The Core

>@simplytheresa is holding out for one of these
>http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4103928/The-VW-camper-goes-hi-tech-Electric-powered-model-costing-45-000-host-gadgets-ability-drive-unveiled.html



https://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/volkswagen-idbuzz-electric-van-launch-date/

If it is still $45k (which I sincerely doubt) that is half the price of an F-150 and cheaper than a bunch of the USED cars out there now. But if at $45k, I might buy one just for fun.

Ha! Well, we're going to need a new car sooner or later. Might as well be one that simplytheresa is excited about.

If it's $45K, I'm down with that, but I'll be surprised especially since it was announced as AWD. That would make it the cheapest AWD vehicle on the market.

I replaced a couple of VW heater boxes in the ca 1980 (because they would rust out in VT and there was a market in Texas heater boxes). Those vehicles had air-cooled engines and the "heater boxes" came off the engine (maybe took in rerouted exahust???) and then had ports in the car. They were fully passive. No fans. If the engine got really hot, you could cook eggs on the floor of the back seat. But until the engine got really hot and the heater boxes got really hot and a sort of chimney/convection thing got going, there was basically no heat. No A/C of course. But almost no cars in VT had A/C then.

I trust that 50 years of tech advances will come up with something better. In any case, an electric motor requires that it at least be different.

0-60? Yes.

As long as it can do 35 up a steep hill...

I don't think it looks like it would handle very well at 80, let alone 90. I think we're fine with this.

On the other hand....

>>670 charging stations across the US,

vs

>>There are about 115,000 gas stations in the U.S.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-many-gas-stations-are-in-us-how-many-will-there-be-in-10-years-2020-02-16

The article goes on to say that GM is building out a network of charging stations for their vehicles. If people had to drive around to find a GM station to fuel their Ram truck, passing Ford and Toyota and Kia stations along the way, people would go ballistic.

Tesla has a pilot program in four countries to allow non-Tesla cars to charge at select Tesla stations, but it's currently very limited which I find revolting (see what I did there?).

Hey - I know I'm a bit late, but I'm back from dealing with a family emergency and was delighted to see the update on the IDBuzz progress. Thank you! I'm also disappointed both with the subscription-model services and also the fake noise-making at low speeds. As if our world wasn't noisy enough. Still, it's exciting to follow and I'm excited to see what they end up releasing.

Oh boy! Though not responding here, you've just sent Theresa on a quest down the rabbit hole, finding other EV vans as well.

I wonder if the 2024 ID.Buzz will go on sale in late 2023, as is common for the new model years, or midway through 2024 (or not until 2025).

Unfortunately, info about subscription models for firmware and all that is diluted with all the coverage of a straight-up car "flexible" car subscription that is "between leasing and sharing" and being billed by VW as "its Business Model 2.0."

https://www.volkswagen-newsroom.com/en/press-releases/volkswagen-is-picking-up-the-pace-of-its-business-model-20-and-offering-car-subscriptions-from-today-7442
https://www.southernvolkswagengreenbrier.com/volkswagen-launches-all-new-ev-car-subscription-program/

Carnet, meanwhile, is $200/year
https://www.vwofakron.com/vwcarnet.html

[aside]I'm adding to the laws I will institute when declared King of the World that it will be henceforth illegal for marketing materials to use the words "just" or "only" in front of a price.[/aside]