wasn’t just the subculture, but also the fact that the Dead more or less invented the stadium show sound setup with the Wall of Sound.
But I agree with many—the Dead were incredible innovators, master marketers, all-time song writers… and ok musicians.
The Dead’s music is only good if you’re hallucinating.
We currently have a base model 23 Bolt EV that’s a hoot to hoon around (short wheel base + instant torque), however we’ve been looking at maybe going with something a bit nicer. The easy choice for a used EV is the nicer used Hyundai/Kia EV models with low miles and 3-4 years left on the bumper-to-bumper warranty. I lean heavily towards an Ioniq 6 since I still like sedans but I could be talked into a Kia Wind EV-6. The Ioniq 5 does have that very expensive coolant replacement costs that is a turn-off. Not interested in a Nazimobile even if you gave me one.
Regardless of model I’m only interested in the top trims with all the extra goodies (after all, we’re looking to upgrade from a base Bolt EV) and, most important, AWD. We don’t need AWD for traction or snow… I want it for the extra hp/torque that comes with having 2 motors instead of 1. AWD is the way to go!
I’ve had a radar turned on right now (AutoTempest search engine saved search) for an Ioniq 6 Limited AWD with light grey interior. They’re out there with low miles for $30K ish and less though nothing currently near me, but since we’re not in a hurry, we’re going to keep looking until one of those deals that’s too good to be true (mid-low $20s depending on miles) that pops up at a location I can drive to.
Fun to see what pops up.
Hmm.. I test-drove one and what surprised me the most was the lack of that EV instant torque, it felt slower than my diesel Golf, let alone anything actually sporty. I was expecting something like a Tesla’s zippiness and the Bolt was anything but.
Actually it might’ve been more of an issue with me being used to manual cars, if you come from a torque-converter slushbox or a CVT then the Bolt probably does feel quick in comparison.
There’s a sport mode that you can engage. I don’t think it actually does much with the ramp, but it does make the throttle more responsive. Lighter-touch = more rpm (Older Miatas do something similar. The throttle in very non-linear where just a small press on the go-pedal gets you to 50% or more of the throttle).
I did use “sport mode”, but it didn’t improve acceleration; basically as soon as you have traction (starting from a standstill it’s easy to break traction with almost any amount of power), when I put my (right) foot down I expect to be pinned back in my seat (and to be kept there for a bit).
I can easily do that in my TDI (which is one of the lowest-powered cars around, on top of the slow-to-rev nature of a diesel), but the Bolt felt much more subdued. Again, I was used to how a Tesla scoots away when you ask it to.
The IRA Act had other components in it related to energy, materials and technology independence from China and other countries. It also had a good deal of infrastructures improvements in there. It would have gone far to help this country positively if not destroyed by oil industry friendly Trump. I place the IRA Act up there with FDR’s New Deal with how far reaching it could have gone.TACO. Trump’s own North American treaty is now not good enough and he’s messing with it again. You know what? NAFTA worked for over 2 decades. Don’t mess with that which is not broken.China and the EU are becoming friends, seeing the US is now an unreliable ally and trading partner. We will slowly be cut out of global commerce if this madness continues. Say goodbye to NATO as well.
Spot on. It’s unfortunate that there was such a focus on inflation at the time that they had to pick such a crappy name for it. I didn’t agree with everything in the IRA (it was a multi-trillion dollar bill, the chances of everything being perfect were effectively nil), but it was a hugely positive thing for the country.
My post was neatly numbered, but it appears Autopian auto formatting removes the numbering.
Did it meaningfully reduce inflation as the name promised? Not in any obvious way.
When you compare US annual average inflation (8% in 2022, 4.1% in 2023, 2.9% in 2024) to the global average inflation (around 8.7% in 2022, 6.8% in 2023, 5.8% in 2024) it seems pretty obvious to me.
“Facts are meaningless. You can use facts to prove anything that’s even remotely true. Facts schmacts.” – Homer Simpson
My first EV will be below $5k. When that happens, I have no idea, but the longer I wait the better car it will be. Waiting for the first EV Shitbox Showdown!
Come on, you can do better than Truckin’ to honor Bob Weir How about Sugar Magnolia or Scarlet Begonias?
Yes, a used EV is top of list for third family car, first car for two teens. Bolt is the leading choice right now. We have 2 Kia Niro EVs now. One (mine) is coming off lease in July and I’ll need to get 2 vehicles then that cost the same as the 2023 lease, ideally. What to get as my daily driver is a harder choice though. I’m torn between needs for AWD, storage, enthusiast wants, road trip needs. It makes for a good “What should he buy?”.
“Will California Give You A Discount On A Used EV?”
That’s only part of the equation. As someone who lives in California, specifically in the domain of PG&E California also needs to tackle stupidly high electricity and (from what I hear are) high EV insurance costs.
PG&E needs to be converted to municipal control. Their overcompensation of stock holders led to inadequate maintenance of their equipment, which of course led to the deaths of 88 people in the Paradise fire. Did anyone go to jail for murder?
“Did anyone go to jail for murder?”
Of course not! Where do you think you are, Communist China?
This is America! Such malfeasance resulted in absolutely nothing even when the federal judge overseeing the trial considers it – and I quote – “A five year crime spree”:
https://www.kqed.org/news/11902781/pge-exits-federal-probation-despite-what-judge-calls-five-year-crime-spree
Something to point out when trolls refer to California as “Commierfornia”; Communists take punishing such crime very seriously. Even CEOs sometimes end up with a bullet in their head.
I know dumping on China is almost part of the civics test, but today’s Chinese electric grid is often considered the gold standard amongst infrastructure planners.
https://interestingengineering.com/energy/blackout-chinese-tech-recovers-the-grid-in-1-second
It is. They looked into the future. They realized they were going to be taking a renewables-heavy direction. They built a new UHV DC grid to those places where all that future renewable infrastructure was going to be built. It helps to look out 10 years, 25 years and 50 years, not quarterly.
It should be. They used plenty of my family’s company products to put it together. No longer though, It seems that after many decades of epic fails trying they finally managed to clone them.
Even California is not perfect. The rich and powerful do get away with murder occasionally.
So uh… I keep hearing about this “overcompensation” for stock holders, but I’ve held PGE since 1991 and I have no clue what people are talking about.
Yes, the capture of the CPUC shouldn’t have been allowed, and yes, protected monopolies should be subject to much, much harsher oversight… but the shareholder narrative isn’t really true.
Let’s deconstruct the situation. We have record revenues (and profit). Where are they going? The events of the last few years points not to maintenance. That is quite clear. We know they’re dragging their feet on any new grid expansion needed for future power distribution. Increasingly, the power companies are relying on cheaper contractor employees, as they don’t want to be bothered with paying social security, workers compensation or health insurance. So where is the money going? Two places are left: stockholder pay outs and gross executive compensation.
That overcompensation only goes to holders of preferred stock. Don’t worry though, you common stock holders haven’t been forgotten. You get the blame.
“Is there a used EV you’d consider? “
Yes… The Not-A-Mustang Mach E, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6 and maybe even the Leaf+. Might even consider a Chevy Bolt if the price is right.
“How cheap would it have to be?”
That depends on the age and mileage and how the price compares to ICE and hybrid vehicles.
If it was the same price or maybe only 10% higher than a comparable used Prius, I’d likely go with the BEV.
I doubt that anyone was concerned about this, but I just wanted to point out that CARBs Lauren Sanchez is not Jeff Bezos’ Lauren Sanchez. Obvious to most, I’m sure. Though if you threw a boatload of plastic surgery, makeup and hair at CARBs Lauren, she and Mrs. Amazon would probably look a lot alike.
I’ve been seriously considering a 2016-ish 500e, as there are a bunch in the next state over for $5k or less. Perfect little around-town car with good color options, and if you get one from before 2017 there is no dumb touchscreen at all!
The screen in post 2016 500e models only interfaces with the radio and the now ancient on-board navigation. Nothing else, as it should be.
My stepdad has a regular 500. Its fun BUT the quality of the interior is atrocious! The armrest in particular is incredibly fragile and breaks easily with normal use. The silk screening and even the base color of the buttons comes off. So keep that in mind.
I know. The base 500 sold for well under $15k (closer to $13k if my math is correct) in the EU when it came out. You’re not buying a vehicle with a Mercedes interior.
That I can accept. Its the Dollar Tree toy level of quality I object to.