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Comment Re:V8's are great, but Trashdot, not so much. (Score 1) 384

by magzteel (#66019240) Attached to: Does a Gas-Guzzler Revival Risk Dead-End Futures for US Automakers?

heh heh heh. You're right that this list isn't literally "luxury SUVs", which is what the prev poster claimed, but....
they're not cheap transportation from A to B either.

1,2,4,6 are the full-size pickups which are about the same price as luxury SUVs... they can start lower, but very easily get near $100k in the higher trim levels. And none of these are "efficient" in any common understanding of that term.

and everything else on there is $30k+ afaict (and many easily into the $50s before tax). And the "efficient" ones, i.e. the HEVs and PHEVs among them are in the upper range of that. Single exception is the Camry... which now is a hybrid even in its lowest trim and has excellent gas mileage. still $30k though ( yes $29.1k MSRP for lowest trim w/o any option selected if you want to be pedantic)

OK, those are the best selling cars in the USA. But they aren't the only cars available.

From https://www.cars.com/articles/...
1. 2026 Hyundai Venue SE: $22,150
2. 2026 Chevrolet Trax LS: $23,495
3. 2026 Kia K4 LX: $23,535
4. 2026 Nissan Sentra S: $23,845
5. 2026 Hyundai Elantra SE: $23,870
6. 2026 Toyota Corolla LE: $24,120
7. 2026 Volkswagen Jetta S: $25,270
8. 2026 Mazda3 2.5 S: $25,785
9. 2026 Honda Civic LX: $25,890
10. 2026 Buick Envista Preferred: $26,495

Sure, they are all over $22k, and all-in it's a lot. People who can't afford it or don't want to spend it can always buy used. Used cars are a great value for someone like me, i.e. with mechanic skills. I've been reticent to buy a used EV though, for two reasons: (1) I don't know what I'm getting into and (2) I think the tech is moving so fast that a 7 year old EV is obsolete.

Comment Re:V8's are great, but Trashdot, not so much. (Score 1) 384

by magzteel (#66017664) Attached to: Does a Gas-Guzzler Revival Risk Dead-End Futures for US Automakers?

I'm not sure who these normal people are because the US market is dominated by large, expensive, luxury SUVs and they sell really, really well.

I'm sure there are people who just want to go from A to B in a cheap and efficient way, but the market doesn't believe they matter (nor does the government).

Not true. Top Selling Cars/Trucks in the USA (2025 - Full Year Estimates)
Ford F-Series (Full-Size Pickup)
Chevrolet Silverado (Full-Size Pickup)
Toyota RAV4 (Compact SUV)
Honda CR-V (Compact SUV)
Ram Pickup (Full-Size Pickup)
GMC Sierra (Full-Size Pickup)
Chevrolet Equinox (Compact SUV)
Tesla Model Y (Electric SUV)
Toyota Camry (Mid-Size Sedan)
Toyota Tacoma (Mid-Size Pickup)

https://www.best-selling-cars....

Comment Just as dumb as the first time this was posted (Score 1) 175

by magzteel (#66004816) Attached to: EVs Are Already Making Your Air Cleaner, Research Shows

https://tech.slashdot.org/stor...

And just like then, it makes little sense. If "for every 200 EVs or plug-in hybrids added, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels dropped 1.1%", does that mean if we added 20,000 EVs or PHVs NO2 levels would drop to nothing? California has well over a million so NO2 should be zero by now.

But what does "added" mean anyway? Did they mean "replaced an equivalent ICE car"?

Comment Not new information, read about this years ago (Score 2) 46

I have a full-thickness partial-width large rotator cuff tear, confirmed by MRI. At one point I was in a lot of pain and had difficulty getting dressed so I went to an orthopedist. After the MRI he suggested surgery. I researched rotator cuff issues and found out that

1) Almost everybody above a certain age would have some kind of tears show up on an MRI, with little or no symptoms
2) Rotator cuff surgery can take months to heal, with pain and very limited motion in the affected arm
3) The prognosis for many types of tears is very similar for surgery + physical therapy and just physical therapy alone

I postponed the surgery and just committed to do the exercises and over time my range of motion and pain level went pretty much back to normal.

Comment Re:They used to be annoying (Score 1) 304

Here's an unpopular option that reduces carbon emissions, reduces health issues, improves efficiency, and costs a bit of money both at purchase and in manufacturing and design. If the automakers can make better profits and push the costs onto the general public, of course they will.

Nothing has changed then. The pollution credits went to the automakers. The additional manufacturing costs went to the consumers and the consumers saved money on gas. So the only loss here is the loss of the pollution credits to the manufacturer.

Comment Re:This is want Viagra was originally for (Score 1) 35

Fun fact, Viagra was originally supposed to be for lowering blood pressure and to alleviate angina. During the human trials it was discovered that one of the side effects was, well, what it's sold for now. Obviously the side effect was vastly more profitable.

I have a family member who retired from a large city fire department. If fire fighters failed their physical for having high blood pressure they would ask their doctor for a Viagra prescription and pass the follow up physical.

I remember reading about this in the Wall Street Journal. The article said that at the conclusion of the trials they found that people didn't want to return the remaining medication in their possession. They interviewed the patients and found out why and the rest is history.

Comment Re:Good (Score 1) 304

Literally 100% of them. It's clear that you've never seen a car with an auto start/stop system. The systems dynamically disable themselves depending on both load on the starter and state of the battery as you drive. Literally EVERY car does this.

There are multiple criteria used to decide when an engine stop is appropriate, such as frequency and duration of stops. But I thought the statement "The starters don't have to wear out. They are software limited to cycle a limited number of times before they are disabled" implied that mechanically sound starters must being replaced once a software-limited duty life is reached. I've never seen such a thing.

Comment Re:I didn't even know this was a thing until recen (Score 1) 304

(Note: we own a 2015 Camry and a 2019 Outback, neither of which has this feature)

I was helping my mom shop for a car. We went to CarMax - she had her eye on a Kia Soul. Well I pulled out of the lot (she wanted me to drive, don't ask me why) and got to a stoplight... and the tach goes to zero. I'm thinking "that's weird", and turned the key - started right up and we moved along. Then it died again at the next light... and again... I was wondering how the CarMax guys missed such an obvious problem.

After several iterations of this I came to the realization "huh, maybe this is by design?" - and, the next time we stopped, I did nothing - just hit the gas when it was time to move again. Which, of course, worked perfectly.

The feature works fine, as far as I can tell. I'm not sure I believe it makes much difference in terms of greenhouse gas emissions or fuel economy, since modern cars do idle very efficiently. And I do wonder about the effect on the starter. But, in the grand scheme of things, this seems like a silly thing to get up in arms about... which describes a LOT of the pronouncements coming out of this administration.

The only people "up in arms" are the ones who think this is a ban on stop-start systems. It isn't. As for me, I find it really unsettling when the tach goes to zero because decades of driving experience tell me the engine has died and I have to restart it. Is there some dashboard indicator so you can tell the difference?

Comment Re:Hybrid -- Automatically start/stop (Score 1) 304

I drive a hybrid. When the engine isn't needed, as in idling, it automatically stops running. (Saves gas and pollution.) The car is still On and when I take my foot off the brake or touch the accelerator pedal, the engine automatically comes to life again. What could be simpler? Saves gas and pollution. But some big companies and many car owners have this love affair with gasoline. I am afraid that they hasten the coming lethal effects of global warming. (For details, read "The Next Civil
War" by Stephen Marche (2022), well researched and very prophetic.

This isn't about hybrids. It's about non-hybrid ICEV with an engine stop-start system

Comment Re:What is the difference (Score 1) 304

From having this system available for everybody to disable it versus not having this system available at all?

The difference is that the mere existence of such systems is a reminder to Trump of the Obama era, so they gotta go.

They didn't ban it. Companies are free to make as many as they like. They just aren't getting pollution credits for it any more.

Comment Re:Good (Score 1) 304

The starters don't have to wear out. They are software limited to cycle a limited number of times before they are disabled.

No, really. Ask a mechanic.

What starter is software limited? I've never seen one. But I have seen starters fail which is why rebuild parts and complete units are readily available.

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