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Electrify America Is Shutting Down All Its 150-350kW Chargers Due To Potential Cable Defects (cnet.com)
Electrify America, a Volkswagen subsidiary created as part of the German automaker's $2 billion settlements with California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its use of emission test cheating devices in its diesel vehicles, is shutting down all of its high-powered 150- and 350-kilowatt electric chargers due to a potential manufacturing defect with the liquid-cool charging cables. CNET reports: The cables in question come from a supplier called Huber+Suhner. Electrify America's release didn't specify what the defect might be or whether any injuries or damage had occurred. "The safety of our customers is our highest priority," said Giovanni Palazzo, president and CEO of Electrify America. "Out of an abundance of caution, Electrify America is shutting down all of our stations that use the Huber+Suhner high-powered cables until we can confirm that they can be operated safely. We are confident that Huber+Suhner will investigate and resolve this issue as quickly as possible." Thankfully, 50-kilowatt CCS chargers, Level 2 chargers, and CHAdeMO units will still be running.
A "Tesla killer" needs to have a decent price point (the long range Model 3 is still on the expensive side), with good range. Good range means that it'll fill your need as a daily driver under any condition, without ever having to worry about a roadside top-up of the battery. If you have that, fast charging isn't even that important for most people; just look at the insane demand for the Hyundai Kona which has good range (> 400km WLTP) but only charges at 50kW max (some say 70kW, not sure if that's the case). There's quite a few people who'll say Tesla's superfast charging is a must-have, but those are generally people who drive their car all day, like sales reps or taxi drivers. Tesla taxis are a very common sight here.
On the short range end, I really wonder how well the Tesla 3 will sell. It might still be too expensive compared to what the competition is offering.
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
I'm over here in China (been here for a week), and right now in Shenzhen and Xiamen, most of the cabs are BAIC electrics. I was in one, when the driver asked if we can "change the battery". Of course! We drove to a station, drove into a little "stall", heard stuff underneath for about 3 minutes, then drove away. Swapped the entire battery pack. That makes a BEV a bit more useful... Telsa needs to get off their "supercharger" kick and either get with the new high-power standard here (350 kW) or a swappable battery like BAIC, BYD, and others use (which all use the same, standardized battery pack of 60 kWh size).
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
Not exactly. An SUV is by most definitions built on a truck chassis.
Nope. The first unibody SUV was the 1983 Jeep Cherokee, few would even attempt to argue that it's not a SUV.
What a SUV is not is based on a car. If it's unibody, it's got to be a unique one, or at least so changed from the original that it's unrecognizable. Of course, VW blurs that line, too.
CUVs are clearly car-based SUVs, but there's no firm definition for what an SUV is. It's really just marketing.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"