As it stands, I think every EV in the US market currently has some kind of built-in data connections to allow integrating with the manufacturer's mobile app. So not about the prime mover, but it just so happens that the current generation of EVs are more connected to the hivemind, if you will. Of course, a number of ICE cars are also that way.
I, for one, cannot wait for the day that somebody brings the Toyota Corolla of EVs to the market; something under $25k MSRP with nothing fancy. I don't need OTA updates or the ability to turn the AC on from my phone.
Hyundai Kona electric, Kia Soul EV second gen, or Kia Niro EV is fairly modern, but not too “smart”.
There’s no reason EVs need to be connected to the internet. While the newer lines of Hyundai and Kia EVs can connect to the internet, that’s only for remote control and updates for the infotainment system. The engine control software is still updated off-line if needed.
Unfortunately I’m not aware of any EVs made from the ground up as an EV that is also super simple. Not any that are mass produced in large quantities, in a popular form factor, and easily available in a western market at least.
I think the problem now is such an EV - if it was really optimised for low cost - would be too popular. There isn’t enough battery factories to satisfy the potential demand. So car companies would rather use the battery production capacity they have access to for selling expensive high margin vehicles. As long as that market isn’t fully saturated that’s how they get the most money out of the available capacity. And honestly I think it’s a good thing for this part of the EV transition. It’s good that car companies can actually make some money on EVs for a while as it incentivises continued investments in EV R&D and more battery factories. We just gotta hope that we get a smooth transition into the design and production of more affordable models.
This is exactly what I want. I think there’s a huge, untapped market for an electric car with minimal software. A car that doesn’t need software updates and doesn’t track you.
While I don't know about the details of what all the other EVs have, most of the legacy auto EVs model year 2020 and earlier were basically built on ICE platforms, and mostly have the same features except having an EV drivetrain.
Many models coming out now are on new dedicated EV platforms, so you'd really have to check them to see what connectivity features they might have.
Nothing about EVs require connectivity though, it's just Tesla that have caused a shift in direction in many other automakers.
I hope someone will build a super simplified EV that's affordable and lacks all the digital stuff - no touchscreen, no lcd displays, no included navigation software, no automated assistance systems, physical knobs all the way.
Add some way to pair my phone via bluetooth to send audio to the speakers and a place to put it for using google maps / openstreetmap or any other software on my phone.
And spend all the energy in optimizing the drag coefficient and reduce weight and make it not ugly or avant-garde or whatever is on the designers mind that reduces functionality.
Everyone is talking about how EVs are far simpler to build, require less maintance but it's still more expensive than an ICE car? Is this all the price of the battery?
That's one reason I'm saving up for an EV conversion lol. I just need a car to go from A -> B. I don't need self driving, constant updates, a blackbox, cameras everywhere, etc. Just an EV, with a good drive train, decent range, etc. It's the only reason I'm still using a dino car. Legislation for privacy will needs a huge overhaul in preference to the rights of individuals rather than corporations.
What I’m waiting for is the 3 row SUV that I already have to be available in an EV. I don’t want dorky “futuristic” styles and model names distinguishing it as an EV just basically what I have already. Then I could use the EV for my day to day and the ICE for emergencies or road-trips.
I've come the the conclusion that the only electric vehicle I'm likely to own is a custom conversion. I don't drive often, but when I do it's often a rental or car share. I've come to despise anti-privacy features that have become either standard or required on modern vehicles, from built-in connectivity to tpms, cars are getting to be worse than smartphones.
I'd absolutely kill for something like the K5 Blazer-E, but without the connectivity likely built into eCrate.
I plan on owning an EV one day. But right now, they're not building the car I (and apparently a lot of other people) want at a price they're willing to pay.
I'm not interested in owning a science experiment. I want something that has real buttons so I can use my muscle memory to push them without taking my eyes off the road. I don't want something that beeps at me all the damned time (looking at you, Toyota/Lexus/Subaru). I want something with decent range (300 miles/500km) - I don't mind stopping at the 4-5 hour mark to recharge - I need to recharge too at that point. I don't want an all-glass roof - I live in the South and it gets hot here. I want comfortable seats. After trade-in and cash-down, I don't want a payment much over $600. I don't mind spending $1200 to install a charger at home - it's a one-time purchase that I will be able to use over several vehicles and adds value to the house.
I'm sure I sound like a cranky old man (because I am). But there's a reason why car design has converged over the last century to the control layout we have today. It's because it works.
The "iphone" of the electric car still isn't here.
I've been saying it's coming soon for a while, cars that are so vastly superior to gas cars that it re-frames the gas car as being legacy technology just as the smartphone from apple finally got the consumer interested in smartphones and view flip-phones as inferior.
I think however, it's going to come from left-field (not from Tesla) and for the first time I'm tossing a date on it, 24-36 months:
The key is the bizarre three-wheeled electric cars from micro-manufacturers like aptera, ampere, nobe, elio, arcimoto, electra meccanica, malcolm bricklin, sondors, and vanderhall.
They are offering low priced commuter vehicles with really low drag coefficients, easy parking, and when combined with solar panels embedded in the body (which I know of 3 manufacturers that are releasing cars this year that will do this) you'll get effectively a "worry free" vehicle; it charges more than you usually drive it, needs very little maintenance and repair, and is easy to maneuver.
I think Geoffrey Moore's diagram on this one is starting this year and if the next gen of these funky cars are as "practical" as I think them to be, I think the chasm will be jumped around 2023/2024.
But this is like if we were in 2003, and I used the bulky, nerdy clunky HP iPAQ 4150 (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51BH3PKCZ7L...) and argued that these computer-phones would eventually be a mainstream device and be a complete replacement of desktops and laptops for many people. Obviously unrealistic then. You have to iterate in your head.
For instance, take the solar e-trike, make a modular design like how ebussy has (http://ebussy.de/), inductive charging like what bmw and witricity are working on or what's been deployed in sweden (https://www.smartroadgotland.com/) you know, the next steps that everything gets crossing the chasm, you have to do the act of mentally imagining putting these things together, I can see this future coming together.
Also you add the cost trajectories of batteries and solar on to it, and you'll realize this is like anything else in the innovators dilemma: the capacity is moving up, the price is moving down, steadily, year on year and you're maybe looking at say, a honda-civic level rated e-trike car at say $4,000 in 2030 that can get modular addons and be inductively recharged while driving.
I know this sounds as wacky as bill gates home of the future from the 1990s where he talked to a special "assistant computer" in his living room to do things like order a cab or the carputer project MS ran to have an in-dash navigation system with location and map info in the early 90s ... it all looks crazy until it happens.
I look forward to the day when there are enough EV models that it's not assumed all EVs are interchangeable. You wouldn't see an article suggesting that BMW 330i sales are cannibalizing Honda Civics.
I'm looking forward to the arrival of an EV that fundamentally changes the economic perception and direction of EVs.
I'm looking for an EV that really is just an upsized golf cart. Batteries, Wheels, cabin, lights, brakes, motor.
Eliminate all GPS tracking tech screens integrations and wifi.
Yes, you'll need a computer for battery Management systems and those type of things. But that's all.
The utilitarian image basis of Jeep perhaps might lead to some trim level that actually approaches this. A no-nonsense vehicle.
With the arrival of saltwater batteries, there exists the opportunity for entry-level cheap vehicles with decent profit margins since these sodium ion drivetrains should be well under ICE drivetrain cost
But I won't hold my breath. I don't welcome Chinese EV companies dumping their wares into the US market and thinly veiled economic warfare, but the entry of Chinese EVS would have enabled this particular type of car.
Has the market really spoken, though? If it's literally impossible to buy an EV that doesn't have all these gimmicky screens and AI features in 'em, then there's no way for the market to actually speak.
I, for one, cannot wait for the day that somebody brings the Toyota Corolla of EVs to the market; something under $25k MSRP with nothing fancy. I don't need OTA updates or the ability to turn the AC on from my phone.
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