Quote:
Originally Posted by Fuzz
Absolutely not. At least with most other manufacturers, we get the jobs and economic benefit. Having China dump their cheaply produced EV's that don't have to follow things like reasonable wages and environmental standards would just mean ceding manufacturing capacity to them, as we have in so many other ways.
The gigapress doesn't form the whole car, it forms the front and back sub assembly frames. It absolutely does save money, time and human labour. But it's not the full car in one piece.
The problem with cost reduction is at some point, you've removed all the reasons people might pick your vehicle in a competitive environment. Without luxury features, like, uhm, grab handles, you start to lose customers.
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From my viewpoint it looks more like our tax dollars are being spent by the Federal government to give billions in incentives to Magna to build a battery factory or to Volkswagon to open a line that employs 3000 employees to benefit some workers in Ontario. And then when they don't get the same incentive package, they hold us hostage. They gave VW $13 billion for 3000 jobs. Does that make sense? Now Magna wants the same money or they will pull their plant.
I want the maximum number of consumer choices for everyone and that includes affordable Chinese EVs, not government goodwill gestures to prop up an industry that wouldn't make sense minus the incentives and doesn't provide a benefit to all Canadians and not just a handle of Ontario workers for a PR stunt when they don't extend the same hand to workers in the west.
Grab handles, more instruments, buttons dials, whatever - I don't want them even. I've grown accustomed to the complete simplicity of nothing in the car but the steering wheel and a screen. Other cars look messy to me now and I can't go back. The interior materials are junk I'll give you that - especially the cheap pp and pvc plastics everywhere.