Model Y production reduction

plugging in is not a hassle

 

In the winter, on any but 4WD drive, days it was. More than once I' brush the snow off it (a Porsche convertible) and take it out as the snow was melting. While the cover was wet, I did have a garage or porch where the cover would go until it was dry. The inside of the cover was soft and never scratched the paint.

 

In a word, no. I used to have a nice cover for a 3-series BMW back in the 80's, and I hardly ever used it because it was a PITA to apply and put away. Using one now would be impractacle; taking too much time in a hurry to work, and then to re-apply and remove parking and leaving work, then apply again at home would be 4 use cases per day. And with ice and snow, even more PITA. While it could make logical and financial sense, the reality of use is quite different.

I would rather spend $80K on a heated garage (note to self: start that fund raiser for garage) than to deal with deploying a cover so often. A carport would make sense too, if they were allowed where I live.

 

Bob, I have to laugh when you mention "cold soak" at 38º. That's a balmy spring day up here this time of year (see below).

I have been reducing my charging at home a bit. When new (it is still new ) I would charge it back up to 80% every night or so. Now, mind you, this was in December when it was 0º F. degrees outside for well more than a week. A lot of the juice spent was just warming up the battery and then when warmed, the charging would get going to a higher degree. So it was as much the charging that cost the kWh as it was the warming. I am not against leaving the charge cable in the car at night, or for days on end, when the temps are amazingly colder because that's just smart to preserve the chemistry. It might consume 1-2 kWh per night in maintenance mode. Money well spent.

Now, when the weather is 35º F. and above for most of the day, I just don't warm (precondition) the car at all, and it seems to have most or all the regen capability. This has reduced the load to about 1.5% of battery usage per work day, assuming that work is the only place I'm driving to.

Next week when it will be raining and dipping back into the 20's, I'll probably just Prius my way to work and forget about the BS of frozen charge ports and windows that don't want to drop. It isn't the seal at the top of the windows that freeze shut, but the windows at the fibrous seal at the top of the door and inside the door that keep the windows from functioning. The charge port cover is another mystery why it freezes (far inside the fender).

 

BAM! It just did. A model Y on Jan. 1 was U.S. priced at $65,990. Today's price drop of $13,000, combined with state sales tax difference of over $1,000, and the $7,500 IRA credit (now allowed) has reduced the Y's effective price by ~$20,000. And all used cars the same.