OK, that's good. I am cool with AFM, since i will be driving in M mode all the time and my understanding from reading material is that AFM is defeated and does not operate when running in manual mode

 

similar to you, i just bought a 2021 truck, a GMC 2500 HD Denali with the Duramax diesel and thank goodness it does NOT have that blasted start/stop feature. not sure if they don't apply it to all diesel engines or if I just got lucky!

 

only if i can disengage it....

 

I just don't like the car shudder when the motor restarts. Feels like something is wrong with the transmission (but isn't).

 

I'd take any of the other methods mentioned over the defective Battery Charging algorithm!

 

The problem is thinking solar use in the US will solve the Worlds' CO2 problem is irrational!

In fact although I did not agree with was outlined in this Press Release based on an 1174 page report that was to become law in 2017 and require the Corvette (and other Sports cars ) have to achieve ~40 mpg it was based on reality.
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov...iency-standard

Here were two points of the 4 key pointes listed at the end:

• provide incentives for hybrid technologies for large pickups and for other technologies that achieve high fuel economy levels on large pickups;
• provide incentives for natural gas vehicles;

Starting with Natural Gas. The US has ~100 years reserves. Instead of using Coal we can deliver liquid natural gas to China and India (I believe we have already started in India as we have been doing to Europe.) The late T. Boone Pickens was trying to get support to put natural gas filling stations on Interstates (much cheaper than EV power stations all over) and have 18 wheels use it as a much cleaner energy source (they will never be EVs). Large diesel engines can easilly be converted. Heck RR engines are already using it for part of their power. You may not know it but California won't allow ships to come into a port using their normal oil power. Some are converting to natural gas just for port use. Proven technology.

Instead of Germany buying oil from Russia (in a many billion dollar pipeline they paid for) we could be supplying them with liquid natural gas. Europe has limited oil and gas and were buying liquid natural gas from unstable source- Libya! As "bad" as some make the US out to be we're FAR better! I find it funny France gets ~75% of their power from Nuclear and Germany does not allow it! Could be used in the US but IMO we'll never build another plant and the life extension of existing plants is getting close to having them shut down. Shame.

Hybrids (as that press release noted and that 1174 page government report mpg goals are mostly based on) do work. Can cut exhaust emissions over half. No not zero, but producing electricity is NOT zero either! Not at night when there is no sun! As far a South Carolina we're subsidizing solar power more than even California. We provide the same $/Kw to a producer as you pay (or did.) In CA it's only ~half. I live in a rural area and a neighbor has 1500 acers now all in solar cells as he can make more than growing crops. Power companies are installing Natural Gas powered huge turbines for not just peak shaving as they are cheaper to buy and can be installed quickly compared to a stream power plant!

We'll see what results. BUT "hoping" all others stop using coal to produce electrical power or most countries in the World won't continue to operate their cars and inefficient, polluting motor scooters with Middle East, Russian etc oil is silly!

 

Then we add a carbon tax on imported products. I realize it is not a simple solution, but being wrong on this can be catastrophic and we should be more aggressive in looking for solutions. I don't think anything should be off the table - including nuclear.

 

I’m not against the idea, but I don’t see anybody talking about it globally.
If we only carbon tax ourselves, then we’re keeping carbon the same but supporting somebody else’s economy,

 

Y'all keep forgetting about the batteries though. From NYTimes, back in March, 2021:
Like many other batteries, the lithium-ion cells that power most electric vehicles rely on raw materials — like cobalt, lithium and rare earth elements — that have been linked to grave environmental and human rights concerns. Cobalt has been especially problematic.

Mining cobalt produces hazardous tailings and slags that can leach into the environment, and studies have found high exposure in nearby communities, especially among children, to cobalt and other metals. Extracting the metals from their ores also requires a process called smelting, which can emit sulfur oxide and other harmful air pollution.

And as much as 70 percent of the world’s cobalt supply is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a substantial proportion in unregulated “artisanal” mines where workers — including many children — dig the metal from the earth using only hand tools at great risk to their health and safety, human rights groups warn.

The world’s lithium is either mined in Australia or from salt flats in the Andean regions of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile, operations that use large amounts of groundwater to pump out the brines, drawing down the water available to Indigenous farmers and herders. The water required for producing batteries has meant that manufacturing electric vehicles is about 50 percent more water intensive than traditional internal combustion engines. Deposits of rare earths, concentrated in China, often contain radioactive substances that can emit radioactive water and dust.

Focusing first on cobalt, automakers and other manufacturers have committed to eliminating “artisanal” cobalt from their supply chains, and have also said they will develop batteries that decrease, or do away with, cobalt altogether. But that technology is still in development, and the prevalence of these mines means these commitments “aren’t realistic,” said Mickaël Daudin of Pact, a nonprofit organization that works with mining communities in Africa.

Instead, manufacturers need to work with these mines to lessen their environmental footprint and make sure miners are working in safe conditions. If companies acted responsibly, the rise of electric vehicles would be a great opportunity for countries like Congo. But if they don’t, “they will put the environment, and many, many miners’ lives at risk.”
Recycling could be better

As earlier generations of electric vehicles start to reach the end of their lives, preventing a pileup of spent batteries looms as a challenge.

 

Older simpler engines were more reliable.

 

Yugos were much more simple, that didn’t make them reliable. So were old British cars.

The average car today is much more reliable than simpler cars from simplistic times. The odometers even go past 6 digits now.

 

I would suggest that the warranties give an insight as to the reliability. Remember back in the day when warranties were 12 months?

Granted, older, simpler engines were much easier to work on.

 

In some sense newer vehicles are more reliable, but forget about trying to fix one when something breaks. Without the dedicated electronics required for diagnosis...., it is no longer in the realm of DIY on an engine compartment that had room and an easily diagnosed engine component structure. It's not your grandfather's car anymore. Progress.

 

Except I was talking about a carbon tax as an example against "widgets" we buy from China that are cheaper because they use cheap electricity from burning coal. We need to "incentivize" them to stop burning coal. Just like we need to stop burning coal in this country.

 

No argument there, but I don’t see that being pitched by any actual politician.

 

I disagree for the most part. I find it much easier pulling up codes and swapping modules than messing with carbs and rebuilding drum brakes. It helps that there’s now forums and YouTube videos and schematics and stuff online.

One reason it was easy to work on old cars is because they required so much more maintenance and broke down so often you got plenty of hands on training. You couldn’t just own a car, you had to know how it worked inside and out.

 

until you need a battery from BMW

PERFORMANCE BATTERY

For high powered and advanced vehicles that require additional power due to vehicle options, specifications and custom configurations.
$485

 

^^^
Much cheaper than the Porsche Cayenne the wife had prior to her 1st BMW X5 (See Sidebar!) In fact watched BMW Tech replace one in her 1st X5 SUV free of charge as part of a recall. No issues with her 2018, they switched to an AGM!

SIDEBAR
Funny story with the Porsche battery. Was monitoring my 2014 C7 battery at the time and comparing with her Cayenne. The Cayenne's was reading low and reached ~11.5 when I thought best get a new one. Internet showed you had to remove (not just tilt) the driver's side seat. Lots of plastic trim around the bottom that it was mentioned easy to break. Lots of seat motor plugs to disconnect. Even bought a special very large Torx socket to remove the seat.

But granddaughter was going to a large hose show in TN to compete and we decided to go. Was concerned about the battery as would not let any repair facility change the battery if needed on the trip. Having Porsche, on the last oil change (expensive) say you'll need new brakes and that will cost $2600 (pads and rotors looked OK to me) with the battery reading ~11.5 volts and needing to go to TN to see granddaughter said to my wife lets go to the Chevy/BMW/Mercedes dealer and see what they will give for the Cayenne.

Went to the car wash in town before going to the Dealer. Fellow said nice car, too bad a battery will cost $900! I said how do you know? He said another fellow with one just said that is what his cost! I thought that comment was an Omen! Pulled into the dealer with the intent of getting a Mecedes SUV as she had a Mercedes before. Salesman came out and a quick look at the very boxy Mercedes SUV turned off the wife. However she liked the BMW X5 SUV. They offered a very good trade-in (I had searched Black Book before going to town.) We drove home with a new BMW!

BTW, if we keep the BMW until it needs a battery will buy one on the Net at much lower price than from them! Odds are we'll trade this on a new one before that!