This is a weird thread, and posting to it is addictive. But it shares the same problems as political discussions in our current environment. That’s kind of sad.
I have defended EVs, mostly by arguing against misinformation. I have the Toyota Ev, and it is a great car. It has enough power, has a great ride, and the technology in the vehicle is good. I charge at home overnight on 240V, and electric power is much cheaper than gas in my state due to hydropower and a high gas tax. (I think I pay +/- 10 cents per KWH.) It is AWD, with great traction. In many ways, EVs are great cars for normal driving.
But I’ve also tried to be objective. The car does have two related problems that are significant for some drivers. First, it has a range based on battery capacity of 250 summer miles and 220 winter miles. This is equivalent of having an 8 to 10 gallon gas tank. Second, there are often no EV Level 3 charging stations in rural areas, which makes the first problem a serious limitations. If you drive under 150 miles per day and return home each night to charge, or live in an urban area, these are not problems, and you will be well served with an EV. But if you live in a rural area, as I do, you have a leash on your vehicle based on range. I experienced this today when I went on a hike off a forest logging road, about 90 miles from home. There were no L3 charging station within 100 miles. I had to keep track of my battery level, and could only drive to about the 60% level before I felt at risk. That is actually about 100 miles, but still, I worry about being out of power 20 miles up a gravel forest road, with no phone reception, trying to find a towing company, in the winter. Its a real thing. I sure wouldn’t want to drive an electric vehicle across North Dakota in the winter.
This does not mean that electric cars are defective. It does mean that they do not meet everyone’s needs. In an urban setting they work well for people who drive under 100 to 150 miles a day and can charge at home with a Level 2 charger. They just do. But they obviously don’t work well for long-distance trips in areas without charging stations. Other than this limitation, I think the only question is whether you want an electric car or not. It’s OK if you don’t want one. I don’t care. But what I don’t like about this thread is the amount of false information, backed by blind emotion, directed against electric vehicles and 6.5 Creedmoor.
Your responses are always well thought out and tend to stay out of politics, but......
That’s not really being honest about the subject of the thread.
Just a few questions for you to consider, questions I would ask any one considering an EV. It’s clear from your posts in this thread you have a lifestyle that has a certain amount of privilege. The option to stay home if the weather does not suit you or your vehicle. The ability to just purchase, instead of finance a vehicle. These things make it much easier to have an EV fit your lifestyle. Most are not that fortunate. Just things to keep in mind.
Right to politics and get it out of the way.
$7,500 tax payer funded discount on the purchase price, would you have made the purchase without that incentive?
It looks more and more like your cheap and un interrupted reliable power may disappear with removal of the dams on the lower snake river, Will that effect your ability to consistently charge your vehicle at home? What about cost?
That’s how politics and emotion always enter the EV conversation.
On the more practical side. You say you live in a rural area. Typically that means you need to be more responsible for your own safety. Police, fire and ambulance often have lengthy response times.
You told a story in another post of the adequate range of your vehicle because you picked up your friend at the airport, round trip on a single charge. If one of you had slipped, fallen and hit your head exiting the vehicle, would there have been enough battery to get to the hospital?
How long after the trip to the airport, before you could make another 20-50 mile drive if it was an emergency?
When you had -17 and stayed home, I had -40. Unfortunately my truck, the wife’s car and the snowplow at work all had to roll. Two gas and a diesel. All parked outside, none with block heaters, they all started and got us to where we needed to be. I expect that kind of reliability and get it.
Had our vehicles been electric, we would have been stranded just like you were. The difference is that we both had a number of people depending on us, and the domino effect of not being able to do our jobs, could of actually cost someone their life.
You own your home, probably has a garage. You can charge your vehicle at home. A lot of EV owners in Chicago made the news that same week because they don’t have those advantages. This is how the class warfare aspect of the EV discussion begins.
Wrap that all up with the same people telling us that we will all be driving an electric vehicle and you can trust them to work out the energy supply issues. While at the same time they are working a backdoor deal to remove hydroelectric dams and cut energy production.
All that really can’t be summed up and laid to rest with a simple “if it doesn’t fit you’re lifestyle, don’t buy one” statement. There is a lot of propaganda for and against EV’s, but it sure seems like those pushing the changeover have a lot more money to push their cause, are more rabid about forcing the issue, and quite simply have no clue how the other half of the nation lives and what their needs for transportation might be.
On a side note, you spend time on questionable roads. Here’s a thing to remember. Just had a customer tell of his Tesla being totaled due to a less than 5 mph impact. The car hit a concrete parking lot bumper just right and the impact cracked a battery case. The leak inside the car went undetected long enough that the cost of replacing the battery and the floor board of the car due to corrosion was enough for the insurance company to total the car. Something to consider in pothole country.
Thanks for offering a civil perspective.
Forum Boss: Other EV owners have experienced vehicles being "totaled" from a relatively small impact/scrape on the bottom (do a YouTube search). In some cases the insurance companies completely deny coverage, saying this was a road hazard not covered by the policy. For example, one EV owner struck a speed bump, the car was a write-off, but his insurer paid nothing. He ended up selling his $45,000 EV for parts.
Makes me pretty sure that we're simply not gonna achieve peace on earth until the Lord comes again. jd
