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Who has or is planning to get an electric car / EV Talk
- Thread starter PracticalMac
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The heat doesn't seem to be affecting the range of my Ford Focus Electric battery too much (it will drop some when it's extra hot outside, but it will also drop when it's extra cold). The vehicle is going on 6 years old (five of those with brutal Austin summers) and the overall range doesn't seem to have decreased substantially.
The only time I've had EV battery issues here is in the middle of summer, and the problem was that the AC would take forever to kick on. In spite of the instrument panel's warning that "Temperature is hot outside, plug in vehicle when not in use," I found that plugging it in actually caused the problem. If I leave it unplugged (or unplug it a reasonable amount of time before driving) the problem goes away.
I figure that plugging the car in when it's so hot just makes the battery hotter, and the vehicle will use all climate-control power to cool the battery down first before sending power to the A/C.
Fun, little things like that are what I've learned by owning an EV in the middle of Texas.
They are expensive and fragile too. I wonder if one could protect it with an Otterbox?
~Just kidding folks!
The full tax credit is still good for any North American made EV.
But in March, the IRS will rule on the battery credit rules and may either cut in half or zero out the credit depending on the battery mineral sourcing, assembly, etc..
My incoming Ford Mustang Mach E is able to get the full tax credit between now and when the IRS rules on it.
After they rule on it, majority seem to believe that half credit ($3750) is still possible for the Ford EVs.
Some Tesla models may not get any credit due to the Chinese sourcing of minerals and assembly.
I think they have 0 chance of hitting $42k... Maybe they can advertise that price, if there is a $7k tax rebate at that time (by saying you will only end up having to pay $42 after tax rebate).
But it is nice to see a stripped-down version of what sells in America. Ford and Ram will have to answer to this chess move. I'm liking where it is heading.
I'll be surprised if the price doesn't go up like the base F150 Lightnings did.
Yes that was my thinking as well.
When first introduced it was supposed to sell at $39K but now it's $42K.
Who knows what the base price will be when it finally gets delivered since dealers are also notorious for ADM.
I love the idea of an EV truck.
With that said, I tow on a fairly regular basis, and it's usually *not* under 100 miles. I currenly own a 2020 Tundra, which I absolutely love. Suffice to say they're not known for their stellar gas mileage (though it's also nowhere near as bad as people claim), but they ARE known for their rock-freaking-solid reliability.
With that said, there's no way an EV truck would work anytime soon. Once they find a way to equal out the mileage (I can tow near 400 miles before needing a fill up), that's a different story...but even then, there needs to be some way to ensure they can actually charge within, say, an hour.
With that said, I tow on a fairly regular basis, and it's usually *not* under 100 miles. I currenly own a 2020 Tundra, which I absolutely love. Suffice to say they're not known for their stellar gas mileage (though it's also nowhere near as bad as people claim), but they ARE known for their rock-freaking-solid reliability.
With that said, there's no way an EV truck would work anytime soon. Once they find a way to equal out the mileage (I can tow near 400 miles before needing a fill up), that's a different story...but even then, there needs to be some way to ensure they can actually charge within, say, an hour.
The current problem is folks want long range but are not willing to pay for it. You'd get your 500 miles of towing range if you had a 1 MWh battery. Not sure the price of the vehicle would be tenable though...
This part is basically here now. Especially since Tesla has plans to continue opening up their charging stations...
The range, is definitely not there when towing heavy loads... It also seems a lot don't have appropriate towing limits either.
Or, if you would need commercial license/plates in order to drive it. Unfortunately, right now, a truck with the battery range of 500 miles (especially towing), would put you over most local weight limits...
We do need more time, before a true work truck, could be replaced by EV. I could replace my truck with an EV truck, but would have to rent an ICE when I do need to tow (which honestly would only be once or twice a year, no big deal).
I have a 2019 Tesla Model 3, a 2008 Audi A4, and a 2015 Ram 1500. I do not plan to buy another ICE, I will be replacing all vehicles with EV over time. I'm sure the Ram will be the last to go, since I have a lifetime Mopar warranty, and its not an every day vehicle.
Maybe, maybe not, all modern crash avoidance drive systems have problems with stationary objects that gets worse with the speed of the car.
The planet does not need saving. Humanity does. We don't posess the power, ability or even aptitude to destroy the planet. The planet will survive our folly just as it has every other major upheaval it has experienced. The planet does not care one iota about us, and it (and life in general) will survive us. Even if we went nuclear crazy and wiped out everything, life would survive somewhere...in the ice, or rock, somewhere. And the process would begin again. It may take a few billion years for it to resume its present variety, but it would continue. The planet, my friend, does not need saving. We do.
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The state of EV is currently decades away from being where it needs to be in order to replace gas vehicles. Which makes many of the attempts at forcing the issue through legislation to be very unfortunate and poorly timed and obviously just political nonsense.
1. Range isn't as big of a issue as most people think. Most people do not do enough driving in a day to exceed the range. Range should really be a niche problem.
2. Recharging is a problem, however. It is totally impractical. Not everyone lives in a single family home where they can spend a couple grand to have an electrician put in their own charging station.
3. Recharging on the go is likewise impractical. Charging stations are basically no where, and take took long to charge. Nonstarter experience.
4. The battery technology is a grave concern. It has come a long way, but it is still extremely volatile. At the current volume, it is working OK. But the current technology is not ready to be scaled up to mainstream use. If the world immediately shifted to EV, it would be an environmental nightmare, and a worldwide safety hazard. Gigantic lithium ion batteries will always be dangerous no matter what we do to them, and they are a nightmare to recycle. Like I said, fine the negligible volume that EV ship in today. But it would be a bigger environmental hazard than burning fossil fuels to start using them at scale. And its not like they don't know that. They do. But since the likelihood of EV becoming fully mainstream and the primary type of vehicle on the road any time in the next few decades is nil, they are happy to play this game.
1. Range isn't as big of a issue as most people think. Most people do not do enough driving in a day to exceed the range. Range should really be a niche problem.
2. Recharging is a problem, however. It is totally impractical. Not everyone lives in a single family home where they can spend a couple grand to have an electrician put in their own charging station.
3. Recharging on the go is likewise impractical. Charging stations are basically no where, and take took long to charge. Nonstarter experience.
4. The battery technology is a grave concern. It has come a long way, but it is still extremely volatile. At the current volume, it is working OK. But the current technology is not ready to be scaled up to mainstream use. If the world immediately shifted to EV, it would be an environmental nightmare, and a worldwide safety hazard. Gigantic lithium ion batteries will always be dangerous no matter what we do to them, and they are a nightmare to recycle. Like I said, fine the negligible volume that EV ship in today. But it would be a bigger environmental hazard than burning fossil fuels to start using them at scale. And its not like they don't know that. They do. But since the likelihood of EV becoming fully mainstream and the primary type of vehicle on the road any time in the next few decades is nil, they are happy to play this game.
Oh there is plenty of drama to go around when it comes to Tesla...
True, but the Semi and Cyber Truck are supposed to support MW charging, so you need 1000A and 1000V to get there (right?). Supposedly 4 V3 stalls share a cabinet which implies Tesla can already do 1 MW of power. I wouldn't envy the demand charge costs for that though.
1. Agree
2. Agree
3. This depends on where you live. In lower NY, I see charges everywhere, and using apps I found charges that I drove by everyday and didn't even know existed. Also, my last drive from Long Island NY to FL, every gas station I stopped in had banks and banks of Tesla Super Chargers. I would have no range anxiety driving the eastern corridor. I can agree, this is not the case in middle America.
4. I have no argument here. I do not know enough to agree or disagree.
Not if you're towing a heavy load, at least not that I've seen. Charging is more plentiful than it used to be, but still not anywhere close to ubiquitous where I live (middle of nowhere in the Ozarks).
I'd largely agree. With #2, I personally can afford it, but that only makes sense for driving back and forth to work. For towing >100 miles, #3 applies.
Regarding #3, the closest public chargers I know of are about 20 miles away; and beyond that, about 50 miles away. Yes, there are absolutely chargers where I'd need them to be with regards to normal trips, but only if I'm along the interstate. There are absolutely NOT chargers available anywhere near where I normally drive or tow things.
Believe me when I say I would LOVE to be able to buy an EV truck for my usage, but I'd have to have 3 things:
1. Much more ubiquitous charging, and not just @ home or along major interstates.
2. A dealership one hell of a lot closer than 120 miles or so.
3. Increased reliability. Having been stranded in the middle of nowhere in the middle of winter before, reliability is #1 for me.