Vinfast But Go Slow

Last fall I test drove an all-electric Vinfast vehicle in Guelph. The vehicles are made in Vietnam using technologies from major auto manufacturers. I was very impressed with the quality of the SUV. While the range per charge was mid level industry wide and the interior quite functional rather than luxurious, the feel of a solid, well-put-together, long lasting body and components was stellar. Currently there are only a few dealerships in Quebec, Ontario and BC, and two models. The company is negotiating to build a plant in the US. Here there are 5 automobile, a truck, several delivery van models and a motor scooter line. An all electric lineup. 

The Suzuki scooter I had has seen better days. The mirrors had to be constantly reset while riding (not safe), the suspension was gone and it rattled horribly. Always felt iffy. I chanced upon a scooter rental spot that rents Vinfast scooters. I was able to get a one month rental for $115 which includes a home charging set up, a phone holder for navigation and a very good helmet. The irony of the roadrunner logo on the helmet is that top speed is just under 50 kph and acceleration is quite slow. So Vinslow? LOL




I took it out on the rice paddies where there is rarely traffic to get used to the bike's idiosyncrasies before navigating the chaotic city streets. It is strange having no engine noise. 



The locking system is quite different from the norm. When the black button is pushed a cover slides over so a key can't be inserted. To make the cover open the small gizmo on the key is inserted into the cover plate to the right of the key slot and turned. 







Doug and Linda, your knees would be up around your chins, but all in all it's a decent well built about town scooter with 120 km range when fully charged. It really bugs me that there is no recycling of any kind here. And people burn refuse anywhere - along the streets, in front of their businesses, I even saw a guy tossing refuse into a small open barrel inside his house. So this is my way of not adding to the gas powered pollution here. 

I contacted a fellow traveller from my 2024 Intrepid tour. Helen and I shared a taxi on the one hour ride to Hanoi airport. She's a Brit who worked in England, then Australia, now in England again. She's probably early sixties and has travelled extensively. She married her Sherpa guide from Mt Everest, but after several years in Australia, he said it was too flat and returned to Nepal. Helen was ok with that. She replied to my What's App message with this:

"Great to hear that you are on another adventure  in Vietnam. I'm in Malaysia now. My trip is Bali, Singapore, Malaysian Highlands and then back to Bali. Intrepid through the Highlands only as the rest I have been soloing... "

She works to travel. 

A stretch of beautiful 25ish sunny days. Has been a nice cooling breeze. I still managed to burn through two novels - a Reacher and a Harry Bosch/Lincoln Lawyer from Libby on my iPad. Two other books I'm working through dictate short bursts of reading, then rereads, then pauses for trying to digest and understand.

Black Holes takes you inside these monsters where not even light can escape and where time and space change places and the singularity may well lead to other universes.

The author of Conscious wonders how consciousness evolved, what was the first conscious specimen and how will AI affect our consciousness. She sifts through the latest neurological research, brain injured patients' abilities and posits that we may not in fact have free will. 



I don't understand a lot of the concepts in these books, but I do know that %$^*&^% Black Hole south of the border decided we Canadians no longer have free tariffs. 










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