EV trip in the real world

[SkyDekker 1,277]

11 hours ago, JoeWeber said:

Did he come from a home where the parents liked different football teams?

Worse, his parents weren't married.

[lippy 855]

41 minutes ago, CygnusX-1 said:

FIFY

If you are going to post this anti-EV FUD, please have the decency to correct the inaccuracies or the narrative that the author is trying to push. Although, to be perfectly honest (without reading the whole or any of the article) if the author included Tesla's charging network reliability in the sample that might have greatly reduced the inoperable stations to probably 20% from the abysmal performance of networks like EA.

Brent isn’t a big stickler for accuracy in his posts about EV’s…..or environment….or, anything really. 

[normiss 719]

1 hour ago, SkyDekker said:

Worse, his parents weren't married.

And that drunk uncle!

[billvon 2,687]

1 hour ago, lippy said:

Brent isn’t a big stickler for accuracy in his posts about EV’s…..or environment….or, anything really. 

A foolish accuracy is the hobgoblin of little minds.

[airdvr 201]

On 7/9/2024 at 6:37 PM, JerryBaumchen said:

Hi airdvr,

In your entire lifetime, what have you been forced to own?

Jerry Baumchen

Perhaps forced wasn't the best word.  What I see happening slowly is my choice of vehicle will be eroded.  True, I could continue to purchase used ICE vehicles.  But the availability of those goes away quickly if the only new purchase is EV.

Of course at my age I'll never personally see that happen.  Hell, I get nervous buying green bananas.

 

[normiss 719]

Mecum has some sweet used ICE cars!

[billvon 2,687]

42 minutes ago, airdvr said:

Perhaps forced wasn't the best word.  What I see happening slowly is my choice of vehicle will be eroded. 

I see more choice now.  When I first actually bought a new car, the choices were gas or diesel, manual or automatic.  Then E85 vehicles came out, then flex fuel vehicles.  Then hybrids.  Then BEVs.  Then PHEV's - which means you can now buy one car and use it in gas OR electric modes.  You can even get hydrogen cars noawadays.  That's a huge increase in choice.

[SkyDekker 1,277]

 

Number is expected to rise to 285 this year. But yeah, there is so much less choice now.....

https://www.statista.com/statistics/200097/number-of-existing-car-models-on-the-us-market-since-1990/

[normiss 719]

More options coming

Since the Jetsons, I've long dreamt of such vehicles.

Hopefully before I die.

[gowlerk 2,072]

15 minutes ago, normiss said:

More options coming

Since the Jetsons, I've long dreamt of such vehicles.

Hopefully before I die.

Roadworthy and airworthy are pretty much incompatible with each other. Your dream may come true in a limited sense one day. But the vehicle will not be very good at either mode.

[normiss 719]

1 hour ago, gowlerk said:

Roadworthy and airworthy are pretty much incompatible with each other. Your dream may come true in a limited sense one day. But the vehicle will not be very good at either mode.

I will not be denied my briefcase flying car!!

 

actually, I most likely will.

 

Has me wondering what happened with the Moller SkyCar. 

[normiss 719]

Oh.

 

As of 2023, the M400 has not achieved free flight.

Due to the project's failure to deliver and associated financial issues, Moller has been accused of deliberate fraud. The parent company, Moller International, has been dormant since 2015.

[JerryBaumchen 1,243]

2 hours ago, normiss said:

More options coming

Since the Jetsons, I've long dreamt of such vehicles.

Hopefully before I die.

Hi Mark,

I'm about a generation older than you.  It is interesting how, at this age, so much of our thinking is about just that.

C'est la vie,

Jerry Baumchen

[JerryBaumchen 1,243]

3 hours ago, airdvr said:

Perhaps forced wasn't the best word.  What I see happening slowly is my choice of vehicle will be eroded.  True, I could continue to purchase used ICE vehicles.  But the availability of those goes away quickly if the only new purchase is EV.

Of course at my age I'll never personally see that happen.  Hell, I get nervous buying green bananas.

 

Hi airdvr,

I'm in about the same place.  I own two 2015 luxury class vehicles.  Unless something disastrous happens, I will never buy another car.

Jerry Baumchen

[headoverheels 323]

27 minutes ago, JerryBaumchen said:

Hi airdvr,

I'm in about the same place.  I own two 2015 luxury class vehicles.  Unless something disastrous happens, I will never buy another car.

Jerry Baumchen

At age 70, I'm on my 4th car ever, a 2019.  Never had one less than 11 year and my previous one 20+. Without a wreck or a blown engine, I will likely only get another car when they are truly self driving and I can't drive myself.  Of course self driving cabs would be a more economic alternative to ownership, but I can't take it with me.

[JerryBaumchen 1,243]

13 minutes ago, headoverheels said:

At age 70, I'm on my 4th car ever, a 2019.  Never had one less than 11 year and my previous one 20+. Without a wreck or a blown engine, I will likely only get another car when they are truly self driving and I can't drive myself.  Of course self driving cabs would be a more economic alternative to ownership, but I can't take it with me.

Hi head,

Ah, kids these days. :)

Jerry Baumchen

[nigel99 277]

Very interesting thanks Bill. I was looking at electric vehicles a few months ago as my car is an Aussie performance vehicle and not great to drive in traffic.

In the end I decided to go the opposite extreme since I am mostly working from home. I got an e-scooter which is great for little runs up to the shops and anywhere within 5 or 6 miles. Our public transport is pretty good and so I can use it to get to the train for trips to the city. It paid itself off in fuel savings in 4 months. The only downside is our government is very strict and e-scooters are speed limited to 15 miles an hour and you’re supposed to wear a helmet. Would be nice to be able to keep up with bicycles on the cycle tracks.

[wolfriverjoe 1,454]

21 hours ago, airdvr said:

Perhaps forced wasn't the best word.  What I see happening slowly is my choice of vehicle will be eroded.  True, I could continue to purchase used ICE vehicles.  But the availability of those goes away quickly if the only new purchase is EV.

Of course at my age I'll never personally see that happen.  Hell, I get nervous buying green bananas.

 

Well, it's going to be some time before new ICE cars will no longer be available.

And one of your links was for a requirement for a state government fleet to be all zero emissions.
I'm going to guess that both of us may well be beyond our driving years by then.

And even when there are no more new ICE cars, used ones will be available for quite some time. Cars are getting better and more durable.
I remember when a 5 year old car with 75k on the odo was considered 'old'.

A friend on a tight budget is looking for a serviceable car for around town. She's finding cars upwards of 20 years old that fit her needs and budget.

My last car was 19 years old, with 142k on the odo when it finally reached the end (bought it at 10 1/2 with 103k).
The previous one to that was 18 years and 95k. And I got $2k for it.

I remember the early/mid 70s when the emissions rules tightened up. Catalytic converters were going to 'kill the automotive industry'. Lead free gas was going to 'destroy all the engines out on the road'.

What really happened is the air got a LOT cleaner, lead levels in kids plummeted and a few cars were no longer available. You couldn't get an air cooled VW anymore. IIRC, the only air cooled engines being sold in the US were Porsche. That's because the factory and the customers were willing to pay the price to make them compliant and keep them being made.

You can still buy just about any car (from any period in time). Some are hard to find, some are stupid expensive. Some are rather silly. Do you want an AMC Pacer? They're out there.

 

 

4 hours ago, nigel99 said:

Very interesting thanks Bill. I was looking at electric vehicles a few months ago as my car is an Aussie performance vehicle and not great to drive in traffic.

In the end I decided to go the opposite extreme since I am mostly working from home. I got an e-scooter which is great for little runs up to the shops and anywhere within 5 or 6 miles. Our public transport is pretty good and so I can use it to get to the train for trips to the city. It paid itself off in fuel savings in 4 months. The only downside is our government is very strict and e-scooters are speed limited to 15 miles an hour and you’re supposed to wear a helmet. Would be nice to be able to keep up with bicycles on the cycle tracks.

I fully understand those 'strict' rules. E-scooters are pretty dangerous. 15 is faster than a lot of people realize, and those things handle like crap. Head injuries and deaths from them (both with & without helmets) are pretty common.

I have to ask: What is your 'performance vehicle'?
I know the Aussies are pretty solid gear heads and some of them are really cool (original Mad Max and all that).

I have a Porsche 928 (posted a pic a couple months ago), and last fall bought a Chevy Bolt EV. Utterly amazing how well it fits my life. L2 charging out my back door, full battery every morning when I leave, costs me about $30/month for charging.
I still have, and plan to keep the 928. Absolute ball to drive. But the cost difference is staggering. Typical 40 mile round trip commute to the cat rescue I volunteer at costs maybe $10 in gas in the 928. Maybe $2 in electricity in the Bolt.
Short trips around town are no brainers. Bolt wins in a walk. Hop in, press the 'on' button and go. "Fuel" cost near zero, no worrying about properly warming up the motor & everything in the 928, and nearly as quick. 

[nigel99 277]

6 minutes ago, wolfriverjoe said:

Well, it's going to be some time before new ICE cars will no longer be available.

And one of your links was for a requirement for a state government fleet to be all zero emissions.
I'm going to guess that both of us may well be beyond our driving years by then.

And even when there are no more new ICE cars, used ones will be available for quite some time. Cars are getting better and more durable.
I remember when a 5 year old car with 75k on the odo was considered 'old'.

A friend on a tight budget is looking for a serviceable car for around town. She's finding cars upwards of 20 years old that fit her needs and budget.

My last car was 19 years old, with 142k on the odo when it finally reached the end (bought it at 10 1/2 with 103k).
The previous one to that was 18 years and 95k. And I got $2k for it.

I remember the early/mid 70s when the emissions rules tightened up. Catalytic converters were going to 'kill the automotive industry'. Lead free gas was going to 'destroy all the engines out on the road'.

What really happened is the air got a LOT cleaner, lead levels in kids plummeted and a few cars were no longer available. You couldn't get an air cooled VW anymore. IIRC, the only air cooled engines being sold in the US were Porsche. That's because the factory and the customers were willing to pay the price to make them compliant and keep them being made.

You can still buy just about any car (from any period in time). Some are hard to find, some are stupid expensive. Some are rather silly. Do you want an AMC Pacer? They're out there.

 

 

I fully understand those 'strict' rules. E-scooters are pretty dangerous. 15 is faster than a lot of people realize, and those things handle like crap. Head injuries and deaths from them (both with & without helmets) are pretty common.

I have to ask: What is your 'performance vehicle'?
I know the Aussies are pretty solid gear heads and some of them are really cool (original Mad Max and all that).

I have a Porsche 928 (posted a pic a couple months ago), and last fall bought a Chevy Bolt EV. Utterly amazing how well it fits my life. L2 charging out my back door, full battery every morning when I leave, costs me about $30/month for charging.
I still have, and plan to keep the 928. Absolute ball to drive. But the cost difference is staggering. Typical 40 mile round trip commute to the cat rescue I volunteer at costs maybe $10 in gas in the 928. Maybe $2 in electricity in the Bolt.
Short trips around town are no brainers. Bolt wins in a walk. Hop in, press the 'on' button and go. "Fuel" cost near zero, no worrying about properly warming up the motor & everything in the 928, and nearly as quick. 

It’s a Holden SS Ute. 6.2l 

[brenthutch 416]

Anyone who wants a coup and still likes to row their own gears is going to find and alarming lack of choice 

Edited July 13 by brenthutch

[olofscience 456]

2 hours ago, brenthutch said:

Anyone who wants a coup and still likes to row their own gears is going to find and alarming lack of choice 

Anyone who wants a coupe and still likes to row their gears will continue to enjoy their hobby, like how horse enthusiasts can still enjoy their hobby with various breeds of horses. But they won't be finding them in the local car dealership.

 

In fact, hobbies like restoring vintage cars are having a bit of a renaissance due to the recent availability of 3D printing and lower-cost CNC machining. 

[billvon 2,687]

4 hours ago, brenthutch said:

Anyone who wants a coup and still likes to row their own gears is going to find and alarming lack of choice 

Get an original Tesla Roadster.  Coupe AND a manual transmission.

[JerryBaumchen 1,243]

39 minutes ago, billvon said:

Get an original Tesla Roadster.  Coupe AND a manual transmission.

Hi Bill,

Those are going away like the Edsel.  It is amazing how many mfr's no longer even offer a stick shift.

The future is here.

Jerry Baumchen

[wmw999 2,293]

Just buy a car in South America or Europe. They still drive stick. I rented one in October, one in May

Wendy P. 

[JoeWeber 2,527]

Just now, wmw999 said:

Just buy a car in South America or Europe. They still drive stick. I rented one in October, one in May

Wendy P. 

Or anywhere in the Eastern Caribbean. That's where all the storm water damaged cars go. I've rented some real beaut's.