Technology

This is the exact reason I've been putting off buying a new car. Ever since I saw the video of the guys controlling cars remotely with a laptop, paysalled heated seats, no key slot to unlock the door, infotainment systems replacing buttons, and more, I don't want to buy a new car!

I would absolutely love to start using the new technologies, as I studied them in school and even did a couple of research presentations on the newer battery chemistries, photovoltaics, and designed an on-site hydrogen generation process as an energy storage medium. But, if I can't get stuff like it was in the good ol' days of analog buttons, I dont really want it.

I have a Hyundai Kona Electric 2022 and it is a perfectly dumb electric car

The Bolt didn't have any of that stuff. It was a pretty simple car, in a good way.

The Kia Niro is pretty close, although if you're really serious about making it dumb you'll need to pull the cellular modem. It doesn't depend on any internet services, but it does connect to the internet to get nearby charger data.

Probably the Chevy Bolt? Its a pretty bare bones ev (which is has to be to maintain that cost). I drive a Rav4 Prime which doesn't have a lot of the nonsense you see in a lot of evs (but some stuff is paywalled like the app/media stuff, though that's nothing new)

It's also up to $15k in tax credits and lower prices from Tesla, makes a huge difference when they're affordable.

During the last century, automakers had a habit of putting all kinds of crazy engines in their cars in an attempt to get more sales, and they usually they tend to ended in failure. EVs were no different and were actually advertised as far back as the 80s or late 70s, but faced yet another uphill battle. I don't think they ever expected the technology to actually be feasible, let alone get government and public support.

Dealer knows they are in a good spot and not looking to move them any faster. I heard ppl waiting a year for their Ioniq. Things are changing market wise so I hope things change in your favor.

That station is always an outlier and not at all representative of prices in LA. Right across the street from that place they sell gas for a normal price.

Everyone in LA laughs every time someone references that gas station because it's clearly either a trap (for tourists/rental cars on an expense account) or a front for a mob.

Just as an example, right now gas prices are around the $5.00-5.40 range (5.40 for premium).

That gas station is currently at $6.60/gal for regular. There's a chevron right down the street for $5.15/gal

I mean, compared to when I was a kid in Sacramento our summer skies have been incredibly blue. We use to have really heavy smog here and especially in the last 10 years I’ve really noticed an increase in quality. That said the fires kind of stop some of that progress every now and then.