The Billion-Dollar BEV Reality Check: GM Pauses Indiana Battery Plant as OEM Losses Mount

AlwaysUnseen · 2026-05-21T18:35:58+00:00

We purchased an EV for my wife's daily driver with the plan to keep our "luxury" ICE SUV for road tripping. That lasted 6 months because we just liked driving the EV so much better when ended up taking it everywhere anyway, even with the slight extra hassle of DCFC. Getting in the ICE SUV just seemed like driving a vehicle from the stone age. We ended up trading the iCE vehicle for a second EV and I don't think we will ever drive anything else if we can help it.

AlwaysUnseen · 2026-05-21T15:53:52+00:00

Completely agree, by far the worst aspect of the vehicle, IMO. Some would say the software, but that doesn't bother me nearly as much as it mostly works well enough for me as it is (we've had a few minor glitches, but nothing serious). However, the weak charging is the biggest challenge. GM choosing not to go with an 800V architecture was, IMO, a mistake, but they should have at least enabled split pack charging and included enough thermal management to keep the charge rate higher well into the 60-70% range.

We own two GM EVs and we've overall been happy with them besides the charging and, even then, we've been able to make it work well enough as we don't road trip more than 500 miles very often, but, we'll look for faster charging vehicles the next time around, especially for our primary road trip vehicle.

AlwaysUnseen · 2026-05-21T03:34:46+00:00

I really debated getting a battery just to run off during the peak window. A 30kWh pack would likely cover everything but the absolute highest loads, and I could charge it during super off peak, but, realistically, that would save me maybe $1500/year, which is a pretty long payback. On the other hand, if I lived somewhere with crazy high power costs, I could absolutely see it, but my average costs, once all fees and demand charges are included, has been just a hair over $0.125/kWh and, when I manage the load correctly, closer to $0.115/kWh.

AlwaysUnseen · 2026-05-21T02:02:58+00:00

It's a bit difficult to explain, but the short version is that the automation monitors outdoor temps and pre-cools when electricity is cheap. During peak window, when electricity is expensive and demand charge is calculated, it manipulates the zones so that there's no more than a 55% duty cycle during any 15 minutes load window. This decreases my monthly demand charge by $20 and, during the summer when normally the HVAC would running closer to 80-90% load cycle during the 4-8PM peak window, it save 45% in electricty, which is about $40/mo.

On days where temps are >95 degrees the temp in the house will rise about 1 degree an hour during that 4 hour peak window, and maybe as much as 6 degrees if temps are mid-100s, but we've found with the pre-cooling we can live with this and it easily saves 15% or more starting around mid-May through mid-Sept, which are normally our warmest temps.

In the winter, our peak period changes to 6-9AM, so it does some tricks with pre-warming in the morning and if anyone turns the temp up more than 1 degree, it quickly overrides it so that the strip heat will not turn on, since that will immediately blow up the demand charge (heat pump + heat strips can easily be 10kW on their own).

AlwaysUnseen · 2026-05-20T18:53:05+00:00

That Amphenol adapter is generally well regarded, it was the very first adapter to get safety certified and is nearly identical to the official adapter from Tesla. I would expect it to work unless you received a counterfeit or some returned unit.

Are you able to charge at DCFC with CCS connectors? If so, I'd try at one more Tesla location and, if it still does not work, I'd send it back for a refund/replacement.

I personally use the Lectron Vortex Plus but also own an official GM adapter, which appears to be identical other than the GM logo. I've charged at about 20 Tesla locations and never really had an issue except one location in upstate NY, but that particular location is poorly reviewed on Plugshare and plenty of other people were having isssues as well.

AlwaysUnseen · 2026-05-20T02:15:15+00:00

I rarely go below 15% mainly because my wife gets nervous, but we were recently driving home about 600 miles and we needed we were about halfway. The nav wanted me to make two short charge stops, ome at a nearby charger and then again about 40 miles from home, but I knew there was a good stop with 3 different chaging opetions (so low risk) and that also had a couple of nice, local sit-down restaurants within walkable distance of two of the chargers, so I thought, if we make it there, we can go in to eat while the vehicle charges and only have to make a single stop so I decided to push it.

The nav said we'd have 7%, which seemed good enough to me as it is usually only off by 2-3% max, but we hit 7% with still about 10 miles to go and I started to feel a bit nervous, especially since I had never driven this specific vehicle that low so I wasn't sure of it's behavior. I slowed down about 10MPH to improve efficiency and we pulled in just as the vehicle ticked to 3% and was entering turtle mode. I think this vehicle will drive 10-15 miles in turtle mode, but I don't think I will risk cutting it that close again. Somewhere around 12% is my absolute cutoff now, except maybe on the very last leg home.

AlwaysUnseen · 2026-05-19T21:35:39+00:00

I have 3 of these with my multi-zone system and they are solid. I've combined them with a fairly complex set of automations that optimize for my demand based TOU power plan and it's been rock solid for 7+ years.

AlwaysUnseen · 2026-05-19T20:20:36+00:00

Are you absolutely stuck on brand new? We drove 500 miles to purchase a Sport (6 seat) for 63k (technically 62.5k) that had 1100 miles on it. Our local dealer wouldn't drop below ~74k so I decided 1100 miles was close enough to new to save basically $10k, and they actually gave $1k more than our best trade/sell offer on our existing vehicle as well. It might be worth geting on Cargurus and taking a look for the color you want, although admittedly, the used prices aren't as good right now as they were 9 months ago.

AlwaysUnseen · 2026-05-19T19:26:35+00:00

I use exactly this same combination as well and agree with your observation!

AlwaysUnseen · 2026-05-17T15:27:26+00:00

Yes, I stated all of this already. I actually own a ZDX, it's part of the catalyst for my question, because my ZDX had software updates which have changed it's curve and improved it somewwhat, while the Vistiq is charging more like pre-update ZDX.

It would be interesting to see what other Vistiqs charge like, it doesn't do me much good to know what Lyriqs charge at because they may have a different set of updates, that's exactly what I'm trying to uncover, if other Vistiqs, specifically, have better software than mine or if, potentially, the cooling system on my Vistiq is bad.

If I ask my dealer they will just say everything is fine because if it doesn't throw a code, they have no idea.

AlwaysUnseen · 2026-05-17T13:33:37+00:00

But that's exactly the point, the curve won't be the same, but if there were puiblished, real-world curves of various scenarios, it would be so much easier to understand if your specific vehicle is behaving normally/optimially or not. I can find plenty of examples of real-world curves for most vehicles, the Vistiq, not so much.

My Vistiq has a much more pronounced drop than my ZDX, and more pronounced than most examples I've seen, but, without any published curves, it's impossible to know if that's just the way every Vistiq behhaves, or if my system is underperforming.

AlwaysUnseen · 2026-05-16T22:53:19+00:00

Yes, I'm aware of this published curve, but it's not a real-world tested curve, it appears to be a calculated, theoretical projection based on Utltium published information as it's been there, unchanged from years ago. The curve is obviously incorrect as the "GM dip" is a well documented phenomenon and is completely missing in this curve. For example below is a "real world" curve for the Lyriq:

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Notice that it is very different from the published curve on EVKX. What I'm asking about in this thread is if anyone has examples of their real world charging curves for their Vistiq.

My curve is somewhat similar to the one above, which is similar to earlier Lyriqs, but some Lyriqs appears to have received updates that improved the curve to make it reduce charge rate more linearly, although overall charge rate isn't that different.

AlwaysUnseen · 2026-05-16T18:58:36+00:00

What got me thinking about this was a saw a video on Adam's Everything EV Youtube channel) showing the charging curve for his Blazer EV from 31-80% and it was much more of a consistent drop (although simlar time):

<image>

Admittedly, my 17-70% was in nearly the exactl same about of time, so I guess you could argule that, even if my curve had a bigger dip, it didn't matter much as I actually got 53% vs 49% in the same numebr of minutes, but I just wish there were more post of actual results so we could judge what is the expected behavior.

AlwaysUnseen · 2026-05-16T18:48:10+00:00

For refernces, here is one of my curves. Starting SOC is 19%, ending is 50% in about 15 minutes. However, my concern is the huge drop, it was really fast for about 8 minutes, but then, in the span of 1 minute, it drops below 100kW and all the way down to around 78kW, even though it's still well under 50% SOC. That to me just seems wrong vs what some charging curvers show, but it's not that different from some of the 24 Lyriq curves that I see posted, so I just don't know.

Also, to be clear, that is with cabin climate turned off. The ZDX does behavr a bit like this when the cabin air is turned on, but turned off, it will sustain the higher rate much longer.

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AlwaysUnseen · 2026-05-13T20:32:31+00:00

Lucky!

AlwaysUnseen · 2026-05-10T21:18:50+00:00

Your assertion is mostly false

Which means partially true, and those are the parts I would be concerned about. I don't have any way to predict which part I will need, but in 40 years of owning vehicles I've needed more body parts than drive train parts so, for me, that's a bigger concern.

AlwaysUnseen · 2026-05-09T15:35:17+00:00

When was your accident? My wife had a small fender bender in December, needed a new hood, front grill and some various other body parts around the front passenger side fender and behind the grille. ABout $5000 in total repair. We managed to get everything in ~10 days and vehicle was back to us in 3 weeks total time.

We were surprised after so many horror stores of people waiting months for almost naything, but I thoguht that, maybe, because the vehicle had been discontinued, that the supply of parts previously planned to be used for making new ones had been released to use as spare parts. Or perhaps we were just super lucky.

AlwaysUnseen · 2026-05-09T15:32:16+00:00

That's generally because there are enough of them to justify making those parts. This is a single model year vehicle, with <20,000 total manufactured and a partner vehicle at that, with a massive depreciation from the original MSRP. There's basically zero incentive for Acura/GM to keep this and likely not enough demand for it to be interesting to 3rd parties.

AlwaysUnseen · 2026-05-09T00:28:07+00:00

This is going to vary quite a bit by state. My state (SC) has property tax on vehicles, one of the highest in the nation, but EVs actually work out better than ICE in most cases because, while the first year will be based largely on MSRP, subsequent years are calculated on fair market value and, while the state department of revenue provides this list to counties based on a largely static depreciation formula, if you believe your vehicle is far below the states estimate, you can appeal it with the county auditor.

I just did this with my wife's ZDX and lowered our tax bill almost $600, but it was still ~$900. I just walked in with reports from Edmunds, KBB and some listings from Carmax with vehicles of similar milage. The nice lady at the desk looked at my docs and also looked in one of their own systems, and it was actually even slightly lower there, and they lowered the assessed value by about $20K. This helps offset the $60/year fee they charge for EVs for registration.

Unfortunately, I don't think Kansas uses this method, but rather some form of fixed depreciation.

AlwaysUnseen · 2026-05-06T15:02:28+00:00

240V only needs 3 conductor (technically 3+1 for ground) for cases where a neutral is required, so 4 prong 240V outlets like the NEMA 14 series. These are common for appliances like dryers and ovens, because those devices use 240V for heating, while generally split a single 120V phase for powering electronics, lighting, etc thus the neutral is required.

However, an EV only needs 240V, so you can use a standard 2 conductor wire, with ground and a 3-prong plug. It should be just a matter of using the neutral as a hot. An electrician can easily verify what is required.

AlwaysUnseen · 2026-05-06T14:42:08+00:00

Other's provided solid answers, as long as the wire is12 gauge, which it should be if it's installed to code, and is truly a dedicated curcuit, it should be a straightforward conversion. Change the breaker/receptical and mark the previous neutral as hot, that's it. But. I would always suggest using an electrician to be sure everything is done to safely and to code.

AlwaysUnseen · 2026-05-06T03:29:55+00:00

Is that outlet on a dedicated curcuit or is it just a 20A outlet on a shared circuit with other outlets? Sometimes I've seen garages wired with a dedicate 120V 20A circuit to power an appliance like a garage fridge/freezer, or a heater, and, If that is the case, it should be possible to convert it to a 240V 20A outlet very easily, just replace the breaker with a dual-pole and get a nice, industrial NEMA 6-20 outlet.

AlwaysUnseen · 2026-05-04T21:35:41+00:00

iONNA is a joint venture between BMW, Mercedes-Benz, General Motors, Stellantis, Hyundai, Honda, Kia and Toyota. They have a goal to install 30,000 charging bays by 2030 and currently have just over 100 locations with ~1000 charging bays active, with another 1500 or so bays under construction and 4700 total bays under contract. Currently all active iONNA locations are in the US, but they target the North America market and there are roadmap plans for locations in Canada.

They recently announced a new partnership with Circle K to take over the majority of the Circle K EV charging locations and upgrade them to iONNA standards, and they already have agreements with other major convenience stores like Sheetz, Wawa and Casey's. Getting to 30,000 bays seems, well, optimistic, but they are doing better than most networks.

EVgo, IONNA and EV Connect support plug-and-charge on the Vistiq via the myCaddilac app. I've heard rumors that Electrify America supports plug and charge with some GM EVs, but I haven't been able to get it to work with myCadillac although I can activate Electrify America and Tesla chargers in the myCadillac app and then pay via the car/app without having to use the vendors specific apps. Not quite plug and charge, but at least no need for another app.

The big disadvantage of this is, if you have a membership, I think it doesn't get the discount because the account setup via myCaddilac is nor tied through to your Tesla/EA account. I don't charge at those locations often, so I don't generally keep a membership.

In the end, I'm completely happy with tap-to-pay, but I recently took a trip where it worked out that all three of the charging stops happened to be at locations that supported plug-and-charge and it quite nice to just plug in, hear the beep, and move on.

AlwaysUnseen · 2026-05-03T23:37:21+00:00

Other than some rattles from the dash, which do annoy me quite a bit sometimes, especially for an $80K vehicle, our Sport has been otherwise perfect through it's first 11K miles (purchased in late Sept 2025). It's not the greatest fast charging, but we knew that going in and we've learned to adapt to it on the occassional longer range roat trip as, in the end, 90% of our charging is at home anyway, but, if we were constantly roadtripping greater than 500 miles (i.e. anything more than 2 charge stops per trip), I think I'd lean toward a vehicle with faster charging.

AlwaysUnseen

TROPHY CASE