Our Accessories Tools Toys & Superpowers

BYD led with the world's first PHEVs in 2008 in China. Having taken the sales lead in China from VW, BYD began to get serious about global markets in 2022, but initially seeming to target the EV market. As of 2024, rather than wait for the world to migrate to EVs, they are now launching their DM-i plug-in hybrids that are crushing gas-powered car sales in China to the world. This page looks at how BYD "DM-i" plug-in hybrids work what's different from other hybrids to make them to being to "pure EVs" than most people realise, and will track details and specifications of BYD export DM-i PHEVs as they reach new markets. In the last 3 years, BYD went from as far behind Tesla in EVs as they are now behind Toyota in hybrids to catching Tesla. If they can provide DM-i at ICE vehicle prices and less than Toyota ICE based hybrid prices, then just maybe in another 3 years they can catch Toyota.

Although this page was launched with information on side loading Apps to the BYD Atto, it is progressively being updated with more tips for BYD Atto 3 owners such as charging and battery care. For those considering buying an EV or other content on the Atto 3 and on BYD can be found on other EV pages on this site. Rather than a typical webpaper, this page is really only of interest to owners of BYD vehicles. See page contents dropdown for an index to this page and a list of what is covered.

From my research, the Ecovacs T9+ is at least the equal of other current robot vacuums in 2021, but there are still some caveats on what robot vacuums can achieve at this time.

Is Tesla or BYD the world's leading EV maker? They both are! While who leads depends on over what period and how you count EVs, together they dominate world EV sales, and their combined position is strengthening. So, no undisputed world number 1 EV brand, even at year end 2023. These two are the current EV market leaders, and as EVs gain market share, these two are on trajectories to become no #1 and no #2 car carmakers worldwide when EVs take over, if no legacy brand passes them. But will either of them ever reach true #1 before the chasing pack catches them? This page reports and tracks progress.

Despite many claims that EVs have a dirty secret in that they are not really green at all, the real secret is how long it takes for the green payback. The claims are based on two realities: 1) the driving of EVs still results in emissions when EVs are charged from our current dirty electrical grids, and 2) the building of EVs also creates emissions, and sometimes increased emissions over building ICEVs. However real data from critical studies shows that even in the worst case, overall, an high build emission inefficient EVs charged from a dirty grid still result in less emissions than ICEV. Just in that extreme case, only a marginal reducing in emissions! However, already not all grids are "dirty grids" and as vehicles have an average lifespan of over 20 years either dirty grids will improve during that 20 years or we may have bigger problems. Build emissions from EVs largely track EV prices, and Wright's law dictates both EV prices build emissions will soon fall below those for ICEVs. The real conclusion from examining this question, is there is no quick fix green EV transition, but any delay in reducing production of ICE vehicles is creating …

Why is it so hard to make money from making EVs at a competitive price? This is an exploration of the profitability challenges, and the answers to "Do only Tesla & BYD profit from EVs?" and "Why make vehicles at a loss?". Auto makers must either 1) find a way to make EVs at profit, 2) close down, or 3) hope there will still be a large enough ICEV market for them to survive. Highly funded research indicates that in future just 5 EV brands will dominate 80% of vehicle the market, and the reality is only one of the top ten automotive brands from 2021 is a likely contender.

Depending on how you count, BYD is either the biggest, or 2nd biggest, EV brand in the world. But that is only the start as BYD ranks not only compared to Tesla and other EV brands, but in total of ALL vehicle sales. In August 2023 BYD overtook Ford to secure 4th spot in global car sales. In China, the world's largest vehicle market. BYD has now in 2023 taken the lead from VW and Toyota as the bestselling brand of all vehicles inside China. No Chinese brand has ever been market leader in China before, and this not just of EVs but all sales including diesel and gasoline vehicles, despite BYD snow selling only EVs. As of March 2023, the Atto 3 from BYD has risen to 3rd bestselling EV globally behind the Tesla Model Y and Model 3, but the world outside of China is only just starting to see the capabilities of BYD and quality of their vehicles and batteries.

There is much talk of a 'hydrogen economy'. A hydrogen future has long been the dream of the fossil fuel industry, and much of the traditional automotive industry, but what is the nature of the element hydrogen that is behind it all? There are clear practical uses for hydrogen, but the questionable hype is the use of hydrogen as a fuel or in energy storage. It turns out much of the attraction around hydrogen fuel is that it can generate a value chain for suppliers as it more expensive than alternatives and could provide a revenue future for the fossil fuel industry, if only a reason to compel its adoption despite the cost barriers. This is a look at hydrogen itself, its abundance, and the blue and green etc sources of hydrogen, as background for pages on hydrogen cars vs EVs, on carbon capture, and for this page highlighting which "hydrogen projects are viable, and which are scams?"

When you look deeper, battery capacity of an EV matters far more than you might think, as it effects not just range, but also battery life and vehicle power. If a battery is quite small, as is usually the case with a hybrid (HEV), and even most plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), there will be limited total distance that can be driven "emissions free" before battery degradation, which is why use of fossil fuels is a necessity for most hybrids.

This page began as a 'Should you buy an EV or not?' written from experience, but as it is impossible to cover every possible perspective, the example is an Atto 3 in Australia, so the more similar the vehicle being considered is to the Atto 3, and the more similar the country to Australia the more of this content that will be of interest. For comparison with other vehicles, I have a separate page soon to be published comparing the Atto 3 to both other EVs as well as traditional internal combustion or hybrid vehicles.

Yes, he may come across as a mega-rich collector of exotic internal combustion engine vehicles looking to find any way to delay their demise, but while the fascinating recent article by “Mr. Bean” does get so much so very wrong, it also does get somethings right. From the fascinating article by Rowan Atkinson on EVs: […]

Once the darling of Hollywood in the wake of "green" image built by the Prius hybrid, Toyota has more recently prompted shareholder complaints, and calls for boycotts by climate groups in response to Toyota anti-climate action and anti-EV lobbying that has seen the company reach the status of no 3 climate enemy company in the world, behind only Exxon-Mobil and Chevron. Either Toyota is ideologically against action on climate change, or senior management see no way for Toyota to survive the EV transition.

Batteries for EVs have progressed: From: very expensive even while delivering an impractical range.To: Less expensive with an acceptable range. Only now in 2022, are batteries showing signs they can soon enable EVs price competitive and range competitive. With the new world of EVs, comes a whole new world of understanding cars, with batteries at the centre. This page provides background, the rethink batteries bring, the different battery technologies, though to how to car for batteries, and who makes what.

If you follow car industry publications, there both facts and well recognised predictions that combined, signal a storm for the car industry. Reality: Why The Makers Are Lying. In less than 5 years, electric vehicles will become less expensive than ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles, and are already significantly less expensive to maintain. Lower cost […]

I recently explored how in 2021, the numbers for EVs don’t really add up yet. One of the key discoveries, was that many sensible people are projecting EVs will reach ‘price parity’ by 2024-5. If this happens consider the trend: Looking deeper, there is every reason those predictions look real, and this will completely turn […]

There already are some EVs with not just "Schrödinger's parity", but genuine price-parity winning not just awards, but topping sales charts. These are mostly from the Tesla and BYD duopoly, but they are not entirely alone. Beating ICE vehicles in sales chart is the best test for price-parity, and segment by segment, EV contenders are being launched. Yes, there are still many overpriced 'token EVs' that either exist to satisfy green requirements, provide products for brand loyalists demanding EV products, or help convince their makers "there is little demand for EVs". This is an evaluation of price parity, and a list of vehicles with price parity on the market. The previously subsidy free Australian market is the base, but with inclusion of key international. The implications for established brands, and brand loyalty were surprising.

Eventually, EVs will take over, but for most people even price parity EVs are still not 'there yet', and that take over could take 30 years. This webpaper compares vehicle types from "standard" gasoline/petrol and diesel vehicles, with hybrids, plug in hybrids and battery electric vehicles (EVs). There is a separate exploration of hydrogen vs battery electric cars, so this page is pros and cons of hybrids vs "standard" vehicles, or pure battery electric vehicles (EVs).

Update in progress. To make sense of all the often seemingly conflicting information on "regen", one-pedal-driving, and how to best drive an EV, it can really help to understand that in most EVs the regenerative braking is fully integrated into the braking system and the two different regen system in use in EVs can suit two very different driving styles: 1. Lift-off regen: In all EVs and like engine braking in an ICEV. 2. Brake-by-wire regen, an additional regen system in most EVs. Confusion over these two systems is part of regen confusion, but there are many myths and so much misinformation about regen-braking, lift-off regen and one-pedal-driving including that "one-pedal-driving" is not the most efficient way of driving, and that the regen you feel from lift-off is not all the regen. Despite the fact there is so many myths leading to so much misinformation making it sound complex, driving an EV for optimum efficiency is usually extremely simple.

We are in a time of disruption by electrification as planes, trains and automobiles, as well as shipping, all move to zero emission power. But it is the EV disruption of car industry that will have the biggest impact on consumers, and EVs have become "real" and desirable much sooner than many brands expected or wanted. New players such as Tesla, BYD and others will become the new leaders, and together with the globalisation of the EV centric Chinese car industry, combined, will take at least 50% of the market. So, what happens to the existing big brands of the legacy car industry sharing the remaining 50%? Either half die out, all halve in size, or some combination of both! The EV disruption will catch out many legacy car makers, with the shift skipping the anticipated interim step to hydrogen vehicles. There is a separate webpaper exploring why it is so difficult for legacy automakers to make a profit from EVs, and this page will track major 'legacy' brands through the transition to see which, if any, survive, as the new brands increase their market share.

It is easy to underestimate how long it will take consumers to transition to EVs, and equally easy to underestimate how urgently manufactures need to transition to avoid collapse. Two transition speeds? Yes, brands will switch to EVs in their showroom by 2025 or risk failure, but in what seems like a complete disconnect, there will still be internal combustion vehicles on the road past 2050. Around 10.5 million Electric Vehicles were delivered in 2022, which resulted in less than 0.7% of Internal Combustion Engine vehicles (ICEVs) being replaced by EVs during 2022, even those EVs represented 13% of new vehicles sales. The data shows that new car showrooms transition to EVs 20x faster than the roads, and vehicle manufacture transition 20x faster then the public, and while ICEVs will likely still around beyond 2050, vehicle makers that can't switch fast enough could collapse by 2030, bringing radical economic change.

I started a page on the Atto 3 back in April 2022, but the launch in Australia has become so complex that it justifies a separate page, so here it is together with NZ information, starting with content moved from the original page, but updated. This is a page with details about the Australian, and New Zealand rollouts of the Atto 3 and the BYD brand, which from these humble beginnings, could become a major part of the automotive scene in both countries. For the general overview of the Atto 3, including information learnt from the experiences of owners, including those in Australia and New Zealand, see the main Atto 3 page. For the strange events around the Australian launch, and the use of the centre rear seat for baby capsules, read on!

The world of EVs is changing, as is the leadership. Tesla lost 50% of its valuation in 2022. Some are predicting it will lose half of the remaining value in 2023, and although others predict the stock price will rebound, both outcomes are possible, and which becomes reality could depend very much on whether Tesla can remain 'cool', or through Musk and twitter becomes linked to far right. Although entire EV future is not dependant solely on Tesla, a decline could have wide implications, for the market, competitors and the global transition to EVs. Not only are the 'legacy' automotive companies GM, Ford, VW and Toyota competition for the hearts and dollars from consumers, but also BYD, who is already taking the EV lead from Tesla. Keys factor in EV trends during 2023 could turn out to be who is 'cool', shifting perceptions of a climate threat and the need for rapid response, and the impact of conflicts such as Ukraine. Rapid radical change for the industry, but it will take longer to impact consumers.

The Atto 3 (or Yuan Plus) is not only EV giant BYD's, first global car, has now become the 3rd largest selling EV globally. Launched as BYDs first global model and the first 3rd wave EV for the west, already outselling Tesla vehicles and #1 selling EV in some markets, the Atto 3 could even challenge to become the world's top selling vehicle. While BYD has exported cars before, the Atto 3 is based on the "global focused" e-platform 3.0, and with a more significant launch into larger markets than previous BYD tentative exports, should spearhead the international push of the world's largest new energy vehicle maker.

In theory, and under ideal conditions, an EV road trip with DC rapid charging can be as time efficient as travelling in an ICE vehicle. However, conditions are not always ideal. Some trips take much longer, and others can become problematic. Will EV road-trips ever become as convenient and dependable as traveling by ICE vehicle?

People have for decades owned cars without needing to refuel at home, so it may not seem obvious just how important home charging is for owners of EVs. Various surveys confirm that 80% to 95% of EV charging happens at home and given that less than 80% of people have access to a space to be able to charge at home, those who can't charge at home are less likely to buy an EV. To understand the problem, try living with a mobile phone without charging at home, or at work.

If you send someone an email, once you press send it is as final as when a book is published. If you later decide it would have been better if something was different, then it is too late. But if you put that writing on a webpage and send a link... you can always update the web page. Imagine a scientific paper that in place of normal final publishing, is on the web and has that same ability to continue to be updated with the results further research. Welcome to the "webpaper", that can even be online before work is complete in get the feedback of peers and others even before it is considered final, and the "blook" that begins with one webpaper builds into a complete set of work over time as webpapers are added and continue to be updated as time progresses.

There are 3 approaches to residents of apartments being able to charge EVs: They can go elsewhere to charge. A small number of charging spaces will be provided. Provision for individuals to have charging at the designated car space is facilitated. This is a look at why charging and getting it right is a challenge for apartment complexes, those who want the problem to remain unsolved, and the merits of the possible solutions.

This is the exploration of a chequered history, the battles between EV and oil and auto companies that is still happening today. From companies forcefully taking back EVs from consumers to destroy them, to the battle between pop group A-Ah and authorities in Norway, to the Toyota spending billions to fight EVs and the wheels literally falling off their 2022 electric car, from industrial intrigue involving Interpol red notices, to the rise of Tesla and BYD.

This page covers a lot. Charging equipment and what to install and how to charge at home, and charging on road trips, through to the technical side, and a look at wireless and the future of charging. Plus, how recharging requires a complete rethink from refuelling, and how charging can be more convenient and match the speed of refueling. Public recharging infrastructure for EVs is growing but recharging at home will be most important for most people. Fully benefiting from having an EV, requires understanding, being prepared for recharging.

This is a charge time calculator, which can be set to the charge curve of any car, but defaults to the values for the Atto 3.

EVs can be divided into 3 waves: EVs that people can use despite limitations including the Tesla Model S, Nissan Leaf, i-MiEV, and Zoe. Then EVs are truly competitive in premium and enthusiast markets: Tesla Model 3, then Model Y. Mainstream EVs at the Tesla Model A/2 price point, but so far from China, not Tesla. While China has been another world for EVs, with price competitive EVs from US$5,000, only now in 2022 is the rest of the world getting its first 3rd wave EVs, and so far, they all come from China. Teslas were sold globally, but every other EV, was either an EV not sold in China, or a Chinese only EV. Two separate worlds of EVs, that have begun a hurried unification and bring 3rd wave EVs and automotive industry disruption to the entire world.

There are solar boats and even a solar plane already, yet the solar vehicles we hear most about, solar cars, are as of early 2022, not yet on sale. However, that is about to change with at least 3 solar powered cars nearing production. The situation with solar cars is almost identical to the early days of EVs. Plus, the solar does not have to be built into the vehicle to enable solar powered travel. This page will be updated as solar vehicles come to market.

I am an analyst, not a journalist, which means the focus of this site is analysis. Journalists, with the word 'jour' at the start of their title, present pages which will normally be in their final correct form from day one. Analysis is very different. Many topics analyses continue to evolve, and while a report on what happened at a point in time should remain intact, analysis should continually be updated to reflect current, rather than now outdated conclusions. Updates are essential for information to remain relevant.

What is the real answer to how the grid will cope? First the answer from an actual power company, a link to one from a popular vlogger, both of which should placate most people, although neither is water tight as both skip over some details critical to the full answer. And then, the deeper questions on what the impact will be on power bills and reliability, and to the transitioning of the grid to renewables.

After friend told me "I am not interested in electric cars, because I will wait for hydrogen cars", I did the research, and found that such a future no longer makes any sense and will never happen. It turns out that hydrogen cars were never desirable and only viable if EVs remained impractical. Hydrogen vehicles have now been surpassed for charge times and range and they were only ever anexpensive to build and operate, higher emissions, limited interim stop gaps, for the time until we reduced the limitations of battery EVs.

There is a full exploration of recharging electric vehicles on another page, but there is an a "refuelling" alternative to recharging: battery swapping. With electrical appliances in the past, when the batteries went flat, we swapped them. Then rechargeable batteries became popular so we could avoid throwing out the old batteries, but I swap first and then recharge. It turns out, we can also do that with cars, and it is happening already. Battery swapping, take only around 5 minutes, but so does recharging the latest batteries. Battery swapping will likely play a key role in the future, but not necessarily the role many expect.

This is a look at range, covering from how no one number accurately describes an EV's range and driving the full range of EV outside of emergencies just wastes time, through why range is so unlike that of fossil fuelled vehicles and optimising range is all about efficiency, through to what range a person needs around the town or for highway driving. Range with EVs is such a different experience that novices can feel anxiety, despite that in practice running out of charge in EVs happens no more than ICE vehicles run out of gas. While EV range is getting closer to ICEV range, most EVs, unlike the Lightyear One pictured here, aren't solar and most EVs still don't match the range of internal combustion engine cars for highway driving, but the convenience of background charging means range with EVs is usually only a limitation on relatively rare road trips.

The key specification for EVs so far has been 'range'. But how are the numbers measured, will range specific match reality, and can the number even be compared? It turns out there are even 3 different standards for measuring range, and they give very different answers! Further, why have we moved from 'economy' to 'range'? Is there still even economy with EVs?

Something completely different. A discussion on how this site is hosted: on wordpress.com. Anyone who has started a "blog" or other site on wordpress.com, may get to wonder, what are the options for upgrading the website? What is the value of the free, personal or premium plans and beyond? What real world benefits are there, and, alternatively, what would you lose and/or gain from moving away from wordpress.com. This is a page discussing being in that situation. If you are not considering having a website, it may be of little interest.

Move to renewables for energy, and electricity for transport, and we solve the climate problem. But renewables require storage, and uptake of EVs requires home charging, and there is a cost to both. But what if electric vehicles could solve the "green power grid" problem, provide energy security, and avert a threat of increasing inequality, and reduce costs? It turns out this dream scenario is definitely possible but can be fully realised only if the home charging problem is solved.

(see the mystery below). Way back in 2001, Dean Kamen launched the Segway, heralding a new era in personal mobility. Although the Segway did not deliver that new era, it is possible he was onto something that is gradually becoming a reality. This is a look at how far the Unagi E500 model one electric scooter advances personal mobility, and what broader steps technology has made towards personal mobility.

By the end of 2022, Electric Vehicles (EVs) will be the choice for the majority of all new car buyers worldwide. In practice, while Asia and Europe will see EVs at over 50% market share, delivery in some key markets where EVs currently have around 5% market share to around 20% by year end, but the end of the internal combustion engine will clearly be looming. The motor vehicle industry, sales and servicing, will see upheaval with the majority of current players headed forced close or sell out.

All tools can bestow superpowers and motor vehicles are no exception.Superpowers provided by motor vehicles include the ability to quickly travel and transport goods and people on local trips, and the quite different but key superpower to travel to new and more distant places on road trips. .

By are we ‘there’, I mean is home automation at a point where it is not just fun, but actually practical,  as opposed to fun, but ultimately annoying.  Read the conclusion for more details, but although home automation right now can be useful, current limitations prevent if from being much beyond a toy that just […]

I heard someone ask, “if EV (Electric Vehicle) sales continue to increase exponentially at the same rate, how long before all sales are EVs”? While exponential growth is no more sustainable for EVs than for anything else, the underlying statistics and real answer made me realise, EVs will probably reach an tipping point as soon […]

There are cases where the rapid evolution of technology means that terms can lose connection with their original meaning.  ‘Crop’ and full frame are clear examples.  Should we go back to the original meaning, or embrace using the original term in ways that evolve further and further from that original meaning? History/Background Film Cameras Pre […]

Considering a new bag for you tech gear and whatever else you carry?  Peak design have some of the best bags for the technology lover… but nothing is ever perfect and flaws still remain. This page does some pondering over what is really needed in an ‘everyday’ bag, and looks how current offerings do in […]

This is part of series of pages I will be adding on things I have learnt as part of building this website, and I will soon try and enable following by topic (when I get this page working), so people can separately select notification on building websites and/or population or other issues, without being notified of things outside their interest. Standby for that update. Meanwhile this page provides general help on making an animated GIF for a series of images, specific help on a challenge with animated GIFs, and a list of sites with free images as a resource for those building images.

After a long history resisting action on climate change, the Australian government finally 'committed' to net zero by 2050, and then did an about face from their previous 'anti-EV' stance and announced support for electric vehicles. Or did they?

The race to stop CO2, has led to many 'scam' projects involving hydrogen, but it is not always clear who is being scammed: the public, or the proponents of hydrogen projects. What is the attraction behind the obsession with hydrogen? This is a look at the motives, the myths and the facts around hydrogen projects. Spoiler: There are some valid roles for hydrogen, but hydrogen has no remaining role as an energy source, and even any potential role as an energy carrier is highly questionable.

This page focuses on a topical question, can the Samsung Z Fold 3 be a viable option for someone who has previously owner Samsung Note phones? Having owned 4 notes dating back to the original, I add my review, and links and selected quotes of other opinions. The page includes my review from the perspective […]

Someone mentioned 'the Jetsons' and I thought, "Robots, yes, flying cars, no." People do keep working on flying cars, but I just do not see that turning out like in the Jetsons, and I will at some time elaborate on that topic. However a home robot could soon become a real thing.

I have been exploring electric vehicles. What is needed to make them affordable, and what it is like to live with them. When exploring charging, the charging systems became so complex that I have extracted what I found as its own exploration, which I plan to keep updated as a reference. It currently does need an update for wireless charging, but some information can be found on my exploration of the logistics of charging.

Right now, without subsidies, buying an electric car does not objectively add up. Currently there is a price premium, and as a result EVs only appeal to those happy to pay a premium to indulge a passion. Some buyers are prepared to pay a premium for the environment, "the future" or the acceleration, but right now, buying is driven by passion and/or subsidies.

Augmented reality was seen as potentially the way of the future when introduced in 2013. So far, augmented reality through sight has never delivered and people wearing augmented reality glasses are not a common sight. In contrast, people wearing headphones and earphones are everywhere. Augmented sound reality is here (or hear?) and if anything, is growing in significance. This page looks at the topic overall but also includes some specific reviews.

One image of a driverless cars is a Google car with a very prominent LIDAR device on the roof. This is a look at the technologies and the needs of self drive systems, and where things are at in 2017. There is logic to the suggestion by Elon Must that LIDAR is not needed, but there is also logic to suggesting that the steps forward form where we are to true autonomous may be a lot more challenging than it appears.