Nissan is the Japanese automaker that’s in the hardest position when it comes to planning for the future. Having won some independence from Renault, the company is learning the hard way that it’s not necessarily ready for what comes next, leading to some difficult decisions.
The fluke of currency valuations has worked a bit in Nissan’s favor, as has a recent court decision, but having money and knowing how to spend it are two different things (see: mules with spinning wheels). Where Nissan goes with its EV plans could decide the fate of the company.
It’s a bleak news day and it’s going to get worse. VinFast, another automaker facing some tough existential questions, is facing an investigation over a wreck in one of its vehicles that killed an entire family of four.
What else? Forced labor. It’s probably happening in China, and BMW says it inadvertently imported about 8,000 Minis with parts from a supplier on the Treasury Department’s no-no list.
Slightly less bleak, depending on your perspective, is the news that Ford is going to accept the newly revised (in its favor) EPA emissions and not make a big ol’ thing out of it.
Let’s Dump.
Nissan Delays $500 Million EV Investment In The USA
Oh, Nissan. It’s a brand I like, though, I’m starting to realize, mostly for sentimental reasons. There’s not much that Nissan makes at the moment I truly love. The new Frontier looks interesting. The Leaf is cheap, but also-ran. Most of the company’s vehicles are also-ran and not quite clever enough to feel like anything other than a decent value.
At least in the United States, the company is in a deep pit of mediocrity and pissing off its own dealers with uncompetitive, meh products. The company is also in the process of separating itself more from the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, which means it needs to do more on its own.
But what will it do?
For a while, it seemed like a new generation of electric cars, many built in the company’s underutilized Mississippi plant, could be the key to the company’s growth. But with rivals like Honda and Toyota kicking the ever-lovin’ crap out of Nissan in just about every category, it does seem like Nissan would be better suited it if offered some real hybrids here.
And now comes news, via Automotive News, that Nissan is going to halt the development of the first of its next-generation EV vehicles:
In a memo to suppliers obtained by Automotive News, Nissan said it has adjusted the “development schedule” of a pair of battery-powered sedans “to enhance product competitiveness.”
“Please stop all development activities related to [the EV sedan] project until further notice,” Nissan instructed suppliers in the letter, dated May 17.
Nissan had planned to begin production of the electric sedans in June 2026. The schedule has been delayed twice, with the most recent start date pushed to November of that year.
That sounds bad, but I think it could be a good thing for Nissan. Just look at the extremely weak performance of its Ariya EV crossover, which offers sub-average performance in an uncompelling package.
Nissan probably should stop and consider if what it’s planning makes sense. More EV adoption is coming, but another extremely mid and expensive electric sedan isn’t going to do it. What Nissan should offer is something cheaper.
This is a big deal for Nissan, as pointed out by an analyst in the article:
At least Nissan, like other Japanese automakers, is making money thanks to a weak yen and can therefore use some of its profits for investment. Plus, a Saudi firm connected to then Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn will likely have to pay $320 million to Nissan, which doesn’t hurt either.
Why Did A Family Of Four Die In A VinFast VF 8?
In our review of the VF 8, the first American EV product from Vietnamese automaker VinFast, we told consumers not to buy the VF 8 because it was unfortunately too half-baked. Most of the issues revolved around software and a recall was supposed to fix the issue, but perhaps there are more issues that need to be resolved.
The top vehicle safety regulator in the U.S. has launched a formal probe into an April crash involving the all-electric VinFast VF8 SUV that claimed the lives of a family of four, TechCrunch has learned.
The crash happened in Pleasanton, California at about 9 p.m. on April 24. Police told local news outlets at the time that it appeared the vehicle lost control before crashing into an oak tree and catching fire. A spokesperson for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) told TechCrunch on Monday that its Special Crash Investigations division will “document the crash circumstances and the ensuing fire.”
A NHTSA complaint about the incident comes from someone reported to be a co-worker of one of the victims; this coworker claims to own the vehicle and says they had previously experienced an issue with the car’s lane-keeping assistant. The co-worker alleges the car jerked itself to the right.
BMW Used Parts From Supplier Tied To Forced Labor
A new report from Senator Ron Wyden’s staff over the use of parts from banned suppliers shows that Volkswagen isn’t the only company with issues. From the report:
Importing goods made with forced labor to the United States has been illegal since the 1930s. Recognizing the systematic, government-sanctioned use of forced labor in the Xinjiang region of China, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) in 2021 strengthened enforcement of the law with respect to facilities in Xinjiang and other entities identified as having been complicit in China’s forced labor scheme.
Despite those laws, automakers have been slow to adequately watchdog their supply chains to ensure parts originating in Xinjiang and other identified entities are not used in cars and trucks imported to the United States, the staff report found. In January 2024, Volkswagen disclosed that a shipment of its vehicles intended for the U.S. market included parts made with a supplier banned by the U.S. government under UFLPA.
While the Volkswagen disclosure became public earlier this year, committee staff discovered that BMW imported thousands of vehicles intended for the United States that included parts banned under UFLPA.
BMW admitted there was an issue, stopped importing parts from the supplier, and is now trying to replace those parts.
Ford: We’re Cool With New EPA Regulations
The Environmental Protection Agency put out a potential set of emissions regulations in April of 2023, leading automakers to mostly freak out. After a lot lobbying, the new regs were revised to be slightly less stringent.
Even with lower standards, automakers still producing ICE cars have a tall hill to climb. Ford, for its part, isn’t sweating it according to this Reuters article on the company’s approach to the new regs:
“Complying with emissions regulations requires lengthy advance planning, and Ford has taken steps to transform its business to ensure compliance with stricter emissions standards,” the Dearborn-based automaker said.
It said it welcomed the regulatory stability that the Multi-Pollutant Rule will provide, preventing the “possibility of flip-flopping or changing standards.”
Former President Donald Trump, who is seeking a return to the White House, has vowed to reverse the Biden rules that would boost electric vehicles.
Neat.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
This song came on the radio this morning and I had to share it. Even if you don’t know who US3 is or that this song is called “Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)” you probably recognize those horns and the “Funky, Funky” sample.
The Big Question
What’s a Nissan EV that would work? Or maybe it’s a hybrid?
Before I started frequenting car blogs, I didn’t know Nissans were so bad. I’d ridden in several and they seemed fine. I’d driven some as rentals and they seemed fine. The looks are a bit polarizing on some of their vehicles, but, whatever, some people like them. Soulless? Yeah, it’s transportation, just like a Toyota. Unreliable? OK, the CVT is terrible, but it usually works out for the first owner, and, hey, I would say Ford knows all about terrible transmissions (ahem, Powershift).
This is just to say that I don’t think most people view Nissan negatively. If anything, it’s just one of the small car brands in the US that gets overlooked. If you’re in the market for an affordable vehicle, they produce one. If you want a sedan, got ya covered. SUVs and crossovers? of course.
What kind of EV should they produce? Probably a full size SUV with 300+ miles of range priced around $50,000. How hard could it be?
They weren’t always bad. The 80’s-90’s Nissans were right there with Toyota/Honda for the most part. Maximas, Stanzas. The hard body of course. The Pathfinder and Xterra were solid SUVs.
After the Renault merger, they just completely lost their way, and here we are.
I had a ’94 Sentra SE-R followed by a 99 Maxima SE with a five speed. Both car punched above their price class in performance in a solid, practical, reliable package. Nissan was equal to or half a notch above Honda and Toyota, now they are a notch down.
What do I think of when Nissan comes to mind? Soul-less, and cheap, SUVs & cars.
I’d like to think Nissan would benefit more if they’d focus on their image a bit better.
Less volume-chasing, and more reliability / upscale. Similar as Mazda did when they pivoted with the Kodo design language and released the Shinari concept car.
I think if Nissan had an EV with a range-extending ICE motor (as an option??) in a series hybrid setup, that would be a good thing.
“What’s a Nissan EV that would work?”
Personally I think they should make an electric minivan… since nobody is making one of those yet
Pacifica PHEV would like a word.
That’s a hybrid, not a true electric van.
True, but for the first 30 miles it is all electric, and pretty sweet. I do find it puzzling that a BEV minivan hasn’t happened yet… Raise the height (or just the interior floor) 2-3 inches and they’d have the freaking largest space for a flat battery pack of any vehicle shy of maybe a Hummer. SMH.
Nissan is hugely popular in Central and South America. I remain convinced that if it wasn’t for the Latin American population in the US, Nissan might have left the US market by now. I visited a local Nissan dealer a few years ago, and it was difficult to locate an employee who was a native (or competent) English speaker.
I don’t like those ADAS that think they are smarter than you when it comes to make a quick decision. The other day I was using my Level “2” cruise control where it can pilot between lanes and you can keep your hands off for a few seconds before it beeps at you. Well, I saw an orange barrel out of their regular location invading a lane, I tried to evade it ahead of time but it pull me back to the lane with so much force that almost lost control but I hit the brakes on time to get back to what I wanted to do.
It was a small adjustment that if I had full control I wasn’t going to react like that, I didn’t even needed to leave my lane but the car reacted so stupid. I havent turn it on since then.
The Frontier should be first in line for hybrid and EV versions. It’s a simple, BOF platform that should be easy to create variants. It’s one of their most competitive products. Hybrid and BEV midsize trucks are an underserved segment. It’s a no-brainer.
This just tells me Nissan finally caught on to the fact that sedans are one of the weakest segments of the EV (and broader) market right now. I’m frankly a little surprised this was their next big thing in the first place.
Re: VinFast. If I were a Chinese automaker I’d be watching this story very closely. If a cheap new Asian marque killed people with half-baked tech it’s going to be a big blow to their chances to dump their cars here. There’s already a pretty strong anti-Chinese cars sentiment and this won’t help (you and I know VinFast is not Chinese, but I bet your average consumer doesn’t know the difference).
I fully expect Fox to do everything to connect VinFast with being a Chinese product without full on saying they’re Chinese.
VinFast is IndoCHINESE!!!
Nissan has dug themselves a nice little rut selling mediocre vehicles to people who just want A Car. They don’t need to innovate or produce anything that exceeds expectations or raises pulses. They can do that just as easily producing mild Hybrids and PHEVs as they do with their current lineup and I think this is their sweet spot. Hybrid all the things and leave the actual innovation to automakers whose customers care about that sort of thing.
They are the new Toyota in some sense. I consider the frontier the new (old) tacoma. Reliable, simple and relatively cheap, especially with the pressure on their dealers.
I’d still rather deal with a turbocharged Toyota engine than a naturally aspirated Nissan engine
Well, seeing the issues with the new V6 Turbo engines, I’d hold off a few years on the 4 banger. The only plus with Toyota is that they traditionally will cover the mistakes for YEARS after they are discovered. That gives a second owner, or even a third, some mental relief. I have no idea how Nissan treats customers long term.
I would take the Nissan VQ over a n/a Toyota engine any day, and I’m not even bearish on Toyota engines. If there is one engine that Nissan has got dialed-in, it’s the VQ.(As unpleasant as it may be to the ears.)
I would like to see an i3 style range extended version of the Leaf. I realize I may literally be the only Leaf fan on this site, but they are actually nice cars to drive. A lot of people are biased against these cars due to battery failures in early models, but later models have held up well. The biggest problem is the functional lack of fast charging due to the stupid CHAdeMO port. These issues could be remedied by a NACS port and a small ICE range extender. A smaller, cheaper battery would be fine as long as it had at least 80 miles of city range and the ability to drive at highway speeds using the range extender.
I know we will never see it, but I think a reasonably priced Leaf REX could work.
I had a 1st gen Leaf and I really liked it. It would have been perfect if it had 150, maybe 200 miles range.
I also really liked my OG Leaf. My 2016 was great for commuting and local driving, but 20-30% more range would have helped a lot. I read about some companies in Europe that sold supplementary batteries to increase range, as well as a company in the US that could retrofit a larger battery of a generation 2 Leaf into an OG Leaf. Both are cool ideas, but too expensive for the end result, unfortunately.
I think a second-generation Leaf would be a great car for the money if it had a CCS port, particularly if it had access to the Tesla charging network. Those were quite a bit nicer than first-generation cars, in addition to the improved range. A 2G Leaf wouldn’t be a road trip machine with a CCS port, but fast charging is great for mid-range trips as well as days when you forgot to plug your car in the night before. I’m upset at Nissan for including the stupid CHAdeMO port. It seems like they wanted the second-generation Leaf to fail.
Yeah, exactly this. We got our first OG Leaf in 2011 and are on our 4th one as we leased them all for 3 years. We bought out our most recent one after the lease ended. The interior has really improved since that OG generation and our current one (4 years old now) still gets 100% charge, which is good for about 225 miles. Agree wholeheartedly about the CCS port. It’s a no-brainer. We have always enjoyed and appreciated the Leafs we’ve had. They are small, inexpensive, comfortable, and were very reliable for us. Given that we had always leased them, we never even had to buy a new set of tires or even replace the wiper blades. We’ll need to do those things on the one we now own, but in 13 years of ‘ownership’, literally the only cost I’ve ever incurred, other than charging it at home has been to top off the washer fluid. None of them ever required service of any kind (although I think I remember taking one of them in for a warrantied recall remedy, but can’t remember the issue).
It always baffled me as to why we didn’t see a hell of a lot more of them on the roads. The obvious answer is CHAdeMO and its inherent limitations, but they could, and absolutely should, remedy that. Readers of enthusiast sites like the Autopian are always (correctly) soap-boxing about how we need more small, inexpensive car options, and the Leaf has unfairly, imo, been discounted by that same group for the past 14 years.
We have a 2015 Leaf also, and love it. Cheap to buy used, great around town, costs nothing to run. Ideal if you can charge at home. If you can’t, probably not a great choice.
Nissan should be able to build the mythical 20k$ EV: 40-50 kWh LFP batteries (liquid cooled), NACS charging port, no gimmicks. Not a lifestyle statement, just honest, basic transport. Maybe also make a mini-pickup variant, like the VW Rabbit Pickup.
I have just been driving an MG4 EV. I do not do do new cars, this thing does car stuff so easily I could be converted. Nissan could do this.
My “fix Nissan” plan in the style of the normal TMD questions:
Step 1: Admit that the future isn’t 100% BEV. It might not even be 50% BEV. All other steps follow from that realization. We’ll take a page out of Honda’s book and focus on 3 core models: the Kicks, Rogue, and Pathfinder. The Altima goes fleet-only, the rest of the cars are dropped (including the already-dead Leaf). Continue to sell the Frontier until the new Mitsu truck collaboration is ready. Keep selling the GT-R, no reason not to. Drop the Z.
Infiniti hasn’t produced anything segment-competitive in years, the whole lineup is gone along with the brand. We lost to Acura, Lexus, and, increasingly, Mazda. We won’t beat those brands in the near term, no point in wasting more money.
Produce a PHEV Pathfinder using Mitsubishi’s PHEV system. Keep the existing gas-only model as well. The gas-only model will be the top model in the lineup with luxury appointments.Adapt/create a hybrid platform for use on the Kicks and Rogue. This will be the only powertrain available on those models. The setup should be a system similar to that found in the Honda Accord where there is no real transmission to speak of. This way, we keep the ZF8 in the gas Pathfinder and everything else uses the eCVT style. No more Jatco crap.Keep selling the refreshed Kicks until the hybrid powertrain is readyDitch the disastrous Rogue powertrain, no sense throwing good money after bad. Replace it with anything you have on hand (including Mitsubishi’s engines) until the above hybrid powertrain is ready.Keep the Ariya around as needed for regulation compliance and to keep experimenting with BEV platforms. It will only be available on lease to get the price down via the tax credit loophole. Release new BEVs as needed and as the market allows.
I realized/recalled my worst fear with cars…. A steering wheel not SOLELY powered by myself.
I can’t think of any other scarier thing than my steering wheel moving to lock position at 80mph on the highway.
There is no way I’m interested in automating the steering wheel. I am VERY much NOT ready for this, and my level of trust behind the logic controlling this is still pretty much negative.
Gas or brakes, yes, if fine with them. They don’t cause the vehicle to veer off the road in the same sense, you just slow down or speed up. This is easily overcome by the ignition switch or brakes. But, you can’t overcome a jerky steering wheel nearly as safely.
There is a lane assist on my wifes Yukon. When I go around a biker or runner on our road it almost forces me back into the person I am trying to avoid. I think its a matter of time until someone loses their grip for a minute and the car “corrects” into a bicycle. The feature is a good idea, but it really isn’t where it needs to be. I can pull hard away from the object I am passing, and there is no override, it just pulls back.
Make a cheap, good EV CUV. Price it about $30k. It’ll lease like hotcakes. Put the LEAF in the museum where it belongs. Next, hybrid all the things. That would likely ease the burden on their CVT’s along with giving Toyota and Honda some competition. Surely Renault has a platform they can share.
Yep, most Renaults (if not all, excluding EVs) have a hybrid version and, given that they are still an alliance, it wouldn´t be a bad a idea to take their platforms and use them to launch hybrids in North America under the Nissan brand.
I’ve always felt that Nissan and Stellantis are leaving money on the table by not homologating some Renault and Peugeot models for North America, especially hybrids and small CUVs.
I know you’ve typically ended sections with that before when you don’t have any further comment to make, but it does look a little off-putting to see that right after a sentence including “Donald Trump […] has vowed [..]” that I think most of us agree would be significantly environmentally worse than alternatives.
2ndeded
Yeah, because Trump would never break a vow…
I first heard Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) in a commercial for the 2000 Chevrolet Cavalier:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gOtCEnhtck
The song heavily samples Herbie Hancock’s “Cantaloupe Island”.
This song was EVERYWHERE when it came out. My office basically had it on constant rotation: somebody would play the whole thing, then hand the CD to somebody else, and so on until it got back around to the first person. Daily, for a dragged-out three months. It’s a good record, but possibly too good for its own good in that I never want to hear it again.
If by this Ford means they’ve simply switched every vehicle to a significantly less stringent SUV/Truck size category, then yes! They absolutely have adapted. They’re pulling equal levels of nonsense to Chrysler who classified the PT Cruiser as a “Light Truck” for emissions reasons to get a CAFE bump.
Lets not pretend that Ford is pioneering low-emissions high-economy ICE/Hybrid powertrains. Smaller Turbo engines are the norm in the industry, and hybrids are spreading, and while the Ford Hybrid system in the Maverick is great and all, the massively lowered regulations for trucks, which mind you is a massive percentage of Fords product line, and lesser restrictions on larger SUVs mean Ford can easily get through this updated emissions regulation set with far less investment than other companies.
“Transform it’s business” is just fancy code for “Cut every non-SUV save the Mustang because they’re harder to hit emissions targets on” and this is because the US does a horrendous job at accurately classifying vehicles for tax and emissions reasons, and the Big 3’s lobbying is WHY we’re in this position. Ford isn’t the hero here, it’s the villain.
It’s like Apple PR supporting Right-to-Repair, but their parts pairing is protected by the DMCA…which supersedes state right-to-repair laws.
Most of the OEMs are the villains, though they get the all clear from the legislature that allows the loopholes. A less cynical me that never existed might allow that they were originally written in ignorance and stupidity in being unable to predict the reactions by automakers, but with no meaningful change to the loopholes in the ensuing decades, corruption is the conclusion.
Nissan should make a small hybrid pick-up. Skip the futurist looks like the Santa Cruz and make it rugged looking like the Hard Body from the 80’s. And most important, keep it affordable.
This is a great idea. The Maverick has shown there is a market for it. The Nissan hard body was a popular truck. This is something that will get people in the show room who aren’t just there because they have a 500 credit score and can’t get a loan at the Honda dealer.
Use the same drivetrain to hybrid-ize the Rogue, Pathfinder maybe. Honda and Toyota sell a ton of hybrid CR-Vs, RAV4s, and Highlanders. Compete with them.
It should also be an easily repairable body-on-frame design. Keep it light, basic, with minimal features, and most importantly, SMALL(like the 90s Nissan hardbody, but maybe lower in height). The base ICE hybrid model should have a manual transmission. Have an all-electric version as well. Design it with good aero(for a boxy truck, at least). A Cd value under 0.35 should still be possible while keeping the aesthetic(although it’s supposed to b a work truck, so who cares?). Curb weight should be under 3,000 lbs, AWD should be standard, and the basic configuration should have a bed large enough to fit a 4×8 sheet of plywood.
This could mean a 50 mpg truck using a parallel-hybrid configuration with a small 4-cylinder ICE. The same EV drive system could be used in the pure EV model to keep costs down.
The EV could probably get a 120-140 mile range on the highway with a 40 kWh pack. That could increase to possibly 200 miles with a retractable bed cover that turns it into a streamliner when deployed and optional aero package(see Phil Knox’s Toyota T100, which had a 0.25 Cd value after he got done with it).
Both could be priced at or under $25,000. People who need an inexpensive, durable, long-lasting work truck would flock to these like flies on crap.
The most shocking thing is that somebody actually bought a Vinfast
Weren’t they leasing them for like next to nothing? I could see someone on a budget thinking it is a good idea. Looks fancy, cheap, why not?
Sounds like they may have learned the answer to that question the hard way and too late.
The least shocking thing is that somebody bought it in a Vinfast. Tragic.
Yeah. I spotted one near Charlotte with temp plates and took a pic for the car spotting discord here. I was surprised and now I’m alarmed.
The Nissan EV equivalent to the ICE Versa or Altima sedans.
We’re talking no more than 35 kWh of LiFePO4 battery. Forego all the touchscreen nonsense and use real buttons for everything. Keep it simple, keep it light, keep it aero(to the point of throwing styling to the wind, as we need a Cd value around 0.16), so that a 200+ mile range can be consistently had in a product coming in at under $25,000 MSRP. Then design it for easy battery repair/replacement and motor/inverter servicing, so that it is most importantly, ECONOMICALLY REPAIRABLE 20 YEARS LATER WITH 250,000+ MILES ON IT.
Sales might start off slow, but it would have no US competition, and word would get around as the cars gained some years on them.
How do you make a battery that’s economically replaceable, but also integral to the crash structure?
Easily.
Of significantly higher risk is the hole in your car you get into and out of every time you use the vehicle. A battery bolted to the underside of the vehicle does not inherently make it less safe, or not safe, or not economically. The economical benefit is the batteries costs would plummet.
Which leads me to this rant against f’n doors! [redacted—nobody wants to read my crazy shit]
The McKee Sundancer from half a century ago demonstrates one possible way.
The charger I purchased for my custom-built trike can also have custom charge profiles made for batteries that don’t even exist yet. It cost all of $300 and is programmable with any Windows or Linux PC. If slid state batteries ever enter the market, upgrading could be done in an afternoon, myself.
There really are no excuses for EV repairs being so expensive. They are deliberately designed to be such, when they should be designed in the opposite manner. The reason is because there are a lot less maintenance items on an EV for the manufacturer to nickel and dime the operator with, so they’re doing it through the proprietary battery packs and proprietary integrated tech(touch screens and subscription services) that are sealed off from repairs via software, and taking a drive system technology that should be able to regularly last a human lifetime, and prematurely rendering it into fodder for the landfill when something breaks soon after the warranty is up. And it’s stupid.
Screw those greedy C-suite assholes. Let the Chinese in. Bring back competition.
IOW, pick up where Tesla stopped…. replacement batteries. We all know they are the right answer.
Not just replacement batteries. Chargers that can be quickly/inexpensively reprogrammed for new battery configurations. Battery packs that can be quickly slid out of the car, and a new one slid into it. Accessible battery packs and connectors. Battery packs designed to minimize monitoring and cooling requirements and made for maximum reliability and longevity, even if you’ll lose 20% of peak horsepower. Developed procedures for repairing packs at the individual cell level and then publishing repair guides on doing so. An end to locking the local mechanic out of repairs via software.
To Tesla’s credit, they know how to make a pack last 500,000+ miles. But the shelf life issue remains(there’s no getting around that with chemical batteries), these packs are neither accessible nor easily/economically repairable, and everything is locked behind a Tesla paywall. All the other manufacturers with road-going EVs available in the US are even worse.
I feel like Nissan could restyle the Leaf a-la Toyota Prius, switch to LFP batteries and add CCS charging and that’d be ‘good nuff’ for an EV from them, then hybrid the Rogue/Altima/Maxima and away you go.
Them finally moving to CCS when the entire rest of the industry is moving from CCS to NACS would actually be very on-brand.
Lol good point! With Elon going all red wedding on the charging team though, maybe folks rethinking that.
I’m going to keep beating my dead horse…Nissan could be right back in the game if it electrified their family haulers. There’s a gap in the market for large, hybrid cars since manufacturers have been operating under the assumption that people who want them will just put up with shit fuel economy.
That’s not the case anymore. Toyota can’t keep hybrid Highlanders on lots. If Nissan offered a hybrid Pathfinder/Infiniti equivalent they’d sell very well. Hell, that platform itself is actually pretty damn good. The only complaints about it seem to be related to the ancient VQ engines being thirsty and unrefined.
As always, it’s one that is capable of 500 miles of range at 0 deg F, or capable of replenishing 250 miles in 5 minutes or less. Form factor, price, amenities, etc are all irrelevant if those simple conditions are met.
People love to give me shit over these requirements, but I’ve been consistent in them for a decade now, and I ask for nothing that my gas cars aren’t already capable of.
250 Miles in 5 minutes is all I ask.
That’s a pretty fast car you’re talking about.
(/s)
We did a 12-hour (round trip) road trip this weekend and were joking about how obsessive we are about ETA. Yes, I have to pee. Yes, I will hold it for 200 miles until we need to stop for gas. I just CAN’T get myself in a headspace where I’m stopping for 30 minutes to recharge the battery. I don’t care if it’s irrational.
Yep, I have little kids and every extra hour in the car can feel like 4. We generally leave after work and delays just mean an even later night.
I’m glad for those people who can leisurely tour the country, but that is not my reality.
How is it “irrational”? I want the driving part of a road trip done. I barely drink or eat anything, so I don’t stop unless I need fuel. Fuel up, hit the head – back on the road in 10 min or less. I don’t want to hang out for 45 minutes watching electrons flow. I could be 30 miles closer to my destination instead.
I get it. I just meant that the level of stress I experience over a 10-minute delay is irrational.
They’re getting there, has to be a combo of efficiency/pack capacity/fast charging speed, Ioniq 6 is the one to beat right now, MT tested it at 193 miles in 15 minutes, and range over 350 miles, so about 25% your requested charge speed, but 72% your range.
So with current technology the 500 miles is definitely possible, and as the pack size increases so can the charging speed, just a matter of cost of a pack that big, and is it necessary, maybe as an option? Maybe a modular add on pack that docks in the frunk?
More like 50% of my range I expect. 350 is likely in perfect conditions, not the depths of a Midwestern winter.
Right, just saying they’re getting there, if they took the capacity they put in the Hummer, and put it in something like a Lyriq, it would get be close. Maybe they could offer a Paladium level Celestiq with that kind of option, but again price would be at least double.
Put a luxury sedan body on the Hummer battery/chassis. Probably 7-800 miles EPA range, which is enough. Id buy it.
Honestly, I think the Ariya could be competitive if it were priced a bit lower or wore a different badge. It’s too bad the Leaf didn’t keep up with the times, because I think Nissan could have been ahead of the EV curve.
If they really want to win some market share, make the Frontier a hybrid/PHEV/EV. If they can undercut the Tacoma hybrid or corner the midsize EV and/or PHEV market, they’d really have something.
Out of Spec Reviews did an episode where a friend of the channel leased an Ariya for something like $350. Apparently some dealers are getting desperate. But Kyle (the host) said at that price the Ariya becomes an easy recommendation for him, because it is very well-equipped and comfortable.
I would like to ask a very naïve question about ICE emissions regulations.
What actually happens if an automaker fails to meet the emissions regulations? Slap on the wrist? Fines? Block sale of those vehicles? . . . Jail?
Fines. HEFTY fines.
See: Dieselgate.
That’s simplified due to outright cheating to mask it, but the concept is similar. Basically if an automaker can’t meet requirements, car should not be on the market, and if it is, fines far greater than any potential profit per unit will be levied as a warning shot