Today, would you buy an EV vehicle.

[California]

In addition to the manufacturers building mostly high-margin versions, presently dealers are going nuts selling at far over the manufacturers MSRP.

I knew car prices are insane due to availability. But I didn't realize its this bad!

https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfuriating/comments/v9a22l

Summary - $20k over MSRP for a Toyota RAV4. After a non-refundable deposit.

The comments following speak of $100k markup over MSRP for a Corvette and similar, total = double MSRP, on a Ford truck.

Many comments from owners offered considerably more than they paid new, by their dealer who now has a customer desperate for that model.

Think I'll keep driving what I have for a while more.

 

[ultrarunner]

I will keep driving my $1000 Samurai if it comes to that or the Corolla at 41 mpg.

What I am seeing is people making nice money as their lease vehicle is up because value is more than buy out.

Also new cars that arrive after many months can be sold for thousands more... sometimes 15k or more.

It's not like this is new but for it to apply across the board has not happened since the end of WWII.

 

[Pixguy]

 

[cqaigy2]

I'd like to check out those $15-18K for sale, but apparently can't get in the states. I'd be temped at that price. It only takes me 45 to 60 minutes to get to most places i purchase from. Of course if i was to pick up lumber or something like, i'd probably be driving my pick anyway, but it's 20+ years old and i want to hold on to as long as i can. So an electric grocery getter might just be the trick. Especially considering we get most our electric power from dams and renewables.

 

[Oaktree]

One simple storage is pumping water back to hydro plants for peak demand release…

For production a series of turbines as elevation falls has been used in smaller projects.

Doesn't it take as much energy to pump that water back uphill as it generates coming down?

Can't at least one company, breakout from the bean counters, and give us what we want. Are we so small a population that it doesn't matter? A modular 125 HP truck that we can fix easily and inexpensively with NO creature comfort, no bells and whistles at all? Is there no money in this?

They build them, at least some of the foreign manufacturers do, but they're mostly sold in third world countries. I just don't think there's enough demand here to make it worthwhile to sell them in the U.S. While I have little use for a lot of the bells and whistles modern trucks have neither do I want something as bare bones as you. 125 hp?? That's as bad as the Japanese trucks of the 70s & 80s...those things couldn't get out of their own way.
Keep in mind also that there are federal emissions and safety requirements manufacturers must meet, that's gonna put the kibosh on a lot of ease of repair.

 

[California]

Doesn't it take as much energy to pump that water back uphill as it generates coming down?

It's an application to absorb excess capacity. Nuclear in particular runs at constant output 24/7. Coal or gas, similar.

An adequately-sized grid occasionally has to pay a neighboring system to push their excess there.

My neighbor in town told me charging his Tesla overnight occasionally shows a negative cost for a few hours on his monthly bill, same thing, excess capacity pushed to him.

It's a load-balancing mechanism.

 

[ultrarunner]

Doesn't it take as much energy to pump that water back uphill as it generates coming down?


They build them, at least some of the foreign manufacturers do, but they're mostly sold in third world countries. I just don't think there's enough demand here to make it worthwhile to sell them in the U.S. While I have little use for a lot of the bells and whistles modern trucks have neither do I want something as bare bones as you. 125 hp?? That's as bad as the Japanese trucks of the 70s & 80s...those things couldn't get out of their own way.
Keep in mind also that there are federal emissions and safety requirements manufacturers must meet, that's gonna put the kibosh on a lot of ease of repair.

It takes more but depending on price structure it can be viable…

Pump at night when kW cost is low and release at peak demand when highest rate charged.

A very large Server Farm saved a lot of money playing peek and off peek power cost.

When rates lowest the ICE plant made ice cubes floating in a slurry of very cold water and the cold water buffer provided all the cooling in the heat of the day…

 

[buckeyefarmer]

But solar puts that hydro dam out of business. The days of cheaper rates at night will come to an end, that cheaper rate isn’t solar.

 

[ultrarunner]

Hydro isn't dependent on sunshine or wind...

One engineer told me it is like a battery storing energy until needed.

 

[Oaktree]

President Trump made us made proud, confident...he is a true leader despite all his foibles.
Biden is a hack politician...and progressives are, IMHO, completely un-American

On what planet did this happen? Not this one.
Most politicians are hacks, regardless of party.
Don't want to get this thread locked so that's all I'll say on the matter.