Electric Vehicles - Models Discussion

Putting this here since people are talking about self driving...

Saw on the news that some guy was stuck in a Waymo that was driving around in circles in a parking lot... he filmed it...

Since no driver was there... what do you do?
 
Putting this here since people are talking about self driving...

Saw on the news that some guy was stuck in a Waymo that was driving around in circles in a parking lot... he filmed it...

Since no driver was there... what do you do?
Waymo has remote operators, always has, that's where they come in. Waymo has never been 100% autonomous, but very close - at least in their geofenced areas.
 
It’s fun being on this wave of experiencing self driving. I hope you keep enjoying it. I haven’t tried my new 12.6 yet.
Just a small grumble and off-topic and I'm completely over it, but I fully drank the autopilot self driving kool-aid when I purchased a Tesla Model S back in 2016. We prospective buyers were told that self driving would just be a future software update. 9 years and several hardware revisions later, and several full stack rewrites, and we're still not there. Yes we now know it's a hard problem to solve, but back then all we had were Elon's promises.
 
Just a small grumble and off-topic and I'm completely over it, but I fully drank the autopilot self driving kool-aid when I purchased a Tesla Model S back in 2016. We prospective buyers were told that self driving would just be a future software update. 9 years and several hardware revisions later, and several full stack rewrites, and we're still not there. Yes we now know it's a hard problem to solve, but back then all we had were Elon's promises.
I am waiting to decide until it is actually fully autonomous. I hope the price doesn't go up :)
 
I just finished 140 miles driving 12.6.1 that loaded last night. It is noticeably better. In standard mode it does like to exceed the speed limit. The only time I did anything was to lower the speed max when my brother said that the police hide up ahead.

Compared to chill mode that I had been using it was more aggressive but seemed like a good human driver. In general it felt more human than previous versions.

At one stop light it did not do right turn on red. I did not goose it because I could not see around a bush. Earlier versions might have creeped forward.

It drove through three or four construction zones correctly. At one three lane traffic light that I have always had to intervene it chose the correct lane this time. No phantom slow downs like last version.

All told I am very impressed by this first drive. I have driven this route many times since version 11 and this is by far the best trip.
 
The speed offset defaults to +40% even in chill mode. It is supposed to be context dependent. It seems a little fast to me.
 
My first try 12.6 today. Overall very good. Interesting changes. The speed stuff is totally new and takes some getting used to. They completely changed how the speed thumb wheel works so I have to relearn that. Driving in chill mode as usual. This version of chill is not quite so chill.

Yeah, earlier versions I was always driving at posted speed limit, now it sometimes goes faster, sometimes a wee bit slower. No I don’t like going 40 in a 35 mph zone, but was able to back off.

No more switching to a different stack on interstates! That seemed very smooth. Definitely getting into right lane well ahead of exit which is really good for the short overpass entrance and exits nearby. Much better. Only intervention we had with the drive out was the new interstate exit which dumped right into a too narrow construction zone and a big truck in the way!

Following distance was a bit tighter but tolerable. Responsiveness to turn signals much improved, and the annoying old bug of turning into the wrong parking lot even when the NAV is correct appears to have been corrected.

We have a few odd areas near our interstate intersection that are quite challenging and I’ve always been amazed at how well FSD handles it. Very good today. Most of the challenges continue to be slightly wrong map data.
 
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Just a small grumble and off-topic and I'm completely over it, but I fully drank the autopilot self driving kool-aid when I purchased a Tesla Model S back in 2016. We prospective buyers were told that self driving would just be a future software update. 9 years and several hardware revisions later, and several full stack rewrites, and we're still not there. Yes we now know it's a hard problem to solve, but back then all we had were Elon's promises.
This is really tough. I don’t know what to say. DH advised that we not even try FSD until version 12. And we never intended to buy it, maybe rent occasionally. We got a freebie month with the new FSD V12 in April 2024 which amazing coincided with our long road trip trip to northern AZ. Even better they dropped the monthly rental price to $99so we now rent most months and occasionally get a free month.

DH is a classic early adopter (I’m whatever the next stage is called) but he never drank the coolaid on FSD. I guess we’ve been around enough visionary techies to know when they are reaching too far with their promises. Oh yeah, and we waited 400 days to get our 2022 refresh Model X.
 
Again 13.2.2 is amazing but another minor mistake. At a stop light where “No Turn On Red” is clearly posted, after stopping FSD was about to turn right, until I hit the brakes. Wouldn’t have caused an accident as there was no oncoming traffic, but not legal…

FSD is nearly autonomous now, but those last details will be the hardest.
 
Can 13.2.2 turn on FSD while parked and pull out on the road by itself? Can it back up, say out of a nose in parking spot when doing ASS?
 
Can 13.2.2 turn on FSD while parked and pull out on the road by itself? Can it back up, say out of a nose in parking spot when doing ASS?
Not for me. But the indicator comes on very soon after I start driving. Today I could have initiated FSD even before I got off my (short) driveway. On my return trip I initiated FSD while still leaving a Costco parking lot, and all the way home.

I haven’t played with smart summon much, once in a wide open parking lot just for fun. FWIW I drove to our local PO using FSD a couple weeks ago and to my surprise it entered the parking lot and fronted into a diagonal parking spot. When I use auto park, it always backs in.
 
We have such a crazy intersection where we meet the interstate from our neighborhood. It’s a 4 way road cross with the interstate going diagonal on top of it and thus access roads also join at diagonals. They made definite improvements, but now we essentially have a 5-way intersection at our side of the overpass, and to get onto the access road, immediately after turning right you cross to the 3rd or 4th lane to turn left onto the access road at another light in an extremely short section of road! Somehow FSD has always handled this bizarre sequence as long as traffic doesn’t get backed up blocking this intersection and subsequent left turn. If stopped waiting on the red light in the right turn lane at the intersection you have to watch three lines of oncoming traffic, not just two, each with its own light, which always seem kind of crazy. Overall FSD does a good job of judging when it’s safe to turn right on red unless traffic has backed up blocking the two left turn lanes. And of course when we have the green light the left turn lanes after right have red, so sometimes that doesn’t work because the left lanes are full. In that case it’s best just to wait until that traffic clears in which case you are probably turning right on read again.
 

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I wouldn't be driving an EV if I couldn't easily do a route like Seattle to Portland without stops. :)
I see that that is 174 miles. My benchmark is to complete a 200-225 mile single day round trip with no charging available at the far end. Being that I do this trip 20 or more times a year, I need to be able to do it without recharging at least 80% of the time before going to an EV.
 
The speed offset defaults to +40% even in chill mode. It is supposed to be context dependent. It seems a little fast to me.
To add on to my FSD 2.6 experiences - I ended up dialing down max speed offset to 5%. It’s behaving much better overall. I was seeing things like speed limit drops from 50 to 35 and car doesn’t slow at all! Unacceptable.

They’ve messed something up, current algorithm doesn’t make sense. I hope they straighten it out. Prior FSD versions my setup would always adjust to current speed limit, I was quite happy with that. Plus speed thumb wheel was very responsive to small adjustments. It’s completely different now.
 
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My wife and I have been looking to see if there were any EVs that could compete with our Teslas.

‘Sentry Mode’ is a huge plus for me, I love having video of any incidents.
I finally found someone else that offers that functionality:)

Our current front runner is the Polestar 4.
It sits in between a crossover and a sedan. Not quite as small as I would like, but far more acceptable to my preferences than an SUV.

Does anyone have experience with the Polestar 2 or 3?
 
It sits in between a crossover and a sedan. Not quite as small as I would like, but far more acceptable to my preferences than an SUV.
Relative to gasoline or diesel-powered vehicles, there appears to be a design requirement to keep down the height, and therefore frontal area, of EV crossovers to get reasonable range. Examples include the Tesla Model Y, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai Ioniq 5, and Kia EV6.

Their overall height suits me well.
 
If you are waiting for something to be able to complete a 225 mile trip, there are at least 44 models availible today that have 300+ mile range

My longest leg was 225 miles non-stop one way. I really needed the bathroom break then!

I routinely do 200+ miles between charges traveling cross country in the wide open west where superchargers are sparse.
 
My longest leg was 225 miles non-stop one way. I really needed the bathroom break then!

I routinely do 200+ miles between charges traveling cross country in the wide open west where superchargers are sparse.
Both my Tesla and ID.4 had 240 mile range. It would be really tight and everything would have to go right to make a 225 mile trip without stopping. No head winds, driving max 65, sparse use of heat, etc.. In my opinion you'd need a 400 mile range to comfortably do a 240 mile trip without any compromise.
 
Both my Tesla and ID.4 had 240 mile range. It would be really tight and everything would have to go right to make a 225 mile trip without stopping. No head winds, driving max 65, sparse use of heat, etc.. In my opinion you'd need a 400 mile range to comfortably do a 240 mile trip without any compromise.
My rated range is 345 miles. Weather conditions can definitely have an impact and I’ve never tried to go 240 miles even though I believe the car could do it even with headwinds etc. But I’ve never needed to either. Normally on long hauls 180 to 215 is my distance between charges. I rarely charge above 80% on long distances, and the driver (me) needs a break!
 
My rated range is 345 miles. Weather conditions can definitely have an impact and I’ve never tried to go 240 miles even though I believe the car could do it even with headwinds etc. But I’ve never needed to either. Normally on long hauls 180 to 215 is my distance between charges. I rarely charge above 80% on long distances, and the driver (me) needs a break!
The funny thing is the same issues (headwinds, speed, maybe not heat though) are present in gas powered vehicles, it's just a non-issue because you can always find a gas station and fill up in minutes. Imagine if electricity stations are as common as gas stations, and it takes less than a few minutes to fill up, it would be a game changer.
 
The funny thing is the same issues (headwinds, speed, maybe not heat though) are present in gas powered vehicles, it's just a non-issue because you can always find a gas station and fill up in minutes. Imagine if electricity stations are as common as gas stations, and it takes less than a few minutes to fill up, it would be a game changer.
It’s also that the ICE vehicles are far less efficient, thus weather conditions and speed don’t have as much of an impact on overall range.

I’m personally quite happy with the current distance between chargers and the road trip charging time which for me is typically 18 to 21 mins. I need a break and have plenty to do so the time goes by in a flash. Fortunately the car sends me an almost done notice if I haven’t made it back. Charging time/speed is not a concern. Having chargers in more destination locations and later technology superchargers is always welcome.
 
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The funny thing is the same issues (headwinds, speed, maybe not heat though) are present in gas powered vehicles, it's just a non-issue because you can always find a gas station and fill up in minutes. Imagine if electricity stations are as common as gas stations, and it takes less than a few minutes to fill up, it would be a game changer.
One solution is to have the battery quickly replaceable (like the typical battery powered tool), but that hasn't been shown to be feasible so far. This would also help with the issue that old EVs are essentially disposable since the batteries are proprietary and very expensive to replace (if you can even get one).
 

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