quote:

Originally posted by arcwelder:
I'd like one as a commuter. My work has them as "service vehicles," and one advantage is that you don't have to wait for them to warm up. Instant heat when the car is turned on. You can also set it like a thermostat, to be say 70 in the car at 9am.

I'm interested in the Subaru that is supposed to be coming out.

My ordinary Ford can do this. Set the time you want it to start on your phone app, and it starts and is toasty warm when you get in the car. Never used that feature, cause I just don't need it. My key fob reaches the car from anywhere in the house and it has auto climate control so it will either turn on heat or AC depending on exterior weather.

I have 2 V8s (GM 5.3L and a 6.0L), a POS v6 (GM 3.8L) winter beater, and my work car is also a V8 (Dodge 5.7L). I live in the country, 15-20 minutes from anywhere. There are few EV charging stations around here. We take 4-5 long road trips (2000 miles +) several times a year, so that's a problem. I tow either a small RV or a boat 3-4 times a week in the summer, so trailering capability is also a must. On top of that we have 4 kids...I don't see many EVs on the market that will seat 6.

At work, I'm on the road for 12+ hours at a time...EV battery likely wouldn't last a full shift, especially with all the electrical stuff I have to run in my car.

The other factor is I save thousands of dollars a year maintaining my own vehicles. Gas engines, particularly the OHV GM ones that I own, are pretty easy to work on, and with the age of my vehicles there are minimal sensors and computerized systems to deal with. I was looking under the hood of a hybrid the other day, and that looks like an absolute nightmare to work on. With regenerative braking and all that fancy stuff, I imagine even simple stuff is a lot more complicated on an EV.

I have zero desire to own an EV.

I'd be happy to own one when they have the range that I need. For now, I have an F150 with the Coyote V8, and I love it, but if Ford were to make a hybrid truck with electric supporting the engine, I'd be happy to have it.

I was talking to a friend this weekend who's wife drives a hybrid AWD Volvo, and both the mileage and the performance are exceptional.

I had looked into this. My daily commute is about 8 miles, round trip. But my current ride is a 2009 Subaru with 67,000 miles and it’s paid off. I can’t justify a car payment at this point.

I had also looked into Zero motorcycles. They are all electric. But I just got an amazing deal on a 2003 Yamaha V-Max, which will probably be more fun. The only caveat is it probably gets worse gas mileage than my Subaru.

Nope.

Nowhere to charge them, and nothing to do with those lithium batteries when they die.

Nope, not yet.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:

quote:

Originally posted by arcwelder:
I'd like one as a commuter. My work has them as "service vehicles," and one advantage is that you don't have to wait for them to warm up. Instant heat when the car is turned on. You can also set it like a thermostat, to be say 70 in the car at 9am.

I'm interested in the Subaru that is supposed to be coming out.

My ordinary Ford can do this. Set the time you want it to start on your phone app, and it starts and is toasty warm when you get in the car. Never used that feature, cause I just don't need it. My key fob reaches the car from anywhere in the house and it has auto climate control so it will either turn on heat or AC depending on exterior weather.

I still drive my basic work van, with no features. All this is new and fangled. I think my wifes car will do it, but it still has to warm up. The EVs at work get hot instantly. Most of them are the ~120 mile variety, I think two have the larger batteries, for ~400 miles.

If I were in the market for a new car, yes, electric because my around town wouldn't exceed the daily. Of course there would be a gas vehicle as well, no brainer, but for around town no problem. Never to replace a working car though, only to replace the dead on road one.

Teslas, Volts, Leafs, and hybrids are all over my neighborhood. The smaller Tesla or new Leaf were interesting until I changed locations for work. Now I live 2 miles from the office and the cost of buying an electric car doesn't make economic sense.

I did not vote, but I think you'll find people who have EVs have a second - or even third - vehicle that runs on traditional fuel.

A family may have two cars, one EV and the other gas.

I do know people with EVs and they like them ... all of them have at least one other vehicle that is not EV.

quote:

Originally posted by BB61:
Teslas, Volts, Leafs, and hybrids are all over my neighborhood. The smaller Tesla or new Leaf were interesting until I changed locations for work. Now I live 2 miles from the office and the cost of buying an electric car doesn't make economic sense.

Ooo get a "Smart Car." Those things are terrifying.

Funny how people can't understand why some electric car designs aren't as safe as non-electric.

It's called the law of gross tonnage - if you driving the smallest MF-ing car around, odds are if you get hit it will be by a bigger to much bigger vehicle.

New crash systems / airbags / etc are great but physics and the laws of motion can be an unforgiving bitch.

quote:

Originally posted by arcwelder:

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:

quote:

Originally posted by arcwelder:
I'd like one as a commuter. My work has them as "service vehicles," and one advantage is that you don't have to wait for them to warm up. Instant heat when the car is turned on. You can also set it like a thermostat, to be say 70 in the car at 9am.

I'm interested in the Subaru that is supposed to be coming out.

My ordinary Ford can do this. Set the time you want it to start on your phone app, and it starts and is toasty warm when you get in the car. Never used that feature, cause I just don't need it. My key fob reaches the car from anywhere in the house and it has auto climate control so it will either turn on heat or AC depending on exterior weather.

I still drive my basic work van, with no features. All this is new and fangled. I think my wifes car will do it, but it still has to warm up. The EVs at work get hot instantly. Most of them are the ~120 mile variety, I think two have the larger batteries, for ~400 miles.

I am talking about my Ford Fusion car, my work van is a 2014 NV2500HD 5.7 or 5.8 V8, no bells and whistles except cruise control and power windows/locks.

That warms up in the AM while I unload trash from day before and ensure I have all materials for current day. So it's always warm or close to warm by the time I get everything set up.

A work van is actually a really good use for EV cars now that I think about it. In my case under 100mi driven per day 98% of the time, sits at home all night.

I drive a diesel 1 ton pickup for business. Wouldn't mind an electric for around town so long as I had a backup for hauling and long trips. My neighbor just paid off his house and bought a Tesla. Nice car, tough to drive to Florida quickly though.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
... EV's will be taxed on a per mile use with the plate purchase based on weight, and miles traveled...

Last June we bought a 2019 Chevy Bolt and we love it. For anywhere we need to go in the Metro St Louis area, we drive the Bolt. Our other car is a Diesel X5 and if it's a long road trip, we drive that. So far, we've put 12K miles on the Bolt. I'm only putting fuel in the X5 every 3-4 weeks.

As for the road taxes, Missouri has that covered. I have to buy an "Alternative Fuel" decal for the car since I don't pay gas taxes. This year it's $81. That's fair. I didn't break out the calculator, but it seemed to be a reasonable fee to me.

It's quiet, comfortable, roomy enough for 5 (a bit chummy in the back for three) and we're saving a couple grand every year in energy to drive around town. Electric isn't for everybody in every situation, but it's far and away the right car for our suburban lifestyle today.

Wife drives BMW i3. Bought used one year old. Great price. We have two sets of solar panels in our yard. We have a home charger for it. She hasn't bought gas for almost two years! Super comfortable and cool car. 0-100 in 7 seconds! The panels and car are part of our retirement plan.

No need for one.

quote:

Originally posted by ltbarber:
Wife drives BMW i3. Bought used one year old. Great price. We have two sets of solar panels in our yard. We have a home charger for it. She hasn't bought gas for almost two years! Super comfortable and cool car. 0-100 in 7 seconds! The panels and car are part of our retirement plan.

What are you a Canuck or something? 0-100mph in 7 seconds would be one of the fastest cars around. That would make it ~10.5 second 1/4mi. What kind of tires is that thing running?

I would absolutely love an electric vehicle if it were conducive to our lifestyle. But currently for us it would be nothing more than a novelty and I have other things to spend money on.

Now the Father in law will almost certainly have a Rivian in a few years if the roll out is not a complete failure.

I want an electric car, the Model Y will be in consideration when I buy next year.

We're a three car family, so a daily commuter that charges overnight makes sense for us.

I borrowed a Model S for a few weeks, and having the car drive itself to work 40 minutes each was very nice.