sparkto

I keep my tires at 250kpa or 36psi, roughly speaking. But I don't bother re-airing it if it drips a bit, only if it drops seriously low like below 200kpa.

Speaking of air pressure, I've learned a lesson on simple safety. Everyone should always carry two things in their trunk: an air pump/instant compressor and also a tire patch kit with an extra knife (to cut/trim the plug after insertion) and grip/clamp to pull foreign objects from a tire. I had a flat tire in April of this year, the spare came in handy, but I could have spent a few extra minutes doing the fix myself and not even needed the spare had I had the tire patch plugs and a few basic tools. You never know when you will need it, but its handy to have.

This is especially true if you have a vehicle without a spare tire, which is unfortunately becoming more common as car makers cut costs. It is just too easy to patch a tire yourself on the side of the road and getting it fixed permanently on the spot, and the tools cost so little to have in storage.

On 8/7/2019 at 9:35 AM, Ray Dockrey said:

Wow. The post you replied to was almost three years old lol

I've seen you try and control discussions several times in the past. My only polite response: there's no referee necessary. We can post to old topics or new topics as desired. Its slightly weird that you're even concerned about this.

If you are unaware that you're being socially awkward/creepy, well there ya go. Now you know. Saying as a friend...

On 7/9/2019 at 10:04 AM, nicksb said:

Is it me or do a lot of dealers not stock a lot of parts for these cars or there just hard to even get ?

As mentioned, dealers can order parts that aren't in stock. But if its something you can install, just head to an online shop and order it direct to your home. I've found it the easiest way to replace parts (I had the plastic piece fall out of my back liftgate/door, for example). If you get a dealer to do anything, they'll gladly charge you an $80 installation fee for 5 minutes of work on a part that might be $5-10.

I have a '17 Spark, owned it for 2 and a half years now. I exhausted my freebie oil changes for the first 4 changes, but I finally bit the bullet and started changing my own oil. Since I'm an amateur, it takes me longer since I have to figure out how to properly jack the car up without the best tools to do it. As it stands, I think your best bet is just to regularly look at the oil and check the basics: is it low? Does the color look good? If it looks good and isn't low, there's no reason to change it before the indicator goes off. The Sparks' 5W-20 blend is super thin and lasts longer than older, thicker oil blends.

In so far as rotating tires, I have now switch out winter tires every November, so I end up rotating them when I do the seasonal switch.

One thing I think is that oil change shops are seriously overbilling for the 5W-20 blend, I spent nearly $80 before I decided to do my own oil changes. Now I grab a 5L bottle of SuperTech 5W-20 at Walmart for well under $20, buy a FRAM filter under $5 and bam, I have a sub-$30 oil change. I'm not sure why it takes $80 for an oil shop to do the change (takes all of 10 mins labour), and I see no need to waste the cash any longer at an oil shop where they over-torque the oil drain plug/screw.

Since winter is several weeks away, it is time to start this topic back up. If anyone is visiting this forum and looking for advice, last year I bought a set of Dunlop Winter Maxx tires and threw them on the rims. The Spark appears to have good handling in the snow with proper tires, since the stock Kumho all seasons were getting some wear on them they began sliding around crazy with no traction on any incline or small hill. While the Dunlops aren't top rated winter tires, I can report that any winter rated tire is far superior than all seasons. You don't have to buy the most expensive winter tire to get significant upgrades.

All in all, I highly recommend installing a set of winter tires (regardless of brand). My Spark went from a hockey puck to a stable machine that navigated some pretty heavy snowfalls last January. I can imagine a set of higher quality Michelin XIce or Blizzaks would have been better, but the Winter Maxx did the job well. The Winter Maxx seemed to have good tread after 5 months of use (I had them on from Nov '18 to April of this year).

Many people have strong opinions on these matters, but here is my take. I've used traditional polish then wax, I have a Meguiar's wax that I have applied previously. The results were okay, but I felt like it was smudgy and didn't shine as well as I wanted.

However, I have had better luck with cleaner-wax products, particularly the NuFinish polish. It isn't really a strong and abrasive polish, and it leaves a residue that protects like a wax. You don't have to apply two different coats, you do it once and you're done. I've found the finish it provides is clean, has a very good shine with no smudging or uneven look.

But even though I've found that I like it, there are tons of people online that crap all over cleaner-wax "polish" products like NuFinish. I can tell you one thing, I've used it since the 1990's on many cars, between family and friends and my own, and it typically does the best over time I find. Its just abrasive enough to get some minimal scratching out, but it leaves behind a layer of protection just like a wax, and you really only need to do it once or twice a year to keep the shine.

One thing I've noticed on my Spark, the front is getting seriously chipped from rocks and debris. If I would have known it would be this bad, I would have bought one of those plastic/film like protectors when it was new. Now its too late to do so, but I worry about what this hood is going to look like when it gets another few years of usage on it.

This is still a relevant topic, and there aren't any other topics in this section. Hopefully someone can come in and report their findings after a long period, such as battery performance after 5 years of ownership. It is my understanding most batteries are holding up very, very well if they aren't in super hot climates like Arizona.

On 7/28/2013 at 10:03 PM, Lil Dew said:

The left coast eats that stuff up. Marketing did their research.

You say that with such a negative tone?

In any event, my 2017 Spark I committed to be the last internal combustion engine vehicle I will ever own. Unless I wreck it in the immediate future, I intend on trading it in for a Bolt or other competitive electric vehicle in the coming years.

While the Spark EV is dead, the Bolt was a very big upgrade and I was glad to see GM commit. The age of the electric car is finally here.

So what kind of range figures did any of the Spark EV owners get? How big is the battery pack and how far do you get?

The new Bolt reportedly has a 66KWh battery pack and gets over 400km of range on it.

On 3/22/2013 at 2:25 PM, RHCP said:

How annoying is this light!!!

I don't understand why it needs to stay lit and be right in the middle of the dash like it is.

It's the only thing I hate about my new Spark.

Anyone know why it has to stay lit?

I know this is an old topic, but on my visits to the US I noticed the difference between the light in the Canadian model and the US model of the Spark.

My comments apply exclusively to the 2016 and later Spark models. If you are tired of seeing the blaring lit "PASSENGER AIRBAG" light and the words "ON" and "OFF" in bold, full led lighting, you do have one option. Order a module from Canada. The Canadian models have symbols that are less distracting at night. There are three symbols: one showing airbag on, one showing airbag disabled, and an unrelated symbol indicating the seatbelt is not connected in the passenger seat.

Assembly is simple, you take off the dome light cover as if you're changing the light, there are two screws that take the entire assembly down, you pop it off and pop in the plastic part. For $20 you can switch it out and not have this US mandated light pollution in your eye while you drive, yet you still have a fully functional device that shows when the airbag is enabled on the passenger side.

Its a brilliant solution for anyone who hasn't thought of it.

Dealer maintenance shops are no better or worse than other shops, you get good or bad service anywhere depending on who is doing the work. But, the main reason I don't depend on dealership maintenance after a warranty period is purely price and convenience. Dealership service for things like oil changes or tires tends to be slower and less convenient, and they tend to be on the pricier side. That's not to say you can't get good service, but the hour or two hour wait oil change at a dealer has happened more than once in my life, and I don't have the time to wait on something that takes all of 10 minutes to do, and then pay a premium price for it.

In summary, yes: do your warranty maintenance at the dealer, but find a non-dealership shop for all other items you need service with. You'll save money and time in the long run. And often you can build a relationship with an independent shop you won't have with a dealer.

I didn't bother getting a set of winter tires this past season, but my first winter with the Spark went well. I drove through a pretty tough winter storm from Sudbury all the way to Toronto and the hours of driving didn't feel particularly out of control, just had to watch my speed and stability was fine.

But to be fair, the tread on the all seasons they installed was very good and it was only a few months of driving from when I bought it to the winter season. So, next year the tread may be worn to the point where it would be noticeably poor.

Bottom line, as you may know, winter tires mean everything with winter driving. If you experience poor control with regular tires, just get a quality set of winter tires and you'll be fine. Since winter is over, maybe this time of the year is a good time to buy to prepare for next year. Maybe get some closeout specials somewhere and just store them for the fall.

It could be that you had a set of defective tires put on during the manufacturing process, since the tires aren't made by GM, you could file a warranty claim with the tire manufacturer if they prematurely went bad. I find most stock tires tend to be cheap quality, tires have never been a top priority of most new vehicle sales in my car buying history. I had a new Honda years ago where the tires went bad at 20k. They were balding bad after only one season worth of use.

On ‎4‎/‎3‎/‎2017 at 4:17 PM, Shimmmer said:

I did recently moved from Connecticut to Virginia in January and I drove my car the whole way...in a blizzard!  First off, I was terrified driving it in blizzard conditions, but the traction control in this sucker was unbelievable.  I was super suprised with how well it handled.   Before you ask - we couldnt stop as there were no hotels along the stretch of road we were taking so we just kept on (my husband in the moving truck).  Anyway the trip was only supposed to take 8 hours but it took us 18 to get to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel due to the weather and only being able to go about 25 mph then we got stuck there as they closed the bridge (again no hotels near by with vacancies) so we just stayed in our vehicles until they cleared it.  I had me and two cats in the tiny car and it was a fine trip.  I was definitely a little sore and had to get out and stretch.  

 

But honestly this little car was PRO at handling snow.  It did get stuck a few times while getting gas but its so small its an easy push out. :P

 

It handled the trip very well!

Often people seem to rag on smaller vehicles and performance in winter conditions, but I experienced reasonable performance when we had a freak ice storm two weeks ago. The traction control seems to help tremendously in certain conditions, although if you're stuck its of course better to turn it off and rock the car back and forth until you get out. I got stuck, rocked it back and forth, and then had to put traction control back on to get into a parking lot. It worked well.

If you put a quality set of winter tires on this car, especially if you can get studded ones in your location, it can take pretty much the worst winter driving conditions you can throw at it.

On ‎3‎/‎8‎/‎2017 at 6:31 PM, Dakota J Skidds said:

Question, has anyone been on a long distance road trip with their Spark? I'm driving to Texas in a couple of days and from Illinois to Texas it's 15 hours and 1200 miles there. Most I've ever drive with the Spark was an hour and half with a distance of 65 miles one way. This will be my first road trip and first for the Spark. I just bought a full size spare with a new tire, got the alignment done along with fluids checked and the oil changed last month. My spark is a 2014 LS manual with 55k miles. 

I've already taken several big trips with my Spark, its only 1 year old. Just a few months ago I did a 5,000km round trip (roughly 3000 miles) in winter and it performed remarkably well. If you don't push the speed, you can easily get around 5l/100km or roughly 45mpg. I kept my speed around 100 and it returned very good economy. Again, converting to the US that's around 60-65mph.

Regarding the transmission... CVT takes getting used to, it sounds different, it performs different. But different does not equal bad. The only 'negative' to a CVT is if it needs servicing most all shops are setup to just replace it, there isn't really a repair option or rebuild option for the CVT. BUT, if you have severe transmission issues years after ownership when the warranty expires, its unlikely major repair would be cheaper anyway.

You have to pick your poison in life, and a CVT actually runs smoother than traditional automatic transmissions and is far less shifty and jerky than a dual clutch transmission, which has become popular as well in modern day. DCT is too jerky for my liking, so I prefer a CVT or a traditional automatic.

*facepalm*

There won't be a trade war per se, the rest of the world will continue to trade. Whether the US wants to buy those goods without a tariff is its own choice.

Edit: I wanted to mention you can drop corporate tax rates to 0% and you still can't bring certain jobs back that automation or foreign labour can produce cheaply. Tax rates are only a small factor in a large set of circumstances.

Secondly, if you're so against foreign labour, why didn't you purchase a Chevy Sonic? The Spark is manufactured in South Korea. The Sonic is built with mostly US and Canadian sourced parts in Michigan, wouldn't that have been the car for a self identified nationalist? Although it contains foreign Canadian parts so that may not be pure enough? At the end of the day, we all do what is best for our pocketbooks. Trade can make our purchasing power go a little further, and that's why trade is good. That's why purchasing a Spark was good for me, financially. A car of this quality cannot be produced at this price point domestically in the US or Canada.

If you want the ultimate nationalist country, go to North Korea. Juche ideology is nothing more than rampant nationalism, and you can see what its done for the glorious North Korean economy. They are poor and isolated.

I may not know everything, but I'm old and wise enough to know a few of the basics discussed above. The USA of today isn't the proud, anti-nationalist USA of yesteryear that put every bit of its might in fighting nationalism and defeating tyrants like Hitler. I don't recognize this new wave of nationalism or why its in vogue.

Conservatives and liberals of sound mind - regardless of ideology - should come together to fight nationalism and defend democracy and free and open trade. Borders are fine, im glad we have one between Canada and the US. Being proud of your country is fine, I'm proudly Canadian. Nationalism, however, is a farce.

Anyway, getting away from China, the fact is your President tried to dump a 300% tariff on Bombardier, which is the key Canadian aerospace brand based in Montreal. It seems to be a decision made without any facts, without any planning, and without any sense rooted in reality:

https://globalnews.ca/news/3789724/bombardier-anti-dumping-duty-us/

Pray tell me exactly how Montreal-based Bombardier is a threat to US national interests and security? Please, make the case my friend. It can't be done. Here is what a trade war looks like: US stomps and snorts its nose, places a 300% tariff on Bombardier's Aerospace unit. Bombardier can still sell to the rest of the world, the US is just a market it hopes to gain. So, when the US does this to protect Boeing, now all the Canadian airliners will likely pull back their Boeing orders. Air Canada and WestJet specifically might decide to ultimately pull the plug on new Boeing orders, causing the loss of business to Boeing. Who really wins? Bombardier can still sell to other clients, the US suffers because it can't purchase the new CS100-300 series jets that serve key markets for that size of aircraft. Who really wins there? The US certainly doesn't. Bombardier Aerospace has developed some of the most efficient jets in the world for its size, the beneficiaries will be those who purchase the advanced product that is better than the competitor right now.

Essentially, Trump decided to dump a huge tariff on a product in a segment and jet size that Boeing doesn't even offer. They aren't even directly competing for the type of customer or flight plans that demand a CS100 or CS300 jet. That's dumb as dumb can get.

If Canada is threatening the US, if Mexico is a threat to the US, and if everyone is a threat to the US and no one should do business with the US except for the USA, that's something most of us call paranoia. Stupid, silly paranoia.

We're friends and allies for chrissakes. Come World War III there's no better partner you'd rather have than friends like Canada. Don't spit in our faces when there's no need for it.

P.S. any tariff what-so-ever isn't free trade. Its restrictive trade. You can't pervert the word free and just say 'free and fair' when it is neither.

Lastly, Bombardier will likely be successful with its new CS300 aircraft, but if Trump ultimately gets his way, it will be successful by selling to other countries than the USA. The point is, the US has little control here, its just stomping around and snorting its nose. And Trump looks like a fool doing it. Take it from someone who isn't a left wing extremist, there's a few screws loose in the Trump mentality.

As I said with Mexico, if the US has to fear allies and friends like Canada, the US has more problems than I imagined... I know the USA well, and putting a tariff on Bombardier will not convince people to move from Tampa or Phoenix back to Pittsburgh or Mishawaka. The problems in the rust belt cannot be fixed with protectionism.

2 hours ago, Bobby MSME said:

My decision to buy a 2017 Spark LS was based simply on cost. The additional cost of buying an electric will pay for my gasoline cost for about 5 years. I never said anything about battery recycling. But I have heard battery replacement is expensive as well.

 

Also keep in mind cost/KW of electricity varies enormously from location to location. Definitely hydro power is the cleanest and cheapest, and because of availability it was cheap in WA state. But if you are in Chicago, LA or NYC, it is brutal expensive.

 

Finally it all boils down to convenience for me. I can refuel 325 miles worth gas in 5 minutes at any of the million gas stations in country.  I do not see near as many charging stations, and recharging battery is longer by orders of magnitude. I would be nervous taking my electric car on any long trips.

 

Finally, not many are aware that many more have died falling from wind turbine towers than have died in nuclear power plant accidents or oil refinery accidents. But the environmental extremists do not like nuclear power or burning fossil fuels! Since our Sun is million times bigger than planet earth, global warming and global cooling has much more to do with Sun cycles than the puny earth. How did the last ice age 15,000 years back end melting 3-4 mile thick ice glaciers on top of Chicagoland? It was the global warming caused by the Sun. I don't think the cave man had enough twigs to cause global warming 15,000 years ago.

I provided the Quebec reference just to show that power generation can be done cheaply and in carbon neutral ways, I have no idea why hydro prices would be what they are in New York. I'm not going to sit here and pretend to be a grid specialist when I'm not, all I can say is that there are places where energy is cheap, abundant, and green already. Quebec is one of those places where rates are extremely low and where production is carbon neutral on a large scale.

With regard to global warming, I happen to be someone who believes the data shows man has dumped astronomical amounts of greenhouse gases and it seems like a case study where the evidence is overwhelming. It is hard to say that man hasn't created this problem. But what I disagree with in the general discussion about global warming and climate change is the response.

We can tackle these problems without the hyperbole and knee jerk mentalities that have currently presented themselves. There's a brilliant European by the name of Bjorn Lomborg who has committed his life to pro-environmental causes, but ones that make sense. He had a documentary several years ago called 'Cool It!' that I would recommend. Much like the nuclear documentary I mentioned, he goes through all the practical, real world applications to combat climate change that don't involve these pie in the sky ideas that are currently being discussed. I would recommend looking into his work, because I for one am a believer in what he's saying. The facts say we're damaging the environment, but the facts also suggest there are economical and beneficial policies we can pursue that don't include cap and trade programs or other things that have proven ineffective.

P.S. I am with you on electric cars not quite being ready for prime time. The Chevy Bolt is damn close, all it is missing is a $20k price tag. The truth is, superchargers are allowing electric cars to already get an 80% charge in 10 or 15 minutes. That's more than a 5 minute pump stop, but you have to admit electric cars are nearing the phase where they are almost ready to become a mainstream replacement for gas engines.

I'd be willing to buy one, once more supercharge stations become available and once the price points come down just a tad more.

Really this is a story of isolationism vs globalism. Mexico isn't draining the US economy, if the US has to fear Mexico then the US has serious problems.

The biggest problem I have when talking with a yankee is that the average American thinks the world revolves around the US, that isn't the case. The world isn't necessarily out to get the US and the world isn't soaking the US. China is an emerging power, but they produce cheaply made manufacturing goods. They aren't doing so to soak the USA, they are doing so to bring the hundreds of millions of Chinese citizens out of poverty and into a middle class like lifestyle. GM, as an example, is probably only a profitable company because they are selling cars in China now. They wouldn't have been able to survive the post 2008 bankruptcy without China. You do realize this, I hope?

Trade with China is a good thing. It is why your 50 inch flat screen TV is $300 instead of $3,000, which it would undoubtedly be if trade with China weren't a reality or if there were super high tariffs. Mexico certainly isn't out to 'get the USA' and it doesn't even have the capacity to if it even wanted to. There's a bit of paranoia there...

I say this as a friend: the US currently has less stature, less influence in the post-WW2 period, and people are tuning the US administration out. It isn't hate of the US (I certainly don't, I'd love to fly to Las Vegas for a weekend getaway, I'd love to tour the Gulf Coast, and the other treasures in the USA), its just more of a joke politically right now. That's the honest truth. If you think Trump is doing a good job, well, you're free to believe whatever you wish my friend. As a friend, I don't think he's helping your country. And again, that's not an endorsement of any other political party or group, just speaking to Trump.

Like I said, I'm likely supporting the conservative party in our next provincial election here this year. But then again, our conservatives (PC party) have committed to not destroying our health care system and have vowed to support it. So, I'm comfortable voting PC. Personally, progressives somewhat repulse me in 2018. Every sentence has to contain rape or racism and there is little substance beyond it. Its become a problem in Canada, whereas this used to be a problem with progressives in the US.

I just want a competent government that will build some new highways, repave our aging infrastructure, and spend wisely. I'm not an extremist.

On ‎11‎/‎11‎/‎2015 at 8:35 PM, macazootie said:

I'd priced what I wanted at about $16,200 at the lowest; I'd been looking for one since January. I just picked mine up a little over two weeks ago for $14,950. I got a 5-year power-train warranty, 3 years bumper-to-bumper, 2 years scheduled maintenance, and 2 tanks of gas, but with these little pocket cars, the gas ain't worth much. I wasn't expecting the seat heaters or the wifi. It also came with the roof rack rails, added a pulse brake light for $300, and just ordered the all-weather mats for the cargo and passenger areas, which I will pick up this weekend. I think I'll also have the windows tinted & pick up some window visors if I can find some that match the PAV's asthetics.

It looks like there are somewhat better deals that have been had, but I feel like I got a pretty darn good deal for mine. I'm damn happy.

I bought a more premium 1LT CVT with the heated rear view mirrors and other perks, they had another LS model on the lot for $13,300, but I ended up paying $16,000 I believe it was? I was going to buy the $13k model, but they offered no interest payments on the $16k model so I was sold. If I wouldn't have gotten the no interest promotion, I wouldn't have got the 'premium' Spark.

I bought a Spark for several reasons:

1) I wanted a brand new vehicle, I had grown tired of the last several used vehicles I had and ended up spending more in maintenance for a short life span than it was worth.

2) I wanted value, I just don't see the point of spending a fortune for transportation.

3) I am single and don't have a need for tons and tons of space.

4) Despite not needing seating room for tons of people all the time, I admire the hatchback design where you can fold the seats and still fit a lot in this vehicle.

5) Last, but not least, I was looking for fuel efficiency. I just don't feel like paying more for gas than for the payment on my car, I drive a lot and this was important to me. I drive between 40-50k a year (Canada is a big place, and things are often spaced a long way away, its just the reality)

There are several competitors I looked at: Nissan Micra, Mitsubishi Mirage, even larger vehicles like a VW Jetta, the Cruze, so on and so forth. I found a used VW Jetta for a similar price that I found my brand new Spark for, but I looked at VW reliability figure and realized I'd probably get back into the past mistake of maintenance and repair cycles that defeated the purpose of a used car, so I settled on the Spark.

Nissan's Micra and the Versa Note both drive like crap: they accelerate poorly. The Mirage had impressive fuel economy, but it had horrific drive quality. That thing bounced and rolled around like crazy, and its build quality was noticeably poor. I wanted cheap, but not *that* cheap.

Doesn't hurt that the Spark looked like it did incredibly well in off-set crash tests you find online. The Spark appears to be the safest small vehicle out there, from what I've seen.

The Spark seemed to be the best mixture of all the above: fuel economy, good acceleration quality, build quality is slightly higher for an economy car. Quite frankly, the build quality and materials feel like luxury compared to Nissan or Mitsubishi's offerings.

The only other car I considered near the end of shopping was the Honda Fit, but I couldn't justify its price tag for thousands more. Honda has over-priced its small vehicles, they are selling for thousands more and they rarely include incentives. The sales guy wouldn't budge from the sticker price and I don't feel like paying for a name, so they lost me as a customer. The Spark sold me on the price point of offering a higher quality product for less than the Fit. So I went for it.

For better or worse, I presently live in one of the largest cities in North America. I also needed a smaller type car just to get around town easier. Parking in Toronto is a pain, well just being in a major city is a pain half the time, but the footprint of this car makes my life easier. The Spark has a magical formula: its city/congestion friendly, but it has performance so you can drive comfortably on the highway. Some of the other sub-compacts quite honestly aren't designed for a highway. The Spark can pass fine, it drives well at 120 (km/h, not mph), which is my average highway cruising speed. But if I need to speed up to 140 to pass a slow group of trucks or cars, the Spark can perform well. Some other sub-compacts really aren't highway friendly. The Spark seems to have good wind resistance and isn't blowing around all over the place at high speeds.

On ‎3‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 9:33 AM, Retired old Gearhead said:

Haha Bobby..couldn't agree with you more! I've been saying that for years. Don't forget the pollution caused by battery disposal with all that nasty stuff in batteries that will need to be replaced every 5 years or so. Gas powered cars are now much more efficient than they were even 5 years ago and the emissions are mostly CO2 which is NOT pollution and the vegetation..trees etc need it to produce our oxygen...only car pollution is the carbon monoxide and that is now emitted in VERY low amounts by these newer gas cars...'Nuff said on that.

I'm not an extreme environmentalist, far from it as I like a modern lifestyle and I'm not looking to reduce my usage back into the stone age... But honestly, batteries are recyclable. Every heavy earth metal in them can be reused. They aren't nasty, they are in need of improvement and development, which Tesla and others appear to be improving the price points on.

On ‎3‎/‎9‎/‎2018 at 9:29 PM, Bobby MSME said:

Zero emissions? Was the electricity to charge battery generated by coal, oil or nuclear power, which is 90+% of energy generated in US! The all electric car simply moves the emissions from location A to location B. The only emission free AND SAFE power source is hydro power. Lots of workers have died falling of wind turbine towers building/servicing. Solar power? Does not work so great at night.

Do I sense an anti-electric feeling in the room? LOL

I consider Nuclear power to be clean, it has zero emissions and there's little to be afraid of. Its clean energy.

Wind turbines are cool if you ask me, not sure where the problem is there. You still need a back-up supply that isn't susceptible to low wind periods, but its a great addition to the grid. Nuclear is the obvious choice for a zero emissions redundant backup energy source. There's a great film in regards to this, its called Pandora's Promise, I'd recommend you watch it if you have the time and desire for the topic.

I see zero reason to be anti-electric car, the problem has always been storage and price. Electric cars still don't have the range they need at price points people can afford. The Bolt from Chevrolet goes a long way (longer than Tesla, at its price point, might I add) toward making a car that has decent range at a price point many people can afford in the middle class, but its still not a vehicle I could rely on 100% since there aren't enough charge stations.

Regarding the heavy metals in a battery, they are all recyclable. Batteries can be recycled over and over and over. So I don't buy these arguments that the tailpipe is just longer, electric cars do have a lot of promise. Just look at the Bolt, it almost makes EV's totally mainstream. If they can just get the battery costs down just a tad more, and more charge stations available, then you will really see a lot of change.

There's one thing about electric cars that really destroys the 'longer tailpipe theory' and that is the distribution of electricity itself. You don't need trucks and tanks and burning carbon to deliver the energy as with gasoline or diesel. Electricity operates on a static line, a grid that is in place and doesn't need to be driven around constantly and pumped Just stick the car plug into the outlet and you have instant energy delivery at the literal speed of light from its production source, even if that source is 1000km from you. There is no other distribution source that effective, that efficient. There are astronomical benefits to electric energy delivery and having a common source of the energy produced.

I know you might find this surprising, but Quebec is a province here in Canada that has a strong winter season and a majority of homes are heated by electric furnaces. Why? Its dirt cheap and easy. They have a near 100% carbon neutral grid fueled by massive hydroelectric and other green energy methods. Its by far and away the most green energy province. If a colder climate like Quebec can cheaply heat homes in a brisk winter climate, more of us could do that as well. It proves that electric generation can be green and cheap, not one or the other.

http://www.hydroquebec.com/residential/customer-space/account-and-billing/understanding-bill/comparison-electricity-prices.html

There isn't one single coal generation plant left in Quebec, or Ontario. They've all been shut down. Quebec's grid is so advanced and has so much excess supply, they practically power the entire northeastern coast. Boston and Massachusetts almost entirely imports their generation from Canada. There's little to fear from electric production and the build-up of greener non-coal sources. I toured a Hydro Quebec facility some years ago, there was a direct line straight from the facility to the northeastern USA, a line that was over 1000km long. There's so much excess available and its 100% green.

Car sharing is probably going to become a bigger thing in major cities like Toronto. About the only thing leaders of this region talk about anymore is transit, but the reality is that the vast majority of people still prefer and strongly demand car ownership. For the urban kids who can't afford a nice car, this is a good option for driving to the store after work or for weekend trips where the bus won't take you.

Its too bad they are letting congestion get worse and worse by ignoring street and highway improvements in this great city. All major city leaders ever talk about in the 2010's is transit, transit, transit. Most everyone else prefers a car and to drive. The Onion actually had it right years ago, this was a great work of art: LOL

https://www.theonion.com/report-98-percent-of-u-s-commuters-favor-public-trans-1819565837

All I can say is that I'm not affiliated with any political movement what-so-ever (I'm interested in supporting the conservative leader for our next premier here, but I've supported liberals in the past, I vote for the individual - not the party, although I know those words mean something different to a Canadian than an American interpretation), but right now what is going on in the US is quite frankly disturbing. I'm not saying any alternative option in your last election was great or anything, but what is happening today is just insane. Your President isn't just attacking China, he's attacking Canada too. He's attacking anything he can attack, without regard to facts or world economic stability.

In terms of the relationship we have with the US, here in Ontario we're essentially the number one automobile manufacturing jurisdiction in North America. We over-took Michigan some time ago I think in that regard. But the Great Lakes region of Canada and the US work as a single market. Car parts alone will travel cross-border back and forth several times before a car is built in this region. There's a Ford stamping plant in Buffalo, that steel probably makes its way to the Oakville, Ontario facility to build cars and back to the US and so on, so forth probably 5-10 times before a car is built.

Bottom line is that we need fewer borders in the world today, not more. It should be easy to move about the planet, not less. The more we isolate ourselves, the more we suffer. That's how I see it. That doesn't mean we should have our doors open to just let whoever come and go, borders are important, but goods and services aren't people. There should be relatively few rules for what comes and goes, that's what makes it a market economy. Shutting that down is what makes things not work.

I didn't vote in the American election, and what happens in the US will rightfully be decided by Americans and their interests, but I can't see anything good coming out of a trade war, nor attacking friends and allies. Forget China, fellow North Americans are being attacked and it hasn't went unnoticed. A few screws are loose... The only thing I can see coming at the end of the tunnel right now is the USA is headed toward no longer being a world superpower with a position that could lead in the world, and that is something I'm not sure where we will end up geo-politically. I certainly don't want strong men leading the world, we need to look to democracy and traditional western leadership. That is lacking in today's world.

To my American friends: watching this current political setup is like watching a brother slit its wrist. Its hard to watch, but the blood letting is ongoing and non-stop. My only hope is for change in the future, and quick. All I can do is watch and observe from the outside, and hope for the best.