Extra, Extra....Read All About It!

[JohnnyScout]

I might suffer through opening the frunk using a touch screen, but never the doors. In an emergency, the interior door handles must always work, and work in the obvious way.

And the CarPlay excuse -- that you would have to switch the screen away from CarPlay to open the frunk -- is actually kind of hilarious. Isn't it just that switching that is the foundation of their UI? You're always having to switch to the right screen (and subscreen) to get something done. That's why we love these systems so much! /s.

Better off with android auto and alexa to respond to voice instructions such as " Alexa, for the love of God, open the doors so we can exit the vehicle " to which she responds " I can't do that, Dave"

But there have been reported instances where the auxiliary 12 volt on board battery that runs things like door locks dies and exiting the EV by using manual release is nit readily evident or never explained by sales

 

[JohnnyScout]

Oh and in an emergency, is there anything peculiar about an EV doors such as high voltage that first responders should know before using the "jaws of life" to extract trapped persons?

 

[RebelliousPeasant]

Oh and in an emergency, is there anything peculiar about an EV doors such as high voltage that first responders should know before using the "jaws of life" to extract trapped persons?

No. There are no high voltage things anywhere near where drivers can touch things or where first responders would need to cut to extract someone.

EV doors are no different than any other modern vehicle doors. The electronic door latch thing isn't exclusive to EVs but I do agree that manual latches are better. My EV has manual latches and the while central locking has been in cars forever my EV also has a way of opening the lock manually just like every other car.

EVs are just cars with a different powertrain. Teslas are the exception and they deliberately make things weird or difficult just for the sake of being different but even Teslas have a manual door release. There's no reason EVs can't have normal buttons and latches like every car before them. It's a design choice on the part of the automaker and I think Scout has been pretty clear that simplicity will be the order of the day so they will have latches and buttons where appropriate rather than software doing simple tasks like opening the glove box for example. There's no need for a software to open a glove box, a latch can do that cheaper and easier.

 

[oldgeeksguide]

The Rivian CEO just did an interview on the Decoder podcast.

Among other things he explained why Rivian does not support CarPlay; arguing that the user would need to jump out of CarPlay to open the frunk.

To me this highlights the problem of not having physical buttons for things like opening the frunk and instead having to navigate through touchscreens or away from a screen you are actively using (whether it’s a CarPlay app or something else).

Also as an excuse for not supporting CarPlay this is a very weak argument because even if buttons have to all be on touchscreens there is no reason why CarPlay can’t exist alongside other screens or UI. Or why certain controls couldn’t also be inside a CarPlay app.

The new CarPlay allows for more complex composited screens so Now Playing data and controls for a podcast could exist right alongside controls for the car. But really what’s needed most is more physical buttons.

Opening the frunk should not only be a physical button but there should probably also be a purely mechanical way to open it in case the electrical system is completely shut down.

Didn’t Rivian have an early software bug where users couldn’t open the center console until the software was updated?

Any system that can be paralyzed by a software flaw needs to be redesigned with redundancy and other safeguards. Physical buttons should be considered essential.

Well said!

 

[LastDayScout]

Better off with android auto and alexa to respond to voice instructions such as " Alexa, for the love of God, open the doors so we can exit the vehicle " to which she responds " I can't do that, Dave"

But there have been reported instances where the auxiliary 12 volt on board battery that runs things like door locks dies and exiting the EV by using manual release is nit readily evident or never explained by sales

Yep, went through something similar on my wife’s X5 PHEV. 12v under the floor on the cargo area and no way to open the lift gate manually.

 

[J Alynn]

Some more SM related news

SC approves Midlands Tech $5 million purchase of training building for Scout Motors employees

Midlands Technical College is seeking approval to purchase a building and a plot of land to house a training facility for Scout Motors’ employees.

www.wistv.com

 

[LastDayScout]

Not sure how I missed this last month. Very interesting and makes me wonder if solid state batteries might make their way into Scout. For those of you wanting a two door version, solid state will go a long way towards making that happen due to the potential space savings.

PowerCo and QuantumScape Announce Landmark Agreement to Industrialize Solid-State Batteries

Companies join forces to advance world-leading lithium-metal technology toward mass-manufacturing for passenger electric vehicles Volkswagen Group’s battery company PowerCo and QuantumScape (NYSE: QS) today announced they have entered into a groundbreaking agreement to industrialize...

ir.quantumscape.com

 

[61ih80]

I will follow this more closely since it would be applicable to a two door vehicle.

 

[RebelliousPeasant]

Not sure how I missed this last month. Very interesting and makes me wonder if solid state batteries might make their way into Scout. For those of you wanting a two door version, solid state will go a long way towards making that happen due to the potential space savings.

PowerCo and QuantumScape Announce Landmark Agreement to Industrialize Solid-State Batteries

Companies join forces to advance world-leading lithium-metal technology toward mass-manufacturing for passenger electric vehicles Volkswagen Group’s battery company PowerCo and QuantumScape (NYSE: QS) today announced they have entered into a groundbreaking agreement to industrialize...

ir.quantumscape.com

Interesting news but I wouldn't hold your breath for magical improvements to charging speeds or anything. I wonder how the solved the ceramic separator cracking issue and the issues around the cells not working below 5 degrees C?