J.D. Power finds out the fairly obvious state of public EV perception, Maserati chops the head off its supercar, Luminar picks up a key Apple automotive employee. All this and more on today’s edition of The Morning Dump.
Welcome to The Morning Dump, bite-sized stories corralled into a single article for your morning perusal. If your morning coffee’s working a little too well, pull up a throne and have a gander at the best of the rest of yesterday.
J.D. Power EV Survey States The Obvious
Look, a survey of more than 10,000 people is great for determining public concerns over electric vehicles, but gauging public sentiments of EVs isn’t rocket appliances [Ed note: Apparently this is a reference to a Trailer Park Boy or something? -DT]. As such, much-lampooned consumer research firm J.D. Power has published a report on electric vehicles that kind of makes you want to say, “well, duh!”
First on the list of the obvious: Electric vehicles are more likely to be considered for a future car purchase by people who have money. A full 37 percent of premium vehicle owners surveyed and 27 percent of homeowners said they’d be “very likely consider” an electric vehicle for their next car purchase, compared to 21 percent of mass-market vehicle owners and 17 percent of renters. Gee, if you have more money and a home, you can afford to buy an EV and have a place to charge it overnight. Who’d have thought?
Next, EV consideration is on the rise overall. Some 24 percent of those surveyed said they’re very likely to consider an EV for their next car, up four percent from last year. Considering the recent rush of dope EVs like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Ford F-150 Lightning, this shouldn’t be a surprise. People want cool stuff, and gas prices are absurd right now. Also on the no-brainer list? Familiarity brings appreciation. According to the survey, 11 percent of people with no EV experience would very likely consider an EV for their next vehicle purchase, rising to 24 percent for people who’ve been passenger in an EV, 34 percent for people who’ve driven an EV, and 48 percent of people who own an EV.
While this latest J.D. Power survey does seem a bit obvious, it is nice that J.D. Power’s put numbers to qualitative EV sentiments, as this can help inform how we improve. Now that we have quantification of the obvious, let’s do some analysis. Since only 17 percent of renters would very likely consider an EV, we need to do more to lower EV entry costs and get charging stations into apartment complexes and rental homes. More importantly, if 76 percent of people surveyed aren’t very likely to consider an EV for their next car, that doesn’t bode well for an EV adoption ramp-up. We have a long, long way to go if we want to reach that arbitrary 2035 target, and there’s a chance that it may just not happen. Honestly, I wouldn’t be mad. Plug-in hybrids are a pretty awesome solution for most North Americans, they’re cheaper than EVs, and they can grab enough range to run errands just by plugging into a 110-volt socket overnight. Maybe every new car being a true EV isn’t pie-in-the-sky thinking, but we still shouldn’t ignore sensible solutions right on our doorsteps.
Maserati Breaks Out The Guillotine
It hasn’t even been two years since Maserati debuted the MC20 supercar, but the team at Modena has decided that it’s time to let the sun in. Say hello to the Maserati MC20 Cielo, a 621-horsepower sun-seeker with a carbon fiber chassis.
Thumbing through Maserati’s history, it seems like the company’s a fan of very literal names. Quattroporte may sound sexy but it really just means “four doors.” Care to guess what Cielo means? That’s right, it’s a literal translation of sky. As such, it shouldn’t be surprising that the MC20 Cielo has a few different options for letting the sky in. The first is obvious, a power-retractable hardtop that’s stowable in a claimed 12 seconds at speeds of up to 31 mph (50 km/h) and adds a fairly reasonable 143 pounds to the coupe’s curb weight. The second is a touch less obvious. That power-retractable roof is made from electrochromic material that can go from transparent to opaque at the touch of a button. Very nice.
Visual changes with the roofless conversion are mostly subtle, although I’m not so sure about the giant Maserati trident sticker on the deck lid. It almost seems like a bat signal for fuckboys, a notable skyward element of bad taste. That giant trident’s a bit out of place, especially since the MC20 itself seems to be in good taste. There are no giant wings and splitters, no unnecessary creases, no stupid forged carbon and no overgrown air curtains. It’s a supercar in the 2000s sense, a few necessary scoops, massive power, still relatively pretty. There’s something quite nice about that.
Oh yeah, about that massive power. You’ve probably heard about the MC20’s pace, but here’s a quick reminder. 621 horsepower from a three-liter turbocharged V6, an eight-speed dual-clutch transaxle, 0-60 mph in under three seconds, top speed in the neighborhood of 200 miles per hour. Yeah, that’s proper supercar pace. Pricing hasn’t been announced yet, but don’t expect to sneak one out the door for any less than the $212,000 commanded by the MC20 coupe. So, if you have a quarter of a million dollars to spend on a new supercar, don’t like the games Ferrari plays, aren’t a fan of Lamborghini’s brashness, and aren’t hugely enthused by how every McLaren looks pretty similar, you might want to plunk down an order with Maserati.
Lucid Issues Another Recall
It’s no secret that making cars is hard, and Lucid is learning in real-time. The maker of spectacularly beautiful electric sedans has just issued another recall, this time pertaining to the Air’s displays. Yes, this includes that 5K screen they tout so often.
According to recall documents, the wiring harness running to the dashboard screens may not be secured properly, leading to potential chafing on the steering shaft. Now, the word chafing in any context is generally bad news, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that a chafed wiring harness could essentially turn all the screens off. That’s decidedly not brilliant, although I suppose there are worse failures than driving with no speedometer, gear indicator, warning lights, vehicle notifications, audio display, etc. As such, Lucid is recalling every Air luxury sedan manufactured before May 4, some 1,117 vehicles.
Honestly, this seems like an improvement over Lucid’s previous recall for front damper snap ring failure that could suddenly lower the vehicle, damage a brake line, or cause a loss of damping force. Honestly, that one seems to be 50:50. According to recall documents, Thyssenkrupp Bilstein realized an issue with their quality assurance vision system and Lucid didn’t check the dampers thoroughly once received. Let’s hope that Lucid and its suppliers can get everything up to scratch quickly, because the Air is really much nicer than a Mercedes EQS or a Tesla Model S.
Apple Car Lead Hops Over To Luminar
There’s a bit of a Silicon valley shake-up going on as Apple car project manager and former Tesla director of Autopilot Christopher “CJ” Moore headed over to Luminar to lead global software development. The change in roles happened within a year of Moore joining the team at Apple, a pretty quick exit from the sound of things. So what exactly is going on here and what does this mean for the auto industry? Let’s find out.
Apple’s Project Titan is a long-running trope. The thing is, nobody really knows if Apple’s developing a full car, it’s all just speculation. What we do know is that the tech company is working on autonomous vehicle software, as evidenced by a Reuters-reported acquisition of drive.ai in 2019, and a fairly substantial stack of autonomous test vehicle permits as reported by the BBC. Now I’ve seen a lot of crazy stuff speculated about Apple, from folding phones to dual-monitor MacBooks, so all speculation is drivel as far as I’m concerned. Without proper reporting practices and cited sources, it’s not news. However, the focus on autonomous vehicle software contextualizes the hiring of Moore and his departure to Luminar.
See, Luminar is working with Geely Group, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, and other OEMs to bring LIDAR and autonomous tech to market. So far, results seem promising. Luminar put on one hell of a demonstration at the Consumer Electronics Show, and Nissan’s work with Luminar has essentially created a Skyline (Infiniti Q50) that can swerve and avoid moving obstacles, brake in complex situations, and more. While Apple may be doing some neat stuff with its automotive program, Luminar seems closer to production. Moore’s move means more talent will be available to more manufacturers on a faster timeline than what Apple seems to be planning.
The Flush
Whelp, time to drop the lid on today’s edition of The Morning Dump. I’ll admit, I’m not exactly considering an EV for my next car purchase. I love electric cars, but they’re quite expensive, especially on the used market these days. Plus, I’ll always have time to buy an EV, I might not always have time to have a romp in a combustion-powered sports car. That’s just my two cents though, I’m curious to hear how you feel. Will you buy an EV sometime soon, or is there one combustion-engined car you want to tick off your automotive bucket list first?
Lead photo credit: Electrify America
I would buy an ID buzz today if they were out. As it stands, we can’t wait until they arrive for a seven seater (and I’m not keen on being a new model early adopter), so I’m looking very hard at the small number of hybrids and PHEVs on the market.
I’d say I’m baffled that hybrid adoption has been so slow, but it sure looks like more of the same shit like with the wagon tax or decent hatchbacks or manuals, where if you’re lucky enough to even have one offered, they effectively don’t exist in the wild or they’re priced stupidly compared to whatever crap they want to move.
More new cars should be PHEV by default, especially larger ones
My sister considered a Fusion PHEV but was put off by lack of trunk space
I’m certainly not going to fault Lucid on this one.
Look. I’ve personally done more ‘improperly secured’ recalls than cars Lucid’s made. The fact is that issues like this happen all the time at every automaker for one reason or another. Sometimes it’s because they found the zip tie had unexpected rubbing. Sometimes it’s because the zip ties were overtightened and will break. Sometimes it’s too many. Sometimes it’s not enough.
At this point you’re all going “what’s with the zip ties?”
That’s how it’s done at the factory. That’s how it’s done to spec when repairing. When I reassemble a loom, anything without a bespoke plastic clip, it’s a zip tie. Every time. Sometimes ‘unusual’ variations on them to address potential rub issues. Sometimes multiple zip ties. And when it’s not zip ties? It’s gaff tape.
Lucid’s mistake is a VERY easy one to make. They made reasonable design assumptions, designed and implemented a harness anchoring mechanism that didn’t inhibit service, determined the most cost effective solution, and installed it to spec. And then when the cars actually got driven, turns out the bundle can work loose enough to rub on the steering wheel.
So they’re gonna have owners bring the cars in so they can install some more zip ties. (Or some gaff tape.)
As far as EVs go? Yeah. No. Hard pass.
One, they’re beyond offensively priced for the quality to begin with, forget something that could only function as a runabout. The Mitsubishi i-MiEV was about perfect; as the Peugeot iOn it was 93mi range, and a whole €21,800 – or about $24k. Right off the showroom floor at sticker. And better built than anything out of Tesla.
Second, show me one single EV that can go 350 miles on a charge, stop for 10 minutes, then go another 350 miles. Go ahead. I’ll wait. Yep. There isn’t one. “Oh but fast cha-” One, 2+ hours isn’t fast. Two, that assumes there is a compatible one within your last few miles of range, which is utterly laughable.
Third, show me a single fucking BEV you can actually repair. There is not a single one. They are all beyond locked down, you can’t purchase necessary parts, and half of them brag about their ability to take away shit you already paid for after you leave the lot – or outright brick it. You want to talk about a disposable car, EVs are the ultimate in disposable cars. Your 8 year old Honda Insight’s battery died? The only ‘fix’ is … an ugly hack to disable the entire EV portion of it. Toyota Prius’ battery crapped out? The repair costs far more than the car is worth. Literally anything broke on your Tesla? “Fuck you.” Chevy Volt needs a battery? That’ll be over $10,000 and a 3 month wait for an aftermarket reman with absolutely no guarantee on range at all.
Call me when they actually start addressing the REAL problems instead of just screaming that everyone must get absolutely fucking ripped off on BEVs that will only ever turn into millions of tons of extremely hazardous waste. Or they even fucking acknowledge any problem besides ‘the charging infrastructure sucks.’ Well guess what? Having a charger that I have to drive to and wait 2 hours on didn’t actually fix a damn thing.
Full EV, no. PHEV likely. Honestly I don’t know why the industry is pushing full EV so much right now. PHEVs are turnkey and meet all the demands of a consumer today with, likely, a better impact on the environment due to smaller batteries. Also the amount of work our infrastructure is going to need for full EVs is astounding. I mean, Tesla had to ask owners in TX not to charge at peak times recently. Teslas are like what 1% of the vehicles on the road there…what happens when that number is 5 or 15%??
Ever since I test-drove a Model 3 a couple of years back (might’ve been a decade, my sense of time has gone to shit these past years) I’m pretty much guaranteed that my next car will be electric.
Now I used to race go-karts as a kid, got my first motorcycle when I was 11, have a fun car I track regularly and I never bought a car without a 3rd pedal, but that (very extensive) test-drive was eye-opening to me (when I asked the Tesla rep how long can my drive be, he said “as long as you want” and I held him up to it to).
There is only one problem tho, both my cars and my motorcycle are fairly new (oldest is my daily, mk7 Golf wagon TDI, stage 2, 120k miles, gets 40+mpg combined), so I don’t foresee having to replace any of them any time soon.
The other issue is current EV prices, a desirable one like Tesla or Polestar are way more than the ICE equivalent, and no, I’m not buying a Hyundai. Even if they give up the exploding Theta engines for an electric motor, I expect another dozen recalls for suspension, wiring, seatbelts, battery or other subassemblies that will fail in a way that would kill me and people around me. If the alternative to a Hyundai/Kia is a bus pass, I’m riding a bus.
The EV is on my list. Right now it making sure the one I buy meets my needs and I update my electrical system to handle one. Old house, no outside outlets, would need some work to get that. Plus I would want a L2 charger vs the cord out the window.
I see the market moving the right direction, vehicles we know are coming out as EV. People know what a F-150 is so that helps.
I’m dd’ing my last bucket-list car now, so my next one will be electric. Whenever the id.Buzz comes out, that’s where I’m going next.
We have four cars in the family. When I bought the last one for one of my kids to drive (just before COVID), I really wanted to get a used electric but even the lowly Leaf was way more expensive than an equivalent ICE vehicle. $10k difference buys a lot of gas and maintenance….
As someone who’s test driven an EV and owns a house, yes, I’m in that 34% whose next vehicle will be an EV. It’ll let my stick shift car be the “fun” car while slashing my commute costs. The V2L capability to power the furnace in the event of a winter power outage will be nice. Not lugging a generator or being forced into an electric camping site will also open up a lot more camping opportunities. The whole larger interior in a small footprint thing will better suit my hobbies that require bulky yet fragile things.
I’m getting a new vehicle, the $10k premium for an EV will more than be worth it for the lack of ongoing maintenance and volatile fuel costs.
We bought a Tesla Model Y in August of 2020 on a whim. They had been out for four months, fit into our lifestyle and they even had a $3k discount due to the pandemic. We had been looking at the new Highlander, but the lure of an electric car was too great and since I already have barns full of gas cars I wanted to try one out. We have 30k miles on it now, no problems, it is an absolute blast to drive, and we drive it daily. We only take three major road trips a year (MI to SC) and yeah the charging isn’t super convenient but it also makes us take time for meals, breaks, and it’s actually not bad. I figure all the other times we don’t stop for gas the rest of year adds up too. Is the car perfect? No, but it’s perfect-enough and I have no regerts. 10/10 would buy another.
I won’t buy an EV, but I’ll lease one. Changes are still happening too fast and not enough competition to really have much of a choice.
I’ll consider an EV as an appliance car when they can duplicate the performance and usability of a gas vehicle for the same TCO. So far that is in no danger of happening soon.
I don’t think I’ll ever consider an EV as a replacement for a “fun” car, because I don’t think they are very fun to drive. A one trick pony of sudden and silent acceleration gets old faster than you’d think.
Right now an ID Buzz has a very high likelihood of being our next vehicle purchase. That might change once we have a chance to actually check one out in person, but right now it seems like it would fit in with our needs quite nicely.
seconding that.
“48 percent of people who own an EV.”
You say their results were obvious, but that’s actually shocking to me. Most people who own EVs today are early adopters who were already in on the technology and it feels like most EV owners love them. Yet less than half are considering an EV for their next car? That’s the story here, if you ask me.
I wondered about that, too. But it does say “would *very likely* consider” an EV, so I’m guessing, based on surveys I’ve taken in the past, there are ranges of choices such as “would likely consider”, “neutral”, “likely would not consider”, and “very likely would not consider.”
I’m also guessing that there are probably some owners that have become disillusioned with the current state of charging infrastructure and are tempted to go back to ICE. Plus there are Chevy Bolt owners who have been ruined for life on the EV concept.
My most recently purchased vehicle was an EV. Specifically, an e-bike. Between a 350Wh battery and my own pedaling efforts, I get effectively the same range as the beater Leaf I was also considering, at about 10% the upfront cost and 5% the electricity consumption.
Kind of surprised only 48% of current EV owners would consider an EV for their next purchase. That means 52% were turned off from the idea of an EV or had some other reason to think going back to gas was better than another EV?
Given that your average EV buyer is a homeowner with multiple vehicles, I’d guess that means a lot of those folks already have a daily driver EV and are looking at something different for the use cases that ICE is better for.
Around-town Leaf, boat-towing Yukon. Commuter Polestar, camping trip Tacoma. You get the picture.
Makes sense, and that sounds like me – everyone together in the Tahoe, drive the more efficient Beetle around otherwise. That’s the one I could replace with an EV, but we need a bigger home first so not happening any time soon.
crap, need an edit button, posted too soon….
I would consider an EV, but… I have other needs to spend money on first, and I don’t really want a car payment. All my vehicles are older and paid off, I’d like to keep it that way. We also have needs where if we did get an EV it would only be a secondary use car, no way it would be able to service as our primary family vehicle.
The key word there is probably “next.” The correlation between having an EV and having 3 or more vehicles in a household is large. Odds are if they recently purchased an EV, their next car purchase replaces one of the others that isn’t the EV and likely covers an automotive segment EVs aren’t great at yet.
Like I noted below, we have one EV but the infrastructure isn’t quite where we could get away without a gas car. MTB race in WV? Better have an ICE. Visit the fam in Indiana? Can’t get there in my EV.
Putting a deposit/order in on an EV next week. Specifically a Polestar 2 with the performance pack. I have a pretty big commute of 75 miles + per day. Kind of a no brainer as far as fuel cost savings for me. I also own a home and already have a 50amp 220v outlet in my garage I can use for charging. I originally put it in to power my welders for car fab stuff. We very rarely do long trips and we’ll still have a low mileage Mazda3 for those duties if need be.
I have toyed around with the idea of getting an EV, and I suppose eventually that will happen. But my next car will have a stick shift, RWD, and too much power coming from six or (preferably) more cylinders while those things are still exist.
I’d love to have an electric, and it is more about not wanting to give up ICE vehicles I have an a lack of space. If my wife would get rid of the golf cart I would have an older Leaf/i3/Spark type car now. As it is, I would love a Volt or RAV4 Prime in the family. But, I’m not giving up my manual 330i, and we love having the minivan, and the Pacifica has too many issues for us to trade in our wonderful Sienna. Real answer is that we aren’t going to buy any car in the next 4 years, but if we do a PHEV would be high up there, and an EV considered.
My wife and I have a PHEV Pacifica and it works wonders. Every days we use only a tiny bit of gas, only on the final leg home. It’s been great. Her next car will most likely be full EV. She’s a teacher, so in the summer, there are several days that we don’t use gas at all.
Re: Apple car – I seem to remember a certain writer here that specializes in suspensions, used to work at Apple……
I want to like it, but I have a friend who had their non-hybrid go up in flames while driving due to wiring issues…
Honestly I don’t know why the industry isn’t putting more weight into the PHEV segment right now. It’s literally the best of both worlds, EV for 99% of daily needs with the ability to meet fringe needs when necessary at no refueling time penalty. EVs are likely the ultimate future but we’re putting the cart way before the horse right now as a full EV driving population will also need a TON of infrastructure improvements.
This! I am a bit biased (2014 Chevy Volt owner) but I agree with this comment as the Volt has covered my use case perfectly. It’s still a good compromise until EV infrastructure catches up. I might use 4 gallons of gas per YEAR. I would have loved an Equinox with the Volt architecture. I bet Chevy would have sold tons of those.
I have a 2019 Volt. It is perfect for me – well a little small. But living in Canada when it gets 30 degrees below, I don’t have to worry about the 6 hour drive to Edmonton to see my Son and Grandson. If I had the cash I would buy another and retrofit it into my daily driver, a ’39 Chev Master 85 Businessman’s Coupe. My son was looking at the soon to be discontinued Hyundai Ioniq with both electric and gas. We can go for months without buying gas in our Volt but are heading through South Dakota and Wyoming and will have no problem driving 6-1/2 hours on a few days of our trip. GM blew it by not continuing the Volt or as mentioned putting the Voltec system in a slightly larger package.
Still the sweet spot for me too. 40 miles of EV + good gas mileage afterward would be great. Or basically the RAV4 Prime. Just wish the RAV4 Prime wasn’t so ugly.
But for the big picture, they are really only good if you can charge at home. No one is going to go out and charge their PHEV to get 30 miles of range.
I’ll go electric eventually, I imagine, but I also need to own something Italian, something mid-engined (could happily combine those two into a Fiat X/1/9), and either a big Mercedes or big Jaguar sedan.
Come to think of it, that would make a pretty decent dream garage: my MG, my truck, an X1/9, that W116 from today’s Showdown, and a Nobe 100.
I just bought an MGB!!!! Going to pick it up Saturday.
Nice! What year? What kind of shape is it in?
I should see if David and Jason will let me write an article about mine. I love showing it off.
It’s a ’78 but the previous owner put a chrome bumper on it from a pre ’74. Twin SU carbs (because Canadian spec, not US) with a cold air intake. The paint has a few chips but is serviceable. Will probably need tires for the safety inspection. It starts right up cold and drives fine. I have the Uhaul trailer reseerved and am super excited for the weekend.
I agree that DT and JT should let you write about your MG!! I personally love going on about my cars until people lose interest or tell me to STFU.
Yeah! Way to go. Bought my 1967 GT just before the pandemic hit, working on it has kept me sane, sort of. When you buy an MG you’re not just buying a car, you’re buying a hobby.
Is that Trident the biggest badge ever on a production car?
That’s a fair question, and it seems like something that would be right up Torch’s alley.
I was able to lease a Kia Niro EV for almost nothing, about $100/month with 12k miles/year. Perfect two car garage with the Miata. Faster in a straight line, too.
$100 a month is incredibly cheap. I’ve never leased a car, but my understanding is there are other up front fees for leasing? If so, how much did you have to pay?
Some less popular EVs have been very cheap to lease after tax credits and such. A few years back I think people in Georgia were stacking a state tax credit to get Nissan Leafs for under $100 a month.
I won’t be buying an EV until I’m forced to or price & recharge time reach parity with ICE cars. I regularly road trip with my daily and use my sports car on the weekends, so I’m not going to buy a third car (EV) just for local trips.
I’m considering electric for my next car, but that’s a couple years down the road. I think mostly I’m looking forward to a new driving experience, but I’ve also lost interest in wrenching on new cars (no fun at all) and older cars that I’d want are well out of my price range.
Hmm…I think I actually like the trident symbol on that Maserati. It’s ok to have a little bling for that much money, and it appears that it’d be mostly hidden unless you are right next to it. Now if it was on the hood…that would not be cool.