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Rivian R1T, Mini Cooper Electric owners happiest with their EVs

The J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience (EVX) Ownership Study is out, and there's change at the top. With the swelling adoption of electric vehicles in the U.S. over in the past two years especially, the third year of the EVX study changes focus to first-time EV buyers. Those two factors encouraged change at the top of both premium and mass-market segments. Among premium EVs, the Rivian R1T pickup scored overall victory in its first year of eligibility with a satisfaction score of 794 out of 1,000. The Tesla Model 3 takes second place with 759 points. Tesla had won the top two premium spots in the study in 2021 and in 2022. The average score in the premium segment was 756. The Tesla Model Y (754), Audi E-Tron (735), and Polestar 2 (724) filled out the list of the five eligible models this year. Among the ten eligible mass-market vehicles, the Mini Cooper Electric nabbed the overall win by scoring 782. The Kia EV6 came second with 762 points, keeping Kia in the top two; the Kia Niro EV won the mass-market segment the previous two years. The Ford Mustang Mach-E (742), Hyundai Ioniq 5 (738), and Volkswagen ID.4 (735) completed the top five, the Niro EV (733) in sixth. All were above the segment average of 730. The four models fell below the segment average were the Ford F-150 Lightning (723), Chevrolet Bolt EUV (716), Chevrolet Bolt (711), and Nissan Leaf (698). How are the scores derived? J.D. Power worked with EV app maker and research firm PlugShare to get owner responses in ten areas: accuracy of stated battery range; availability of public charging stations; battery range; cost of ownership; driving enjoyment; ease of charging at home; interior and exterior styling; safety and technology features; service experience; and vehicle quality and reliability. Brent Gruber, executive director of the EV practice at J.D. Power, said, "Recent vehicle launches from both new brands and traditional automakers have had a profound effect on what factors are most important in the ownership experience. Today’s EV owners are looking for quality, reliability, driving enjoyment, safety and technology features." The Mini, in fact, scored highest of any premium and mass-market EV in the studyÂ’s highest-weighted index factor, quality and reliability.

Audi's lunar rover is nearly ready for the moon

Last year, Audi announced it was working on a lunar rover with a group called the Part-Time Scientists. Now the company says the design of its Lunar Quattro is complete, and all that's left is final testing before it's ready to head for the moon. Since Audi and its 16 engineers became involved with the project, the rover has actually increased in size, as have its tires. The company says this is for added stability. Despite the added size, the rover is now lighter, bringing it down from 38 to 30 kilograms (what we'd call 66 pounds). Otherwise, the rover is generally the same as it was last year. All four wheels are still powered by electricity, so Audi touts it as being both a Quattro and an E-tron vehicle. Cute. The rover will undergo final testing in the Middle East where it will run through simulations of the mission. For those unfamiliar, the mission parameters were set by Google for the Google Lunar XPRIZE. The prize is worth $30 million and will go to the first team to land a privately funded lander and rover on the moon, drive the rover 500 meters, and send back photos. If the mission is successful, we should get some great 3D and 360-degree shots of the lunar rover left behind by the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, since the proposed landing site is nearby. The Part-Time Scientists team that Audi partnered with has also booked a launch for its ALINA lunar lander, which will carry a pair of the Lunar Quattro rovers to the moon's surface. The launch was scheduled with Spaceflight Industries and is set for the end of 2017. Spaceflight Industries has managed 11 rocket launches with different companies and rockets between 2013 and 2015, and will also launch a probe from Israeli XPRIZE competitor SpaceIL sometime next year on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Related Video:

Malaise Era All-Stars

A few weeks ago, we bid a fond happy 40th anniversary to the automotive dark ages of 1973-84 that have come to be known as "The Malaise Era" - the performance ice-age when 160 horsepower was a lot and a 0-60 time of under 10 seconds was remarkable. Like music in the 1980s, everything in automobiledom didn't suck, however. There were a few bright spots. Here are five of our favorites:
1976-79 Porsche 930, aka 911 Turbo Carrera (above)
Photo Credit: Dorotheum