Very funny! I'm very comfortable using GPS just not comfortable planning my trips around charging stations. I get it, around town they work very well, when travelling a lot like I do they can be a PITA.
When do you think you will buy a 100% pure electric vehicle?
- Thread starter dmclone
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You are almost guaranteed to at least need a transmission replacement in 200k-300k miles. You will likely suffer some type of major engine failure as well.
Just for fun I google the life expectancy of a Ford 3.5L Ecoboost. It says 250k miles. From what I remember that is the top of the bell curve, so some will go sooner and some will last longer. The life expectancy of the Ford 6 speed auto is 150k miles.
I was watching some videos on the mess that happened in Chicago last week. Some big EV guy, who lives in the cold, flew to Chicago, went to the charging stations/talked to owners, analyzed it and here are a few of the issues.
- Uber/Tesla-I had no clue that this was a thing but apparently Uber has some deal with Tesla to rent out their cars. Their best estimate was that 80% of the people waiting for chargers were these drivers.
- Uber drivers that are interested in renting a Tesla must have completed at least 150 trips and maintain a 4.85-star rating to be eligible. It costs about $300 a week to rent the Tesla, and drivers receive an extra dollar per trip (max $4,000 a year) and are enrolled in the company’s newer “Uber Green” ride-hailing category.
- Uber/Tesla-This program has been in place for a little over a year. Most drivers have never had to deal with how cold it got. Most, had no clue what preconditioning does. In the summer, if you don't pre condition, your charging just takes a little longer. Preconditioning in sub zero is a lot more important, If you don't precondition, the Tesla Supercharger is going to do the preconditioning to get the battery above freezing. This makes the driver think that there is something wrong with the charger, so they unplug. This seems to be an education issue. Not just Uber drivers, but any Tesla driver that lives in a cold climate. Also, a lot of EV rentals.
- Chicago-The majority of the issues, were inside the city. Those that were on the interstate traveling, didn't seem to have issues, which points back to the preconditioning issue. Most people that go on road trips, use the Tesla software to plan their route/charging, which would handle the preconditioning before you got to the charger. Also, the charging infrastructure in Chicago, even during good weather, is lacking.
- Non SuperChargers-The guy went two days after the crisis and there were still people that had their EV's parked, waiting to charge. Surprise surprise, Electrify America had chargers that were not working.
- This issue wasn't reported as much in other areas that were just as cold as Chicago. Most of those cities don't do the Uber/tesla thing, but some do.
- Outside of Chicago, some other areas had issues with snow. e.g. The Kum and Go in Grinnell, which has 8 chargers, as of yesterday had still not plowed out the area. This is that Kum and Go's responsibility. Hy-Vee and other Kum and Go locations across the state were fine. I'm going to guess that they are going to get a lot of blow back on this.
- If you charge at home, this isn't an issue. Your home charger will get your battery above freezing and then handle the charging. If you're using 110 at home, charging could take a LONG time if it's really really cold.
I think its safe to assume the laws of supply & demand would kick in, meaning more superchargers. Of course there will likely be period of 'growing pains' but in the long run the higher demand should help, not hurt IMO.
I have kept cars and pick-ups for over 10 years and mileage of up to 326,000 on anI bought with 100,000 miles on it for my daughter. I spent $6000 on it. I have 3 vehicles now. Newest is a Rav-4 and it is 2015 with 140,000. If you take care of them. Service them and change trans fluid as well regular oil change. Keep them clean as well. They will last a long time. One note when I sold the 2001 Accord 3 years ago. I got $1500 for it. The car had no rust on it. I won't be buying electric car anytime soon.
Type of driving heavily impacts mileage and longevity, too. If all of your driving is out on the highway, sure, you can see 250K+ miles over time with basic maintenance.*some cars will last a long time
250k mostly-city miles? Good luck getting the trans to go that far. Motor might if it's a good platform. Probably gonna have a lot more money going into brakes, suspension, other maintenance items that probably wouldn't wear as bad as a highway vehicle, too.
It's not true and no proponent of EV's in this thread is claiming it is.
As to green autos versus green homes, Autos create much, much more pollution than homes do.
The trade in value per KBB on my 2011 Highlander is 5k. Not nothing, but in 2 years and some more miles it's not going to be worth much at all.
*some cars will last a long time
We just traded my 2017 F150 with like 70k miles on it this summer when getting my wife's new car. Part of it was that the trade value was so high on it. The biggest part though was that vehicle sucked. 7k in repairs in the prior 6 months.
I have yet to understand why so many people are against EV's and why they think its their duty to tell everyone that they are never purchasing one. I get it, you do not want one, this is America, you buy what is best suited for you and your needs, the rest of us really do not need to hear about it.
Big oil will lose a lot of money when we are totally electric, and they will do everything in their power to slow down the conversion away from gas. But the process is going to occur, it's going to be slow, but it's not going to be stopped. Never owning an EV I would think they would be great for day to day commuting to work, but not be the answer if I was planning on driving across the country. We did purchase our first hybrid vehicle in August and have had zero problems with it and enjoy the better gas mileage I am getting.
Big oil will lose a lot of money when we are totally electric, and they will do everything in their power to slow down the conversion away from gas. But the process is going to occur, it's going to be slow, but it's not going to be stopped. Never owning an EV I would think they would be great for day to day commuting to work, but not be the answer if I was planning on driving across the country. We did purchase our first hybrid vehicle in August and have had zero problems with it and enjoy the better gas mileage I am getting.
Oil is in so many things, we'll never not need it, but we don't "need" to burn it for transportation. The smarter thing for the O&G industry would be figuring out ways to work with clean energy, instead of wasting time with troll farms.
This is the internet, its everyones duty to tell everyone else why they should or shouldnt do something. We are a very tribal animal anymore. At the end of the day, you just have to do you and ignore the rest.
Because that's what the OP was asking.
For what it's worth, I think people are just saying the EV is not a universal solution for everyone. Some situations will be more appropriate for them and others will not be.
Not sure "much, much more pollution" is a true statement. Below is an EPA chart showing greenhouse gas emissions by end use.
When electric power greenhouse gases are assigned to end-user (commercial/residential, agricultural, industry or transportation), then commercial/residential (30%) are bigger creators of greenhouse gas emissions than transportation (29%). The 29% transportation section is about 60% auto/light truck and 40% commercial (HD trucks, aviation, shipping, etc.). So the EV focus right now is on about 18% of greenhouse gas emissions.
Just focusing on autos and light trucks, won't solve the CO2 problem. I realize this thread is specifically dealing with EV's. But my bigger issue with messaging to US consumers seems to focus on EV's and not other creators, like our homes or commercial businesses.
The data makes my head spin, because even looking at end-user emissions- I don't believe it includes the supply chain manufacturing emissions. With homes do numbers include: cement, lumber, roofing, etc that create greenhouse gases during manufacturing process?
I would just like to see a multi-faceted approach. And feel there are behaviors consumers could implement in their everyday life that could have an immediate impact.
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I've previously mentioned that when I travel, I tend to see more Polestar brand on the East coast.
Has that brand made its way into the Midwest yet?
Has that brand made its way into the Midwest yet?
I have noticed in LA my last two Ubers were pretty new looking Teslas. It definitely makes more sense to drive uber with $1 fuel vs $6 fuel but the cost of the car compared to say a Prius is certainly an obstacle so maybe the rental program makes sense. There are a ton of places to charge here too if the renter doesn't have their own, I'd be shocked if anyone ever had to go more than a mile or two in the city and usually we'd be talking blocks.
They really need to ditch the white seats for cabs though, gonna look terrible after a while.
It seems you and I agree that having an EV in your own private garage is the most convenient vehicle experience that's ever existed, but in other situations like rentals and car shares it can add complications.
Urban Chicago just absolutely abused my cars in every way...and I avoided the crater sized potholes for the most part that could really do damage. Urban LA isn't nearly as bad with more highway style miles and no wear from weather or potholes. I imagine living in the rural western areas that don't get a lot of snow or rain would really have a car lasting forever.