TheDonEffect

Any literature on what Quantum Scape has done to progress SSB tech? I have a very crude, super basic understanding of it, so my understanding of it is that there are challenges that creates disadvantages regarding the energy per dollar ratio. It seems like all of the current, practical options all seem to run into that problem at some point.

As far as driving engagement though, I think that's highly subjective. I love the sound of a V8, I would trade alot of performance to gain a better sound, like if the ND2 Miata sounded like a Porsche air cooled flat six or a V8, but with the same amount of power, I'd happily take it over a ton of cars. However, lately I find myself hating the sound of Mopar V8s. Why? Cuz there's a bunch of idiots around here that run around in their Chargers/Challengers, revving every chance they get, with glass pack exhausts, all throughout the night while I'm trying to sleep. Now I associate those Mopar engines with idiots. Satirically, I love the sound of the Coyote V8... unless I'm standing near a car meet, then it brings fear in my heart.

Point is, I can totally see how people can love the silent nature of an EV. Effortless power, eventually lower maintenance and approachable repairability will eventually indoctrinate folks, and ICE cars will just be loud noise.

rwheelz

I will save it for when I am old and deaf from my ITB's. The sound, rumble, feel etc are all part of the driving bliss in my experience. I hope I never see a day where the rumble of a big loud V8 doesn't stir my soul.

I would consider a 2025 Cayman GTS 4.0 as a car that would be fun to drive and hopefully hold its value. I did a build that came out to under $120k. It is not a very generous helping of horsepower for the money though IMO.

TommyDeVito

You live in an open place where the population density (talking your state as a whole, I have 2 main offices in MT, and 3 small offices for a total of 5 that I have to manage fiber for) is nothing compared to a major metro like where I live (DFW). It would only be beneficial if you had solar/wind, making your own power, as that is where these shine. Make your own juice and nil maintenance. My EV DD is 10.5 years old, and it’s not my favorite vehicle I have ever owned, but it is the best one I have owned. It’s nothing more than a mule for boring, mundane driving, running errands, commuting, that wouldn’t be fun to me here, in a damn Ferrari. Light to light. Highways packed. That’s where the EV shines like a full moon. Outside of that, no. And the expensive ones, are some of the dumbest buys on the market. The CT just came out and it’s projected to be 30% depreciation year 1. That’s crazy.

rwheelz

Yeah my response was really directed toward TheDonEffect's right above! I never want to be annoyed by the sound of roaring V8's whilst trying to sleep. And you are absolutely right, incredibly spoiled by where I live in this regard, being county not city and in a very rural state.

Even in Billings, when I was commuting to a downtown office an electric car was the obvious smart choice. I could easily have solar at my home. I stopped commuting in my GTR because I was sitting in traffic except for the two miles from my house each way and it just didn't make sense anymore.

I have considered many new cars, but the value just isn't there for me. For six figures, I want 500+hp. And if it is in a heavy car I want more. The bang for the buck scale has been altered! I am further modifying my MR2's rather than buying anything new whether electric or ICE. At least I can repair them myself in my garage with tools I already own.

JonBoy

SSBs have an issue with nano-cracking that only really appeared when they put them into test vehicles/beds with actual dynamic loading. They have excellent power density but they have a structural attribute that causes these little cracks and it eventually causes lithium dendrite growths in the cracks that lead to short circuiting (it's called "crack propagation and dendrite growth"). They're working on improved materials that can resist this (or "self heal") to beat the problem, but we're still a ways away from SSBs in a commercial vehicle application, in particular.

https://www.metaltechnews.com/story/...ered/1225.html

They've been working on SSBs fairly extensively for over 20 years now and they still don't have a commercially-viable solution.

vader1

Look at used Taycan values. Oof.

clutchcargo

I would believe that sentiment carries for many P car owners.
I was at a Fuel Fed cars and coffee a few weeks ago and got to chat with a guy who is one of the bigger P car collectors in the North of Chicago area (918, 911R, many GT cars, Turbo S, etc.)
When I asked him about eP cars it was like an explosion happened. No one considers what it takes to make the batteries, the whole thing is xyz. I kind of had to step back and wait for the venting to die down before moving the conversation over to hybrids, which thankfully he is ok with.

Bullwings

Those testing issue are old news.

This is the latest
https://www.volkswagen-group.com/en/...nce-test-18031

Key test results:
The U.S. company QuantumScape has recently reached an important milestone, which was now confirmed by PowerCo: its solid-state cell has significantly exceeded the requirements in the A-sample test and successfully completed more than 1,000 charging cycles. For an electric car with a WLTP range of 500-600 kilometres, this corresponds to a total mileage of more than half a million kilometres. At the same time, the cell barely aged and still had 95 percent of its capacity (or discharge energy retention) at the end of the test. The tests, which ran for several months, were carried out in PowerCo's battery laboratories in Salzgitter

Specifics on the mfg. deal agreement to industrialize the QS SSBs:
https://www.fastmarkets.com/insights...ate-batteries/

Probably still 2-3yrs away before we see them in commercial vehicles, but I don't think they would have made such an announcement if there wasn't some more substantial data to demonstrate proof of commercial scalability (not just concept). FWIW - the Chinese will likely be first to market. The company IM Motors just launched the IM L6 in May with a semi-solid-state battery (not sure the differences between semi-SSB and just SSB).

Regarding V-8s... agree with TheDon - Mustangs, Chargers, and Challengers just annoy me now - even if they aren't driving around being douches. The unnecessary loudness of it is irritating. All of the artificial pops and crackles tuned into modern BMWs is also equally annoying.

TheDonEffect

I never thought I'd think this too, until you live this reality. As I keep saying, alot of the restrictive regulations are typically the result of a bunch of idiots pissing off enough of the populace to vote and end their nonsense. Dumbasses love driving by crowds and have their backfire tunes scare the crap out of people, fast forward a couple years now you can't ship ECU tuners to CA.

Yeah that's what I read, and the issue isn't as predictable as it can manifest quickly on a small scale but can lead to a significant failure.


Has VW dieselgate teach us anything? Frankly, I don't believe anything that has VW's influence on it until other OEMs/companies begin to validate it. Also, the test time is far too short to have any real meaningful relevance at this point. I'm not poo pooing it, simply saying the data set isn't robust enough yet to draw any conclusions, let alone optimism.

Everything has stupid backfires these days. It's why I'm not a huge fan of the way Harleys sound because around here, every road/street/ultra/etc glide, that mind you costs over 20k, oftentimes with 10s of thousands of dollars invested into ruining them, has the cheapest straight pipe/slip on possible, and good is equated to volume. And don't get me started on motorcycles with sound systems. I get it, if you're out on the open road, why the heck not, rock out. But if you're barreling down a residential street in the middle of the night, on a work night no less, why the hell do you have to crank up your volume to the point of distortion? Just stupid.

WolfpackS2k

It is sad news indeed. But even the headline from Porsche is a bit misleading. Production of Cayman to end with MY2025. Sounds like there's plenty of time left right? 6 months left (roughly) in 2024 and then an entire 12 months of 2025.

Sadly the truth is if you walk into a Porsche dealership TODAY and attempt to order a 718 built to your preferences they will tell you it's too late. You can buy existing inventory, but the books for ordering something new are already CLOSED (forever).