mistral53

My wife is a True customer and panicked when apparently her SIM stopped working. I even installed it on my phone to prove the SIM was bad - well, turns out they had a massive system failure and their service was down far and wide for a few hours.

Yes - 100 minutes includes download time. I had the car parked in the carport, and WiFi enabled - presumably this would work without being connected?

Just started on mine......... 100 minutes to completion.

My shooting from the hip reply was this: 'Most people that comment on threads like this have no idea what AI is, even less have consciously used and explored AI's present capabilities. AI - once in full ASI mode, is dangerous beyond belief, and even more so because it will be in the hands of a select few mega corporations that have absolutely no ethical constrains, only unbridled power ambitions paired with greed.' Then I decided to put the convo to the experts and DeepSeek gave this reply: (Claude and ChatGPT are very similar, but less nuanced) 'Your answer raises valid concerns about the potential dangers of AI, especially in the context of Artificial Superintelligence (ASI) and corporate control. Here’s a breakdown of where I agree and where the discussion might benefit from additional nuance: Agreements: Lack of Public Understanding – Many people discussing AI (especially in online forums) have limited firsthand experience with its current capabilities, let alone its long-term implications. This can lead to either unwarranted hype or underestimation of risks. ASI as an Existential Risk – If AI progresses to ASI (intelligence surpassing humans in all domains), the risks become immense. Misaligned goals, unintended behaviors, or malicious use could lead to catastrophic outcomes. Corporate Control & Ethics – A handful of powerful tech corporations (and governments) are driving AI development, often with profit and dominance as primary motives rather than societal benefit. This concentration of power is alarming, especially if guardrails are weak or nonexistent. Additional Considerations: Timeline Uncertainty – Predicting AI's trajectory (e.g., whether ASI is 10 years away or much longer) is highly speculative. Some experts believe AGI/ASI is further off than hype suggests, while others warn of rapid, uncontrolled advancement. Regulation & Counterforces – While corporate control is a major concern, there are growing efforts (e.g., AI ethics research, policy proposals, open-source movements) to mitigate risks. Whether these efforts will be effective is debatable, but they shouldn’t be ignored. Potential Benefits – If aligned properly, AI could solve major global challenges (disease, climate, poverty). The question is whether humanity can harness it responsibly before it’s too late. "Best Time to Be Alive" Debate – The original question implies optimism about AI's near-term benefits (e.g., productivity, healthcare). Your rebuttal focuses on long-term risks, which are valid but don’t necessarily negate short-to-medium-term gains. Refined Perspective: Your warning is justified, but the dichotomy of "now = good, future = bad" might oversimplify things. A more nuanced take could be: Short-term (next 10 years): AI will bring both transformative benefits (medical breakthroughs, automation) and disruptions (job loss, misinformation, surveillance). Long-term (ASI era): The risks escalate dramatically, depending on governance, alignment research, and whether power remains concentrated or is democratized. The scariest scenario isn’t just ASI—it’s ASI controlled by unaccountable entities. Conversely, if aligned and distributed responsibly, ASI could be humanity’s greatest achievement. The problem is, we’re currently on a risky path. Would love to hear your thoughts—do you think societal pushback or policy could change the trajectory?'

Quite interesting that in the C-segment SUV, electric cars are totally dominating sales in Thailand for the first few months of 2025.

Anybody got the alert for this? BYD Australia is ahead of us again........

One of the heat exchangers is for the AC, and the other for water. I understand the motors and electronics are water cooled, the AC is for our butts and the battery. And then there is this to get it all properly mixed up and to confuse the technicians...........lol

This is nothing short of shocking - imagine all that debris clogging up the radiator! I see you have a dual screen solution - a lower and an upper screen - do you think it would make sense to install only the lower screen? I am concerned about the impact on the airflow - it stands to reason that most of the debris was hitting the lower part, so leaving the upper screen off would allow more air to flow and still do a great job of keep all that muck from entering that sacred space.

Observations after almost 2 weeks of Sealion 7 ownership: better than Seal: lower noise level 3 tick turn signal lower noise AC fan power of sound system ADAS ICC does not surge Nav info on dash Nav direction info in HUD power shade for glass roof better ride AC charge current is adjustable low speed cornering lights leather on steering wheel center cover 'push button' to open the tailgate lesser than Seal: no coin tray (used for gate remote) no pre-installed dash cam hardware, no MSD card slot ride becomes too wallowy at speeds >120 km/h less max regen NFC location inside car is cumbersome for watch BYD-lady's voice is very obnoxious (is she a Domme?) wind noise from outside rear view mirror >110 km/h YMMV

Battery technology has advanced in leaps and bounds in the last few years, but what's much more impressive, the pace of development is actually accelerating - leading Chinese technology that is. Granted, EVs are not suitable for every task, but the window for what they cover is gradually increasing, moving them from niche and novelty into real challengers for market share. Clearly, in this field the old trope of 'Chinese can only copy Western technology' will only be sustained amongst basement dweller Luddites, https://carnewschina.com/2025/04/21/battery-giant-catl-showcases-three-innovations-1500km-range-battery-520km-in-5-minutes-ultra-fast-charging-and-2025-mass-production-sodium-ion-battery/

Consider yourself lucky - with this grumpy guy around, rats will nest in the neighbor's car......... As for cats on cars - they scratch the paint when they get down from the car, now I wonder whether the ceramic coating will keep the scratch marks from going through the clear coat?

First on my list would be clay-bar, will probably take it off, with absolutely no damage to the paint.

This is another area China will utterly dominate.......or already does.

EV's took the crown at this event - cant say I am all that surprised...... to add insult to injury, most of the big winners are from the car capitol of the world, leaving established companies behind.

Maybe this is true, but the marketing literature of more expensive films make a reasonable claim: Cheap film - which is essentially painted polyester - will absorb light and turn it into heat, conversely, the more expensive films with nano particles reflect some of the light back, reducing light absorption, hence transfer less heat into the car........how much is reflected and how much that lowers that the temperature is anybody's guess. Well, there is always per-conditioning via the app - except, I almost always remember to precondition the car when I walk up to it, or after I open the door and burn my bum on the hot seat.

BYD includes the window film as part of their promotion package - they call it XUV-MAX Ceramic. What is your impression - is this the bottom drawer quality of films as freebee? The 'ceramic' moniker should imply it's not just cheap painted film, but the ceramic film with sputtering technology. Does it make sense to pay big bucks extra for a brand product for what could just be a marketing plot? I paid THB 32,500 for Lamina DigitalBoost on the Seal - which does give a good compromise for light inside/dark outside. but at a hefty premium.

For those with a BYD Sealion 7, what have you decided to do as far as the dash-cam is concerned? It looks like a lot of hardware is missing, even the micro-SD card slot, presumably the cable, too....... software? I really like the fully integrated system BYD left in the Seal to do an OEM like install - why on earth they went backwards on the dash-cam in Thailand is another BYD enigma.

Maybe - the Avatr 11 had an introductory show price a year ago 200k lower for the show period, it never moved since and is solid at THB 2.3 mil now. It looks to me the price war is at the lower end, which has much fiercer competitive field.

So we went to the show to kick some tires - wife decided the color for her SL7 we have now on order, and of course I was slobbering all over the Zeekr 7X. As I started a conversation with a sales girl preparing myself to make a 30k deposit for the 7X, it was revealed there was a change of mind at Zeekr and the price was tentatively set at THB 2.2 mil........WTF? I went home to chat online with the sales lady I had a convo with before when she specifically mentioned the 1.8 mio price, to be told it was already April 1 on their calendar, and maybe in 6 months they will have another go jerking the price in either direction..... not holding my breath, as the 7X had some deficiencies that don't add up - e.g. no insulated glass, missing door seals.......mehh Well - good thing we went to the show on March 27, and while the return trip was a ridiculous affair because of a totally disorganized Rama 2 detour (hey.....this is Thailand!) adding another hour, at least we made it back...... yesterday we would not have been so fortunate, Rama 2 was closed solid.

I take it you are aware that BYD recommends to charge the battery to 100% regularly, like every time? It's the only way to reliably do the battery balancing, which is necessary for several reasons - re-calibrating the GOM is just one of them.

I would expect some of the goodies (free service, wall charger etc) are no longer included - so these discounts are somewhat misleading.

It looks like this is the new benchmark for the low end price war.........

Prices are coming in hard and fast in advance of the show. If the Zeekr 7X is coming in at 1,8XX,000, they got my order. It's a monster when coming to charging, and really ticks all the boxes that a class leading SUV must have.

Do you have a link for this? I asked Elon's own Grok, and it came back with 'In 2023, Tesla's EV market share was 10.48%, calculated from sales data. I'm double-checking the Thai Embassy figures to ensure accuracy.' lots of babbling after that and Grok concluded: 'The latest search still shows no specific 2024 Tesla sales data for Thailand. I'm finding articles about factory plans, but no local sales figures.' Key Points Research suggests Tesla's EV market share in Thailand for 2024 was around 5.9%, not 39.9% as claimed. The evidence leans toward the poster's claim being inaccurate, likely due to confusion with competitor figures like BYD's 38.5% share. It seems likely that the poster's statement reflects wishful thinking, possibly to support Tesla's share price amid global challenges. Looking forward to the link, buddy!

Here is a new concern in the Chinese EV development race: 'Technology surplus' 'Recently, BYD released the 1000V charging system and introduced a high-performance drive motor with 30,511 rpm and 580 kW (778 Ps) per module, making it one of the top-tier mass-produced motors in the industry. It is faster than Xiaomi’s V8s 27200 rpm motor, which is placed on the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, and the 20000 rpm motor on the Tesla Plaid S.' 'This has raised concerns on the internet regarding the issue of technology surplus. Unlike Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, a high-performer targeting young speed lovers. Han L and Tang L were seen as more family-suited and conventional. Some are concerned about road safety and questioned whether a 40-year-old female who is used to driving cars like the Honda CR-V can handle such a speed machine. We hope that BYD has thought about it at the beginning and set a practice trial to unlock the highest-performance driving mode, just like Xiaomi did' (Don't tell that to a feminist, it's of course totally misogynistic to print such a comment......) Maybe it is OK in China to have a 'male driver' and a 'female driver' button?