Electrify America rolls out a new strategy to make people go “huh?”, renters can’t charge electric vehicles, Ferrari CEO John Elkann compares cars to soccer. All this and more in today’s issue of The Morning Dump.
Welcome to The Morning Dump, bite-sized stories corralled into a single article for your morning perusal. If your morning coffee’s working a little too well, pull up a throne and have a gander at the best of the rest of yesterday.
Electrify America Gets Nonsensical
How’s this for reinventing the wheel to run oneself over? Electrify America is introducing the new EV charging station labels to try and solve the problem of not being able to discern between different chargers at a distance without a telescope. Let’s turn to the company’s own media release to see exactly what the new labels are and what the justification is.
Hyper-Fast: Indicates power delivery of up to 350 kW, which can provide about 20 miles of driving range per minute of charging depending on the EV’s charging capability. (Green label & three bolt icons)
Ultra-Fast: Indicates power delivery of up to 150 kW, which can provide about 9 miles of driving range per minute of charging depending on the EV’s charging capability. (Teal label & two bolt icons)
This doesn’t help simplify Level 3 charging at all. Does anyone think that the average consumer will be able to distinguish between hyper and ultra? At least ensure that the 150 kW option is simply called fast!
Use the established lexicon, Electrify America. Or better yet, skip the language tags altogether and simply use large, readable numbers and bolts. Arabic numerals are much more universal than the English language and it doesn’t take a genius to realize that 350 is a bigger number than 150.
Update: We reached out to Electrify America, who told us there was some research that went into the naming. From EA:
Thank you for your inquiry. When we set out to change our label designs, we took a data-driven approach and gathered insight from extensive customer research. The ranking and insights from these respondents ultimately led to our new terminology. The result of our redesigns comes from leveraging the most positive design cues from today’s widely accepted and universally understood gas station model. Our goal was to transform the way EV drivers think about charging, making the process as intuitive and easy as possible.
Lack Of Home Charging Affects EV Sentiments
Speaking of EV charging, Automotive News reports that lack of residential charging options for renters and condominium dwellers are a key hurdle in the race for EV adoption.
Home equipment, typically in an owner’s garage or within easy driveway access, supports 84 percent of all EV charging in the U.S., according to a 2022 J.D. Power study.
But 36 percent of people live in multiunit dwellings such as apartment buildings and condominiums, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau. That mirrors the 34 percent of new-vehicle shoppers that J.D. Power found lack access to home charging.
Without access to home charging, range becomes really important. Short-range EVs do not work with the reality of apartment living and housing corporations don’t want to put up with the expense and hassle of giving tenants the option of charging at home. Investment in public charging is a great start at expanding charging access, but the home charging frontier will be a critical one for EV adoption. [Ed note: I have nowhere to charge an EV near my apartment and it sucks! – MH]
The Chip Shortage Rages On
While 2022 is shaping up to be a less brutal year for the new car industry than 2021, production is still far from being back to normal. Automotive News reports that production cuts due to the chip shortage continue to plague the car industry, according to industry analysts AutoForecast Solutions.
Some 22,400 vehicles were just trimmed from factory production plans in North America this week due to short supply, while 34,000 vehicles are being cut at European plants. In another notable development, AFS said assembly plants in South America are cutting back by 19,700.
So far this year, automakers have had to cut back by a total of 3.23 million vehicles due to chip shortages. That’s in addition to more than 10 million units lost in 2021, and excludes schedule reductions resulting from other supply chain problems, such as the war in Ukraine.
It’s likely going to take a very long time for new vehicle production to rebound to pre-pandemic levels, to the point where even new electrical architecture advancements could help lift output. Regardless of how the chip shortage ends, expect the number of cars lost to the chip shortage to grow as the year closes out.
Here Are Some Words From John Elkann
John Elkann has a lot of jobs: Ferrari CEO, Stellantis Chairman, and owner of a soccer team. He gave an interview to Le Gazette Dello Sport and Ferrari was nice enough to give us a transcript. There’s a lot of soccer talk and soccer analogies.
I’m worried about what’s going on around football and professional sports in general. At the heart of the system should be the fans, the athletes and the teams. But there is a dangerous drift which works in favour of the middlemen, the organisers and regulators who are putting the world of sport in a difficult position because the only thing that motivates them is money and power.
Ok.
Sergio would be very proud to see what Stellantis is doing. I think back to when this adventure began. In 2004, Fiat was struggling to avoid relegation. Then we managed, along with Chrysler and FCA to compete in the middle of the table and maybe play in the Europa League. With Stellantis, which is just over a year old, we are in the fight to win the championship and we are in the Champions zone.
Just one more:
We have great faith in Mattia Binotto and appreciate everything he and all our engineers have done. But there is no doubt that the work in Maranello, in the garage, on the pit wall and at the wheel needs to improve.
The Flush
Whelp, time to drop the lid on today’s edition of The Morning Dump. Happy Monday, I hope everyone had a great weekend and got to do some awesome automotive activities. For today’s morning question, I’d love to ask what your next vehicle modification might be. Whether a replacement item that’s better than OEM, simple quality of life improvements, or something a bit more dramatic, I’m all ears on what your project plans are.
Lead photo credit: Electrify America
As I’ve said before, I truly believe that this will happen in the next 2 years:
The electric vehicle charging market is ripe for some radical corporation to step in (with some government money/blessing presumably) and completely monopolize this industry. To “McDonaldize” it, there will be cheap fast-chargers using slick advertising appeal on every street corner everywhere by the sheer force creative/sneaky ingenuity. Think of the historical oligopolies of trains, telephones, computers, etc. needing to build HUGE infrastructures just to get into the game.
With the almighty power of making easy money once established, they will figure out ways to provide electric chargers for the apartment dwellers, city/suburban homeowners, rural sub-stations and mom-and-pop store owners everywhere. There is just WAY too much money to be made here to ignore with the tsunami of electric vehicles coming.
Because we’re talking about most people’s primary mode of transportation, this is not going to flame out like those million of annoying electric scooters clogging up urban centers around the country that was supposed to save our environment.
I’ve got a Alpine single DIN electronic media only unit in my e46, it does bluetooth/phone, has a front USB port, SiriusXM, iPod and even blends in fairly well with the older dash. So they do still make some single DIN units that are up to date.
What mods are coming? Nothing just yet. I just bought the car today, so I will wait a bit. It won’t even make it to the US for another 3 weeks or so.
It would be really nice if owners of EVs who cannot charge at the fastest rates would not choose the highest power chargers, and no naming convention is going to fix that. There’s still too much mythology surrounding charging that creates confusion.
I’ve driven multiple 1,500+ mile road trips in Teslas. One of my cars is older, and can really only take advantage of the 150kW chargers. One is newer, and can use the 250kW chargers. I’ve arrived at some charging stations that offer both types of chargers to find the 250kW spots mostly filled with cars too old to benefit, while the 150kW spots were wide open. While I know that power sharing on some 150kW chargers can still make the 250kW chargers (which don’t split power between two stalls) more appealing, I doubt that’s why people chose what they did — they saw 250 > 150 and that was it.
I’ve also had several rental EVs in the past couple of years, and each has had different charging capabilities. Some maxed out at much lower rates than my cars, while a couple did have the potential for more. Just because you can use the same plug, doesn’t mean that what you’re getting is the same. Think of a fire hose and a garden hose — they’re different for a reason and either will not serve the purpose of the other well.
Or, all the chargers should have the same top speed, you know, like gas pumps dispense the different grades of fuel.
Wait until you find out how many people fill up with premium just because it says that word.
Apparently they all stopped, because at one local chain in my area the price of premium is only 20 cents more than regular. It’s been a few years since that last happened.
Current new modifications are finished full kustom interior in my 1962 mild kustom Lincoln Continental. I have a large show I’m attending in October and was asked to be an indoor show vehicle…out of 2000 vehicles only 60 indoor show cars! So I’m setting it up in 1960s autorama fashion with puffy stuffing lights and custom stanchions surrounding my car.
Just picked up a first-gen CR-V for my wife, then camped in it before driving back home this weekend. There’s a lot to be done, but aside from maintenance (new brakes, tires, O2 sensor, timing belt, PCV valve), I’d really like to get a pair of camber-adjustable upper control arms because I noticed her front tires seem to roll under and ride on the shoulder more than I’d like them to when she turns. It handles great but I bet it’d be even better with the proper performance alignment. And besides, they sit above the tire and will look really shiny all powdercoated in the Starbucks parking lot
I’m not surprised at all about apartment renters being tentative about EV’s, especially the ones that have to use street parking. Even living in a larger apartment complex would be tough for an EV owner since they most likely couldn’t add a charging station to their garage or parking space.
Alternate option, and what I ended up doing because I’m dumb:
https://www.crutchfield.com/S-4mcrGjgEDgm/p_104BE9ACP/Boss-BE9ACP.html?XVINQ=GLX&awkw=1396175278251&awat=pla&awnw=g&awcr=538384292093&awdv=m&awug=1020090&gclid=CjwKCAjwsfuYBhAZEiwA5a6CDJF47l_JgGdkBYZKj4clEy9jgI72qEJOxff86ALE7jUiccEB6dN7ThoC7ZkQAvD_BwE
I get my cool android auto and carplay features, I don’t have to move HVAC controls to accommodate a double din, and the screen can be moved and adjusted very easily to stay out of the way of my shifter.
Mssr. Root:
#1: Would love to hear more Viggen updates, because I know next to nothing about those except that I believe they’re infamous for torque steer(?)
#2: How do you do italic and bold fonts here on the Autopian?
The charger story reminded me of an uncle who once told me he ended his army career as a deputy assistant sergeant…
At some point I’m going to install the sequential turn led strips under my brake lights on my Korean designed EV where they felt putting them in bumper only was ‘good ’nuff’.
Speaking of EVs! How about just have the chargers all be the 350KW balanced chargers with like 4 cables instead of 2, spaced amongst 2 ‘pumps’, so like the station in the picture it operates pretty much like a gas station, and could service 4 Chevy Bolts, or 2 Ioniq 5s and a Bolt, or 1 Taycan, but nobodied get the cables in a twist if a Bolt pulled up and started taking ‘the fast spot’ as they’d all be the fast spot, or the slow spot.
If a location doesn’t support the 350kW then just have 2 pumps instead of 4 on an island or something I don’t know, but hyper/ultra/extreme/mega/wicked/awesome/radical are not good differentiators like slow/medium/fast would be.
I want to install a brush guard on my 2004 Chevy Silverado 1500. Sadly they all are at least $500! Too much to spend on a $2500 truck. Any help?
Steel is expensive.
You want really cheap? You can make your own out of rebar and a harbor Freight welder. Or out of pallets and some bolts/screws. You should probably spend $10 on some paint for rust prevention too.
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I am going to modify the hood and wheel well inner liners on the CJ7. the GM350 is apparently still too much of a heat generator. need to get the hot stuff out of that space. Hood Vents and then debating on tube fenders with openings or just cut up the stock inner fenders and bolt in mesh.
I’ve never had any problems with heat under the hood in my 76 CJ-7 with a 304 (stock radiator that doesn’t even had a shroud for the fan).
On the subject of vehicle modifications, my sub-100-lb microcar is in the process of being upgraded from 4 horsepower, which already is enough to do donuts, to 13 horsepower, which will make it faster than most cars.
The upgrade entails a roll cage, new aerodynamic body shell based upon a Milan SL velomobile in my possession, light-duty 16″x1.4″ motorcycle rims on all three wheels, solar race car tires, hydraulic disc brakes with modified bicycle calipers/ATV rotors/motorcycle hand brake and DOT4 fluid reservoir, among other things. The goal is to make it able to handle triple digit top speeds with mechanical acceptale reliability. It will also remain pedalable with the motor turned off, and much faster than a normal bicycle thanks to the aerodynamic drag reduction, in spite of being heavier than most bicycles. With the motor on, pedaling can still add thrust and it will have gearing wide enough to careen down the highway at 120 mph with 140 rpm of pedaling still able to add thrust, or climb a mountain with the motor shut off at 2.5 mph with a 60 rpm pedal cadence, and anything in between.
Before I started the upgrades and removed the body shell, it consumed 8-10 Wh/mile, or the equivalent of 3,300-4,200 miles per gallon. I could travel 150-200 miles at 30-35 mph on $0.15 worth of electricity, and a common household electrical outlet could charge it within almost the same duration a Tesla Supercharger could charge a full size electric car.
In some jurisdictions, this vehicle is legally a “bicycle”. I’m also going to hoon the shit out of it, I promise.
That sounds super cool, I was sort of aware of velomobiles as something used to set efficiency/speed records but had no idea they had become common enough for there to be a modification community. Do you daily drive it, or is it a just for fun project? I’d be neat to see a project write up on this site.
I used to daily my custom build until I started the recent set of upgrades. Now I’m using an unmotorized Milan SL. The custom build will be out of commission until sometime next year.
The custom build is meant to be more “sports car” than “bicycle”, but can be perfectly functional as either. I can also get around in it with no license, registration, title, tags, and insurance and there’s nothing the cops have been able to do because where I’m at it is legally a “bicycle”. I get pulled over frequently.
The intent behind the design is to make an “apocalypse vehicle” that will be able to be fueled in as versatile a manner as possible while also being as economical as possible. It is even getting solar panels. So it will be able to use any combination of grid electricity, solar, human power, or even generator electricity. Too bad no one makes cheap/light ethanol-powered fuel cell stacks, because I’d love to have a 1 horsepower set of those in it as well, to increase that versatility. I even selected a wheel size that in a pinch could allow me to use 20″ tires from a child’s BMX bike(albeit only safely at speeds < 35 mph), which are the most common tire size available of any vehicle in the U.S., just in case tires were to become unobtanium.
If it’s got pedals, it is indeed…capable…of running on ethanol. 😉
Flush: After going over my new-to-me ’18 Miata, I’ve got about $240 in parts, and roughly a day in labor of things to do. Biggest of them is getting Android Auto working on it, the rest of the labor is literally just dropping parts in where they go.
Android Auto involves updating the firmware. That step scares me a bit. I don’t want to brick my car.
I’m good with the wrenching and all that, but I just never really got electricity and programming. Its my major failing as an engineer.
Oh lord, the man in that video is taking the entire board out of the car.
He doesn’t have an ESD mat. Why doesn’t he have an ESD mat?
Before I turned wrenches…. wait, hold on, digression time. I turned wrenches for myself, then I did electronics and hated every minute, then I turned wrenches, then I arranged for people to turn wrenches, then I learned why turning wrenches turned wrenches. (Hobbyist mechanic, 3C2x1 in USAF, 2T3x1, civilian service writer, engineering school and engineer)
Clear as mud? ok.
So, before I turned wrenches for money I had to play with electronics cause my recruiter lied to me. It gave me most of the basics of good safe electronic theory. I’ve done upgrades on various PCs and laptops and whatnot with no ESD mat, but it could still nuke what you’re working on. In risk/reward battles, I skew heavily towards no risk
Did nobody learn from F1’s Pirelli Rainbow?
Superhard -> Hard -> Medium -> Soft -> Supersoft -> Ultrasoft -> Hypersoft
Nobody knew what tire was being run and is ultra softer than hyper or harder than super or why are there 4 softs and only 2 hards? Where’s supermedium?
https://www.pmw-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Pirelli_WP-1.jpg
In fairness, Pirelli did offer the full spectrum – including ultrahard and hyperhard, but the teams rejected those choices. The compounds were considered, but only in conjunction with a scheme where a team could assign the HHard tires to its closest competitor for up to 2 full races. RBR team principal Christian HHorner vetoed the proposal.
Left over with an excess stock of UltraHard and HyperHard compounds, Pirelli is exploring the launching of a line of “active lifestyle” condoms; the first edition set ,”Only For the Fans”, will feature an engraving of a team logo, and will be available for all F1 teams, present, past or aspiring.
That Electrify America naming convention bothers me.
1. Agree that hyper and ultra and meaningless and needlessly confusing.
2. What happens when a faster standard is eventually introduced (mega super?)
3. Why not stick with numbers and grades like people already know? 150 KW and 350 KW.
Silly.
Gas stations put stupid names on their gas too.
Regular, Premium, Super, Super Premium, Ultra-Super, Ultra.
So let the EV people do stupid shit too, but just make the numbers obvious and large.
I don’t care what you call 91 octane or 150kw, just give me the numbers.
When I was young I worked at my parents gas station pumping gas whenever the gas pumper quit/got fired/called in sick(yes this was in NJ). So at like, from ages 12-16. I was probably around 13 at the time, guy asks me for $20 of super. I go start the pump it’s doing it’s thing, guy jumps out and is like “what the hell kid?! That’s premium – not super! I didn’t want that! I’m not paying for that now!” And by then it finished pumping. He was referring to mid-grade as “super” because where he usually went to for gas it was either premium or super premium and the mid grade option (that he wanted) was called premium there.
Yeah the 13 year old kid knows what the OTHER gas station calls stuff. Maybe pay attenion to your request and not lose your shit on a young teen over easily mis understood terminology.
Long story short, I agree numbers are easier and that guy was an ass. Also, you bet your ass he paid for it.
Sounds like New Jersey in a nutshell.
Regarding Elkann’s comments, But there is a dangerous drift which works in favour of the middlemen, the organisers and regulators who are putting the world of sport in a difficult position
*cough* Michael Massi *cough*
(At least he’s gone now. I’m still pissed about the last race of last season.)
Know what makes a 1.6L I4 engine rated for 116HP noticeably more rev-happy and playful, all while improving steering feel at speed? Removing the power steering belt, as it turns out. I did it for now-drawn-out AC compressor work and the results are delightful.
So someone, please, talk me down, because my next automotive upgrade is to fully depower my steering rack.
I’d say go for it if you have stock wheels & tires. I removed the ps pump from a couple ‘80s 1.8l Subarus, and really only had difficulty once when I had to do what seemed like a 12-point turn on a blocked trail while I had wildly over-sized wheels & tires on one of them. I would suggest looping the lines together at the rack: on my first deletion, I sprang a leak when one of the bolts I pushed into the cut lines to block them popped out
I’ve heard the depowered racks were substantially less nice than OEM manual racks. Maybe you can find a used/reman manual rack floating around, and that would give you a lovely driving experience. I had a 1.6 as well, never got to taking off P/S but I loved the lightness of the steering and how much feedback I got despite that.
Yeah, a manual rack will have a different ratio that should make it easier to steer at low speeds.
If given the options I’d much rather have manual steering than power steering. EPS is less of a pain in the butt than regular hydraulic power steering but I still prefer manual steering.
116 hp 1.6? Is this by chance a Miata? Then by all means de-power it. My Miata was the base model with no power steering, and it wasn’t heavy at all, and had terrific steering feel. I don’t know why they bothered with power steering in them, to be honest.
Home charging is the main factor holding me back. No easy way to do it, drive way is one a different side of the house than the meter/box. Once I have the money, I plan to add a home charging station along with other updates. Even if I don’t have an EV by the time I sell, it could be a selling point.
Mods. Right now there are few lined up.
– OEM alloy wheels for the Impreza.
– OEM dimming rearview mirror and new side mirrors to all lane assist to the Crosstrek.
After that is fluff items like LED lighting inside, floor lighting, exit door lighting, etc.
Not really the same issue – most renters don’t have the option to install anything whether they can afford it or not.
While not a renter, I face the same issue. Option and cost. I feel for the renters as they cannot add only request charging options.
The landlord/management company has to decide if it is worth it. Install, make sure there are no hoggers, enough spaces to make it worth while to renters.
It all comes down to cost/profit. Once people see they can make money, things will happen.
My landlord fixes what’s broken but also won’t spend a cent that he doesn’t need to. If I told him he needed to run 220 to the garage so I could charge my car, he’d laugh and tell me to stick to gas cars.
220, 221. Whatever it takes.
Is there a 120V outlet anywhere near your driveway? A standard 120V outlet is probably adequate. I have driven my Leaf around 40,000 miles since I bought it 3 years ago. Charging overnight (typically 8 pm to 7 am) adds around 40 miles of range. This was enough to cover my previous round-trip commute of 35 miles. Now that I have a 5 mile commute, I charge maybe every 3rd day. I use fast chargers a few times per year, but >99% of my charging is using a 120V outlet.
If you are considering an EV, spend a few minutes considering how much you drive each day, and how much range is added to your vehicle using a standard 120V outlet. It might take 30 hours to fully charge a modern EV on a 120V outlet, but if you are averaging 30 miles per day, that doesn’t matter. If anything, with longer range EVs, 240V charging is less important since you can “catch up” charge on the days you drive less, or make the occasional trip to a fast charger.
After driving EVs for a few years, I am convinced Level 2/240V charging is unnecessary.
Agreed, Level 1 has been totally fine for me too.
If anything, it’s slow trickle charging has stopped the battery from degrading as fast.
1st Dump: I have trouble distinguishing diesel from petrol from one meter.
2nd Dump: Whatever battery capacity a renter would need to drive away from home and wait on a charge.
Sort of like driving some distance for cheaper petrol.
you must be color blind then, but also Diesel fillers do not fit in Gasoline fill necks generally.
The key there is “generally.”
We have several locally that have gas nozzles on the diesel pumps, so if I attempt to fill I have to use my nozzle adapter. Whether the nozzle is red or green varies.
And of course there’s also BP, where all the nozzles are green except diesel and (sometimes) E85.
Elon’s cult is really doing him no favors here.
Opening the Tesla charging network to other makes is an absolute must in order for it it become a separate profit center, let alone perhaps someday spinning it off (or having that in reserve).
As for me, I am going to wait it out until Electrify America offers a “Hyper – Ultra Fast” charging option!
😉
Some intern in marketing is flipping through a thesaurus looking for his big break.
“uhhhhhh, irrationally-fast?”
After that: Ludicrously Fast. With a plaid label, obviously.
“I Know what to call it; Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!” 😉
(singing) “The rest we got from marketing were even more atrocious!”
My next modification is simple: I’m adding a removable kayak rack to the roof.
It’s something I should’ve done this spring, but I’m just now getting into the sport where I spend money on it rather than just borrow someone else’s to try it out.
I’ll have a few days on the water this year, and I’ll be completely ready for an early start next year.
What kind of kayaking? Ocean, lake, whitewater? Enjoy! My first 3/4 years of whitewater kayaking I used a couple of foam blocks on the roof of my Saturn and ran cam straps through the doors. Worked fine, learned to adjust straps to minimize water leakage and harmonic vibrations. Even would cary Avon Ranger 8 person rafts that way on occasion.
I’m currently doing river and lake kayak fishing in (technically ON) 11ft sit-on-top kayaks. Also a lot of recreational paddling on days when I don’t feel like bringing the fishing gear.
I’m currently paddle powered, but by next year, I’ll add a trolling motor for when I have lines in the water or for the return trip or just for extra fun. Eventually I’ll spend the money on a pedal powered kayak.
There are lots of nice recreational areas and fishing spots near me, but no white water.
sit on tops are great! an electric motor with a battery pack is fantastic for quiet assists.
First and foremost-I took my aunt’s Miata out for about an hour this weekend to just drive and I stalled it 0 times, including in stop and go traffic and on several hills. I’m genuinely proud of myself….it’s hard for me to get adequate wheel time in manual cars (the only person I know who owns one lives a good 45 minutes away) so I’m glad that I’ve more or less gotten the hang of it with only scattered opportunities.
In regards to all the EV stuff…can these companies avoid shooting themselves in the dick for five whole minutes? None of this EV stuff has to complicated but all of the tech bro brain rot keeps churning out solutions no one asked for. If you make affordable EVs that feel like regular cars and have simple infrastructure people will buy them.
This stuff isn’t complicated, and yet here we are. Also, in my area Tesla more or less runs the show when it comes to apartment and other public charging. Lots of complexes have Tesla chargers but nothing else. Elon needs to stop being a petulant man baby for once and start opening that network up to everyone. It would save a lot of headaches and he can get to pretend that he’s saving the world for a few minutes to feed his monumental ego. Everyone wins. Make it happen.
Agree on the Tesla charging network, they should license it to the government and just rake in the dough. It sounds like Electrify America is run by morons.
Well they do EA only because they were caught in Diesel gate. Obviously there’s no well thought-out plan.