EVs...

[slusher]

I can fill my van and get 430 miles with the air on.  What do you do stuck in back up traffic on the interstate for hours. I don’t want an EV.

[Jack L]

23 minutes ago, slusher said:

I can fill my van and get 430 miles with the air on.  What do you do stuck in back up traffic on the interstate for hours. I don’t want an EV.

I'm with you . My son is with the VFD , you would not believe the info they get on EV fires

[iamsuperdan]

1 hour ago, Jack L said:

Yes I get around 400 miles in my Colorado I can stop at a store and fill up but the Rivian runs out of charge is done for the day not like they will pay him to sit at a charger   It does not take long to go 200 miles out here  

True, but the Rivian isn't doing long hauls. They use those for local area deliveries. And with a Level 3 charger back at the depot, when the driver comes back for his lunch break, he plugs in for 45 minutes or so, and it'll be back to full charge. 

And in city driving, the EVs actually get better economy than on the highway. Regenerative braking extends the life of the charge significantly.

Again, it's not the solution for every situation, but for some situations, it does great.

[Jack L]

10 minutes ago, iamsuperdan said:

True, but the Rivian isn't doing long hauls. They use those for local area deliveries. And with a Level 3 charger back at the depot, when the driver comes back for his lunch break, he plugs in for 45 minutes or so, and it'll be back to full charge. 

And in city driving, the EVs actually get better economy than on the highway. Regenerative braking extends the life of the charge significantly.

Again, it's not the solution for every situation, but for some situations, it does great.

the driver said they only charge it after the shift he said its almost dead every day some times very close to dead 

[BlackSheep214]

On 8/25/2023 at 8:41 AM, TonyK said:

I don't know about current sales but I've noticed more and more EV's on the road, driving through my neighborhood, and driving through parking lots. And I don't get out all that much.

You're probably seeing the same local drivers in your area. Not a lot of EVs in my area but a handful drivers. There's always the same cars in a local grocery store lot charging stations every single week.

[BlackSheep214]

On 8/25/2023 at 1:13 PM, John M. said:

I've read reports that say it cost anywhere from $8000 to $10,000 to replace the batteries in the EVs and some hybrids such as the Toyota Prius. For half that much, sticking a rebuilt 350 Chevy small block and 350 Turbo tranny into any Bow Tie such as a mid to late 80s Caprice is a far better deal. I'll go with the latter.

And do you think replacing them is worth it? Not if it's exceeding the cost of these EVs. Better question, where and how are they disposing those EV batteries? I imagine the disposal fees are crazy stupid.

[paul alflen]

The power is out here in suburban Detroit, Mi again. This time they said it was 7 tornadoes from Friday am. How do you charge your EV then? Your go get gas with your gas car and then start your gas generator to charge up your Ev car? Simple answer!

[iamsuperdan]

1 hour ago, paul alflen said:

The power is out here in suburban Detroit, Mi again. This time they said it was 7 tornadoes from Friday am. How do you charge your EV then? Your go get gas with your gas car and then start your gas generator to charge up your Ev car? Simple answer!

It's really no different than an ICE car. How often do you leave your car on empty? Or under a 1/4 tank? Same thing with an EV. Keep it charged over 25% and you have at least 100km (62miles) to get out of a danger zone if need be. Idling in an EV uses almost no power, so traffic isn't a huge issue. And if it's stop and go traffic while fleeing your area, the regenerative braking will extend your range.

Just like your phone, plug it in each evening, and you're good to go when you need it.

Once you get used to it, it's really not much different than ICE.

[Rodent]

3 hours ago, paul alflen said:

Your go get gas with your gas car

If the power is out at the gas station, you won't be getting gas either.

[BlackSheep214]

2 hours ago, iamsuperdan said:

It's really no different than an ICE car. How often do you leave your car on empty? Or under a 1/4 tank? Same thing with an EV. Keep it charged over 25% and you have at least 100km (62miles) to get out of a danger zone if need be. Idling in an EV uses almost no power, so traffic isn't a huge issue. And if it's stop and go traffic while fleeing your area, the regenerative braking will extend your range.

Just like your phone, plug it in each evening, and you're good to go when you need it.

Once you get used to it, it's really not much different than ICE.

I gas up every weekend. I average with a half tank or slightly less by the end of each week. Most weekends, I pump an average of about $20 - $25 of gas on each vehicle every Sunday.

Yes, there is a difference. I'll betcha it cost more to charge compared to gas over gallon. 

I know you mentioned the EV craze has cooled down. Nobody has any confidence in owning one, let alone afford one. Folks are starting to open their eyes on the cost, maintaining and range issues of EVs.

Idling in my Hyundai Kona and Honda CR-V has a feature that also acts like you're not using any power as well - a huge bonus!

[iamsuperdan]

Having been driving EV since April, I can tell you that my monthly vehicle expenses are significantly lower now than when I had the F150 ICE.

Power bill has seen less than $10/month increase. And that's with plugging in to a Level 2 charger a couple of times a week.

My F150 was about $180 CDN to fill (136L tank) and that would last me 1-2 weeks depending on what I was doing on the weekends. Typically about 1100km to a tank.

Fuel costs in my vehicle went from around $500-600/month to about $10.

In winter, I fully expect to have less range per charge, so will be charging more often. But then, because of idling and warming up time, my ICE vehicles have less range per tank in the winter too. So even if my monthly charging costs quadruple in winter, I'm still way ahead.

Maintenance on an EV is much lower than on ICE equivalents. Obviously no oil changes, no fuel filters or fuel system servicing. Tires get rotated or changed just like an ICE vehicle. Brakes should last longer because when using the 1-pedal drive feature, you literally don't need to touch the brakes in normal driving. Stop and Go city driving...look ma! No brakes! The motor does the braking for you, so no wear and tear on the brakes. Plus it helps recharge the batteries. Brake fluid gets maintained just like it would on an ICE vehicle, but with longer service intervals likely. All of the normal vehicle service items are just like an ICE car.

 

A lot of people are still gun shy with EVs, and that's fair enough. It's still new tech for a lot of people, but as they become more commonplace, people will eventually see they aren't as scary as they think. ICE sales still vastly outnumber EV sales, but both are pretty steady. Will be interesting to see how it changes over the next year or so.

[Russell C]

10 hours ago, iamsuperdan said:

... How often do you leave your car on empty? Or under a 1/4 tank? ...

I run my daily driver VW hatchback into the gas gauge red zone under a quarter tank all the time, and have done so basically every time with only summer vacation exceptions since 1993. During my summer Colorado vacations, I could actually drive from Phoenix across the mostly empty Navajo Nation to arrive in Durango on fumes, but I refill in Holbrook a half a tank down to be on the safe side. No way an EV can touch that range and wouldn't want be caught dead in that open empty country.

[SfanGoch]

EV's are large scale versions of Mattel Sizzlers and run for about as long per charge.

[BlackSheep214]

23 hours ago, iamsuperdan said:

Having been driving EV since April, I can tell you that my monthly vehicle expenses are significantly lower now than when I had the F150 ICE.

Power bill has seen less than $10/month increase. And that's with plugging in to a Level 2 charger a couple of times a week.

My F150 was about $180 CDN to fill (136L tank) and that would last me 1-2 weeks depending on what I was doing on the weekends. Typically about 1100km to a tank.

Fuel costs in my vehicle went from around $500-600/month to about $10.

In winter, I fully expect to have less range per charge, so will be charging more often. But then, because of idling and warming up time, my ICE vehicles have less range per tank in the winter too. So even if my monthly charging costs quadruple in winter, I'm still way ahead.

Maintenance on an EV is much lower than on ICE equivalents. Obviously no oil changes, no fuel filters or fuel system servicing. Tires get rotated or changed just like an ICE vehicle. Brakes should last longer because when using the 1-pedal drive feature, you literally don't need to touch the brakes in normal driving. Stop and Go city driving...look ma! No brakes! The motor does the braking for you, so no wear and tear on the brakes. Plus it helps recharge the batteries. Brake fluid gets maintained just like it would on an ICE vehicle, but with longer service intervals likely. All of the normal vehicle service items are just like an ICE car.

 

A lot of people are still gun shy with EVs, and that's fair enough. It's still new tech for a lot of people, but as they become more commonplace, people will eventually see they aren't as scary as they think. ICE sales still vastly outnumber EV sales, but both are pretty steady. Will be interesting to see how it changes over the next year or so.

Fair arguments and POVs...

I agree folks are gun shy on committing to EV ownership for a number of reasons.

[peteski]

There are lots of EV here in the New  England region.  I'm actually surprised just how many there are.  Over a decade ago I used to play "count the Priuses" game on the highway, and there were plenty. Past few years I used to play "count the Teslas". Today there still are quite a few Teslas (which are easy to spot), but just as many as Teslas, there are lots of other fully electric cars from from many different IC car manufacturers, and those EVs look list like any other IC based cars, so they are hard to spot. But if you pay attention, there are plenty of EVs around.  At least around here.

[Bugatti Fan]

At the moment I would be looking for a hybrid rather than a fully electric car.

At the moment the infrastructure for recharging EV's in the UK is a complete and utter mess!

I am not sure whether our national grid will eventually cope with the demand being made on it without more nuclear power stations being commissioned. Despite the green lobby, the practicality is that wind turbines and solar panels at present just will not cope as our government in their infinite wisdom are chasing net zero atmospheric pollution. I do not disagree with what they are trying to achieve, far from it. It is the ridiculously short time scale they are trying to do it in. Unfortunately politicians are not engineers and scientists who take a more realistic view of the massive challenges involved.

Too many EV's being churned out and not enough chargers country wide. We have many small houses in the UK that front straight onto the pavement (sidewalk) so home chargers with a cable trailing across a pedestrian walk way would be just downright dangerous.

[BlackSheep214]

13 hours ago, peteski said:

There are lots of EV here in the New  England region.  I'm actually surprised just how many there are.  Over a decade ago I used to play "count the Priuses" game on the highway, and there were plenty. Past few years I used to play "count the Teslas". Today there still are quite a few Teslas (which are easy to spot), but just as many as Teslas, there are lots of other fully electric cars from from many different IC car manufacturers, and those EVs look list like any other IC based cars, so they are hard to spot. But if you pay attention, there are plenty of EVs around.  At least around here.

Oh I pay attention in my area. Some of the rich folks are too cheap to buy them or prefer an automobile to fit their lifestyle. I'm talking Audis, Mercedes, Lexus, Cadillac/Lincoln SUVs, Corvettes, etc...

[Vintage AMT]

I like the feel in the seat when I stomp on this.*

*

 Pretty sure I won't get that with an EV!! Too each his own I guess

[peteski]

3 hours ago, Vintage AMT said:

I like the feel in the seat when I stomp on this.*

*

 Pretty sure I won't get that with an EV!! Too each his own I guess

Question?  Have you ever driven an  EV?

 

I have, and I was amazed at the instant and silent acceleration. No throttle lag or turbo lag - it just goes instantly!  Not only I was pushed into the seat, I could feel the blood draining back from my face! Electric motor have maximum torque at zero RPMs,  And this was a plain Tesla Model 3 (low end Tesla). 

That ride in the Tesla was a birthday gift from my GF last October. She heard me mention few times that I would like to experience driving an electric car (like the brake-less driving, and fast acceleration) - well, I did experience all that.  She rented that Tesla for one day, and we both drove it.  I think it was the best birthday gift I ever got.

If you have the funds to do it, I highly recommend to rent one of the EVs for a day. It will change your view about those vehicles.  These are not little put-put toys. EVs are real cars with  lots of power.

[BlackSheep214]

There you go again drinking the Kool-Aid. Real cars don't run on electric...

 

[Rob Hall]

40 minutes ago, peteski said:

 

If you have the funds to do it, I highly recommend to rent one of the EVs for a day. It will change your view about those vehicles.  These are not little put-put toys. EVs are real cars with  lots of power.

I rode in a coworker's Tesla Model S a while back, it was quite quick in a straight line.  Smooth and very quiet.   I've ridden in a few Uber Model 3s, the interiors seemed very sparse and cheaply put together. a lot of road noise from the tires w/ the Model 3s I noticed. 

[iamsuperdan]

4 hours ago, Vintage AMT said:

 

 Pretty sure I won't get that with an EV!! Too each his own I guess

 

No torque band with an EV. It's full power, as soon as you step on it. The acceleration is awesome and instant.

It feels different than a big V8, but the gratification and speed is most certainly there.

Plus the Mach-E has a "race mode" that turns off almost all of the safety nets. You can get it sideways and smoky.

 

There's a reason a lot of companies are doing EV conversions in classics. And why some of the editors from the muscle car mags have created this.  https://www.evbuildersguide.com/home-new/

 

It's a different kind of fun and muscle.

[peteski]

5 hours ago, BlackSheep214 said:

Oh I pay attention in my area. Some of the rich folks are too cheap to buy them or prefer an automobile to fit their lifestyle. I'm talking Audis, Mercedes, Lexus, Cadillac/Lincoln SUVs, Corvettes, etc...

Some of the luxury makes you mentioned now have EVs too, and more will be coming in the future.

Edited August 30, 2023 by peteski

[iamsuperdan]

3 minutes ago, Rob Hall said:

I rode in a coworker's Tesla Model S a while back, it was quite quick in a straight line.  Smooth and very quiet.   I've ridden in a few Uber Model 3s, the interiors seemed very sparse and cheaply put together. a lot of road noise from the tires w/ the Model 3s I noticed. 

The Teslas are really nice to drive, but I wasn't overly impressed with the fit and finish. If you get a chance, check out the Ford Mach-E, especially in GT trim. Or the Hyundai Ionic 5. Both really nicely done, and really nice to drive.

[BlackSheep214]

Here's what else you don't realize until it hits you in the face and knock you on your arse.

No more NASCAR, Drag racing, Dirt track racing, Formula/Indy racing, Rally racing, even motorcycle racing in all forms. I can go on and on. No more modifications to build a fast high performance race car.

Has that even crossed your mind and scared you yet? You betcha if you're a die hard race fan. Imagine a race track pile up using EV race cars during a NASCAR or Indy car race. You're gonna find tragic lives lost due to fires from EV batteries.

A lot of race tracks be will shut down.