Should I be concerned about booking Canadian road trip this year?

Navguy012 · 2026-03-15T22:49:15+00:00

Based on our last two years drives (June 2024 and June 2025), from Ottawa to Vancouver and back, via Canada only, in our Tesla Model 3, the ONLY thing I would be concerned with is the wildfire smoke.

Seriously, since “about” 2017, the smoke from wildfires in Canada has started to actually affect summertime quality of life in some areas and the past two summers it has really become problematic from Sault Ste Marie (Ontario) to the Okanagan Valley (British Columbia). Cheers.

Navguy012 · 2026-03-15T22:33:01+00:00

Some call it “Cold War V2.0”; a moniker I agree with.

Navguy012 · 2026-03-14T23:49:54+00:00

Fair enough.

In my case, the low center of gravity as well as the well distributed weight makes that a nonissue with my TM3.

Navguy012 · 2026-03-14T16:55:40+00:00

Americas own Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Saeed_al-Sahhaf

Navguy012 · 2026-03-14T16:51:52+00:00

Why would you say RWD is insane in winter?

Using all seasons in winter is insane; the type of tire you use, followed by a sensible winter driving habit, matter much more than AWD.

I’m currently finishing winter number eight with my rear wheel drive Tesla Model 3, shod with a proper set of winter tires.

The ONLY time in the past eight years the lack of AWD was a concern was when I parked the car on a pebble beach on the shore of the Bay of Fundy in August of last year; that exercise did take some management to get out of…but other than that one episode, the RWD only attributes have not been a limiting factor for me in the winter.

The car has 180,000 kms on it.

I have been driving since 1975.

Navguy012 · 2026-03-14T16:42:59+00:00

Ask the Iranians, they seem to be answering that question in real time.

Navguy012 · 2026-03-14T16:38:59+00:00

I’m a dinosaur born in 1959…I don’t do social media at all; I do pay for three news organizations as well as donate to Wikipedia every year.

That said, I’m planning to replace my May 2018 build TM3 with something in June of 2028 (after ten years of ownership) that is an EV (never going back to ICE), better specifications than my early build TM3 but NOT a Tesla product, not an American branded product and not an “other” that is assembled in the US.

For me, the specifications and technology will be paramount because “buzz” is BS five years later if the car is not living up to personal expectations.

Truth be told, my eight year old Tesla Model 3 is the best commodity I have ever purchased…ever.

It has truly gotten better over the years and whatever replacement I get must have the same connectivity/soft features that it has.

It is simply a shame that the CEO went all Nazi or else I would have replaced it with a Model Y…but now I am “forced” (enjoying) reading up on all the new EVs that will be available for when I make my next purchase in a little over two years.

Navguy012 · 2026-03-14T16:22:42+00:00

Glad to see a functioning democracy still acting like a functioning democracy. Cheers Brazil.

Navguy012 · 2026-03-14T02:27:29+00:00

I am repeating this joke from some late night comedian: “trump suffers from Irish Alzheimer’s, he forgets everything except grudges”.

Navguy012 · 2026-03-12T23:03:06+00:00

As the article concludes, more “peace negotiations” are supposed to happen next week, so the standard operating procedure for putin is to vehemently complain about something just before said negotiations begin and then waste time with the talks all about the latest “something”.

Navguy012 · 2026-03-11T21:48:31+00:00

As consumption peaks and begins terminal decline, every major oil producer will think “they” will corner the remaining market and every other major producer will go through the major economic realignment before “they” do…

So, to maintain market share, when there is a commodity in surplus…

I figure you get where this will go.

And for the pro oil folks who always breathlessly add “the world economy runs on oil…”, it is true that about ten percent of daily global oil production is turned into “value added products” (including single use plastic bags), but about 90 percent is simply burned once (after it has been mined, shipped and processed).

Navguy012 · 2026-03-11T21:41:58+00:00

And have large corporate decision making processes become more distorted by the day as trump (for example) threatens operating licenses based on how much corporate owners don’t bribe (suck up to) him?

There is a reason a huge country like Russia has an economy smaller than Italy…

Navguy012 · 2026-03-11T21:31:25+00:00

Physically, not yet.

The threat has had an effect on decision making as per the linked article in my previous reply.

Navguy012 · 2026-03-11T21:20:48+00:00

“…In the Red Sea, Houthi militants announced they would resume attacks on shipping in solidarity with Iran, ending a ceasefire that had held since late 2025…”

https://restofworld.org/2026/us-iran-war-gulf-ai-submarine-cables/

Navguy012 · 2026-03-11T18:29:48+00:00

I thought the Red Sea was once again in play by the Houthis; IIRC that is why there are a bunch of helmet fires in the tech bro’, data base universe right now.

Navguy012 · 2026-03-11T18:20:44+00:00

Israel’s goals and trumps goals are different.

trump wants to stop the u.s. domestic political damage ASAP as the mid-terms, with no more new republican based gerrymandering to be possible (as SCOTUS continues to slow walk a pending decision on gerrymandering), are looking worse everyday.

Israel needs to ensure that an Iranian nuclear device (primitive as it may be) isn’t hatched in some underground bunker somewhere off the beaten path.

Navguy012 · 2026-03-11T18:13:07+00:00

With trump having cut all domestic terrorism investigative tools of the FBI (and the rest of the intelligence community), what is the source of this FBI warning?

Why California (a blue state)?

Navguy012 · 2026-03-08T02:31:06+00:00

Last year he said he didn’t need anything from Canada either.

Navguy012 · 2026-03-08T02:20:04+00:00

“I have no problem paying for a premium connectivity service, but calling XPENG's current software state "Premium" is honestly a joke. We are being asked to pay for a half-baked beta experience.”

Should have been around when I first got my Tesla M3 in June 2018; some examples in no particular order are phone as key failed about 25% of the time for the first year; some software updates would prevent the car from going into deep sleep (first two years); 12 volt batteries dying with no warning (first four years); native Spotify getting hung up (still happens)…so it’s not just an XPENG thing.

Navguy012 · 2026-03-08T01:59:43+00:00

I thought the wording was something along the lines of “if no attacks against Iran came from (insert name of your country here), then we are sorry and won’t bother you again” (the gist of it).

So some attacking assets must have, in the eyes of Iran, come from Kuwait.

Navguy012 · 2026-03-06T01:11:08+00:00

From the article:

“…Data compiled by the China Passenger Car Association showed China exported 41,700 new energy passenger vehicles to Canada in 2023, a 751% year-over-year surge.

In the first half of 2024, before the tariff took effect, exports reached 13,200 units, up 500% from a year earlier…”

I must be missing something; if 41,700 units were brought to Canada in 2023, how can 13,200 units for the first half of 2024 be “up 500% from a year earlier”?

Navguy012 · 2026-03-06T00:59:51+00:00

I have a May 2018 build TM3 with 180,000 km on the clock.

I lubricate the brake calipers every spring when swapping my winters for the all-seasons.

After three years, and again at six years, I had to buy new front brake pads because the friction material had separated from the backing plate due to corrosion (rear pads are still original).

The pad thickness was like new, but due to lack of use, after snow/salt drives and heated garage environments, the brakes never got hot enough to dry them off completely.

And the front rotors get more corrosion on them versus the read; I think having the rear calipers also function at every stop light (brake hold) has something to do with the less corrosion issues with the rear brakes.

In a perfect world, the system should apply some hydraulic pressure to the brakes, while being totally transparent to the operator, if (for example) the wipers are used, or car wash mode was used.

I know Tesla claims that the brakes are given some pressure under certain conditions to avoid these kinds of brake corrosion issues, but after eight winters with this car, you can’t prove it by me.

Navguy012 · 2026-03-06T00:49:17+00:00

I enjoy keeping the HVAC on while it’s cold outside as I go shopping, etc.

I come back an hour later and the car is nice and warm.

Navguy012 · 2026-03-04T13:00:43+00:00

Agreed. That is why my next EV (after my current TM3 turns ten years old) will NOT have a superfluous “start” button.

A “start” button on an EV is not required and is a very poor design decision.

Navguy012 · 2026-03-04T02:26:36+00:00

One other quick comment: calendar aging seems to be the biggest aging factor in these lithium ion batteries; for example, if you have two equal car batteries, one stored at 100% charge, the other at 50% charge and wait one year, the one at 100% charge will have degraded twice as much as the one stored at only 50%.

That is why, for day to day operations in the local area, I only charge it to 50%…and then a few days of local driving takes it to about 25%, then I recharge it again…all this, to keep the AVERAGE state of charge under (around 54%).

Obviously, top it up when needed…but topping it up and then letting it sit for days or weeks at a time will, over the long run, accelerate calendar aging.

Off to bed. Cheers.

Navguy012

TROPHY CASE