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An interesting DCFC alert to my EV driving friends in the eastern half of the US: Mercedes-Benz has been rolling out its own charging network; most of them are in the eastern side of the US, and most of those are located at Buc-ee's super travel stops (a few are at shopping malls). In total, it...

Having just completed my 14th EV road trip of more than 1500 miles (that was preceded by just a couple weeks of another trip totaling 3400 miles), I have a couple of thoughts about the state of DCFC charging in the U.S. First, in most of the country, there is no valid excuse for NOT using an EV...

For a couple years I have put up with the abysmal service delivered by the Electrify America network. Sure, I had over 160 billed sessions in eight different states, but that didn't include probably 100 failed sessions or arrivals at a station where I was unable to get a charge. So, when I set...

This past Friday, I stopped at the new Tesla Supercharger station at Barstow, California. It is near the junction of I-15 and I-40 - both VERY heavily traveled routes. There are 120 dispensers at the new station! It is entirely v4 and has a couple spots that could accommodate vehicles towing...

This is another one of my EV (and real) desert crossings reports. I enjoy the challenge of finding routes where there is little-to-no EV charging and driving them in my 2023 SR Pro. One of my bucket list trips was to go directly from Las Vegas to Route 395/Lone Pine in California, and doing that...

I have the standard Pro Power (2.4 kw) on my 2023 Pro SR. I have occasionally used it to power small tools and, in one case, provide back-up power to a small house. It is one of my favorite features on the Lightning. Recently, I started the vehicle and received a series of alerts on the center...

I am often perplexed by posts on this forum by Lightning owners who are terrified to drive their vehicles beyond the city limits. I have a 2023 Pro SR and have made 10 trips of more than 1500 miles, charged in 11 different states, and regularly cross the wide open West where there are not a lot...

At least twice a year, I travel between a home in Southern California and a log house in the Ozark Mountains. Typically, it’s a little more than 1500 miles. Since January 2023, I’ve been making the trip in my SR Lightning Pro. I just completed my 9th one-way journey, and this time, I kept a...

I recently received my official Ford (Tesla) NACS>CCS1 charging adapter. Since I already have an A2Z Typhoon Pro (and I like it), I am going to sell the Ford adapter. This NACS>CCS1 adapter has never been used - heck, the only time it has been out of the packaging was to photograph it for this...

MacRumors is reporting that iOS 17.4 - now in beta for a likely March release - includes eight new CarPlay apps: It is not clear whether these apps will require next-gen CarPlay 2 - due for release later in 2024 - or will work in "classic" CarPlay. While some of us would like Ford and Apple...

A year ago today I took delivery of my 2023 Lightning Pro SR from Raceway Ford in Riverside, California. In my life, I have had five BMWs, an Acura, a Merkur and several Fords, including a PHEV C-MAX. With the possible exception of my first 740i, the Lightning is the best vehicle I have ever...

In the last two weeks, my 2023 Lightning Pro SR has received four different OTA updates, after a v-e-r-y long stretch with none. They didn't seem to make much difference - at least in the user/driver experience - until the one today: Power-Up 6.8.0. The driver display appears to have several...

I am not a newbie - I have over 15K on my 2023 Lightning, over half of it on the open road, and I have over 75 DCFC charging sessions under my belt. But sometimes I learn something new about my EV truck. I was at a ChargePoint DCFC the other day. I was topping off (already slightly above 90%)...

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/CARB/bulletins/367d636 Folks, this is the opportunity to give testimony on the abysmal performance of EA. I don't have access to it right now, but I believe that the language of the Partial Consent Decree permits CARB to review the actual delivery of...

On my most recent trip from West Fork, Arkansas to Landers, California (via Santa Fe, New Mexico in late May 2023), I covered about 1575 miles. I stopped 11 times to charge, not including overnight charging at a hotel in Albuquerque, and a convenience stop at the last DC fast charger before...

If you are cruising through Middle America on I-40 (or going north/south on I-30) and need a charging stop, skip the EA stations and go to Franklin's Charging in Little Rock (also in Hot Springs): https://franklinscharging.com/ This is a vision of how EV charging should work that deserves...