Dumb questions about electric cars.

fuzzybuddy

fuzzybuddy

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The Sticks, Northeast PA.
I'm not up on electric cars. I recently put in some solar powered lights. They aren't like the old days when their light was barely on. They're really bright and last all night. So, maybe electric cars might be OK. But, say I do a 300 mile trip, where and how do you refuel. I haven't noticed that motels are offering recharging hook ups? Do you need special hookups, or just a long extention cord? And if you're 30 miles from East Nowhere, but you have 20 miles of power left, how do you recharge on the road? How long does it take for a full charge?
( I don't get out of the house, much. ):)
 

I don‘t own an electric car, but I am interested in them. Here is typical info that might answer some of your questions …

5 Best Electric car charging stations of 2023 - Top-Rated Reviews & Deals

Find every public charging station for electric cars | ChargeHub

If you want a home charging station, something to consider. Electric cars currently use lithium ion batteries that can pose a significant fire hazard in accidents and while being charged. Until that issue has been dealt with it might be safer to do home charging outside, maybe in a driveway. If you have seen cars charging outside with a long cable running into the garage, that’s probably the reason.
 
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I'm not ready for one but they get more and more interesting every day. I don't put a lot of miles on a car these days being retired, so any limitations to electric might not affect me that much.
 

EV owners in Texas probably not happy about this. But it makes sense.

Purchasing an electric vehicle can result in a potential money-saving federal EV tax credit, but as of September 1, Texas residents have to pay more to own an electric vehicle in the state. Under a new EV law signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, Texans who own or purchase electric vehicles will pay up to $400 to register their “clean vehicles” and $200 every time they renew their registrations. The measure is expected to generate about $38 million in new revenue.
Texas Imposes New Tax on Electric Vehicles

Depending on quantity of EV's in other states It's possible other states will follow this.
 
Yep, if you are 30 miles from nowhere and 20% power left, you are going to need a tow.
The charging stations are not 'ready for prime time' yet.
May complain of 1) finding a station, 2) finding one that works, 3) and how long they take to recharge, and some complain about the cost.
Lucid EV's offer 3 years of free charging. But, they start at 89K up to 160K. They have a capacity of 500+ miles per charge. Which is better than a gas running car.
The misconception is that electric is better for the environment. Not so much. The electric plants to create EV batteries need more electricity to run than the power company can provide in many cases, The electric at power stations some times use traditional coal fired (or nuclear) plants to produce the electric to run the EV's, The environmental damage by the mining of lithium and other minerals also do damage to the environment.
Will they catch on, sure, because there is alot of free money (taxpayer money) that is being given to startups, but, when the money dries up, it will be challenging.
 
Tesla was smart and built its charging network as it sold its cars. The other guys (GM, FORD, VW, ETC.) are now paying Tesla so their owners can charge at the Tesla chargers. Basically, as I understand it, if you want to drive long distances across country, get a Tesla, and use its charging network. If you also want to go to small towns on small two lane back roads in the middle of Nowhereville County, get a hybrid. If you’re just going to drive around your town or not far from it, you can get one of the other EV brands.

Virtually all of the people I know who have an EV have either a Tesla or are a two car family with the other car being a hybrid or full ICE car.

Note the Lucid 500 mile range while impressive is not better than many gasoline powered cars. Many hybrids like the Camry hybrid can easily top that.
 
I have very little interest in an EV. I guess I am old school and like the sound of the combustible engine.

You can get a charge at a lot of grocery stores now also. You just need the app on your phone and pay for the purchase through the app.

Truthfully, I don't like the styling of a Tesla. They are actually an ugly car. There are no details to the car. I think Ford is second in EV sales.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I'm not up on electric cars. I recently put in some solar powered lights. They aren't like the old days when their light was barely on. They're really bright and last all night. So, maybe electric cars might be OK. But, say I do a 300 mile trip, where and how do you refuel. I haven't noticed that motels are offering recharging hook ups? Do you need special hookups, or just a long extention cord? And if you're 30 miles from East Nowhere, but you have 20 miles of power left, how do you recharge on the road? How long does it take for a full charge?
( I don't get out of the house, much. ):)
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Powering stations are at some gas stations and some Walmarts (and Costcos, too, I think).

My son bought a Rivian, an EV truck, and he & his wife drove it from Cali to Utah. Powering up was very frustrating. They marked all power stations on their route, but...

Some of the pumps were not operating.
Twice, they had to call the 800 number because a pump said they were still using the previous pump (300 or so miles earlier).
The power-up times were long...like 20-30 minutes.

They got close to zero power only once, and the truck did really, really well uphill, which surprised them.

Next trip, they will confirm all the powering stations are operating before they leave, and will make note of all alternate stations along their route.

Overall they had a good trip, though, and their EV performed really well.
 
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fuzzybuddy said:
I'm not up on electric cars. I recently put in some solar powered lights. They aren't like the old days when their light was barely on. They're really bright and last all night. So, maybe electric cars might be OK. But, say I do a 300 mile trip, where and how do you refuel. I haven't noticed that motels are offering recharging hook ups? Do you need special hookups, or just a long extention cord? And if you're 30 miles from East Nowhere, but you have 20 miles of power left, how do you recharge on the road? How long does it take for a full charge?
( I don't get out of the house, much. ):)
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To prepare for the car running out of power at an inconvenient moment, I suggest (if you are able to use one) always keeping a small electric bicycle in the trunk. Should enable you to complete your journey 🚲
 
fuzzybuddy said:
But, say I do a 300 mile trip, where and how do you refuel. I haven't noticed that motels are offering recharging hook ups?
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I still have gas powered, but I read that about a quarter of hotels and motels have already added EV charging.

A lot of gas stations will go out of business as electric vehicles increase, so I wonder if there will be an awkward phase where it is hard to find either?

The EV infrastructure is rapidly increasing. My condo building had 4 charging spots installed a few months ago. I only saw a few vehicles charging the first weeks, but after the retirement community publicized them, I've seen more cars showing up. Also the retirement community has plans to add charging spots at the clubhouses. I'd guess that the other high rise condo associations here would add some soon.

I saw a YouTube video about places that, instead of charging the EV vehicle, they quickly exchange the battery for a fully charged one. That sounded like a nice option.
 
At least with the change in technology to EV, there are apps that will show where you can get a charge, it is so impressive that gasoline powered cars ever became common when you read about how the early car owners had to get gasoline:

Before the advent of the service station a century ago, fueling up was an adventure for our ancestors. The first places to sell fuel—appearing not long after the first cars—were pharmacies, as a side business. Bertha Benz refilled the tank of the first automobile driven across country at the city pharmacy in Wiesloch, Germany, on Aug. 5, 1888. She was driving the newly constructed Patent Motorwagen automobile from Mannheim to Pforzheim with her 13- and 15-year-old sons as passengers, to prove to her husband Karl that his invention was marketable. The car ran not on gasoline but on highly volatile petroleum ether, which pharmacies stocked.​
​
By 1900, the United States had 4,000 cars (compared to 20 million horses), but gasoline was still considered a waste by-product of producing kerosene. Pioneering motorists had to take a bucket to the general store, hardware dealer, drugstore or local refinery and fill up from a gasoline barrel. A few enterprising (and fearless) salesmen sold gasoline from pushcarts equipped with hoses.​
 
Knight said:
EV owners in Texas probably not happy about this. But it makes sense.

Purchasing an electric vehicle can result in a potential money-saving federal EV tax credit, but as of September 1, Texas residents have to pay more to own an electric vehicle in the state. Under a new EV law signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, Texans who own or purchase electric vehicles will pay up to $400 to register their “clean vehicles” and $200 every time they renew their registrations. The measure is expected to generate about $38 million in new revenue.
Texas Imposes New Tax on Electric Vehicles

Depending on quantity of EV's in other states It's possible other states will follow this.
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I believe we'll see more situations like this. The fact is that many of our roads are built or maintained through a tax added to each gallon of gasoline. If you're driving an electric car you won't be paying that tax and therefore your share of the road maintenance. Perhaps an annual surcharge at a flat rate or an annual surcharge based on mileage driven. It will be interesting to see how this one works out. I attached a snapshot that shows how much a few states rely on this tax...
 

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fuzzybuddy said:
I'm not up on electric cars. I recently put in some solar powered lights. They aren't like the old days when their light was barely on. They're really bright and last all night. So, maybe electric cars might be OK. But, say I do a 300 mile trip, where and how do you refuel. I haven't noticed that motels are offering recharging hook ups? Do you need special hookups, or just a long extention cord? And if you're 30 miles from East Nowhere, but you have 20 miles of power left, how do you recharge on the road? How long does it take for a full charge?
( I don't get out of the house, much. ):)
Click to expand...
Tesla seems to have one of the better systems for this. When you put a destination in your GPS it will plan out where you need to stop to recharge. They're not the only game in town and there's a lot of horror stories about running out of charge. Check out the attached link and it shows where the Tesla charge stations are located.

https://www.tesla.com/supercharger
 
Wigglestein said:
I know GM just finished building a huge electric car factory in Michigan. My question is....why not hybrids? Seems better to me.
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Toyota sells 2 versions of their hybrids that are "plug-in" hybrids. Depending on the model they'll go up to 42 miles on battery before the gas engine kicks in. It's a great compromise that would likely cover 80 to 100% of around-town driving for errands and possibly commuting to work. However, you won't suffer from range anxiety if you need to take a road trip of several hundred or more miles. Check out the Prius Prime and the RAV 4 Prime. Both are plug in hybrids.
 
NOPE! I am not buying any EV out there. This is new technology and no matter how hard the government, etc. push the idea I ain't buying!

In my experience (cameras & camcorders) when you buy brand new technology you always lose in price and in the technology itself.

At my age, 77, I am sticking to my trusty and reliable 4 cylinder Ford Focus with gas stations all over the land. You wouldn't catch this guy sitting on his duff waiting for a battery to charge.
 
My son has a Toyota Prius and they love it, and my daughter has the Mini Cooper hybrid. They both use their cars for cross country, and since they can operate on either the battery or gasoline fuel, they get really good mileage, and do not have to worry about the dead battery problem that a vehicle that was just electric would have.
My daughter is always able to plug in at a motel overnight when she is traveling and stops for the night, so charging is not an issue for her either.

I think that an all electric might be fine for someone who only drove back and forth in town, like to work or the grocery store, and could keep the car charged up from home; but if I were traveling very far, I would be concerned about not finding places to charge up the vehicle.
 
I read a study that said the pollution and energy consumption created by mining and production of an electric car battery, is the equivalent of driving a gas car (22 mpg) 70,000 miles. So an electric car becomes environmentally beneficial at 70K. The manufacturing of the vehicles themselves was not calculated.
But keep on buying them, I own stock in lithium and nickel mines.
 
I'm invested in lithium mining and charging companies. So, I follow the industry closely.
There are two things that are troubling at this point.
1) the majority of lithium is in China, Brazil and Australia. China has the ability to flood the markets with cheap lithium, bring down prices. Brazil, is also a high producer but has more geopolitical instability so lithium investments are tricky as they could manipulate the markets as well. Australia is playing catchup. That, and the mining in Canada and new mines in the US could tamp down the costs and control of the deliver of product.
2) ChargePoint, being a charging station company is struggling to increase charging stations. Given that, the top auto manufactures are creating their own and forming agreements with Tesla to use their stations. Looks like they may be late to the game, or get bought out. Reliability of the charging stations are questionable as well. You may find charging stations, but many ports are broken, not operational, or are very slow. You can pay more, for a faster charge. That is where the increased costs of operating an EV comes in.

Plus, with the new taxes that will be assessed to make up for the lack of sales tax on gas, will make it even more expensive.
Thats why the US government is exploring paying tax based on miles driven not gas used. Which brings more privacy issues.
 
I have the charging solution!! Have every Dollar General have a charging station.. :) (y)
iu
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I'm not up on electric cars. I recently put in some solar powered lights. They aren't like the old days when their light was barely on. They're really bright and last all night. So, maybe electric cars might be OK. But, say I do a 300 mile trip, where and how do you refuel. I haven't noticed that motels are offering recharging hook ups? Do you need special hookups, or just a long extention cord? And if you're 30 miles from East Nowhere, but you have 20 miles of power left, how do you recharge on the road? How long does it take for a full charge?
( I don't get out of the house, much. ):)
Click to expand...
batteries1.jpg
 
Yesterday, not electric cars, but electric bicycles 8 of them.
So quiet I didn't hear them coming, and they were moving at a hell of a lick, just making a sort of 'whooshing' sound as they passed.
I stepped back onto the pavement just in time, I nearly pooed my pants. 😊
 
timoc said:
Yesterday, not electric cars, but electric bicycles 8 of them.
So quiet I didn't hear them coming, and they were moving at a hell of a lick, just making a sort of 'whooshing' sound as they passed.
I stepped back onto the pavement just in time, I nearly pooed my pants. 😊
Click to expand...
I got one, love it!
Great way to get around town without getting in the car.
They are pretty quiet, but the motor does emit a sound, somewhat.
Ya, they move pretty quick. I can get up to 30 mph, but usually coast along around 8-10 mph
 

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