real world EVs review

gulfcoastguy

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2012
Location
MS Gulfcoast
TDI
TDI sold, Mazda 3 purchased
“Maybe they will even maintain them”? Thank, I needed a laugh.
Electrify America just opened a fast charging location at the Grand Canyon. Not quite as exciting as the typical Wal-Mart placement, but the Grand Canyon is kinda nice. Maybe they'll even maintain the chargers.

 

Rob Mayercik

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2001
Location
NJ, U.S.A.
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS, Baltic Green/Beige
We also now have the new thing of OBD test dodging in my area... the wonderful "historic vehicle" plates. Yep, OBD2 compliant cars can now be "classics", and once you get that plate, it is essentially permanent, and that vehicle isn't subjected to OBD testing ever again, and for that matter, no safety inspections either!

So that clapped out, rusted, oil burning POS 1997 Suburban can motor on in perpetuity with parts falling off and puddles of juices everywhere it parks.
Saw the bit about "historic vehicle" tags, wanted to comment.

In NJ, anything 25 years or older is considered "antique", but to get the "Historic" plates, it must be utterly unmodified from original- off-the-showroom condition (they'd probably reject for an aftermarket radio), and can be driven a fairly limited number of miles per year (I think 500 at most, and only to car shows/parades/educational events), so there's no point in going for the "QQ" (historic plates in NJ all have "QQ" in them) if you want to actually use the vehicle for what it was intended for (transportation). That's why I haven't bothered with my occasionally-driven 1992 Jeep or my very rarely driven 84 Dodge, as neither is in "show condition".

Doesn't Missouri have usage restrictions on "historic" vehicles, or are they simply not auditing/enforcing them?
 

gmenounos

Vendor
Joined
Jun 26, 2003
Location
Watertown, MA, USA
TDI
'99.5 Golf GLS, '01 Jetta GLX Wagon (TDI conversion)
In NJ, anything 25 years or older is considered "antique", but to get the "Historic" plates, it must be utterly unmodified from original- off-the-showroom condition (they'd probably reject for an aftermarket radio), and can be driven a fairly limited number of miles per year (I think 500 at most, and only to car shows/parades/educational events), so there's no point in going for the "QQ" (historic plates in NJ all have "QQ" in them) if you want to actually use the vehicle for what it was intended for (transportation). That's why I haven't bothered with my occasionally-driven 1992 Jeep or my very rarely driven 84 Dodge, as neither is in "show condition".
Similar deal in MA:

An “antique motor car” is any motor vehicle over 25 years old maintained solely for use in exhibitions, club activities, parades, and other functions of public interest. This includes test drives to prepare for such functions and transportation to and from repair facilities, and not used primarily for the transportation of passengers or goods over any way."

My 99.5 Golf could qualify if we didn't need it for occasional use as a 2nd car and for towing. It was manufactured in 10/98.
 

turbobrick240

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Location
maine
TDI
2011 vw golf tdi(gone to greener pastures), 2001 ford f250 powerstroke
Hyundai has anounced that it will be shipping their N. America market EVs with the NACS charging port in Q4 of next year. I think that pretty much wraps up all of the major players. NACS will be the de facto North America charging standard.

 

TomJD

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2010
Location
St. Louis
TDI
2000 Jetta TDI GLS, 2015 Golf TDI
MO resident here:

My neighbor got historic plates for his 1990s BMW Z3 with 25k miles. He did not need to get it inspected, in fact the whole thing was handled by mail. Never did they even ask him for his mileage so enforcing a 1,000 mileage per year minimum is impossible. Plates for life with no inspection. He can even find a plate from the year his car was made and if the number isn’t used have it registered to the car. Which would be neat because the car was made when MO still had its red license plates.

Now if he gets pulled over by a state trooper on on the other side of the state, there might be a conversation.
 

gearheadgrrrl

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2002
Location
Buffalo Ridge (southwest Minnesota)
TDI
'15 Golf DSG, '13 JSW DSG surrendered to VW, '03 Golf 2 door manual
Here in Minnesota the Street Rod community are pretty effective lobbyists so not only can we get lifetime plates for anything over 20 years old, we can keep unlicensed and/or inoperable 20 years and older cars on our property as long as they're not visible from the street.
 

El Dobro

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 21, 2006
Location
NJ
TDI
2017 Bolt EV Premier, 2023 Bolt EUV Premier
Hyundai has anounced that it will be shipping their N. America market EVs with the NACS charging port in Q4 of next year. I think that pretty much wraps up all of the major players. NACS will be the de facto North America charging standard.

Once the NACS to CCS adapters come out and work with the Superchargers, I'll pick one up for the Bolts.
 

gulfcoastguy

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2012
Location
MS Gulfcoast
TDI
TDI sold, Mazda 3 purchased

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Yeah, I can see that. I won't buy a new Volkswagen either. They don't have anything on their lot that really interests me, although I do sort of give a nod to the GTI and R, but they are not practical. I'll keep my TDIs, and keep resurrecting as many as I can.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
Sedans and hatches started to go away long before Teslas had any signifigant sales volume. If manufacturers exclusively promote trucks and SUVs, and neglect improvements in sedans and hatches, buyers are going to go where the marketing drives them. Very sad.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
And what is even more sad, is that many of these sedans and hatchbacks (and station wagons, the few that there were), had really gotten to be pretty good driving cars for the most part. Even the cars that were normally associated with back-of-the-lot rental turds like the Chevrolet Malibu and Ford Fusion were actually pretty nice to drive cars (in my opinion). I honestly don't know how anyone with two brain cells to rub together could drive a Malibu and an Equinox back to back (both having the same powertrain) and choose the Equinox... unless they didn't bother to drive the Malibu, or were hung up on an AWD option, which few Equinoxes even are. Same comparison can be said for the Fusion and Escape. Or a Golf and a Tiguan.

At least Toyota still lets people choose a Camry or Corolla over a Highlander or RAV4, even though the CUVs certainly outsell the sedans. And you cannot make the argument the CUVs have much better "utility" as they generally have a pretty small hatch opening and they usually are shortened in the rear just like a hatchback would be. I've sat and loaded things into my B5 wagon right in front of my sister's RAV4 and clearly the Passat has more room, but they don't care. And the 20 year old 1/4 million mile Passat is bank-vault solid at 80+, whereas the RAV4s feel skittish and unsettled at any speed over about 50, and when you are next to a semi truck they are downright frightening.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
I do see a lot of newer Corollas on the road, and some Civics, although I think Honda's production numbers have been pretty low in recent years. My daughter has a last gen Civic and I've driven it some. Even the CVT isn't horrible, as the car with the base 2.0L engine has enough power to make it work smoothly.

Don't shoot me, but I looked at a new Civic not too long ago. Interior finishes show the cost cutting, but the car is BIG, especially compared to a MKIV VW.
 

gearheadgrrrl

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2002
Location
Buffalo Ridge (southwest Minnesota)
TDI
'15 Golf DSG, '13 JSW DSG surrendered to VW, '03 Golf 2 door manual
So far this year GMs best selling car is the Malibu, outsold only by their full size pickups. Yup, a darn doomed to be a rental car with no new features is outselling all of GMs latest and (not so) greatest SUVs!
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
Don't know what percentage of those sales are to fleets, but I bet it's most of them.
 

gulfcoastguy

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2012
Location
MS Gulfcoast
TDI
TDI sold, Mazda 3 purchased
VW does have a new sedan EV , the ID7. It is being released first in Europe and China. It is scheduled to be the third EV they release. ID4 refreshed with new drivetrain, Buzz minibus, then the ID7. There is talk about a wagon version of it at least for Europe but they need to convert another factory in North America to catch up with the demand as it is.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
So far this year GMs best selling car is the Malibu, outsold only by their full size pickups. Yup, a darn doomed to be a rental car with no new features is outselling all of GMs latest and (not so) greatest SUVs!
Well.... aside from the Camaro and the Corvette, the Malibu is the only "car" left that Chevrolet sells, so.... yeah.... Spark, Sonic, Cruze, Impala, all gone. Camaro is gone for next year too I think.
 

dieseldonato

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2023
Location
Us
TDI
2001 jetta
That's a shame, for years my mom drove impalas, they were great cars. Even if they were a grandma mobile. Now she's looking at that new bigger subaru they came out with a few years ago.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Subarus are garbage, and Toyota has not yet got a handle on improving them, because they are using such drastically different platforms. There are FAR better choices out there.

I expect within the next few years, Subaru won't have anything new of their own, it will just be rebadged Toyota products. They are already doing it on some tiny cars sold elsewhere.
 

dieseldonato

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2023
Location
Us
TDI
2001 jetta
Well, it's a subaru or another pos jeep. She wants to go to one vehicle with 4x4 or awd since she's retiring here in about a year. Her last 3 Cherokees have been straight up garbage. We'll this 16 she has, hasn't been as bad as the 07 she had, but still problematic for having hardly any miles on it. Her 98 was a tank, just kept going and going. Anyway, her mind is pretty set on a subaru, not my first choice or second for that matter.
 

turbobrick240

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Location
maine
TDI
2011 vw golf tdi(gone to greener pastures), 2001 ford f250 powerstroke
Well.... aside from the Camaro and the Corvette, the Malibu is the only "car" left that Chevrolet sells, so.... yeah.... Spark, Sonic, Cruze, Impala, all gone. Camaro is gone for next year too I think.
Chevy still sells the Bolt.
 
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