Electric cars ......

R

rgp

Well-known Member
Location
Milford,OH
GM just announced the Electric Cadillac & Hummer, and Volvo just announced their new electric car.

When will you seriously consider buying one ? Electric [any brand]. Or have you already ?
 
Leased a Leaf starting in 2013 and loved it. It did limit my range, but I mainly used it for local traffic. We were going to get a Tesla 3 but they weren't available enough when my lease was up. We may consider getting one when my Volt lease is over next year.
 
I wouldn't consider it until the apartment complex where I live installs charging stations in the parking garage.

I assume that it would require a separate meter in each space and a separate account/bill for each tenant with the electric company.

I really don't understand electric cars but I have reservations about what would happen in a serious automobile accident that caused the batteries to rupture. Maybe my concerns are unfounded but when I hear about batteries I think of the traditional car batteries that contain acid.

Truth be told I will probably stop driving by the time I have to worry about it and will be able to summon up a driverless little bubble car to take me on my last ride.

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I like the "concept" of electric cars, and I'm sure they would be worthwhile for someone who lives in an urban area and doesn't drive very far on a "charge". However, for those of us who live in a rural or small town area, it would be necessary for the technology to substantially increase the mileage between charges, and/or have literally thousands of charging stations added to the infrastructure. My biggest complaint would be the time needed for a recharge. Only if technology became available to allow a recharge in Minutes, instead of Hours, would I seriously consider such a vehicle.
 
Just as with hybrids, I would get an electric car when they're priced the same as gas cars & they go just as far on a charge.
Right now (like hybrids), they are more of a statement about "saving the planet" than saving money & I'm not under the delusion that buying one can save the planet.
 
When there’s super fast charging.
When they can go further. I need to be able to get through mountain passes, even if stuck for hours during a snow storm or other bad event.
When, if I moved to a condo, I had my own charge centre. Friends moved to a fancy, brand new condo and they have to use the central charging station. They have 2 electric cars.
I’d also want a noise device for when the car is moving at slow speeds. This is mandated in Europe. There were too many accidents, especially when backing up. Maybe they have this here already.
 
Our 2012 convertible will probably reach 30,000 miles by the end of the year. I do not anticipate replacing it any time soon.

Who knows what will be available by then. If we had an electric, there is no place to charge it at our condo. We don't have garages.
 
I thought about getting one at one time. Then, about three days ago, I had a very close encounter with a suicidal deer going 60 mph on a hwy. (me not the deer) Totaled my Ford Explorer. Living in a rural area, I need a lot of steel around me. I'm not sure what SUVs are electric. I think I'll stick with a traditional gas SUV as long as I'm living out here.
 
asp3 said:
Leased a Leaf starting in 2013 and loved it. It did limit my range, but I mainly used it for local traffic. We were going to get a Tesla 3 but they weren't available enough when my lease was up. We may consider getting one when my Volt lease is over next year.
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By limit your range do you mean how far you can travel? I've always had old clunkers. Too many crazy people on the road for anything nice. If I spent a hefty chunk of change on a new vehicle and someone crashed into me I'd die.
 
MFP said:
By limit your range do you mean how far you can travel? I've always had old clunkers. Too many crazy people on the road for anything nice. If I spent a hefty chunk of change on a new vehicle and someone crashed into me I'd die.
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Yes, I was talking about how far it would go on a charge. I only made it up to San Francisco once while I had the car. I had to make sure I could get to a place to recharge it so I could make it home as well. I got to the parking lot with the chargers with 3 miles left.

I never felt that the Leaf was too small or too fragile. It was one of the best built cars I've had and remained really solid and quiet throughout the five years I had it.
 
asp3 said:
Yes, I was talking about how far it would go on a charge. I only made it up to San Francisco once while I had the car. I had to make sure I could get to a place to recharge it so I could make it home as well. I got to the parking lot with the chargers with 3 miles left.

I never felt that the Leaf was too small or too fragile. It was one of the best built cars I've had and remained really solid and quiet throughout the five years I had it.
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A lady friend has a hybrid. I'm not sure I like the idea of possibly getting stranded by an electric only car?
 
rgp said:
GM just announced the Electric Cadillac & Hummer, and Volvo just announced their new electric car.

When will you seriously consider buying one ? Electric [any brand]. Or have you already ?
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Any Toyota is pumping out the hybrids like there is no tomorrow. Have you ever heard of, I think it is called the Douglas Effect. Tesla is planning on coming out with the top of the line electric car in 2023. So, why would anyone buy an electric car in 2022, when they know the cream of the crop is coming out in 2023?

My take on the electric car..... it is a great idea if there were enough power stations on the road to recharge anywhere/everywhere. The problem.... before moving into the electric car era, we certainly MUST build up the electrical power grid across the country. The grid in the US is so fragile, I don't think that manufacturing electric cars and hybrids can be supported by the current system. I don't want someone taking all the power for their electric car if my refrigerator isn't running. Know what I mean?
 
MFP said:
A lady friend has a hybrid. I'm not sure I like the idea of possibly getting stranded by an electric only car?
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My Volt is a hybrid and I like it well enough. There are various aspects of the car that I do not like but they have nothing to do with the power train. I've had the car over 2 1/2 years and have only filled it up five times. I do most of my driving in electric mode. It goes about 35 to 50 miles depending on the type of driving on a plug in charge. The engine needs to run 15 minutes every 30 days so that's where most of the gas is used, but I have taken it on two longer drives where needed to fill up the tank. However Chevy stopped making the Volt so you can only buy new 2019s if you can find them or used ones.

The issues I have with the car are view of the road issues. There are too many view obstructions overall. It also isn't as quiet as my Nissan Leaf was.
 
Somehow, it kind of defeats the idea of a carbon footprint free electric car, when it's recharged with electricity from coal fired power plants.
I always had a nutty idea for an electric car.. Instead of a battery in the car, you drive up to the pump, and you get a tank full of charged electrolyte solution. When the solution loses the charge, you drive up to the pump, and out comes the old stuff, and the new fully charged stuff gets pumped into you car. There' s no recharge time on the part of the driver. It would be similar to driving a car with gas stations ( electrolyte refilling stations) along the way.
If only I ruled the world.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
Somehow, it kind of defeats the idea of a carbon footprint free electric car, when it's recharged with electricity from coal fired power plants.
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That is an issue in some locations but not in other locations. For example California gets it's electricity mainly from natural gas, renewables and large hydro in that order. Here's the breakdown of our electricity sources. The California Power Mix is the combination of what we generate in state and what we get from out of state. So electric cars in California do affect other states. You can find this information and more at https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-repo...ta/2019-total-system-electric-generation/2018

Fuel Type
In-State GenerationCalifornia Power Mix
Coal
0.15%3.30%
Large Hydro
11.34%10.68%
Natural Gas
46.54%34.91%
Nuclear
9.38%9.05%
Oil
0.02%0.01%
Other (Petroleum Coke/Waste Heat)
0.22%0.15%
Renewables 32.35%31.36%
 
rgp said:
GM just announced the Electric Cadillac & Hummer, and Volvo just announced their new electric car.

When will you seriously consider buying one ? Electric [any brand]. Or have you already ?
Click to expand...
I road in my son's partner's Toyota Yaris, it seemed like a nice, peppy(and quiet vehicle). I would consider buying one, but quite frankly- I just bought a new Toyota Tacoma last year, and being retired(and quarantined) it won't have a whole 10K miles on it for another year or so. Doing the math: I'm 68 now, maybe if I live to be 88 I might possibly need a new car, if I'm still able to drive by then.
 
Nathan said:
I road in my son's partner's Toyota Yaris, it seemed like a nice, peppy(and quiet vehicle). I would consider buying one, but quite frankly- I just bought a new Toyota Tacoma last year, and being retired(and quarantined) it won't have a whole 10K miles on it for another year or so. Doing the math: I'm 68 now, maybe if I live to be 88 I might possibly need a new car, if I'm still able to drive by then.
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Indeed, I have done that math as well. :(

So ....... how do you like the Tacoma ? Standard shift or automatic ? V6 or 4cyl ?
 
Nope. Nope. Nope. I live in Texas. I couldn't get to South Padre Island (where we'll be going in November) without recharging. And someplace like Big Bend? Or even Caddo Lake. No way. Hard enough to find a gasoline station in some places I've been in Texas. What if I wanted to drive 10 hours to New Orleans? And how long does a recharge take? Nope.
 
rgp said:
Indeed, I have done that math as well. :(

So ....... how do you like the Tacoma ? Standard shift or automatic ? V6 or 4cyl ?
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I like the Tacoma a lot! It has an automatic, with a 2.7 liter V6. It takes the place of my [former] Corolla I bought as a commuter, when I was working. I liked he Corolla a lot too, but the wife had a hard time getting in/out. Plus I prefer a truck anyway so...
 
asp3 said:
My Volt is a hybrid and I like it well enough. There are various aspects of the car that I do not like but they have nothing to do with the power train. I've had the car over 2 1/2 years and have only filled it up five times. I do most of my driving in electric mode. It goes about 35 to 50 miles depending on the type of driving on a plug in charge. The engine needs to run 15 minutes every 30 days so that's where most of the gas is used, but I have taken it on two longer drives where needed to fill up the tank. However Chevy stopped making the Volt so you can only buy new 2019s if you can find them or used ones.

The issues I have with the car are view of the road issues. There are too many view obstructions overall. It also isn't as quiet as my Nissan Leaf was.
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My biggest issues with these newer vehicles are those God awful electric windows. Also, I know this may sound ludicrous but, I feel like certain windshields on certain vehicles are at an odd slant. This seems to cause issues with being able to see at night or when it's really sunny out. I rarely spend 15 minutes a day driving so that would be of no use to me. My friends hybrid gets amazing gas mileage and the car is adorable and comfortable. I'm just too chintzy to fork out that kind of money.
 
One thing to consider about a plug in hybrid is if you don't drive that often and usually drive less than the maximum range of a plug in hybrid you won't be using the engine as often so the engine life of the vehicle will be much longer overall. So you should be able to keep the car longer with less maintenance. So for some people the added cost of a hybrid may pay off in the long run. However if you're usually going over the maximum range then a plain hybrid would probably be a better option.
 
My vehicles are usually used. They're usually 20 yrs old when I get them and they last me 10. I figure if I can scrape up the money I might have one more vehicle in my future to get me through. I try to buy a step above the last each time. A half way decent used vehicle would probably take care of me for the remainder.
 
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