According to a report from automotive market research firm, JD Power, most electric vehicle (EV) drivers vow to never return to combustion engines. Good.

JD Power says that 82% of EV early adopters “definitely will” consider buying another electric vehicle. However, it seems drivers aren’t totally loyal to the brand of their current EV, and overall satisfaction matters when it comes to their next purchase decision.

It seems that drivers are making purchase decisions mostly on range, and availability of chargers. Factors like driving enjoyment, vehicle quality, and cost savings fall lower on their list of priorities.

The Tesla Model S ranked highest in terms of user satisfaction in the premium EV segment. The Kia Niro EV ranked highest in the mass market battery electric vehicle segment.

Maybe you’re considering buying an EV, or are sitting on the fence about what the experience might be like. If that’s the case, know that the sizeable majority of drivers that make the switch don’t regret it.

You can read the full report here .

SHIFT is brought to you by Polestar. It’s time to accelerate the shift to sustainable mobility. That is why Polestar combines electric driving with cutting-edge design and thrilling performance. Find out how .

Sell for scrap or split for parts? What to do with your old car

This article was originally published by Aaron Borderman on Clean Fleet Report , a publication that gives its readers the information they need to move to cars and trucks with best fuel economy, including electric cars, fuel cells, plug-in hybrids, hybrids and advanced diesel and gasoline engines.

What to do when calling it quits on your aging vehicle

Most people sell their old car when they get a new one, but what happens if the car is beyond its useful lifespan? In some cases, you might be able to sell a beaten up car to somebody that is willing to repair it, or you could repair it yourself before selling it. But sometimes, you need to know when to call it quits and admit that your car is simply too far gone to be useful to anybody anymore.

When you find yourself in this situation, you need to think carefully about how you are going to get rid of your car. If they are not disposed of properly, the waste from cars can cause a lot of environmental damage, so you need to follow the right procedures. Here’s everything you need to know about getting rid of your old car.

Cars are actually one of the most recycled consumer products there is. The majority of the metal can be recovered and recycled, and even the windshield can be recycled . But before you think about scrapping the car and recycling it, you should consider selling it for parts. Even though the car is not in good working order, and it isn’t worth paying for repairs, that doesn’t mean that the whole car is useless. There are plenty of parts in there that could be useful for making repairs on other cars. You will get more money if you get rid of your old car this way, and you know that at least some of it is still being used. You could visit a local salvage yard and see if they are willing to buy the car, or you could advertise it privately. However, if you sell privately, it does require a lot more work on your part.

If you don’t think that it’s worth selling for parts, you will have to scrap your car. When you are scrapping your car, think carefully about where you take it. If you want convenience, you should use an online service. Search for junk car near me and you’ll find some great companies that are willing to pick up the car and take it away for you. Alternatively, you could take it to be scrapped yourself if it’s still driveable, or you have a way of transporting it.

Regardless of where you decide to take it, you need to do your research beforehand. Make sure that you use a professionally licensed service that will do everything above board. Although the rules vary from state to state, it’s usually best to remove your license plate. In some places, you can sell them back to the state to be reused on other vehicles.

On arrival at the junk yard, you will be asked for all of the relevant documentation to prove that you own the car. Make sure that you bring your driving license and all of the registration documents with you, or you will not be allowed to scrap your car.

There are strict rules and regulations about getting rid of an old car, so make sure that you follow the procedure to the letter or you could end up with a big fine.

You can follow Clean Fleet Report on Twitter and Facebook .

SHIFT is brought to you by Polestar. It’s time to accelerate the shift to sustainable mobility. That is why Polestar combines electric driving with cutting-edge design and thrilling performance. Find out how .

This car can (probably) mine crypto and we’re not sure that’s a good thing

The thing mobility and blockchain technology have in common are grandiose ideas that promise a lot, but don’t consistently deliver. So can a product that combines both overcome this? Canadian company, Daymak, believes it can.

Since 2002, Daymak has been the biggest distributor and developer of electric light vehicles in Canada. It has over 150 dealers, has sold more than 100,000 vehicles, and exports to 25 countries.

For reference, light electric vehicles refer to electric-powered transport like escooters, autocycles, and ebikes. But what we’re most interested in today is one of the company’s latest EVs: the Spiritus .

This promises crypto mining capabilities while it charges, as well as solar EV chargers that do the same thing.. I sat down with Aldo Baiocchi, president of the company, to find out more.

How does a crypto mining car work?

Spiritus is a three-wheel, two-seater electric car that rides a bit like a go-kart. It looks like a car at the front and an emotorbike from the back.

Cryptocurrency infrastructure called Daymak Nebula includes an onboard GPU embedded into the Spiritus dashboard. From here the owner can harvest crypto. There’s no information about whether the hardware includes an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit.)

A wallet called Nebula Wallet is accessible via an app where the car owner can collect mining profits, and pay/receive/stake cryptocurrencies.

I asked Baiocchi why you’d want a crypto mining car. He shared:

Spiritus comes with a load of features including Wi-Fi connectivity, wireless charging, and solar panels for additional charging . The vehicle comes in Deluxe ($22,995USD) and Ultimate ($149,000 USD) varieties. It offers a range of up to 480km — or 300 miles — and takes 2 to 4 hours to charge.

So how much money can you make?

Erm, not as much as you might think. According to Baiocchi:

This idea extends to using crypto as a payment with service platforms inside and outside the car. Baiocchi asserts:

And if you think it sounds crazy, well, Daymak is also developing crypto mining capabilities for the roof of the Forus ebike.

What’s the integrity of a crypto mining car?

I had a lot of questions and to be honest, I didn’t get a lot of answers.

Ok, a prototype Spritus is live in the wild. But there’s no proof of concept as to the veracity of the crypto miner, as the patent is still pending. Yet the vehicle is expected to roll out commercially in 2023.

Further, while dual-purpose charging sounds like a valid way to get the maximum juice out of your charging time, mining crypto seems somewhat antagonistic to the environmental aims of electric vehicles.

Baiocchi was unable to  tell me the carbon footprint of the car, the crypto mining, or the cost in terms of energy expenditure, saying “it doesn’t cost much.”

I also wonder about the impact of crypto mining on battery degradation?

Further, the volatility of the coins you’re mining may mean you have no profit for your efforts.

And of course, I can’t help wondering about the vulnerability of the car to cyberattacks.

But plenty of people are convinced. Daymak’s launching 6 light electric vehicles simultaneously. The company launched six products simultaneously in 2022, securing over $1 billion in pre-order commitments.

This includes over 26,000 Spritus pre-orders.

The company is also working on a solution in response to the environmental impact of crypto mining.

Daymak also has a solution to the pain point of energy-draining crypto mining

It’s called CryptoSolarTree ; the world’s first commercial, emission-free cryptocurrency mining solution. And like Spritus’ crypto mining, it’s patent-pending. So we have no idea if it works at scale.

Each tree promises to be 5G-enabled, powered by solar and wind, and can generate up to 11 kW of renewable energy. It also serves alternative uses as an EV charging station, or backup electricity source for two days.

As well as running as an energy source, the company claims that the charge will also offer a water collection and purification system.

Crypto-savvy consumers will also have the option of installing their own pre-existing mining rig, GPU or ASIC. But it’s unclear who will have access to these chargers or the logistics — so far the company’s target homeowners and retail businesses.

Will big ideas meet the road or thrive?

So there you have it, a company that thinks big. Baiocchi also told me that the company aims to build a manufacturing plant in Toronto, which will generate thousands of jobs, and plans a $20 million SPAC this year.

If they pull all of these things off, Canada will be the world leader in car crypto mining.

But will wireless charging work? How much crypto does a car need to mine to make a profit? Will we see CryptoSolar Trees in the local car parks of Tim Hortons? When can I buy a crypto mining ebike?

I have a lot of questions but very few answers. But if Elon Musk can think big, why can’t a Canadian car company think bigger about blockchain ? I’m not confident, but I’m definitely interested. Grandiose ideas deserve at least that.