Today, would you buy an EV vehicle.

[CH4Ohio]

I work for a fire department as a mechanic, another local department is building two new fire stations and wanted to prewire them for charging electric fire trucks (all of the large manufacturers are now offering them). They showed the specs for the charger to the building engineer and the color drained from his face, they don't have enough power supply to the building to run one charger. There would need to be two or three heavy truck chargers plus several light duty chargers.

A little quick math on even just an electric car, let's say the battery is 82 kwh (newer Tesla), most families have multiple cars but they're not typically going to need to recharge fully every night so let's just say 60kwh total for two or three cars every night. That's double (2x) the current average household energy consumption per day.

They're already saying most of the country will have rolling blackouts this year. I may not be an electrical engineer but I don't think we can multiply our current energy consumption by three (3x) and just expect that to be fine...

If the goal is for everyone to drive electric cars then we needed to start building power plants and distribution lines 10 years ago. Some solar panels and wind ain't going to cut it.

Can you imagine calling on a "busy" night and the fire department can't respond because all the engines or ambulances are "charging" . . .

 

[LibraryMark]

When they come down in price (and they will) then absolutely I would buy one. Most of my travel is to the nearest town, about 10 miles away. I am also considering a solar installation. Being immune to gas price hikes has great appeal to me.

 

[Pleease]

I've liked the idea since the first time a Tesla silently rolled past me in a parking lot - the quietness was beautiful - but I'm not giving up the range of my IC vehicle. I might consider one as a commuter car, but I don't commute (been remote for 25 years).

On the environment subject - and I realize some probably have addressed this - at this point like 60% of electric is produced by burning coal or natural gas, 20% is from nukes and 20% is from water and wind (and I would guess, but don't know, that's mostly water), so I'm not so sure EVs represent a giant reduction in carbon emissions.

Also, of course, the price of electric can rise to high levels just like the cost of gas & diesel fuel can.

Tractor-wise I just have a little Kubota with MMM and FEL that I use at a lake cabin, mostly because of 4wd on the steep hills, and because the 18hp diesel has enough torque, and I think/hope it'll last a really long time. I love it, but guessing there could be an EV that'd work for my purposes too.

Overall though, I'm not blowing a bunch of cash on an EV to be current/cool.

 

[CH4Ohio]

Interestingly, Elon Musk pointed out a few months ago that the government didn't build gas stations and the current infrastructure. The free market did that and stimulated the economy in the process.

The government didn't finance Henry Ford and heavily subsidize a transition to cars. The free market did that and stimulated the economy in the process.

Every dollar that flows through the government loses much of its value due to waste and corruption and is stolen from a taxpayer that would have spent it much more efficiently. The government has been subsidizing (heavily) wind and solar renewables for 30 years and they're still only a blip on our total energy spectrum because they aren't reliable.

Until the government backs out and stops trying to drive us toward a "solution" that simply doesn't fit, we'll continue to waste our resources and tax dollars. There's no way that America can bring industry and manufacturing back when the government is doing everything it can to inflate wages and the cost of energy that underpins everything.

 

[Hamlin6]

I absolutely would. I think they have a fairly specific application currently due to range and time to recharge mostly. But as people who fit in that application continue to use them the technology will advance for more use cases. Do I think EV will totally replace internal combustion engines, not in my lifetime. Am i an oil hater? Nope, I have a hemi sitting out in my driveway. But I do think there's a future for vehicles that have powerplants other than petroleum.

 

[MtHam]

After a considerable wait, I took delivery of a Tesla Model S Long Range (408 miles) last September. It is fantastic! No regrets. The most fun to drive car I haver ever driven! I have a CyberTruck on order and look forward to it's replacing my Chevy Silverado 2500 Diesel. I only wish I had it now!

With today's fuel prices, I love not having to buy fuel. My solar array allows me to charge overnight at home without any additional cost.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

RX

 

[oldpilot]

Yeah, I'm impressed by the Ford Lightning, but alas I'm not really in the market for a truck. We run two cars, one tractor, and a lawn mower. Also a propane Kohler generator.

I would consider a $30K EV car with 300 mile range. 200 miles doesn't cut it for me. I'm a hundred miles from a ski area, and the combo of lowered battery power and the need for cabin heat would make a round trip impossible in winter. The Appalachian Mountain Club has a charging station in Crawford Notch, but I don't want to sit there for an hour or even thirty minutes, and that's assuming there's a charging slot free at the time!

Spending the night would be an option, but Fabyan's has no private rooms, and I'm past the age when I'd consider a dormitory.

 

[Mholdeman]

Well in CA and now throughout the country they are telling us we will have rolling brown/blackouts this summer. Why the heck would we want to buy something else we can’t get fuel for. This is nothing more than trying to control and transfer our wealth away!

 

[WoodChuckDad]

I pre-ordered the Tesla Cybertruck 2 years ago. Not sure if it will ever come out but if it does and the price hasnt gone thru the roof, I will farm truck the heck out of it.

 

[beardley]

How do they convert Dc to AC without dumping it into a storage vehicle to then allow an inverter to do a conversion.

You can't have direct DC to AC...impossible.

I have a 8.9 Kw grid tied system w/no battery storage. The power comes straight from the panels - to the inverter - to the house - to the grid. So if the panels are producing 6kw, and I'm using 1kw, the other 5 get exported. I would LOVE to have some storage because in this set up, if the power goes out, the inverter shuts off, and the whole system turns off for safety reasons. You don't want to be back feeding to the grid when the power is out, in case you have a linesman on a pole near you. He needs to live too


I'm on my 3rd EV since 2016, and it was the best decision I ever made, and don't plan on going back to an ICE ever. I started with a Nissan leaf, got a standard range Tesla Model 3, and now have a Long range model 3. I'd still have the standard range, but I changed jobs with a much longer commute, and I was able to sell a 3 year old car w/45k miles for MORE than I paid for it new. Seemed like a no brainer.

The fears of running out of charge are vastly overblown. Hasn't happened in the 7 years of ownership, and I don't anticipate it happening ever. With the combination of solar + EV, its very hard to beat. I essentially drive for free. In NY anyway, we have net metering so every Kw I export to the grid, I get in a "credit" to use at a later time, so I way over produce in the summer, but still don't get a bill in the winter because of my summer credits. Having the combination of the 2, makes pay off for both much quicker. I'm 5 years in on solar, and based on current gas prices, my pay off is about 1 1/2 years away. So I'll have ~18 years of full warranty on the panels / inverter of profit. With $0 transportation cost, that also reduces the break even point on the car. Clearly if you compare a 50K model 3 to a 20k commuter, you're never going to break even, but to other cars in its class. No brainer.

 

[Rod in Forfar]

With many manufacturers now advertising ev, even in trucks (Ford Lightning, CyberTruck, Rivian) would you invest in an EV vehicle? If everything moves to electric, when do you think you would switch to an ev -- or maybe Hybrid. The future of gas and diesel looks questionable.

I bought a new truck in 2021. Things are changing. The V8 engine is almost a thing of the past. When do you think, as you shop for a new vehicle, you will consider EV as your best choice? Will that happen when you want to keep your truck 6-8 years and gas stations might become difficult to find?

Then there are EV tractors.

Just curious. Thought this when looking for a new truck.

After four years during a period of cheap gas, a V8 Porsche Cayenne as our daily driver. As both it and I aged, I wanted something a lot more economical for medical appointments and grocery runs. I looked for a Prius, but my wife hated the name. We settled upon a used 2014 Lexus 300h, a hybrid sedan. Then came GAS PRICES. With mileage up to 5.1 Litres/100 km, over the last three years this hybrid has worked so well I won't rush to buy a new electric. Because the Lexus gets almost all of the family driving, I plan to hang on to my 2002 Tacoma (4 cyl, 5 speed, 4WD, 150,000 miles) for the forseeable future. I drive it less than 1000 miles per year, and it's pretty good on gas. I have found a talented welder who repaired the only hole in its frame and several in the box for a very reasonable sum. I borrowed my son's Tundra 5.7 Litre to haul a tractor home, though, and put $200. CDN in gas through it in a day. I'll keep the Tacoma.

 

[funnyfarmdh]

I tend to keep my vehicles a long time. Last car was 25 years old when we sold it and it was so nice it went for a premium price. The cost of battery replacements would likely rule that out. Not to mention the environmental destruction brought on by mining the battery minerals. Add in the current power shortages and i ask will i be able to charge the thing? Solar and wind Pipe dreams obviously wont cut it so as for cutting carbon footprint, you are still using coal, natural gas and nuclear power to charge the damn thing. No thanks.

 

[Unhitched]

I have been driving a Volt/ELR for about 9 years now and probably 175K, I leased my first volt in 2013? I was driving my dually to work spending about $200 a week in fuel. my volt lease was 1000 down and $99/mo. My drive is 30 miles each way, I spend about $50 on fuel every other month or so. Also my maintenance has basically gone to 0, I change the oil every other year, and I have had to replace one CV joint in that time. I have a deposit down on a Ford E-F150 and am eager to for my turn to come.

That said Electric vehicles are like trucks, not everyone needs one, but for some people they make a lot of sense.

 

[CH4Ohio]

Here's a real example of our foolish energy policy . . .

Coal is mined in the central US. It is then shipped by train and barge to a port where it's loaded on a ship and sent to China -- where it's burned in one of the coal-fired power plants that they're building weekly.

China is burning this coal because it's the most cost-efficient means of generating electricity. They can buy it from the other side of the planet -- and ship it there -- and it still makes sense. It takes a tremendous amount of fossil fuel to transport this coal to China. What's the net impact to the atmosphere? Pretty obvious, I think.

Meanwhile, even though every utility in the US spent nearly two decades adding scrubbers and new equipment to clean up our emissions, we're still pushing back on coal and fossil fuels and decommissioning our coal plants. We mine it cleaner and burn it cleaner than anyplace else on Earth.

In every way, cheap energy makes America stronger. The free market should operate to determine the demand for EV's.

 

[Tony H]

When we get a new Administration that will do want Americans want rather then their personal agenda, I think fuel will go back to the Trump Administration. It will only by force that I would think electric. I know California's electric grid cannot handle what's already on-line. Charging cars is not practical there. They already have electric restrictions for AC.
I live in COLD country, I doubt I could leave an E car parked at work and have enough battery to get home at -15F

 

[Hermio]

With many manufacturers now advertising ev, even in trucks (Ford Lightning, CyberTruck, Rivian) would you invest in an EV vehicle? If everything moves to electric, when do you think you would switch to an ev -- or maybe Hybrid. The future of gas and diesel looks questionable.

I bought a new truck in 2021. Things are changing. The V8 engine is almost a thing of the past. When do you think, as you shop for a new vehicle, you will consider EV as your best choice? Will that happen when you want to keep your truck 6-8 years and gas stations might become difficult to find?

Then there are EV tractors.

Just curious. Thought this when looking for a new truck.

Not feasible for many people to go that way. The current electric grid cannot handle it. And the batteries are a serious potential pollutant when disposed of. New batteries cost $$$

 

[Gord Baker]

Wouldn't buy an EV today, tomorrow, or ever til the last drop of Crude is gone.
Payout can be 11 years with limited travel, etc.

 

[jb7919]

With many manufacturers now advertising ev, even in trucks (Ford Lightning, CyberTruck, Rivian) would you invest in an EV vehicle? If everything moves to electric, when do you think you would switch to an ev -- or maybe Hybrid. The future of gas and diesel looks questionable.

I bought a new truck in 2021. Things are changing. The V8 engine is almost a thing of the past. When do you think, as you shop for a new vehicle, you will consider EV as your best choice? Will that happen when you want to keep your truck 6-8 years and gas stations might become difficult to find?

Then there are EV tractors.

Just curious. Thought this when looking for a new truck.

Actually I am amazed at how quickly EV has catapulted to where it is now. I believe EV is here to stay. However, I am not sold on it. Here's why...

First, there is limited mileage per charge. So driving long distance on a trip, 300 miles or so, makes it difficult to "fill-up" your truck.

This leads to the second issue with EV --- infrastructure. When traveling how many electric charging outlets are there? Especially, when you do not drive interstates or major highways. Already, I am hearing of states that lack infrastructure for existing electrical demand will have rolling brown-outs this year so as to meet the current electrical demand. Imagine pulling-up to a charging station only to find out you cannot "fill-up" your vehicle because of a rolling brown-out. How frustrating!

Okay, I found a place where I can "fill-up" (charge) my truck. But wait a minute, it will take how long to do this?!?! Sixty minutes or more!!! That's crazy, at a gas station I can "fill-up" my truck in about five minutes.

Finally, gas is expensive. But who will control the cost of "filling-up" your truck (or any vehicle) at an EV charging station. Electricity is not free! Once governments get on the band wagon of EV charging stations they will probably tax the hell out of it, just like to they do with gas now. It will probably be just as expensive.

And don't forget about replacing that Battery! Yikes!!!!

Yeah there are incentives, but are they worth it? I don't think so right now. But maybe in the future once the aforementioned is resolved. For now, I'll stick to a gas powered vehicle. Love my truck too much to part with it.

Jim B

 

[slider909]

We have a plug in EV Ford, had it for 5 years, zero problems with it. Depending on how / where you drive it will go 25 or so miles before the engine kicks in, around town driving it lasts longer. Also have a Tesla 12kw solar system, 28 panels and 2 - 12kw Powerwall batteries. With net metering the utility bill is about $15 a month because that's the basic charge. Don't know if I would get a EV truck, have a F250 with the 6.7 and its only used for hauling and such, a F150 can't haul what I have and a F150 electric wouldn't either. Now a hybrid F250 would be nice, but such a rig would be a easy 100k and that's a bit too rich for me.