Well, after flubbing my last post, maybe this is an exciting advancement in a Solar EV!
I would argue it's always going to be a niche, academic technology.
Aptera's efforts in efficiency have helped and will help advance efficiency in normal electric vehicles but there's simply not enough energy coming from the sun to make much of a difference in EVs overall energy consumption.
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I am looking for a spare extra level 1 charger for my car. How compatible are they between makes? I have seen a couple on marketplace for Mitsubishi's, just want to make sure the fit is going to be fine for a Toyota, like no variations where something is slightly off and it's going to be a pain to connect and disconnect.
I would argue it's always going to be a niche, academic technology.
Aptera's efforts in efficiency have helped and will help advance efficiency in normal electric vehicles but there's simply not enough energy coming from the sun to make much of a difference in EVs overall energy consumption.
Considering the perovskite advancements over the last year they now have multiple technologies that either eliminate silicon, while still keeping 17% capture rate, or mix silicon and perovskite to get 27-33% efficiency.
Once those technologies hit mass production it will be a game changer in the energy business.
It is the kind of move that will set a nation up to lead the way into the energy revolution (and make piles of money when they are providing the technology that displaces the legacy tech). It is honestly the kind of thing Canada would invest in instead of bickering over another pipeline.
Considering the perovskite advancements over the last year they now have multiple technologies that either eliminate silicon, while still keeping 17% capture rate, or mix silicon and perovskite to get 27-33% efficiency.
Once those technologies hit mass production it will be a game changer in the energy business.
It is the kind of move that will set a nation up to lead the way into the energy revolution (and make piles of money when they are providing the technology that displaces the legacy tech). It is honestly the kind of thing Canada would invest in instead of bickering over another pipeline.
Even at 25% total efficiency you'd be lucky to get 12-15km added in an average sedan during the summer. I just don't see mobility solar ever catching on other than maybe for freight fleets to decrease costs. Even then, it's usually far cheaper to put solar on the warehouse roof for less money and get more power. It's just not an efficient use of money. I still see it as niche
Mazda has announced a big price decrease on the 2026 CX70 plug in hybrid of $10,000. If we get a similar or slightly larger price drop in Canada that is going to be a very attractive option at around $45K CAD.
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We're looking at an EV today after work for my girlfriend. She wants something relatively luxurious and comfortable, and the appeal of not needing to pay for fuel is a big factor for her. However, she's never driven one before, so it'll be interesting to see how she gets on with it during the test drive.
Range anxiety isn't much of a concern since she's mostly city driving, with the occasional Canmore/Banff or Edmonton trip, and if she really needed to take it to her folks' place in BC, charging infrastructure heading west is way better than it is heading east, plus the Tesla Supercharger network being open to non-Teslas helps (besides, we usually take my cars on longer trips).
To that end, I've found a few power adapters available online that convert from NACS to CCS Combo (Lectron) and from NACS to J1772 (TeslaTap). Anyone have experiences (good or bad) with those?
The three things EVs have that will blow her mind:
Way less noise.
Almost no vibration.
Mega-torque.
Tesla Superchargers and Tesla Destination chargers can be used by non-Tesla vehicles (provided they've been added to the approved list by Tesla), but require an NACS to J1772 adapter.
Just committed to purchase of the first EV in the household ever ... since the last one I had any part in was the XC40 Recharge for my ex Demon-in-Law.
2020 Jaguar I-Pace HSE EV400 in Gallium Silver. It'll be the lady's car to go to and from work. Kind of stoked about it, even as someone who loves his ICE cars. Will take pictures for the Ongoing General Automotive Thread 2.0 once we take delivery next week, probably Tuesday.
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GO FLAMES GO.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Azure
Typical dumb take.
Last edited by TorqueDog; 12-27-2025 at 06:05 PM.
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Canada should allow Chinese EVs on the condition that companies build all or part of them here, or source parts from the CDN auto belt.
The EV ban only helps stupid fat american auto makers and is anti-consumer.
In countries where Chinese auto are sold, average people can buy a nice vehicle for way less than we pay for ours.
That's one way to help with the affordability crisis.
Competition is good, check this out (only so cheap because of competition):
I would be soooooooooooooooooo leery about buying a Chinese car. With the amount of security issues identified with TVs and whatnot, or the propaganda and nonsense being jammed into Chinese AI toys for kids, the idea of Chinese cars on our roads is actually scary. Looking at the new Chinese TV brands, they send a LOT of data back home for no good reason (and that reason is likely why they are so cheap).
With a couple of clicks they could take over a car and drive it into a wall or another car or a crowd of people.
I realize that the same is true of Tesla and I would honestly advocate for kicking Tesla out of the country for security reasons.
IMO, before China should be able to send their cars here, they should build a Canadian office for their software and ensure that all of the components in their cars sold in Canada are forced to run a Canadian made version of their software that is audited by CSIS or something to eliminate potential shenanigans.
Canada should allow Chinese EVs on the condition that companies build all or part of them here, or source parts from the CDN auto belt.
The EV ban only helps stupid fat american auto makers and is anti-consumer.
In countries where Chinese auto are sold, average people can buy a nice vehicle for way less than we pay for ours.
That's one way to help with the affordability crisis.
Competition is good, check this out (only so cheap because of competition):
I'm all for Chinese EVs coming to Canada but if we require the cars to be built here and/or the parts to be sourced from Canada are they still going to be an affordable option? Sure it might drive some competition from the legacy automakers but the main advantage goes away if you take away Chinese manufacturing and supply chains.
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