Open Discussion of all Things Electric Vehicle (aka EV) for Those Pro or Con, BE RESPECTFUL!

[Eric P]

I wish we could order ICE car directoy from the manufacturer. But no, greedy dealers and thier paid off politicians have us paying over MSRP. $20k extra for anything decent.

I like this about Tesla. Order online at the price they advertise. No dealer markups, no dealer haggling.

Screw franchise laws. Repeal them for the good of the consumer.

[Gman]

People complain about gas prices but for a product that has to get pulled out of the ground, go through multiple refinery processes and be delivered by a semi it is still a cheap product. People complain about gas prices because of the evil oil companies and their capitalistic ways but Starbucks coffee comes out to about $35 a gallon and nobody gripes about that.

Even at today?s prices I bet I spend less than $150 a month on average for gas for two vehicles.

Personally, I have horrible luck with anything rechargeable so the thought of having a mode of transportation with the spirit of a Makita drill kind of freaks me out.

Also, with specific regards to Tesla, would it have killed them to put some sort of a grille on the front of their cars? I get it isn?t needed from a functional standpoint but at least it would give it a little style.

How much of the price of fuel is taxes? Quite a bit. They'll be coming for the EVs "not paying their fair share" soon enough.

I 'hear you' about the front of the new Teslas. The Model 3 just looks like it wasn't finished.

[MrPrena]

$150 mo at $ 3/gal
50gal / mo 2 car
25gal / mo per car

25gal /4 weeks

6.25 gal / per week per car seems very low.
My wife rarely go out and she put 10-11 gal per week.

[ray1970]

How much of the price of fuel is taxes? Quite a bit. They'll be coming for the EVs "not paying their fair share" soon enough.

For sure. The government will find a way to get its cut on all of this electric vehicle stuff.

[00tec]

For sure. The government will find a way to get its cut on all of this electric vehicle stuff.

Co is already looking at a tax per mile model, so those of us that drive out of state often will get bent over twice unless we allow them to use a GPS tracker

[Jer]

My stepson got a Chevy Volt last year and loves it. His is a PHEV which I think has more adaptability than a full EV since it can run on the ICE engine as well as the electric. He says it generally stays in electric mode until he's got 25 miles or so then the engine kicks in. For 90% of around-town commuting the ICE engine never kicks in.

I do think ICE vehicles will eventually wither away although I don't think it will be as soon as many EV proponents would like.

The one thing I don't hear about is how and when we are going to upgrade the electrical generating capacity of the country at a time when we are shutting down coal and gas fired power plants. How much juice does it take to recharge an EV each night? Maybe the same as a small air conditioner, running anywhere between 10 - 14 hours at a time?

When only one car on the block is an EV that's a piece of cake for the existing generating capacity. But when it gets to 1 in 4 or 1 in 3 there's going to have to be an upgrade. And given that the power will be needed at night when people are sleeping, we're not going to get it with solar.

Then of course, there's the problem that not everybody lives in the suburbs. Millions of people live in apartments or condos where they have to park on the street. Think about any big Eastern city, NY, Boston, Philadelphia. Lots of people live in apartments or houses that have no parking structure or driveway and still own cars. Where do those people charge their EVs?

I foresee a cottage industry of building charging station/parking lots. Imagine a large parking lot like you'd see anywhere else, but every single space has a charging station in front of it. Given that your car will have an electronic "identity" there's likely not even any need to swipe a credit card. As soon as you plug in, the charging station will "know" who's account to charge and it can bill you for the hours of parking, too.

There are some interesting privacy aspects to that, too although the prevalence of smart phones might make that a moot issue.

A small percentage of people are talking about strain on the grid but this has been long since debunked as a concern. The data just doesn't support this being any kind of a real threat.

[Jer]

Also not [much of] an issue in the USA.

But EVs don't do well with range at high speeds.

The strangest feeling I had was riding in a P100 on an Autobahn. It accelerated very well and got going. Then at 130mph. Boom. The thing hit a brick wall and would go faster. Having to be scared of a VW Polo passing you while you have to hang out in the right lane is not a fun feeling (j/k...a Polo isn't that fast.... only the Polo GTI will hit a 142mph).

The batteries deplete fast when running them at high speeds. To be fair, driving a gasoline car at 155for any distance uses a lot of [expensive] gasoline. Its just quick to refill and get going again.

I assume you mean a P100D in which case they top out at 155mph. Having been that speed & well beyond multiple times in my life I can tell you that I have zero desire to come even close to that anymore so I really couldn't care any less than I do about a vehicle's terminal velocity as long as it's in the triple digits. 155mph more than meets that criteria for me.

[Jer]

The first pro i saw..

A Tesla roadster at bandimere laying waste to all manner of corvettes, mustangs, Camaros, etc.

When a 12.X pops at bandimere for real street car, that is quick.

Roadsters are ancient news. Hell, even my 2017 Model S is an old clapped out turd compared to what they make now. It'll do a respectable 0-60 blast in an eye-watering 2.28 seconds which earned it the fastest 0-60 Motor Trend Magazine had ever tested. Up until the Model S plaid came out last year. The quarter miles happens in 10's and all of those numbers are achievable in just about any condition by just about any driver. Perfectly happy coasting around town in silence too.

[Jer]

When you can buy a ?Beater? or ?Hooptie? EV at gasoline ?Beater? prices and that will last you 3 - 5 years and can make it a work week at 60 + miles a day and a few side trips without charging and cheap on maintenance, I will consider buying one. Until then, gasoline it is.

60+ miles per day on a work week? Why not just plug it in at night & have a full charge each day?

[Gman]

The biggest problem I see with new vehicles, and that includes EVs, is technology.

I ran into this with my 12-year old Hyundai. Mechanically, the car is excellent. The Infotainment/telematics in the system, however, is powered by 2G cellular technology. Navigation, Remote Assistance, Remote Locking/Unlocking, and Remote Start will be non-functional soon. If my vehicle received OTA updates, I'd be really screwed.

ICE vehicles can be viable for many decades. Unfortunately, the more technology that gets wrapped into the vehicles (all vehicles), they will not be viable for decades. The jury is out for how well these electro-techno wonders will endure over time. At some point, some will be left behind and will no longer be viable, as is technology in the rest of our lives.