Would You Like an Electric Car?

Wes said:
I just wish someone who actually owns an EV would have been in the discussion. Then all the 'theories' would have been put to rest. I am as unsure about owning an EV at this point in this discussion as I was at its beginning. Many have an opinion but, no one has actual experience. Any real world owners of EV's on the forum? Please comment. Thank you.
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I was on an RV forum and a guy from BC owned 2 EVs. He pulled a 16' travel trailer back and forth across CA many times w a Tesla. He knew it's range, where to charge, accepted that time would be spent recharging, and made productive use of that time. He camped where he had power as many other RV'ers do.

It's all knowing what to expect and managing those expectations and dealing w the tradeoffs.

OTOH my buddy made a deposit on a Rivian when they were first offered 4 or 5 years ago. He finally got it in Dec 2023, and he sold it last week. He couldn't make it across the NV desert to his other home in SoCal. He also said it was obvious that Rivian had never built a car before of any kind so the ergonomics were lacking. Related to that is the way bodies are built makes them expensive to repair any body damage. There are many Rivians around town so he's one of the few that have moved on quickly.
 

oldaunt said:
No thanks, with what this cold does to batteries.....
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We've had -37 C weather and our little Bolt EUV is doing just fine. Sure we lose about 40% of our range through the winter, but we don't go on road trips in winter anyway. So with that much less range, our indicator is showing us that we can still drive 219 kilometres and Calgary (the only place we go in winter) is only 45 kilometres away. It's started every time we've gone anywhere and just hums along. We love it.
 

Don M. said:
EV's might be a good choice for local transportation in warmer climates...If the owner has a "in home" charger station. However, they currently have too many "shortcomings" to replace gas/diesel vehicles for most purposes.
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Actually, in the USA, peak ICE new car registrations apparently peaked in 2017 and the following year, gasoline sales peaked. EV cars are taking over more and more and in the USA, there are 650 new chargers installed every year now.
 
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Fyrefox said:
A hybrid, yes, an all-electric, no. There are too many bugs yet to be worked out, batteries are of questionable safety and duration, and public charging stations are not to be found in my area… 🚗
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We had a hybrid jeep and those are no good for cold weather. In the cold, that sort of battery doesn't kick in and you're burning gas all through the winter. I think a full EV has some sort of 'warmer' that conditions the battery when you start it but our Jeep didn't.
 
Fyrefox said:
A hybrid, yes, an all-electric, no. There are too many bugs yet to be worked out, batteries are of questionable safety and duration, and public charging stations are not to be found in my area… 🚗
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Batteries have a life expectancy of 150,000 to 200,000 miles and once they aren't holding a charge good enough to drive, the old ones can be repurposed to storing power for home/business solar systems. As well, I believe they're well on their way to being able to recycle the materials from EV batteries. As for safety, I read that out of 15,000 cars, only 1.5% have had to be replaced early and according to the Berkley California University, a combustion engine is more likely to explode.

We traveled from Calgary to Vancouver last summer, through the Rockies and the chargers we found were mostly off the beaten track in parking lots near parks or small business facilities. Not in the commonly noticed areas where gas stations locate. So maybe they are there, you just aren't noticing them. Especially as they might be only two units standing in an obscure corner somewhere. Also, we were just learning how to use them, didn't understand the process and they have support numbers to call and those folks are EXCELLENT at walking you through it.
 
Wes said:
I just wish someone who actually owns an EV would have been in the discussion. Then all the 'theories' would have been put to rest. I am as unsure about owning an EV at this point in this discussion as I was at its beginning. Many have an opinion but, no one has actual experience. Any real world owners of EV's on the forum? Please comment. Thank you.
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Maybe I can answer some general questions. What are you curious about? We've had our 2023 Bolt EUV for a smidgeon over a year now and we love it.
 
Debrah N. said:
Batteries have a life expectancy of 150,000 to 200,000 miles and once they aren't holding a charge good enough to drive, the old ones can be repurposed to storing power for home/business solar systems. As well, I believe they're well on their way to being able to recycle the materials from EV batteries. As for safety, I read that out of 15,000 cars, only 1.5% have had to be replaced early and according to the Berkley California University, a combustion engine is more likely to explode.

We traveled from Calgary to Vancouver last summer, through the Rockies and the chargers we found were mostly off the beaten track in parking lots near parks or small business facilities. Not in the commonly noticed areas where gas stations locate. So maybe they are there, you just aren't noticing them. Especially as they might be only two units standing in an obscure corner somewhere. Also, we were just learning how to use them, didn't understand the process and they have support numbers to call and those folks are EXCELLENT at walking you through it.
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I've been a hobbiest mechanic since I was a kid. I have never heard of an internal combustion engine "explode". Berkley University is wrong. Gearheads would use the terms "blew up" or "explode" as slang for internal parts failed from too high of rpm for too long., You know....., operator error.
 
I drove a Civic Hybrid (2003 model year) all year round for 16 years until I hit a deer and totaled it. It was like a little spaceship getting close to 600 miles on a 13 gallon tank. No unusual Winter issues and the only one I can think of was getting stuck by stopping with the drive wheels on flat thick solid ice one time. I even jump-started an F-150 from that car.

A proper hybrid works fine. Just avoid "plug-in" hybrids which have all of the disadvantages of both an EV and a gasoline vehicle.
 
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No cars for me, gas or electric. Though I do drive a mobility chair that is electric but don't use it in cold or wet weather and just for short distances ( a few blocks). I call it my vehicle.
 
I have decided on getting this model electric car. It does some amazing things.....lunch and dinner also. :)

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Yes, I would, but I'm a renter and they have no chargers in the parking lot. From what I have heard, the HOA board is conservative, so I highly doubt they will adopt this new technology anytime soon. I think states should pass laws requiring apartments to install them gradually, to something like 80% of all spaces having chargers by 2040, or something like that.
 
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VintageBetter said:
Yes, I would, but I'm a renter and they have no chargers in the parking lot. From what I have heard, the HOA board is conservative, so I highly doubt they will adopt this new technology anytime soon. I think states should pass laws requiring apartments to install them gradually, to something like 80% of all spaces having chargers by 2040, or something like that.
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Of course, with such a law landlords will raise the rents and HOAs will raise the HOA fees. OR, and perhaps a better solution, would be to require the oil companies to install them at every gas station by 20-something. If they are fast chargers people could fill-up on electric in 30-40 minutes while grabbing lunch at the Subway attached to the gas station. Or, gas stations could start to sell books and more kinds of magazines so chargers can get something to read as they charge.
 
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againstthegrain said:
Throw up all the roadblocks and petty issues you want. To me that indicates a failure of imagination, lack of faith in man's ability to over come problems, and a high resistance to change.

I bet you had trouble finding gas stations when you bought your first Model T but that didn't stop cars from being introduced and over taking the beloved nag for transportation.
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I indicated that I would not buy one, now! I did not suggest that I would never buy one. As most here have indicated they currently are not practical cost wise and in functionality.

I have complete faith that if the American people want EV's, then Americans will develop solutions to the many problems with EV'v that now exist.

Nuff Said
 
Leased one for a couple years because Rick wanted one. It was back before they were mainstream....so the infrastructure was not caught up yet. Still few public access charging stations and not made for long road trips, as there was only a 200 mile range.
Plus it took MUCH longer to reach full charge in cold weather. So, I would never do it again
 
Debrah N. said:
Maybe I can answer some general questions. What are you curious about? We've had our 2023 Bolt EUV for a smidgeon over a year now and we love it.
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This thread presents EV's as pretty dangerous cars. Do you feel safe in yours? Are you planning on keeping this car for as long as it lasts or is trading it in in its future? Will you buy another EV based on your experience with your current car or will you switch to a gas car?
 
Two of my children have hybrid vehicles and they love theirs. My oldest son has had a Prius for quite a few years now, both he and his wife, and I am pretty sure that my oldest grandson also has a Prius , too.
My daughter has a MiniCooper and it is also a hybrid, but can be plugged in and charged. Before she got her job overseas (where she is now), her job required almost constant travel, and she often stayed at hotels, and was able to charge her car there at night.

My son does most of his own maintenance on his Prisus’es, although they have not needed much from what he has said to me. He lived in northern Idaho, so had very cold winters and had no problems with the battery not charging.

Since I do not drive very far, I would probably be fine with an electric vehicle, or a hybrid, and would not mind having one if I were going to get another vehicle.
 
Wes said:
This thread presents EV's as pretty dangerous cars. Do you feel safe in yours? Are you planning on keeping this car for as long as it lasts or is trading it in in its future? Will you buy another EV based on your experience with your current car or will you switch to a gas car?
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I feel very safe in it and yes, we're keeping it. And if we won a lottery the only reason we'd change it would be to get a slightly bigger one and with some added features.

We talked to a guy driving a mid size Volkswagen EV and one of the neat things that he liked about his was that when he's going down hill, the regenerative braking 'puts miles back into the battery'. Because ours is one of the cheaper models, we don't have as good a feature as his although the regenerative breaking works like that except our braking is more one level and aggressive and would slow you to a stop going down a mountain highway hill. The VW's had two level braking, slow down but continue to coast forward or slow to a stop.

But because 90% of our driving we use the one pedal braking, we'll hardly ever do a brake job. One pedal braking (for the uninformed) means you only use the brake when you turn the car on or shift into drive or reverse. The rest of the time, when you are driving and coming up to a stop sign, you merely take your foot off the 'power' pedal and the car slows to a stop so your brake pads aren't touched. And you get used to that very quickly. We'd never switch back to an ICE vehicle.
 
Llynn said:
No.
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Well, if you were a younger person, there will come a point when you have no choice in the matter because that's all that will be for sale. Canada already has a deadline of 2035 I think, where the only new cars on lots will be EV's. And from that moment on, the number of old ICE cars available for resale will only go down.
 
Debrah N. said:
Well, if you were a younger person, there will come a point when you have no choice in the matter because that's all that will be for sale. Canada already has a deadline of 2035 I think, where the only new cars on lots will be EV's. And from that moment on, the number of old ICE cars available for resale will only go down.
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Unlikely.

Sales have already tanked as the market reached oversaturation. Aside from China most countries are backing down on their aggressive mandate schedules. EVs simply aren't for for purpose and the product lifecycle is anti-green, coal-burners are not the answer.

It gets more ridiculous by the day:

 
I am a little late to the game, but yes I would consider buying an electric car, but only under two conditions …
1 — It had a battery other than Lithium Ion, one that could not burn.
2 — It was self driving.
Both conditions seem to be on the horizon, so maybe in two or three years.
 

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