Mullin's recent activity
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Comment on Nobody understands the point of hybrid cars in ~transport
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Comment on Hyundai Ioniq 5N or: welcome back Forester XT in ~transport
Mullin Link Parentthe 5N has torque distribution, which because the two motors aren't connected, really just lowers the power on one or the other, so it'll let you go 100% front or rear, but you'll have less power...the 5N has torque distribution, which because the two motors aren't connected, really just lowers the power on one or the other, so it'll let you go 100% front or rear, but you'll have less power as a result. I'm almost positive that "Eco" mode also disconnects the front motor.
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Comment on Hyundai Ioniq 5N or: welcome back Forester XT in ~transport
Mullin Link ParentSorry, I more meant that with the low inventory, there wasn't an Orange near me that wasn't marked up or more than I was willing to spend, it's not that the color itself cost more, these cars are...Sorry, I more meant that with the low inventory, there wasn't an Orange near me that wasn't marked up or more than I was willing to spend, it's not that the color itself cost more, these cars are very much, dealers have one or zero, or at most two available, it's not like normal cars where you can pick your color at any given dealership. When we got my wife's car, we had to go out of town to find a dealer that wasn't overcharging, and for this car as well, I had to drive over 200miles for it, I rented a car, drove, bought the car, dropped off the rental, and drove it back lol.
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Comment on Hyundai Ioniq 5N or: welcome back Forester XT in ~transport
Mullin Link ParentOof yeah sorry, I'm coming from a US perspective, that still seems like under MSRP if I convert it to USD though, not sure what the starting MSRP was in NZ, but hey, at least you get the HUD and...Oof yeah sorry, I'm coming from a US perspective, that still seems like under MSRP if I convert it to USD though, not sure what the starting MSRP was in NZ, but hey, at least you get the HUD and sunshades in your market if that's a consolation!
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Comment on Hyundai Ioniq 5N or: welcome back Forester XT in ~transport
Mullin Link ParentI ended up with white, and it's grown on me, but I'd really have preferred the orange, just couldn't find one for the right price. I also think the matte grey looks really good, too. I love all...I ended up with white, and it's grown on me, but I'd really have preferred the orange, just couldn't find one for the right price. I also think the matte grey looks really good, too. I love all the settings, I'm someone who likes fiddly things in general, so being able to adjust the engine, battery, stability control, traction control, N pedal, launch control, track and drag modes, sprint modes..... there's a lot, but none of them feel gimmicky, or well, the ones that feel gimmicky like e-shift are implemented incredibly well so it doesn't feel like no care or thoughts went into them. It's a car you can just drive a different way if you feel like it. Not to mention that you can just punch it normally, or press the NGB for full power, or any other number of things. I haven't tried the drift mode or torque distribution much but it's got that too, plus a LSD in the rear. It is a serious driver's and track focused car, in an insanely affordable package and with insane power.
I get that at MSRP, people were hesitant to pay 68k for a Ioniq 5, it still has a lot of interior trim from a vehicle 30k cheaper, but the numbers don't lie and it's still a value if you want this type of car. An RS3 would run you similar price and you'd be in a slower vehicle that's gas only. And personally I get concerned having owned a high strung turbo about the longevity of high strung turbo engines. I have zero qualms driving the 5N hard since I know the car can do it all day, I'm not worried about the clutches or transmission or gunning it with a cold engine and causing unnecessary wear etc etc etc.
I will say, I don't think people really recognize this car, or appreciate it the way they would any flavor of 911, if you go to a cars and coffee, don't expect to get waved into the fancy section, they will put the 50th base Carrera in front of you, but for me as someone who built a sleeper, I don't mind too much. And it's kind of cool to own the fastest car that Hyundai has ever produced (we'll see if the 6N is appreciably quicker but they are the same platform, same power etc, so doesn't bother me any, and I like the 5 aesthetic WAY more). And it's funny that there are likely more of the mass market Ferraris like the 296 then there are 5Ns, it's truly that rare, I haven't seen another one on the road period, whereas I see lambos and even McLarens just driving around here.
There are low mileage, certified pre-owned 5Ns scattered about with full+extra manufacturer warranty in the high 40s, fully 20k off MSRP, if you find one, I wouldn't hesitate to snap it up.
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Comment on Hyundai Ioniq 5N or: welcome back Forester XT in ~transport
Mullin Link ParentYeah the ICCU issue is a pita, they also for whatever reason tend to eat the 12v batteries, but the time it happened in my wife's 5 they fixed it same day.Yeah the ICCU issue is a pita, they also for whatever reason tend to eat the 12v batteries, but the time it happened in my wife's 5 they fixed it same day.
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Comment on Hyundai Ioniq 5N or: welcome back Forester XT in ~transport
Mullin Link ParentThey were saying they have the AWD non-GT spec. Yeah the EV6 GT is reasonably close to the 5N in straight line acceleration, afaik the 5N handles considerably better though, and personally I...They were saying they have the AWD non-GT spec. Yeah the EV6 GT is reasonably close to the 5N in straight line acceleration, afaik the 5N handles considerably better though, and personally I didn't like either of the EV6 exterior or interior styling. Still the same platform though so I'm sure they are solid vehicles
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Comment on Hyundai Ioniq 5N or: welcome back Forester XT in ~transport
Mullin Link ParentThe 5N at least will let you fully turn off traction control as well as stability control if you want to, so it's perfectly content to let you spin out, it's nice that the car has a lot of "tech"...The 5N at least will let you fully turn off traction control as well as stability control if you want to, so it's perfectly content to let you spin out, it's nice that the car has a lot of "tech" features like the E-shift combined with enthusiast "turn all the nanny's off". Best of both worlds
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Comment on Hyundai Ioniq 5N or: welcome back Forester XT in ~transport
Mullin Link ParentIt's crazy how Kia/Hyundai have really turned things around isn't it? And yeah, I wish there were more wagons out there, they are just very practical. Growing up I mostly drove sedans, but...It's crazy how Kia/Hyundai have really turned things around isn't it? And yeah, I wish there were more wagons out there, they are just very practical. Growing up I mostly drove sedans, but hatchbacks are just much more practical and you get more interior room for your passengers, many a sedan, even as they've grown now, doesn't have as much headroom in the rear, especially if it's fastback style. The back seats in the Taycan are notoriously bad iirc, and the cross turismo(the body style I'd like) only makes it marginally better. And that's before you get to the price tag :x
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Comment on Hyundai Ioniq 5N or: welcome back Forester XT in ~transport
Mullin Link ParentYeah, it's definitely one of those things where, they seriously put an investment in making the car track capable, up to and including thermal management, that, plus the wheels, really harms the...Yeah, it's definitely one of those things where, they seriously put an investment in making the car track capable, up to and including thermal management, that, plus the wheels, really harms the range. Our other Ioniq 5 is RWD only, and regularly shows over 300miles of range at full charger. I really don't drive that far, my longest drives are usually 50 miles across town and back, so it's not a huge issue, and I do NOT wish the car to be even heavier, which it would be with a larger battery. I won't touch a Tesla, so their performance models were not a consideration, but the Porsche EVs and the Audis and frankly, even Volvo are making some really capable vehicles that aren't just a straight line dragster
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Hyundai Ioniq 5N or: welcome back Forester XT
There are plenty of video reviews of this car out there from people who do it for a living, but I'm not a car influencer or anything like that, I'm just an enthusiast who bought this car with my...
There are plenty of video reviews of this car out there from people who do it for a living, but I'm not a car influencer or anything like that, I'm just an enthusiast who bought this car with my own money and wanted to give some real impressions for other enthusiasts out there.
Long ago Subaru made a Forester XT that was more or less a de-tuned STI engine in a compact SUV and it was AWESOME. I had an 04 XT that was turbo-swapped, with race exhaust, it was a very quick car and other than getting terrible gas mileage, burning oil, and eventually imploding the transfer shaft in the transmission, it was pretty great. In the ensuing years Subaru pulled out of WRC, killed the STI, and stopped putting turbos on everything (shame). While the hot hatch market has kept up to an extent, the crossover/smaller SUV performance market more or less died entirely.
Fast forward to 2023, I purchase a new Ioniq 5 to replace our BMW 3 series before our kiddo is born, since it's easier to get the car seat in and out etc with a higher vehicle(if it'd have even fit in the 3 series at all). And it's.....great, they are awesome cars, and changing to an EV was not a big deal at all, we mostly charge at home, but the overall build quality of the Ioniq 5 is really quite good, and it's a well put together car, there's a reason it's won many awards since release, outside of the ICCU roulette(which nobody seems to know whether you will or won't be affected, we haven't, knock on wood).
As things go, at some point I start wanting another enthusiast vehicle, my friends and family have stayed car people the whole time, and there's only so much envy you can have when you see Corvettes, 911s, etc, fast is fun. Well Hyundai releases the Ioniq 5N, the legally distinct M5 Estate, the Great Value Urus. And I happen to find one for a good price, and with another kid on the way, I really still can't have a 2 door sports car, it needs to fit a car seat(or two) and well, if having one of a car is good, having two of a car must be....gooder?
I don't need to tell you about all the weird quirks etc about the 5N, every single youtube video goes over this, it's pointless to rehash. What you need to know: holy fuck this car is fast, if you have been in fast cars, or hot hatches, or supercharged trucks, or tuned builds, I assure you it is likely faster. Over 600hp with minimal losses and a single gear transmission, AWD, and large summer tires will do that. The only car faster I've regularly driven is a 992.1 Turbo S, which is a stupid fast car that it's wild they sell to the general public, but those cost $250k, this costs $68k (or the aforementioned ICCU issues, there is quite a few lemons for far less, and those have pushed the clean titled, low mileage used down as well) so you can very easily pick up a 600hp, practical hatchback, for around 50k or less if you want a buyback. That is an absolutely, tremendously insane value. And yes, we all know EVs are fast, but the suspension setup, the grippy tires, and the additional chassis work they did makes it suspiciously capable to cornering, it corners better than many sports cars stock, which should not happen in a 4800lb SUV, wtf.
So then: is the 5N worth it over the normal 5? If you do not want an enthusiast vehicle, no it's not. Especially in the US market, the 5N loses amenities that it gets in other markets, or that are on the Limited trim of the base version: no HUD (Boo), no heated rear seats or sunshades (Boo) and no sunroof option(idc). The Limited trim seats are also much more comfortable for long drives, and you have the relax/recline function for charging stations. The 5N bucket seats are perfectly comfortable, they are actually great for the car, but I had to drive the car back 250miles and it was fine, but it would have been better in the default seats. Other downsides: the range is TRASH, expect 200miles at full charge max, 10% of battery buys you 20miles, the car is on fatter, larger wheels, with lots of additional cooling for performance, and you WILL want to drive it like a lunatic because the car BEGS you to. I wouldn't recommend this car as a first performance vehicle for someone, it's just too fast. Nobody should go from a normal car to a car that runs an 11.1 quarter mile bone stock.
On all the N options: I basically never use the e-shift, I don't care, I like not having gears, it's what you'd want in any car if you could get away with it. Shifting is vestigial, and while I can understand coming from manuals, people like the sensation, it's kind of fun, but I like going fast, and I want the cars full power as much as possible, but it's there if you want it. I really like the N-Pedal, I absolutely adore one pedal driving, and while I usually use the max default regen, the N-Pedal cranks that even more, and a quirk is that, because it's intended for track use, N-Pedal won't bring you to a complete stop the way that max regen in default will, I wish they'd change that honestly. Dynamics wise, this car has a rear power bias, and if you make a turn and punch the gas you WILL kick the ass out, especially in N mode(which is basically how I have the car every time I drive it, with everything in Sport+ except ESC in sport not off, and suspension in normal (sport+ suspension is harsh)) so it is far livelier than any other EV with big HP and accel numbers out there. And while again, it is not light at 4800lbs, considering the new M5 weighs nearly 6000, there's no shortage of large and heavy performance vehicles these days.
So yeah, I've had the car for several months now, and really enjoy it, and wanted to share my own opinions with you all, for the price to performance ratio of this car is truly, truly stupid, and you're not sacrificing practicality for it. One of the first things I did was throw a car seat in the back, and it's got enough boot space to put my kid's huge wagon+anything else. You really can't buy anything at all comparable for less than double or triple the price. Downside is that there simply isn't that many 5Ns that were allocated to dealers, and at the beginning they were charging over MSRP for them because they could. AND there's no telling that the ICCU may or may not fail, and it'll brick your car if it's not fixed, so that's a downside, that said, going back to the title of this whole post, my Suburu XT also exploded it's transmission and couldn't drive anywhere afterwards either, at least the ICCU is under warranty for a while, and I went through I think 3-4 high pressure fuel pumps on my first gen 335i, too.
We don't have a ~cars area, so hopefully hobbies is the right place, cheers.
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Comment on What's a battle that nobody knows you're fighting? in ~talk
Mullin LinkI'm constantly in a battle with myself over feelings of insecurity, imposter syndrome, and general dissociation with reality. I think it's something I've always dealt with, to a certain extent,...I'm constantly in a battle with myself over feelings of insecurity, imposter syndrome, and general dissociation with reality. I think it's something I've always dealt with, to a certain extent, but definitely the tendency to dissociate got worse in my late 20s/30s. I've always had a tendency to set myself up for failure to a certain extent, knowing that without lofty goals I will feel too comfortable to be ambitious. But that comes along with actually failing to do things over and over, and having a laundry list of things I wished I achieved that grows ever longer with each passing year. That and the weight of responsibility, finances, family, friends.......it's to the point where I've had to stop myself from buying cigarettes a few times recently, when I haven't smoked at all since I was 18(36 now).
That isn't to say I'm not happy or not generally in a good mental place, it's just that work stress has been higher since I changed departments, and I don't really jive with my new team, but there's nothing to be done about it except suffer, since I care about my finances too much.
There's also just......the only term I can come up with is loneliness, but not in a romantic sense like most people think of. I'm very happily married, with one kiddo and another on the way. It's more that at my age....conceptually, I thought that how I grew up, how my parents had their siblings with kids, all their friends with kids, and low stress, easy financial environment at the peak of prosperity before 01/08(and everything afterwards) that I thought "I'll have this". And then I just.....don't, really, and that makes me lonely. Fortunately at least one of my friends has a kid now, but my closest friends are all childless, and it just makes me really sad. I feel like over time they we'll diverge, with me not having as much opportunity to play games, hang out, etc etc.
So yeah, that's me...constantly trying to swallow all the......for lack of a better term.....microtraumas? All the job woes, all the financial instability, all the rejections, all the failures....that I've encountered through my entire life that my brain won't let me forget, to where even now when I should feel accomplished and fine I'm just......not. Maybe this comes across as more negative than I intended, I'm a pretty positive person all things considered, I guess that's what I'm fighting to keep hold of.
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Comment on Getting permission from your significant other in ~life
Mullin LinkIt sounds like the relationships are pretty equal honestly. Doing something fun that takes time away from family/parenting is a privilege, and it just makes sense to clear this with your spouse...It sounds like the relationships are pretty equal honestly. Doing something fun that takes time away from family/parenting is a privilege, and it just makes sense to clear this with your spouse first before agreeing, and being excited that you can take some time away from the house is also just....fine? I've never used my family as an excuse not to do something I simply didn't want to do, maybe some people do that. What I would say is that compared to prior generations, Millennials spend more energy on childrearing, and have generally more equitable relationships in regards to who spends time with the children. It'd be insane if I didn't try to work with my wife on childcare plans, just this past weekend I was playing Twilight Imperium with friends so we made sure our daughter was with her grandmother for that time period, so it's not just me having a fun day and my wife being saddled with a toddler with no escape or recourse if she was with her by herself, that's not a good way to manage a relationship and I'd rather my wife be happy even if it means I might miss out on other obligations. Even now, we might have to recuse ourselves from playing a legacy game with the group we started with since the last time we committed the 30hrs over a few weeks we didn't have kids, and we might start playing right when she gives birth to our second. It's an unfortunate reality that I may not get to spend as much time with my friends that don't have kids, that they can game as much as they want and I'll have to miss out from logistics of being a parent....but that's my choice and I'd rather be a good father/husband and I can always pick the gaming back up when they're older. Just my two cents
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Mullin LinkBeyond Citadel Whew, this is a game that is...... unapologetically horny, and unapologetically gory. But otherwise it is a fantastic doom style 2.5D shooter with interesting and crunchy weapon...Beyond Citadel
Whew, this is a game that is...... unapologetically horny, and unapologetically gory. But otherwise it is a fantastic doom style 2.5D shooter with interesting and crunchy weapon mechanics. I just finished the game for the first time, and it's definitely worth the play if you like this style of game and/or are okay with the risque content. I would say that it just starts to overstay it's welcome by the time you finish it, and the boss fights are a bit too straightforward. But from a solo dev, with a reasonably interesting story, and very detailed sprite work, and fantastic vibes with old-school level design and music. It's not necessarily a 10/10, but it's a 8/10 that's interesting and worth the play. But it's also a game made by and for perverts, either gun ones or anime ones or guro ones. And the creator has some peculiar tastes. I have not played The Citadel, the game that preceded it, and didn't feel like I was missing anything
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Comment on Experiences with united healthcare in ~health
Mullin Link ParentGenerally, I think size of company matters more than union, though certainly a union can help. A bigger risk pool typically gets you a better plan. Also education/universities tend to offer very...Generally, I think size of company matters more than union, though certainly a union can help. A bigger risk pool typically gets you a better plan. Also education/universities tend to offer very good plans, as I guess an employee retention tool, or it's easier to get nicer health insurance approved than raises, something like that, but that's my experience/knowledge on it.
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Comment on Experiences with united healthcare in ~health
Mullin LinkThe truth of the matter is: it varies. A lot. Insurance companies are far from the monoliths people think of them as. The coverage and experience you get is going to depend entirely on the...The truth of the matter is: it varies. A lot. Insurance companies are far from the monoliths people think of them as. The coverage and experience you get is going to depend entirely on the contract you're under(which is largely dictated by your employer.)
UHC, like any other health insurance, can be good, or it can be awful. They're the largest health insurer so there's a broad range of variance. You can be on UHC commercial, which is what you'd end up on, or Medicare or Medicaid, and the coverage and network will be different. Sometimes the coverage can be different within those lines of business depending on which part of it you're in. It's very complex and confusing.
I've had UHC insurance for 10 years without any major gripes, but I also work in healthcare/health insurance, so my ability to navigate the systems I would say is considerably higher than median, and that could be impacting the experience.
A lot of other commenters issues with finding in network physicians is almost certainly an issue on the provider not properly running the insurance, or the customer service not understanding the coverage network. A doctor can be in network for NY Medicaid CAID but not NY Medicaid essential plan(the Medicaid expansion part). I encourage people to use the insurance website to find a doctor, then call, then explicitly ask if the MD office says they aren't in network, for them to check their internal systems (since everything communicates). The idea of a random MD office not accepting every commercial insurance is laughable, as even the worst UHC commercial is paying more than Medicare rates
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Comment on The Buff Scammer, isolation, and the male loneliness epidemic in ~life.men
Mullin Link ParentIt's absolutely this part, if, in relation to someone telling you that they don't like guilt by association, you use the statistics to justify that rhetoric, that's what I have a problem with. I...In the context it was brought up here, it was an explanation for why women in particular, who suffer proportionally excessive sexual crime, are taught to keep an eye on and be wary of men specifically as a defensive mechanism to protect themselves. Would you rather we not educate women on how to keep themselves safe in order to prevent men from being hurt by the reminder that the group they are part of commits more sexual crimes?
It's absolutely this part, if, in relation to someone telling you that they don't like guilt by association, you use the statistics to justify that rhetoric, that's what I have a problem with. I feel like you're being overly defensive when I fully believe you understand where I'm coming from in relation to your original comment or are being willfully obtuse. If the version of educating women involves communicating to them the "risk" inherent in the statistics, whether you believe that that is harm reducing, or you want to take a consequentialist approach, that's all well and good, but I believe it's discriminatory. It definitionally is, you are saying verbatim that women should be wary of men because of the statistics of sexual assault, I'm only extending your point, that you could sit there and go each additional layer of attributes, from gender, to ethnicity, to socioeconomic status, and all the while you're vilifying an entire group, I believe that's wrong. It reinforces dehumanizing rhetoric. I don't feel like you're acting in good faith when instead of addressing what I'm saying you reactively "I don't know what you're talking about". But in the interest of both our sakes I'm fine to drop it.
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Comment on The Buff Scammer, isolation, and the male loneliness epidemic in ~life.men
Mullin Link ParentIf you're going to use crime and perpetrator statistics, specifically around sexual assault as some kind of justification for bigotry(and definitionally, treating all men as potential threats...If you're going to use crime and perpetrator statistics, specifically around sexual assault as some kind of justification for bigotry(and definitionally, treating all men as potential threats based on those statistics is in fact bigoted) is literally no different than taking it one step further and saying since black men are overrepresented as perpetrators of sexual assault, that women should be more wary of them. Or that white or Asian women should be less wary because they are less likely to be victims of sexual assault comparatively compared to black women. Whether or not this is the fault of systemic racism or not has no basis in your so called generalization in pursuit of "harm reduction" and pointing to statistics, whether that be crime, or socioeconomic status, or intelligence, or any other attribute true or not that is ascribed whole cloth to a demographic based solely on them being a member of that demographic through no choice of their own is morally wrong. I feel like you're trying to handwave your own logic because you, like me, find the idea of telling people to be careful around specific ethnic groups to be racist, which it is.
If you want to talk about it from the perspective of systemic racism why don't you also mention systemic sexism? How men are incarcerated and prosecuted at a significantly higher rate than women, so it's definitionally skewed those 93% statistics, or how women perpetrated childhood sex abuse is notoriously played down, or how women receive lighter sentences for the same crimes, all of this because of cultural biases that men are more violent, or less worthy of empathy, or whatever have you. It cuts both ways, and I dislike it in all forms. Statistics is observation, with all the inherent bias that comes along with that. When the vast majority of men are not predators, it's ridiculous to paint them all and make all of them suffer based on these preconceived notions and general persecution of their personhood and their sexuality. The exact same ridiculousness that makes people view women only based on their beauty, or youth, or how ""feminine"" they are, it's bullshit there too! The solution is not more stereotyping!
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Comment on The Buff Scammer, isolation, and the male loneliness epidemic in ~life.men
Mullin Link ParentIt's still wrong to generalize groups of people based on statistics. Whether those statistics bear anything out. Should we be teaching women to be more careful around certain ethnic backgrounds of...It's still wrong to generalize groups of people based on statistics. Whether those statistics bear anything out. Should we be teaching women to be more careful around certain ethnic backgrounds of men? Would that be ok with you? I don't think I would be ok doing that. There's harm reduction and there is straight up discrimination, or racism. Those aren't defensible because of ""statistics "" that's a right wing talking point
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Comment on Can AI rescue us from the mess of prior auth? in ~health
Mullin Link ParentI think it's about incremental steps. It's obviously always going to be a fight as long as private healthcare exists, it may even be a fight when/if we ever got single payer, but I don't think...I think it's about incremental steps. It's obviously always going to be a fight as long as private healthcare exists, it may even be a fight when/if we ever got single payer, but I don't think it's wrong to try to incentivize better payment arrangements that put patients wellness or outcomes first, even if they can be games. It's really about what ends up with the best outcomes, and frankly the situations being so bad (like your example) is because healthcare in the US is just insanely expensive, frankly it's astounding how cheap some services end up being, even if they'd make someone in another country blush. We ended up paying maybe 2k total for my daughter's birth, which was a full on surgery and had 4 days inpatient.... it's crazy that just the salaries of everyone in the operating suite for that time period easily exceeded our out of pocket costs, not including the post-op stay or the medications/equipment. Healthcare is in the US......somewhat a load bearing labor sector, and we pay for that. Our MDs, Nurses, technicians all make above median income in the US, and would be considered some of the highest earners around in EU. I don't really know where I was going with this. But I think that working within the confines of our existing bad system is still the right path forward. The median American would rather pay more money out of their paycheck than ever vote for single payer :/
For reference and to disclose CoI, I work in health insurance and have worked in healthcare for over 15 years, including hospitals and doctors offices and I've been on every single side of prior authorization, and every line of business including capitated Medicare advantage affordable care organizations (including ones UHC bought) as well as commercial and currently Medicaid. People are trying to make things better at every level, but it's working against a tide :/
It doesn't eliminate the starter motor, I'm not sure exactly what you mean, but the starter motor is the non-traction motor component of the E-CVT
I've got a Ford C-Max and it's got an identical E-CVT hybrid setup as the Toyotas