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Feds Killed Polestar and Spared Volvo. That Should Terrify You (www.thedrive.com)
submitted 2 months ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] 7 points 2 months ago* (6 children)

I'm interested to see how the low-cost Chinese brands do on longer-term reliability. Their initial build quality is generally good, but their product cycles are so short that I don't see how they can capture knowledge that leads to them correcting design defects. To me, it looks like too much churn. But maybe they'll be fine. We'll have to see.

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  • [–] 5 points 2 months ago

    This is absolutely an issue, having used many 2nd hand cars for decades, most of them Japanese but also French because they were cheap, I was extremely astounded when we bought a 14 year old German built Opel Vectra, we had it until it reached 20 with next to no repairs, before it finally gave in mostly because of a legal technicality.

    When we had our new (used) car at the shop, and borrowed an only 8 year old mid range car, there was no doubt that compared to that, our 20 year old Vectra was still a way nicer car, faster, smoother, more powerful and better comfort, and also better looking IMO, and would absolutely be worth the repair that was only a sixth of what that 8 year old car cost on the free market!

    Problem is that our old Vectra is $850 in taxes per year, because the fuel economy isn't as good as newer cars. And that $850 per year tax kills the economy of keeping it.
    Our new car that is heavier and way more powerful is only $100 in taxes per year!! Because it's an EV.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (4 children)

    I’ve got a bad feeling about overall repairability. Glue and potting used throughout.

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  • [–] 5 points 2 months ago (3 children)

    Not like American EVs ... Oh hang on, another bit fell off a cyber truck

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    There’s a lot of knowledge about how to build a car that doesn’t apply to EVs. Similarly there’s a lot that does and it will take a while to sort it out. cybertruk is a good example of what not to do on many levels while charging a premium

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  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago

    I’m happy they did try it, tried something very different even if it didn’t succeed.

    But as much as Lemmy wants pickups and that is the most frequently bought vehicle in the US, perhaps that was a bad vehicle type to try. Pickup owners are also stereotypically conservative and excessively brand loyal: there a lot going against you in that market.

    Look at Ford, also failing but with the opposite strategy. An EV truck trying to be identical to the existing ICE truck was also not the way to go. Their new strategy of an EV for smaller more affordable pickups seems like a winner to me, but we’ll see

    While GM continues to sell their EV pickups following the ford strategy of exactly what they’re selling for ICE trucks, they can’t be making any money with how few they sell, anfpd they’ll never sell more with those prices

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