zorg wrote: Fri Apr 26, 2024 2:30 pm

jfv wrote: Fri Apr 26, 2024 1:56 pm To bring this back somewhat to the original topic, I'd love at some point to live in a place where I can either walk or hop in a low-speed electric golf cart when I'm lazy to get to everything I need on a daily basis. The thought of living in The Villages in Florida is repulsive for other reasons, but it does have that going for it.

jfv wrote: Fri Apr 26, 2024 1:56 pm

penningtron wrote: Fri Apr 26, 2024 1:24 pm I love biking but in the US bike commuting is basically like going to war. Critical Mass-types are out of their goddamn minds if they think the average person will subject themselves to being yelled at, spat on, doored and sometimes even killed. And this is in cities with bike lanes, shorter distances, and at least some established 'bike etiquette', the infrastructure and culture is basically non-existent in most suburbs or rural areas.

This is 100% true.

Living in the exurbs (my own fault/decision) and having shitty balance, it's been years since I've been on a bike.

Hoping in the future that cities and villages consider more low-speed city centers that are bike- and pedestrian-friendly.

To bring this back somewhat to the original topic, I'd love at some point to live in a place where I can either walk or hop in a low-speed electric golf cart when I'm lazy to get to everything I need on a daily basis. The thought of living in The Villages in Florida is repulsive for other reasons, but it does have that going for it.

jfv wrote: Fri Apr 26, 2024 3:05 pm

zorg wrote: Fri Apr 26, 2024 2:30 pm

jfv wrote: Fri Apr 26, 2024 1:56 pm To bring this back somewhat to the original topic, I'd love at some point to live in a place where I can either walk or hop in a low-speed electric golf cart when I'm lazy to get to everything I need on a daily basis. The thought of living in The Villages in Florida is repulsive for other reasons, but it does have that going for it.

Also appropriate for the "Ghosts" thread.

penningtron wrote: Fri Apr 26, 2024 1:24 pm I love biking but in the US bike commuting is basically like going to war. Critical Mass-types are out of their goddamn minds if they think the average person will subject themselves to being yelled at, spat on, doored and sometimes even killed. And this is in cities with bike lanes, shorter distances, and at least some established 'bike etiquette', the infrastructure and culture is basically non-existent in most suburbs or rural areas.

Nate Dort wrote: Thu Apr 25, 2024 9:13 pm

twelvepoint wrote: Thu Apr 25, 2024 8:12 pm The allegedly premium stereo blows compared to the VW it replaced, so that’s a bummer.

Is it the JBL system?

I drove a 2014 Volt for many years, and drive a Audi A3 e-tron PHEV now. My wife has a Kia Sorento PHEV that she loves, and probably 90% of her miles are EV-only miles, so it works great for us. I also work at a domestic US battery company and design the battery management system (basically, the electronics that monitor and control the battery), so I'm probably biased. That being said, some automakers are doing it better than others, and the industry has changed enormously even in just the past 2 years or so.

The Inflation Reduction Act implemented some pretty strict mandates about sourcing battery materials in the US in order to claim tax credits, so there's a mad scramble to build battery factories here now. Some may view it as a kneejerk protectionist reaction to all of the cheap batteries coming out of China and South Korea, and that's probably partly true. However, there's a lot of money getting pumped into R&D, especially for Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) cells, as those three elements are readily available in the US and fairly easily acquired. Other chemistries rely heavily on Nickel and Cobalt, that latter only really being available in the Congo, which comes with its own set of problems (slavery, black markets, unsafe labor conditions, etc.).

enframed wrote: Sun Apr 28, 2024 7:04 pm

penningtron wrote: Fri Apr 26, 2024 1:24 pm I love biking but in the US bike commuting is basically like going to war. Critical Mass-types are out of their goddamn minds if they think the average person will subject themselves to being yelled at, spat on, doored and sometimes even killed. And this is in cities with bike lanes, shorter distances, and at least some established 'bike etiquette', the infrastructure and culture is basically non-existent in most suburbs or rural areas.

Many cyclists are fucking assholes, critical mass types being the most poorly behaved of all, worse than drivers of cars WRT following the law, from what I see.

I'm not a "cyclist," but I ride a bike almost daily in Los Angeles and I have a really easy time with it. I also use my hands and arms a LOT to signal literally everything I'm gonna do. Many cyclists don't ( I see them) and they think everyone is looking a out for them. They aren't. If you're on a bike you gotta speak up! I've encountered nothing but courtesy. Getting doored, yeah, it's a real concern. But spat on, yelled at, has not happened to me in five years of biking around Los Angeles.

[Knocks on wood]