What if they are just fun?
What if people just want one to have one

8% of the population "needs" a boat .
But look at all of those sitting around in yards and garages 230 days out of the year.

It's a gadget, a gizmo .

Heck if I get the dough in tonight's pick,
I will get one.

Look around all the 100-200 unit apartment complexes. Will we have 200 chargers in the parking lot? What load do these pull? Maybe 20 amps X 200? A new 4000 amp electric service to each parking lot? Or maybe a big shuffled schedule for shared chargers? Only a new 2000 amp service for each parking lot….ridiculous.

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
What if they are just fun?
What if people just want one to have one

8% of the population "needs" a boat .
But look at all of those sitting around in yards and garages 230 days out of the year.

It's a gadget, a gizmo .

Heck if I get the dough in tonight's pick,
I will get one.

It might be fun now, but the government is forcing their use.
Not everyone can afford one.

Bendable the government isn’t shoving boats down your throat. Wake up. If you are going to disagree with me at least make a friggin rational point. Geez

Sorry you read in too my post that I was dis agreeing with you,
I was not disagreeing with you.

I drive less than 5000 miles a year and am seldom 100 miles from home, an ev would fit but so will 12-15 year old well maintained gas engines. I've got 3 2011's, 1 2008, 1 2014, 1 2015 and 1 2016.

Insurance for 7 cars w/ 500/250 w $500 deduct runs $2800 per year and tax registration is as cheap as it gets at approx $600 year for everything, so I blow $300 month to register/insure 7 cars. Sure it's wasteful but I can afford it and I usually make a few hundred when I sell and I only buy well kept cars that I like - keeps me off the streets - wanna see pix of the 7 from heaven

2011 4Runner


2011 Durango Citadel w 5.7hemi


2011 Toyota Avalon


2008 Honda Ridgeline


2014 Mini Cooper R58 w turbo


2015 Toyota Sienna AWD Platinum trim


2016 Maxda CX-9 GT turbo

I've had solar panels on my house for years. I've owned an electric car for 3 years to commute to my job where I'm not a contractor anymore. It works. For me.

But to mandate it? Insane. Provide incentives, sure.... but the push for all electric before we have a hope of handling it? Nutty as a squirrel turd.

But just like gun control, they'll ride that fucking wave.

EVs do work, but if everyone has one... the grid can't do it.

The new energy code is zealotry.

My BIL got stuck with an EV as a rental on a work trip. The hotel had no charging station, so instead of going to bed after a 14 hour work day, he spent 2 hours in some random parking lot waiting for the stupid car to charge. He was not impressed. Maybe it's a viable solution for somebody with a short commute and a charger in their garage, but it's not a mainstream solution yet.

Our family does a lot of road trip travelling at least 5-10 times a year. 800-1000 mile days are the norm. An EV would make this impossible. I'm not interested in a vehicle that restricts my movements any more than I am one that has internet connectivity so that they can track everywhere I go or charge me subscriptions to utilize features of my own car. Nor can I afford a $40k-$80k car...especially when my 20 year-old Suburban is still running just fine.

They've been talking about getting EVs for us at work. I'm not sure how that is going to work. Apparently some agency in the southern part of the state has switched to them and their Chief has been talking them up because of their low operating and maintenance costs. It seems to me like a move to take away our take-home vehicles as they will need to sit on station to charge. It's either that or we'll be spending a lot more time on-station during our shift (and thus off the road) while the batteries charge.

Fueling logistics aside, I also saw some of the PR videos that that agency put out. And it's purely administrative PR...there's no way these things are a more effective tool than a traditional patrol vehicle. They are tiny. No way could I get all my day-to-day gear in there, much less everything I need for a range day. Long guns are relegated to the trunk so they're not accessible from the driver's seat, and the transport cage options are crap. They even had a video of their K9 car. Their dog must be a chihuahua...there's no way you could put our shepherd in that thing. He'd have to go in on one side of the car and out the other because the cage is too narrow for him to turn around. It would be absolutely inhumane to stick him in something like that for a 12 hour shift.

I'm not a big fan of what newer vehicles and road travel are becoming, period. Traffic cameras are popping up everywhere, and you no longer even have the benefit of an officer's discretion for an infraction...a camera takes a picture and a computer issues you a citation. I give at least 10x more warnings than citations, as do most other cops I know. When the cameras finally take over, you can kiss that situation goodbye. And that's not even taking into account the privacy concerns of internet-connected cameras tracking everybody's movements on the road.

Newer vehicles are also more about the computerized driver-assist functions and comfort/entertainment items than they are about transportation. I was talking to a couple of younger guys at work who were shopping for new cars, and they were more interested in the bluetooth connectivity options of the entertainment system than they were the horsepower or performance characteristics.

When I started driving, I got my first car for free and kept it going by learning to turn a wrench. That crappy old van taught me a lot of skills and gave me the ability to go anywhere that I wanted, whenever I wanted. I absolutely loved it.

Overcomplicated, over-priced, and over-regulated...EVs are just the next step towards complete restriction and dependence. They're the death of a car culture that is rooted in freedom and self-reliance.

Funny thing is I would be open to a quality hybrid. Especially a plug in hybrid that gives all the options. The market would support that.

Somebody above said they would get one (a pure EV) if they won the lottery. I wouldn’t even then. I’m the guy who charges the big batteries for my yard gear and then unplugs them when they are done because I don’t like batteries charging unsupervised in my garage. I certainly don’t want 800 lbs of batteries charging continuously in my garage. Am I nuts or is that a valid fear?

The main benefit of an electric car is the lower maintenance.

Some kind of rental combustion powered range extender would be pretty slick, though.

So would a true diesel-electric hybrid system.

Not sure why rigs haven’t switched to that, given that ships and locomotives have.

At least with incandescent light bulbs, there is a viable, even superior, alternative (LED) in place. Not so with these electric cars they want to force us into under the false premise of saving the planet. This is my main objection, not to the cars themselves. Let the market decide.

I think it’s pretty obvious the market has already decided. Without massive subsidies none of these companies would still be in business.

I still think that GM had the right idea with the Volt.
An EV, with an onboard gas generator.

Mazda briefly tried it with the MX-30, which had a rotary generator.

Never have to worry about finding/waiting on a charger. Can still plug in to charge, but also have the generator to keep on driving.

My wife and I were in the BMW dealership yesterday and I mentioned to one of the salesman that our son was looking at BMWs currently. He asked if he was considering an EV. I said, "No, he has a college degree." I thought he would die laughing.

I am a car guy…always have been always will be. Currently we are “down to” 4 vehicles…

Having said that we have just put an order in for a Model Y long range.

I agree that for many the whole EV thing won’t work.

I agree that the .gov should stay out of the whole personal transportation game. It should be our own choice.

I agree that if you only have one car that an EV “might not” be the best choice…

But don’t hate me for playing the cards that were dealt me. I am retired and most of our driving is within a 250 mile radius so the car may make it or just require a quick top off. The days of me driving nonstop for 4 to 6 hours are over so stopping will not be a big deal. We have other vehicles to drive if we feel the need to including a big diesel F-350 so I’m not a tree hugger by any means.

We are taking advantage of the $7500 fed tax credit on the Y. This will bring my out the door price with TT&L to about $48K. Also, we are getting two credits for installing chargers at our homes. The chargers will basically be free.

We are contemplating installing solar at our home so if we do the charging of the car will be free. If not, the cost will still be only about a third of what our fuel costs are.

The other thing is that the car is fast…as fast as my Porsche Spyder which cost more than twice as much…

To each their own…

^^^ Hold on just one minute! How dare you make a rational decision on based your personal situation? That's not how we handle EVs around here.

What about people that live hot/cold places or in apartment buildings? You can't get one because it doesn't make sense for them.

quote:

Originally posted by arcwelder:
I've had solar panels on my house for years. I've owned an electric car for 3 years to commute to my job where I'm not a contractor anymore. It works. For me.

But to mandate it? Insane. Provide incentives, sure.... but the push for all electric before we have a hope of handling it? Nutty as a squirrel turd.

But just like gun control, they'll ride that fucking wave.

EVs do work, but if everyone has one... the grid can't do it.

The new energy code is zealotry.

Agree on all points. February will be 10 straight years of driving an EV hatchback/toaster for DD purposes. It’s been flawless with almost nil for maintenance. (12v just like ICE, and in cabin air filters. Hasn’t even needed brake pads yet due to regenerative braking)
Next July will be 10 years with 35 panels (lease). Saved me about 30k between them both so far in gas and KWh savings. The EV has been the best car (not my favorite) I have ever owned. Fueling at home, not having to do maintenance and was purchased cheap. EV’s depreciate like mad so it makes no sense to buy one new.

I have 6 other vehicles that are gas and for fun I’m taking gas and a manual transmission every time. The money I have saved on kwh and gasoline has enabled me to fund other vehicles.

Thanks again Arc for the NRG intel 10 years ago.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
^^^ Hold on just one minute! How dare you make a rational decision on based your personal situation? That's not how we handle EVs around here.

What about people that live hot/cold places or in apartment buildings? You can't get one because it doesn't make sense for them.

Haha! I was hoping you’d see my post Jesse. All true, I guess that I was just saying while the EV thing is certainly not right for everyone it can work for some…

quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:
I am a car guy…always have been always will be. Currently we are “down to” 4 vehicles…

Having said that we have just put an order in for a Model Y long range.

I agree that for many the whole EV thing won’t work.

I agree that the .gov should stay out of the whole personal transportation game. It should be our own choice.

I agree that if you only have one car that an EV “might not” be the best choice…

But don’t hate me for playing the cards that were dealt me...

smlsig: All great points. Perfectly rational from your perspective...

It's not you... it's the government interference in the market. I doubt anyone holds it against you.

It is, however, part of their war on truth...



War on Truth
By Jim Quinn
https://www.lewrockwell.com/20...-quinn/war-on-truth/

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:
At least with incandescent light bulbs, there is a viable, even superior, alternative (LED) in place. Not so with these electric cars they want to force us into under the false premise of saving the planet. This is my main objection, not to the cars themselves. Let the market decide.

I've long said that the EVs we have currently are the transportation equivalent of the CFL bulb. They're better for a small subset of people with a small subset of use cases, and they're being pushed hard on everyone by the government. For everyone else they are a considerable step backward and simply don't make sense so there is resistance.

In the future, there will be a breakthrough in vehicle technology that will be clearly better than internal combustion engines for MOST people, and when that happens it will take over as surely as LEDs have taken over from incandescent bulbs.

We haven't reached that point.