RNM GS3

Why are ppl so keen on getting rid of ICE cars?! If this truly happens- the wealth gap between rich and poor will be enormous. When gas hits $10/ gallon, its not the Ferrari owner that will be hurting but the poor farmer or waitress filling up her old Chevy Malibu.
How are these poor folks affording a new EV car and where is the damn infrastructure to build any of these charging stations? Its 2 weeks from 2022 and there are zero in NYC or surrounding neighborhoods.

[ politics deleted ]

LeX2K

Because EVs are far better and overall much cleaner. Also way safer due to more space for crush zones and general optimized structure. And far lower center of gravity the roll over risk is way lower.
Why would gas become so expensive? Lack of demand if left to natural market forces will fall through the floor.
The grid needs to be roughly doubled if every car is electric I think this is more than doable. We spend billions on oil exploration, refining, transport etc divert even a small portion of those resources to the grid.
Most other cities manage to have a good charging infrastructure not sure what the deal is in NY.
[ politics deleted ]

I don't think auto makers should get a single dime from government. It certainly won't stop Tesla from continuing their rapid expansion if anything the current admin is doing everything in their power to slow Tesla down.

If you disagree with my points then you're saying Toyota is making a massive mistake.

RNM GS3

I’m not against EVs but I’m against on dictating products which is what globally governments are doing and manufacturers are responding to these demands. Historically this is bad for consumers and ultimately the economy in the long run.

NYC has the most expensive real estate- its not feasible to put charging stations in prime locations. You have to buy an existing property usually on the corner knock it down. Then convert it to a charging station- this is HUGE investment and just to get a permit to start work etc takes time.

Gas is cheap because its needed in abundance. Once the economies of scale are not there, gas prices will rise as gas stations will not be selling same volume but they have same fixed costs for rent, payment of equipment etc.

As far environmental impact, the mining of metals needed for these batteries will hurt environment in huge way. And it still doesn’t solve dependence on oil as we need that to generate the electricity to power the batteries.

In NY, we have antiquated Subway system that uses infrastructure from almost 100yrs ago even though MTA rakes in Billions of dollars. Point is just because you allocate funds to build up the grid, doesn’t mean it will be built on such a massive scale in efficient manner to make it reality by 2030.

The biggest game changer would be for improvement in range and energy storage for the car batteries. So if that tech can improve dramatically in 5yrs where you are getting 2,000 miles per charge and it can last a month well then you don’t need that many charging stations.

LeX2K

These things are not true and have been debunked multiple times on this forum. What really puzzles me is for some reason people seem to think metals are not used in ICE cars, why? Do these materials magically appear in the factories and foundries? No mining required? There are giant engine blocks, cylinder heads, cams, hundreds of other parts made of all sorts of metals. These materials can and are recycled same as the materials that go into batteries. The difference is you 100% cannot make a petrol car clean, it pollutes by its very design every time you drive it. A BEV has the potential to run on 100% clean energy, no ICE car can compete with this. Ever.

703

recycling an engine block is easy. You just melt it down. The specialist skills and equipment to properly dissemble and recycle millions of high voltage batteries doesn’t exist.

Fizzboy7

Probably the biggest news of all here is Lexus's discontinuance of the funky spindle grille. A defining and defying controversial point since it took over... is finally on it's way out. Whether you liked it or not, a major styling theme change does not happen every dozen years or so.
As far what's presented here, the mini FJ Cruiser is a no-brainer. A model that never should have disappeared, or at least should have been updated to mesh with current trends (Bronco).
I also see a new IS in one of those sedans... no one has mentioned.

EZZ

The skills and technique already exist and large recycling plants are get ramped to meet the needs of a future EV world. Even now, the efficiency is 92%. May get better in the future.

https://insideevs.com/news/525965/te...ling-no-waste/

703

”but the vast majority of what it currently recycles comes from its own research and testing programs”

Until I see some real numbers of all the brands, makes and types of batteries all over the world being recycled, these articles are just posturing and self promotional. And that’s not going to happen until governments unilaterally mandate recycling responsibilities back to the manufacturer who produces them.

The cost to ship a depleted Nissan Leaf battery from the bottom of the world to a Tesla recycling facility in North America is not even worth it.

same thing goes for batteries in an iPhone. Theoretically it can be recycled. But the time and effort to open the phone up and to extract the battery is just not worth it. So they end up in landfills.

spwolf

actually, most of these vehicles will start selling by 2025, if not all. Exactly what they said at the end.
There was also a large sedan previewed to the media behind closed doors.

Literally Toyota came out with 16 vehicles, most of them looking production ready. Not 1, but 16.
BZ4X starts deliveries in March in Japan, summer USA. RZ450E starts deliveries sometimes next year.

EV Pickup looks production ready based on next generation Tacoma. Probably EV version of it.

spwolf

yes. Sports car will be continuation of LFA, 0-62 mph in low 2s and 700km WLTP range.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

still stuck in that cult of personality mindset? "elon good", "akio bad" LOL

i do agree that akio toyoda is a very unconvincing presenter (just from body language), has been all over the map, and should be replaced. it is important to remember though the japanese govt also heavily influences what he says.

yup, oil capital of canada, and you're driving 20 and 30 year old cars. when are you getting an EV?

There are no doubt a lot people like you, but there's also a lot of people who aren't. This is America remember. We embrace change.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

why does anyone here think toyota did this presentation now? i don't really get it. is it just to say "hey, we're not out of touch, we've got a plan"? How does that benefit toyota/lexus? Does it really help with sales today if you can't buy any of the things being shown?

Och

iTrader: (3)

Remember 10 years ago automotive forums were full of diesel trolls, and German automakers were touting the diesel aids that fell apart in an instant when VW got caught with their pants down? Something tells me there will be an "electric gate" that ends this nonsense.

Motorola

Mainly to appease shareholders, who can't get enough of EV's (see: Tesla, Lucid, Rivian, etc. stocks).

This isn't some small promise that they can back away from anytime though, this is a major commitment, especially for Lexus. That's why I say this entire event is so uncharacteristic of Toyota.

SW17LS

I'm not "keen" on getting rid of ICE cars and having only EV options, in fact I'm concerned about it since the types of vehicles I like seem to be difficult to make as EVs, I just call it like I see it. The momentum towards EVs is unstoppable, all of these companies WILL sell largely or all EVs within 10 years or so, like it or not.