Who has or is planning to get an electric car / EV Talk

[circatee]

Curious, those that have purchased an Electric car, what was your main goal for buying it, petrol prices or helping the environment?

I have often wondered if those that own Electric cars, also do things like recycle, or simply avoid purchasing anything with plastic, etcetera, to help the environment.

At some stage am going to purchase a Mach-E GT. Already have the pricing to install the power outlet in the garage, and Cobb Energy Electric have a deal for charging between 21:00 - 06:00. Just need to purchase the car. But, my reason is merely because I like the look of it, and it is a Mustang. The environmental part is secondary. Hence, my question...

 

[diamond.g]

Curious, those that have purchased an Electric car, what was your main goal for buying it, petrol prices or helping the environment?

I have often wondered if those that own Electric cars, also do things like recycle, or simply avoid purchasing anything with plastic, etcetera, to help the environment.

At some stage am going to purchase a Mach-E GT. Already have the pricing to install the power outlet in the garage, and Cobb Energy Electric have a deal for charging between 21:00 - 06:00. Just need to purchase the car. But, my reason is merely because I like the look of it, and it is a Mustang. The environmental part is secondary. Hence, my question...

Torque. All of the Torque.

 

[Bandaman]

I think a better solution than electric cars is for more business to adopt working from home etc, shops delivering food etc.
Think about it. Ten years ago you had no option but to drive to the office 5 days a week. Drive to the supermarket 1-2 a week.
These days many don’t have to. If that trend continues that would be a much better solution than any commute.
Now I realise not every job can be done from home. But if they are the only ones left on the road, supporting a charging network becomes much easier. Less demand.
Right now there aren’t enough charging points for those that have to long haul.
Currently they are trying to turn 180 acres of farmland where I live into a solar farm because the government needs more electricity. But then we just ship more food in from abroad (in diesel ships).

There is no perfect green solution. I think it will take a mixture in how we live and how we think.

There is also nothing green about electric cars, not in the manufacturing of the cars, not in the manufacturing of the batteries, and certainly not in the charging stations that charge the car, or the process to make all the parts that went into the car and the parts that probably had to be flown in overseas with jet fuel. Those solar panels are also not green to build … at all. Going green is largely nonsense until the entire process from beginning to end is also green. But that might not even be possible for an extremely long time. Electric cars are cool, but their range is an issue and the time it takes to charge them. None are very road trip friendly.

Short version: blah blah blah electric cars aren’t saving the environment. Buy what you want because you want it.

 

[robd003]

Curious, those that have purchased an Electric car, what was your main goal for buying it, petrol prices or helping the environment?

I have often wondered if those that own Electric cars, also do things like recycle, or simply avoid purchasing anything with plastic, etcetera, to help the environment.

At some stage am going to purchase a Mach-E GT. Already have the pricing to install the power outlet in the garage, and Cobb Energy Electric have a deal for charging between 21:00 - 06:00. Just need to purchase the car. But, my reason is merely because I like the look of it, and it is a Mustang. The environmental part is secondary. Hence, my question...

I didn't want to support Arab states with gas purchases. Outside of that I could care less about environmentalism.

(I do wish that the USA would put in more nuclear power plants since they're a solution that actually works)

Other factors are that the acceleration is phenomenal and Tesla's Auto Pilot works really well. To be honest the interior of a Tesla Model S is worse than my Mercedes E-Class, but it looks like they've gotten a lot better with the 2020 refreshed interior. (Except for that idiotic yoke steering wheel, I hope they get rid of that by the time I need a new car)

 

[quagmire]

Curious, those that have purchased an Electric car, what was your main goal for buying it, petrol prices or helping the environment?

I have often wondered if those that own Electric cars, also do things like recycle, or simply avoid purchasing anything with plastic, etcetera, to help the environment.

At some stage am going to purchase a Mach-E GT. Already have the pricing to install the power outlet in the garage, and Cobb Energy Electric have a deal for charging between 21:00 - 06:00. Just need to purchase the car. But, my reason is merely because I like the look of it, and it is a Mustang. The environmental part is secondary. Hence, my question...

Mostly because I enjoyed the experience the EV provided. Gas prices, etc played little factor.

I test drove a Tesla for the first time in late March and I loved the experience. I at the time had a 2017 Camaro SS. I knew I would have to get a second vehicle sometime down the road due to the Camaro being somewhat impractical. After driving the Tesla which had similar performance plus the insane used car market, my mindset started to change. Instead of owning two vehicles, I decided to consolidate into one. Sold the Camaro to carmax for $37K and ordered the Model 3 LR. Lost a bit of handling, but the 3 is just as fast as the Camaro. So gained practicality and maintained performance.

An EV is perfect for my uses and prospective future uses I could imagine. The fact gas prices for premium shot up to $4.30 a gallon in my area and only cost $37 to go 1100 miles in the Tesla are just added benefits.

I do miss my Camaro though. That V8..... But don't regret the decision.

 

[circatee]

Mostly because I enjoyed the experience the EV provided. Gas prices, etc played little factor.

I test drove a Tesla for the first time in late March and I loved the experience. I at the time had a 2017 Camaro SS. I knew I would have to get a second vehicle sometime down the road due to the Camaro being somewhat impractical. After driving the Tesla which had similar performance plus the insane used car market, my mindset started to change. Instead of owning two vehicles, I decided to consolidate into one. Sold the Camaro to carmax for $37K and ordered the Model 3 LR. Lost a bit of handling, but the 3 is just as fast as the Camaro. So gained practicality and maintained performance.

An EV is perfect for my uses and prospective future uses I could imagine. The fact gas prices for premium shot up to $4.30 a gallon in my area and only cost $37 to go 1100 miles in the Tesla are just added benefits.

I do miss my Camaro though. That V8..... But don't regret the decision.

Thanks for the breakdown, really appreciate you taking the time.

 

[JahBoolean]

My first and only car has been a 2008 lexus RXh (purchased in 2016), my reasoning was that with the current state of electrification, going fully electric was not sensible.

Hybrids fill the gap quite nicely at the moment, and not having range anxiety is worth any potential saving (for me).

But when this car will stop being sensible to own (hopefully a few years) or I start needing a second "Town" car, I will definitely go electric. Renault Zoé/Electrified Jimny for the town car and an Audi E-tron for the family.

 

[VictorTango777]

UK and European countries have an advantage where the household wall outlets in those countries operate at 220 V compared to the US 120 V. So in those countries, someone who does not have a dedicated EV charging station and has to drop an extension cord from an upstairs window could still charge faster than someone doing the same thing in the US. Because of the higher voltage in those countries, is the term "Level 1" charging not used there or is it redefined to mean 220 V?

 

[macsound1]

What do you mean 'flexibility' in ICE cars exactly here?

Your current car (if petrol) cannot just simply take Diesel,
It cannot take Hydrogen, not without a properly spec'd and safety fuel cell and complete rebuild of all engine parts. ONLY the last generation Mazda RX-7 could - hydrogen fuel cell tank (maleable as it was from a polymer), and with specific new rotary seals. Mazda did this back in 1997 as a proof of concept that actually ran! Look this up.

Your current fossil fuel car in terms of flexibility is JUST as flexible as an electric top tier car. Remember back prior to 1912 most cars were NOT feasible or flexible as a stage coach and that coach has a LOT more mileage then and still today with a strong horse and lots of water and good horseshoes.

Porsche had a 2 motor running prototype with a top speed of 12mph in 1912 ... yes 1912! They never pursued beyond prototype as ONLY NYC had any - and a very small 12 block - infrastructure for electric charging for such cars. The rest was history with oil taking over.

Just case you can swap out gears (gearbox), transmission, wider selection of wheels/tires (which will come over time for EC's), or piston rings, connection rods etc etc - doesn't mean it's more 'flexible' its' actually a LOT more costly and a lot more headaches if you don't have a VERY good, experienced electrician.

Flexibility in life, not flexibility in fuel.

Choose your own route, your own timing, your own hotels.
Not just roads that have chargers at the specified interval, hotels to sleep in with chargers in the parking lot, and being free to go the long way around because the road is flooded or you decided to take the scenic route.

Of course I'm using myself as an example, but I'd commonly make a 400 mile journey from SF to Anaheim for only the weekend.
I'd drive to work in the Friday morning, park in metered parking on the streets of SF, leave SF Friday at 3pm, top off with gas somewhere along highway 5, arrive at my hotel in Anaheim around 10pm Friday evening.
Leave Anaheim around 2pm Sunday afternoon arrive home outside of SF around 7:30pm.

Without the flexibility to make this choice to leave work early and not refuel for 150 miles or so, means I wouldn't get a weekend away.

EVs must be able to have this type of flexibility.

 

[VictorTango777]

For people asking about DIY maintenance, Tesla owners manuals can be found at:

https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/

There are plenty of YouTube videos about taking cross country road trips in a Tesla.

 

[diamond.g]

Flexibility in life, not flexibility in fuel.

Choose your own route, your own timing, your own hotels.
Not just roads that have chargers at the specified interval, hotels to sleep in with chargers in the parking lot, and being free to go the long way around because the road is flooded or you decided to take the scenic route.

Of course I'm using myself as an example, but I'd commonly make a 400 mile journey from SF to Anaheim for only the weekend.
I'd drive to work in the Friday morning, park in metered parking on the streets of SF, leave SF Friday at 3pm, top off with gas somewhere along highway 5, arrive at my hotel in Anaheim around 10pm Friday evening.
Leave Anaheim around 2pm Sunday afternoon arrive home outside of SF around 7:30pm.

Without the flexibility to make this choice to leave work early and not refuel for 150 miles or so, means I wouldn't get a weekend away.

EVs must be able to have this type of flexibility.

There are EVs that can accommodate that trip. They may not be at the price point you would like, but they do exist.

 

[marigo]

EV car is the same efect like many years ago discman from Apple.
Somebody must have to have to be visible modern.
Who planing Your day's?
Your vehicle.
Who pay for modern technology?
Where Sterling engine and Wankel (Audi 80, Mazda)?
Some like a kind of tape putted into the road like Maglew railway abowe magnetic band which can recharge your's car's will be a solution.
Anyway - very expensive.
Better is downsize cars and use a plastic recycling to make nocrosin body style like BMW1 but with very lo emission engine.
This time is a waste of your money.

 

[marigo]

Cutting emission will be - by refused from your scedulle to fly by plane.
It is Your emission save plan.
And resignation to buy things from opposite side of the globe..
Sometimes completely no neccesery and made with big polution enviroments.
What is exactly the costs of things like computers cable - cents or enviromens?

 

[marigo]

What is the total car costs?
From design, materials and manufacturing produkt to the end of its life?
What with the batteries?

 

[cr2]

Being that you’re a new Model Y owner, if you feel like it, I’d be curious to know what issues that you’ve taken notice of upon ownership?

Absolutely:

a) Poor panel fitting.
b) Terrible customer service and poor attitude of the people. I had a problem with my 'card' keys and it took a long time to get it sorted out. Even after explaining on the chat (using the Tesla App) the answer was RTFM, and they would send me the link to the manual. It turned out that when they gave me the new keys it was not setup properly in their system.
c) I got the car and drove it next day, when we got a little snow and realized that there is no wiper fluid. That was pain.
d) Rear visibility is not so great but I compare it my A4.
e) The mats which came with the car are poor, I would get all weather or better mats even if you are not in the snow region.
f) Occasionally, the phone app would unlock the car so you need to make sure you have the card key with you. (I worry about my better half).

The car is otherwise very nice, I am glad about it. It is very quiet and very clean and logical interface (look at 2021 Porsche Macan). I would have liked better audio quality (microphones) for phone calls; I kept saying 'hey Tesla' for voice commands but you need to press the wheel on the steering wheel to activate. Streaming music is good and has big choice, however, I prefer the music of science or audiobooks.

A friend, who got the model Y about the same time as me, was disappointed that it does not have Car Play. I have not had a car with Car Play so I cannot comment, how much better it would be.

Supercharging is nice, it takes 20 mins to charge to 60%. I am hoping to get home charger installed tomorrow. That will be great. 115V charger seems to work at 12A and charges at 5m/hr, giving your 70-80 miles overnight.

In short - can be better but I am glad that I got Y over X3 or Maccan. If govt. gives some incentives then I will replace another car with Y. Sounds silly but Y is more comfortable than 3.

Hope this helps.

 

[quagmire]

Absolutely:


f) Occasionally, the phone app would unlock the car so you need to make sure you have the card key with you. (I worry about my better half).

Curious if you can expand on this. Does the phone app uncommanded unlock the car? By having your phone near the car from the outside and pull on the handle, it will unlock it. So curious what behavior you are seeing.

Or do you mean wouldn't unlock it given the recommendation with keeping the key card with you? Which I agree, I always have it on me when I drive the car. Though I have only had it once where the car wouldn't recognize the phone and had it use it in the 6 months of ownership of my 3 so far.

 

[diamond.g]

Curious if you can expand on this. Does the phone app uncommanded unlock the car? By having your phone near the car from the outside and pull on the handle, it will unlock it. So curious what behavior you are seeing.

Or do you mean wouldn't unlock it given the recommendation with keeping the key card with you? Which I agree, I always have it on me when I drive the car. Though I have only had it once where the car wouldn't recognize the phone and had it use it in the 6 months of ownership of my 3 so far.

Most of the time the issue is the phone, I have the BT FOB and it has never not worked.

 

[quagmire]

Most of the time the issue is the phone, I have the BT FOB and it has never not worked.

From my observations on TMC and Reddit, I would agree. Seems like the common factor among the cases were iPhone 11 users experiencing the non-recognition. Though again my 12 Pro Max wasn't recognized once. It would unlock the car, but car wouldn't start and had use to the credit card key. No issues with my 13 Pro Max so far.

 

[cr2]

Curious if you can expand on this. Does the phone app uncommanded unlock the car? By having your phone near the car from the outside and pull on the handle, it will unlock it. So curious what behavior you are seeing.

Or do you mean wouldn't unlock it given the recommendation with keeping the key card with you? Which I agree, I always have it on me when I drive the car. Though I have only had it once where the car wouldn't recognize the phone and had it use it in the 6 months of ownership of my 3 so far.

I have iPhone 11, it happened twice in less than one month. BTW, I wonder can you get an Watch to unlock or do things instead of the iPhone App?

 

[quagmire]

I have iPhone 11, it happened twice in less than one month. BTW, I wonder can you get an Watch to unlock or do things instead of the iPhone App?

So you mean it wouldn't unlock the car? Do you have the app open and background refresh allowed for the app? By open I mean you opened it and is running in the background. But yeah iPhone 11 seems to be common for this issue to occur it seems.

I don't think the watch can unlock it.

 

[diamond.g]

I have iPhone 11, it happened twice in less than one month. BTW, I wonder can you get an Watch to unlock or do things instead of the iPhone App?

There are watch apps but none from Tesla so they will all require a data connection instead of using BT.

 

[Bandaman]

There are EVs that can accommodate that trip. They may not be at the price point you would like, but they do exist.

Yes, like the 250,000 dollar Tesla Roadster with a nearly 700 mile range. Of course that also has the added perk of going 0-60 mph in 1.9 seconds.

 

[diamond.g]

Yes, like the 250,000 dollar Tesla Roadster with a nearly 700 mile range. Of course that also has the added perk of going 0-60 mph in 1.9 seconds.

I was thinking the Lucid Air, the Roaster is still vaporware as far as I am concerned.

 

[quagmire]

I was thinking the Lucid Air, the Roaster is still vaporware as far as I am concerned.

Lucid is $80,000 starting.....

Not really attainable for a person wanting an EV and wanting that kind of range....

 

[diamond.g]

Lucid is $80,000 starting.....

Not really attainable for a person wanting an EV and wanting that kind of range....

Yeah but no one else has 500 miles EPA range for anywhere near the price.