Author Archives: lukefrugalev

Had to travel to Chalk river on the Ottawa Valley for work, and discovered a beautiful part of Ontario that is well worth visiting. In fact I did so later with the family. Conveniently located next to the hotel was a distillery that offered river tubing which was an wonderful combination, particularly as the onsiteContinue reading “Ottawa Valley”

A common grumble among auto-dealers is that EVs will kill their business model as their reduced maintenance costs result in less service revenue. Well, lets look at my receipts from my local Nissan Dealer since 2019 when we went electric. Our local Nissan Dealer has seems there is a fair bit of money to beContinue reading “Servicing and EVs, from an automaker’s perspective”

Why is Tesla going “all-in” on robotaxis? Seems it would take a fair bit of money to develop robotaxis, in particular convincing skeptical regulators and the public that whatever they develop is going to work well enough. This is at a time where Tesla’s full self driving (FSD), has been met with some skepticism (source).Continue reading “Mr Musk’s Dilemma”

I had the chance to recently drive Toyota’s new BZ4X. Its always wonderful to see more EVs out on the market, that’s more choice for consumers. While it is true, it does fast charge slower (I observed 70 kW peak), and the range (I got about 300 km) is less than many similarly priced competitors,Continue reading “Driving the Toyota BZ4X”

I recently had a chance to spend some time with an old beast, the Subaru Legacy that is at least 15 years of age, but possibly closer to 35 (there is some ambiguity on the registration documents). With affordability high on peoples mind these days, for you my dear reader, I took the plunge andContinue reading “Driving “Dart Wader” a 2007 Subaru Legacy”

Ever since London (UK), started enforcing a congestion charge back in 2003, some have suggested that Toronto should do the same. London’s scheme evolved over the years, and starting in 2025, any car entering central London (congestion zone), will need to pay a fixed fee. There is a pair of larger zones (ultra-low and low)Continue reading “Should Toronto start an emissions charge?”

One of the wonders of our modern times is that in a few clicks, you can try to walk in someone elses shoes. Much ink has been spilled over the looming 2035 EV mandate from the Canadian federal government. Why not have a peak at how the car shopping experience might be closer to 2035Continue reading “Nissan Norway vs Nissan Canada”

Recently I went to Montreal to attend a major sporting event. I was tempted to take my 2018 LEAF as it certainly can make the journey, perhaps a little slower than a gas car, but with much better economics and of course emissions. But alas, the sporting event is unlikely to end until late afternoonContinue reading “Taking the train to Montreal”

April 1st 2024, saw a schedule increase in Canada’s carbon tax, to $80 per tonne. This caused much grumbling and complaining, over what amounts to a price increase of $0.03/litre of gasoline. Interestingly, gas went up further later in April, when refineries switched to a summer blend of gasoline. That increase amounted to perhaps 5-10Continue reading “Carbon Tax Bruhaha”

Lately, the Detroit big three (GM, Ford and Stellantis), have all made big announcements on hybrids (source and source). The main motive is to improve carmakers profits as hybrids are seen as easier to make. Looking at past hybrid programs (GM’s Volts and the Toyota Prius), Hybrids are complex machines that are very tricky toContinue reading “Are Hybrids a good idea for carmakers?”