The Electric Car Thread

newer battery tech, they have learned how to make it better, faster, stronger and now we got it. It was pricey at the start (which is was). Or maybe im just cheap and havent dealt with producing anything like that

 

Full disclosure: I am a Tesla shareholder from when I worked there, however, I am not an "Electric vehicles will save the planet!" fanboi by any stretch.


1) Not saying that the water pollution isn't an issue, but correct facts are important, and some sources say 500k gallons while other say 500k liters. Big difference. Don't know if it's intentionally or unintentionally, but the article that cites the 500K gallons figure also used metric tons for the lithium. why did they mix metric and standard units? The other article uses metric tons and liters. I don't think unusable is necessarily true and I'd haven't seen where the water isn't reusable or treatable.

2) Agreed this isn't anything to get up in arms about.

3) I don't really think that there should be subsidies for EVs, but if we want to go down that road we should question farming subsidies too.

I think that EVs have their place in the world of transport, but they are not the solution to all the world's problems.

 

We have a Tesla Model 3 that we use for running around town and short trips. Still got plenty of ICE for when it's needed. Personally I really enjoy the Tesla. It definitely saves us money vs the same amount of driving using gasoline. I haven't ever had any soul so I'm not worried about it stealing mine.

I will say that the sensation of heading up an entrance ramp and accelerating impressively in a vehicle where the only thing you hear is wind noise is somewhat exhilarating to me. There's something wickedly sensational about it.

 

There's no place in my world for an EV. I demand from my vehicles the capability to drive in a virtually indefinite manner in any hours of the 24/7/365 time frame while operating in temperate zones (four seasons). EV vehicles fall too short in that ability.
If I were to have any EV at all, it would be something like a Segway, garden tractor, bicycle, etc., provided that the product suited a need within a price point. Seein's that I don't need a $3K bicycle and I probably can't fix an electric garden tractor and never was one for skateboards...

 

The only EVs I see any real use for are NEVs. A quality 50ish mile NEV, that doesn't look like a lame golf cart, at ~$10K would pique my interest. But it's not glamorous, so nobody does it.
Quick errands, kids driving to school and back, etc. Seems a market that has blossomed in China with tons of the little things that hasn't happened here. A few little importers of them, but this is an area that methinks one of the big guys could make some good money on.

 

I think they legalised some of that here in IA for the 35 mph roads. Ive seen one of those kei trucks on the road.

 

an EV will be perfect for my wife, she's always full throttle from leaving the drive no warmup time, no oil changes, EV will always have a full tank, only drives 20 miles a day, instant heat.

 

Somebody take a shit in yer fort? Jesus. Maybe take off the petroleum shaded glasses and open your mind to the alternatives. Will petroleum ever go away? No. But there are viable options for a large percentage of the population

 

This isn't exactly on topic, but since I already pissed off the luddites in the lawnmower thread...

During what should have been the last mowing last season, my Craftsman rider took a crap. I had been eyeing electric riders but dayum they're expensive. A few weeks later Tractor Supply was blowing out the Greenworks 42"60V for $2999 (was 4500 and sometimes on sale for 4000) so I went for it. Mowed with it 3 times now, and it's working out great. I've got a .8 acre hilly property, and it's got *almost* enough juice to mow twice. Today I used my new tow-behind 40" aerator and went over most of the lawn at least twice and it's showing 92% charge left (just towing, not running blade). Other than the clanking of the tow bar it was dead silent, allowing me to enjoy Ozzie's Boneyard thru my wireless headphones. The damn Craftsman is still in the garage...it's a tossup between selling it as-is for $100 or splitting the damn cases to put in a new cam for around $100 and selling it for $500.

 

Dude just pulled up at my venue with a Mach E.

I don't hate it.

 

After taking a Plaid for a couple trips down 1/4 mile I agree. It’s oddly satisfying but I feel like I’m cheating on petrol The acceleration is something you have to experience yourself because it’s such an off feeling. It’s not the actual acceleration but your senses that are missing things like sound, smell and even the vibration of a petrol vehicle.

 

Mach E? Nah. I’d stay far away from Ford e vehicles until they can prove they’ve caught up with the rest, especially in real world conditions.

 

I work for a company called SparkCharge. https://www.sparkcharge.io/ We make portable EV batteries and chargers. Our present business model is geared arount servicing fleets (CaaS). I.e. we aren't selling the latest model to outside customers. We ship them to our mobile ops locations and service fleet vehicles. Zipcar and Cruise are our biggest customers right now but we also sell our previous generation models to AAA, OEM manufacturers and other roadside type servies.

We are still waiting for design engineering to make a decision and purchase an end of line EV simulator for us to test the batteries and chargers we are making so for now we just test by charging a Chevy Bolt and a Mustang Mach-e. Someone has to drive the vehicles to discharge them so I get to drive the Mach-e back and forth to work everyday and use it for anything else I want.

I wouldn't spend my own money to buy an EV right now, but I'm enjoying leaving my 2500 Denali sitting in the driveway until I need to tow the toyhauler and not having to buy gas. The Mach-e is quick off the line (not as quick as many of the Tesla models) but uninspiring after about 45mph. It handles decent for an SUV and overall is nice car for commuting. Range is only 200 miles with a full charge so totally useless for anything more than 90 miles away unless there is a charger where you are going. I have a 110 outlet charger at home for overnight emergency charging on the weekends, but realistically it only gives you betwen 1-2 miles of range per hour. We are testing enough batteries and chargers everyday that it's been at least a month since I have had to plug it in anywhere.

I'm with Tgold...EVs have their place but aren't going to save the world or replace ICE vehicles anytime soon. Our mobile ops are already limited by the amount of electrical service we have at the warehouses they operate out of. Doesn't matter how many batteries and chargers we make and send to them, if they can't recharge them fast enough to take them back out in the field.

I've been trying to sell the owner on sponsoring an EV motorcycle race team, where I could take one of our units to the track and use to recharge a racebike during a race weekend, LOL!!

 

I've been driving a plug in hybrid (PHEV) for 3 years, BMW X5. Charge it overnight, drive 36 miles and when the battery goes dead it seamlessly switches to gas. I've driven 2/3 of all the miles on it in electric, works for me.

 

Nope. Didn’t know shit about EVs. So my curiosity led me to do some reading and all that. And the more I learn the less I like them. They’re not a solution. They’re an agenda.
They “solve” a problem that doesn’t exist. They actually create more.

Fire departments have to have special equipment for EV fires. Most don’t have it. Takes more water than most pumper trucks can carry to handle one.

What’s really charging the car? Oh yeah. The coal or natural gas power plant.

It’s a joke.

 

I work in the EV industry and can't really argue with any of this LOL!

 

I’m on board with hybrid technologies though to be full disclosure. I think capturing and using energy that otherwise goes unused by an ICE motor is not horrible. It’s also not tapping into the power grid.

 

Engineers need to think outside the traditional box to make electricity from the ICEs. I have ideas but, every time I vocalize an idea, someone else always makes money on it and it's never as good as I envisioned.
I shoulda got an MBA with a Doctorate in Engineering.

 

The tech is cool

The acceleration is cool

If you buy one under the guise of saving the planet, you need your brain examined

That being said, I live on the water and I think an electric boat would be the cat's ass.

I'm not going to own anything with a 20,000$ battery in it though unless you're warranting it for 15 years.

It's a big political power move guaranteed to generate many more union jobs is all.

You should have seen how hard the UAW fought Tesla sales in Michigan

 

The bass pro shops lithium batteries are tittys, and I believe 5yr warranty as well