Anybody here have an Electric Car?

[taiwan_girl]

Just curious. One of my friends is looking at one, and another has had the Ford Mustang eMach. That friend is super happy with it. Had it for about 2+ years.

Just curious on feedback from the collective smart minds on this forum board!!

[89th]

Not here. I’m not confident enough in the charging grid yet (or availability of charging stations) on road trips. Further, with kids it can be ANY exit that requires a refuel/stop. Don’t bother me with battery charging in that calculus.

[George K]

@89th said in Anybody here have an Electric Car?:

Kids,,,, Don’t bother me with battery charging that takes half an hour in that calculus.

FIFY

[Mik]

And that's at a Tesla fast charge station. Others take much longer.

[LuFins Dad]

@Mik said in Anybody here have an Electric Car?:

And that's at a **fully functioning **Tesla fast charge station. Others take much longer.

FIFY

[Mik]

My friend drove his Tesla up from Texas last week and stopped here for the night. In the morning he went by a nearby charging station. It crapped out after 10 minutes, buying him about 30 miles.

[George K]

Our town installed a couple of charging stations in the parking lot of our neighborhood grocery store. They are "free of charge", they claim.

Assuming you're going grocery shopping, you'll spend, what, 30 minutes there, at most? How much charge will these give you in that time?

What's to keep someone from camping out at that spot for 4-5 hours?

[taiwan_girl]

Not unexpected, but battery technology is almost growing as fast as computer technology was a few decades ago.

QUOTE
Porsche's battery technology engineers have predicted that in the medium-term, battery technology will improve to the point that 800-mile EVs that take under 15 minutes to charge could be a reality not too long from now.
UNQUOTE

https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/2023/innovation/porsche-engineering-the-future-of-the-cell-32241.html

I think the big thing people are looking for is "solid state battery".

QUOTE
At a technical briefing in early July, Toyota announced that it has made a breakthrough in battery technology that will allow it to eventually create batteries that offer a whopping 745 miles of range on a single charge — and that it’s aiming to create a battery that would give an electric car 900 miles of range.

Toyota says that its first generation will reach a range of around 740 miles, and be able to charge in around 10 minutes. They’ll also be safer — since solid-state batteries don’t have the same flammable liquid solution found in current batteries.
UNQUOTE

https://www.toyota.ie/company/news/2021/solid-state-batteries

[Mik]

And when they can reliably do that with vehicle longevity I will consider it.

[taiwan_girl]

@Mik I dont think you are alone.

It seems typical with any new technology. There are a few which will be early adopter "just because". Technology will evolve and improve and eventually the majority will adopt.

[Copper]

Gasoline powered internal combustion technology should improve too, without all the problems associated with EV

[Jolly]

Seen any turbine cars on the road lately?

They were the next big thing, years ago.

[taiwan_girl]

@Copper said in Anybody here have an Electric Car?:

Gasoline powered internal combustion technology should improve too, without all the problems associated with EV

I think only to a certain level. There is only so much "power" per liter of gasoline that is possible. Then, you can start doing weight reductions of the cars, maybe better tires, some changes to engine design etc.but I think we are closer to the maximum than with EV, which I think is where gasoline cars were 50 or 75 years ago in regards to available technology improvements.

[Jolly]

We had EV's 100 years ago.

There was a place for them then. There is a place for them now. But they are going to have to take a quantum leap in technology and infrastructure to be viable across this country.

I'll take my wife to the ENT tomorrow. I will drive 30 miles, one-way, to do so. And that's not the extent of the running I will do tomorrow. There are four Tesla charging stations in town. See any problems with that?

[Jon]

I wonder if some day we’ll see a tipping point where the chicken-egg problem with charging stations starts happening in reverse with petrol stations. If EVs take off enough, gas stations will start closing and delivery will lose its scale economies.

[George K]

https://electrek.co/2023/08/07/rise-of-electric-golf-carts-as-second-cars/

In recent years a surprising vehicle trend has quietly gained momentum across the US. Believe it or not, electric golf carts are becoming a popular choice as “second cars” for many American families.
These compact, efficient, and versatile vehicles are increasingly being seen far beyond the confines of the country clubs, zipping around neighborhoods and making regular appearances in local commutes. So what’s behind this surge in popularity?

Good luck in Chicago, in January. No need to even mention Minnesoooota.

[Jolly]

What's behind the surge? People too old or too lazy to walk. And they're running them on quiet, neighborhood streets.

See used ones a lot on the rural route, too. They are a cheap alternative to UTV's, when doing yard work, checking on the cows in the back pasture or hauling a single square bale out to the horse.

[Jolly]

But, a case of product, use and need all converging at a pricepoint.

[Mik]

We have several golf carts in our neighborhood, mostly used to go to the pool. Now a lot of the kids have powered skateboard, scooters and like toddler minibikes. The older ones do not wear helmets and they come zipping down bumpy trails at 15 or more mph. I'm just waiting for the accident that wakes these parents up.

I'm also worried about the lack of fitness these things promote. Luckily there are still lots of kids with conventional bikes.

[taiwan_girl]

Some good news on electric car batteries

The data showed that most EVs driven close to 100,000 miles still have at least 90 percent of their original range left.

https://www.recurrentauto.com/research/how-long-do-ev-batteries-last