Butt Ugly

 

As a general rule Tesla vehicles are quite stylish and sporty.  Not so much the Cyber Truck.

While the technology and innovation is first-rate; the styling is a failure.

Backside of one running down the road.

Butt ugly.  

 

You'll Get A Charge Out Of This

Last year Ford Motor added the Tesla network of Super Chargers to their existing charging network.  As an EV owner this is pretty cool as it expands significantly the chargers available thru Ford's Blue Oval charging network.

On back order since last autumn this showed-up on the porch last week.

A free adapter so I can hook-up to a Tesla fast charger while traveling.

Since I already use a Level Two Tesla Universal Charging Station at home this is an easy-peasy adaptation (pun intended).....

Darth Vader Edition

Not mine.

It's a loaner.

The Ford dealership had to keep our Mach E overnight for a sleepover to replace its software brain.

Long story short - a big brain dump.

This is a model year newer and at 0 - 60 in 3.9 seconds still blows the doors off most piston-powered sports cars.

At least off the line.

Black livery has a Darth Vader menacing vibe.  It looks real cool.  It tempts to lure you to the dark side. Nevertheless, having  been down this path early in my life - no f’ing way. 

No black car!

By the time I got home from Green Bay this Mustang was coated in a uniform layer of flyover country dust…..

Squeegee

One of my pals purchased this for me.

A new squeegee.

You're probably thinking:  What the hell for?

It's for the electric sports car in the background.  My Ford Mustang Mach E, Premium AWD, Extended Range, Battery Electric Vehicle.  Because I no longer visit a gas station and clean the glass while filling my tank I now perform this task at home.  Yes, I have to fill a bucket with warm soapy water the scrub the bugs off the glass.

Rated at 346 horsepower and 428 pounds-feet of torque, when you stomp on the gas (a figure of speech) on this blue rocket and accelerate from 0 to 60 MPH in 3.9 seconds you squash a lot more bugs.  

This will also come in handy during the winter.

 

The Least I Can Do

Turns-out my pal, Braumeister, has a Level Two charger in his garage just like I do.

If I have to travel to the Naked City and stay overnight if he and the missus are in town I might be able to score a spot on the fold out couch and top-off my battery overnight.

If he's reading this he might get a chuckle from the title... 

 

Butt Ugly

The price of the 2024 Tesla Cybertruck starts at $81,895 and goes up to $101,985 depending on the trim and options. Until the rear-wheel-drive Cybertruck arrives for the next model year, with a starting price of $62,985, the lineup only includes the Dual Motor and Beast models.

Finally spotted one of these in the wild today.

That's a pile of scratch for a butt-ugly ride.... 

Remember The Old Electric Car?

 

In keeping with the electric vehicle theme there is this.

1909 Fritchle Electric Car. 100 miles on one charge. 

Low Price of $2000.

That is the equivalent of $69,000 in 2024 dollars.

Nobody Drives A Green Sports Car

This piece of click bait has been floating around social media.....

I have no solar panels or a wind turbine.

I get my power from the grid like most everyone else - 89% of which in Wisconsin is generated by burning fossil fuels.  I did plant 40,000 trees decades ago; consequently my carbon foot print is likely smaller than most folks.  My conscience is clear.

My daily ride is a Ford Mustang Mach-E. I love the advanced driving technology and performance capabilities. My AWD Premium with extended range battery is rated at 346 hp and 428 pounds-feet of torque.   0 to 60 in 3.9 seconds is likely faster than most folks.

GM’s Corvette E-Ray has a 495 hp mid-engine set-up and an electric motor that sends 160 hp to the front wheels for an unfair advantage of 655 hp and 0-60 in 2.5 seconds.

Luring buyers to an electrified Vette or a racy EV isn’t a green pitch.  Nobody calls these “environmentally friendly” sports cars. They’re purchased because consumers are looking for performance, innovation or value.

A fully electrified Corvette is the next frontier. Porsche has plans to replace their Boxster and Cayman ICE models with EVs next year and Ferrari expects release of its first EV in 2026.

Daniel Pund, editor in-chief of Road & Track magazine, put it best; “many consumers previously drawn to fast, fashionable cars have shifted to luxury sport-utility vehicles or electric vehicles.”

And yes, they're expensive.  Get over it.

Saving The Planet

Earlier this year, and 2200 miles ago, we took delivery of a battery electric vehicle - a BEV.  It is a Ford Mustang Mach-E; a sporty number that is capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 in about 3.9 seconds.  If it weren't for all of the driver assist features you could rack-up some serious speeding violations in reasonably short order.  

Hands Free Driving

That aside, my acquisition of this vehicle is not going to save the planet.  Why is that you ask?  It's a consequence of my reliance on the grid.  Without a solar array or wind generator I get my electricity the same way most of my readers do - from the power company.  And the brutal, honest truth is only about 11% of the electricity generated in Wisconsin is from renewable sources.  The remaining 89% is generated by the burning of fossil fuels. 

It should come as no surprise that according to a report issued by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) that this year's most environmentally friendly automobile is the plug-in hybrid electric Toyota Prius Prime SE.  This vehicle can travel up to 44 miles on a battery charge before switching to hybrid mode.  When you factor-in the carbon emissions from both manufacturing and daily operation you have a winning combination.

And while the sale of BEVs continues to rise, the pace of growth has softened a bit as consumer tastes for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) also grows slightly faster.  As a long time shareholder this likely explains the run-up in share value as Toyota Motor has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the popularity of plug-in hybrid vehicles.  (ADR ticker TM).

So, is the EV dead on arrival?  I don't think so.  For a segment of the marketplace such as commuters who want a second vehicle and those who can afford them; an EV remains a solid choice.  Speaking for myself, it is near optimal for local use easily making a round trip to Green Bay, Sheboygan, Manitowoc and Sister Bay.  With a Level Two charger in the attached garage I plug it in before going to bed and it charges overnight during off-peak hours.  As a daily ride an EV is sublime.  Would I drive it to the Gulf Coast to visit the grand kids?  With some planning I could.  Yet the notion is unappealing as the Honda Odyssey minivan is a more practical choice.

Another interesting thing I've learned is that adopters of a battery electric vehicle rarely go back and replace it with an internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV).  I suspect that battery technology, and consequently range, will continue to evolve.  The price point will likely also move with the export of mass-produced, lower cost EVs from China.  An unknown factor is Donald Trump.  Demonstrably hostile to electric vehicles if he wins reelection this fall I suspect that the sale of BEVs will suffer.

Meanwhile, the sale of BEV and PHEV units will likely continue to rise as automobile manufacturers seek to improve the fuel efficiency of their fleets.  Ford, Kia and Toyota are going to continue to expand their selection of hybrid options to appeal to consumers who are not quite ready for a fully electric vehicle.  

In conclusion, is an electric vehicle or a hybrid better for the environment and save the planet?  The answer is complicated because battery manufacturing is a dirty business.  There are plenty of carbon inputs in the assembly of both.  And where I live the grid doesn't offer much in the way of renewable energy.  Factors such as range anxiety, personal preference, daily use, attraction to new technology and affordability probably play an outsize role.  I like my Mustang Mach E more than I enjoyed driving the 5.0L fire-breathing Mustang I owned between marriages.  It's a fast and sporty drive and other than my neighbors who drive Chevy Corvettes or race on the local dirt tracks I have one of the fastest rides in my small community and virtually none of the maintenance.  Besides, our family presently owns three additional ICEVs, a 4-wheeler and side-by-side powered by gasoline, a diesel tractor and a boat with a couple of two-cycle motors.

Bottom line, I'm not saving the planet. Big deal; so what.  Now, get off my damn lawn...

Blue Lightning

After a long, long wait we got this home without a speeding ticket.  A BEV - battery electric vehicle.

A Ford Mustang Mach E.

0 to 60 in about 3.8 seconds.....