Poll: Do you have, or plan to get, an electric car?

[betarhoalphadelta]

You might be surprised to learn how many stops they make in 1 mile. I see the same thing with UPS.
I live on a cul-de-sac and I have seen the driver deliver to four of the five homes in one loop. Sometimes they don't even move the truck.
We are obviously Amazon dependent...

Oh, we are too... Honestly I think if we stopped deliveries for two weeks (from lack of ordering), Amazon, UPS, FedEx, etc would all be calling the cops for welfare checks on the house.

I just always think it's funny when it's "10 stops away" and they're nearby and it still takes an hour.

I'm impatient. I'm waiting for "Prime Before"...

 

[Kent88]

You want Causality Violation or The Mending?

 

[Kent88]

 

[PCABrewing]

That's pretty cool.
Back in the 70's/80's a friend of mine was a miner on the deep tunnel project in Chicago.
He said the "mole" that did the boring (30+ feet in diameter) was all electric and dragged an umbilical behind it.
That truck Cat showed would have worked behind clearing tailings.

 

[mac_1103]

Finally! Screw the electric Hummer, this is the EV I've been waiting for!

 

[day_trippr]

I wonder if they are using the same Li-ion battery tech and packaging as automobiles or something more able to stand up to vibration without causing exothermic events...

 

[passedpawn]

That's pretty cool.
Back in the 70's/80's a friend of mine was a miner on the deep tunnel project in Chicago.
He said the "mole" that did the boring (30+ feet in diameter) was all electric and dragged an umbilical behind it.
That truck Cat showed would have worked behind clearing tailings.

When they tunneled under the english channel, they had borers coming from both sides (france and england). The borers met in the middle, leaving a finished roadway behind them. They just left the borers buried where they met, next to the tunnel! I believe they actually dug 3 tunnels in this manner.

 

[PCABrewing]

I wonder if they are using the same Li-ion battery tech and packaging as automobiles or something more able to stand up to vibration without causing exothermic events...

IIRC, when they talked about the 64KW battery pack he said it used automotive cells as the base but their own packaging.
I may have misunderstood that though. It's in the last 20% of the video.
The CAT guy said they can encounter up to 5G shock to that machine.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Nothing to see here, folks. Move on.

On foot.

Chicago-area Tesla charging stations lined with dead cars in freezing cold: 'A bunch of dead robots out here'

 

[Airborneguy]

As soon as I saw the notification that you posted, I knew exactly what I was gonna see.

Anyway, I’m out and about in a nice warm Tesla, and I am really happy I don’t have to ever stop for gas in this crappy weather. It’s amazing how well AWD controlled by independent motors with a low center of gravity handles in the snow.

It’s awesome when I’m up at the cabin in these temps and snow. Instead of driving 10 miles for gas in snowstorms, I can fuel right in the driveway.

 

[tracer bullet]

Anyway, I’m out and about in a nice warm Tesla, and I am really happy I don’t have to ever stop for gas in this crappy weather. It’s amazing how well AWD controlled by independent motors with a low center of gravity handles in the snow.

A friend / coworker here in MN mentioned the same, that his Model 3 AWD system is fantastic. He and tons of other owners are all here today, I think I'd have heard around the water cooler if there were any problems but nothing yet.

On that note, how does Chicago fill up with dead Teslas? Are the owners even a tiny bit aware of how cars work? Is it the equivalent to getting down to 1/2 gallon of gas in an ICE car, after the light's been on for 50 miles, and then wondering why you ran out of gas finally on the way to work?

The implication that EV's don't work when it gets cold is quite beyond silly. There are SO many of them around here, and no one's ever mentioned the weather other than "yeah, range went down a little, but not much, and no big deal".

 

[Kent88]

I'm probably around 80% of the advertised range in this cold snap. No, I'm not thrilled about it, but my Jeep is also probably a few MPG less than what it was getting a month ago.

I anticipated a drop in range before I bought it. I considered what I asked the vehicle I was trading in to do, and I could take the range hit.

It's nice to charge in the garage rather than standing out by a pump in this weather.

 

[tracer bullet]

Quoted from a friend: If only we could somehow harness the energy that goes into the cumulative finger taps bitching about electric cars. We could probably take one of the power plants offline.

 

[mac_1103]

Regenerative typing?

 

[Brooothru]

Thank goodness someone came in here to warn us of this impending danger. I may have to sell my electric cars tomorrow.

On the other hand if you look up the statistics gas and diesel vehicles are 61 times more likely to burst into flames then an EV.
Hmm what should I do?

Ahh, get a horse?

 

[Brooothru]

I had 9 in a Ford Escort once...

...It was not one of my finer ideas.

Flashback to the 60s: seeing how many we could stuff into a Volkswagen Beetle. Or the time we put one of the football coach’s VW between the steel uprights supporting the walkway roof in front of the school. There might have been 4-5 inches clearance front and back.

Not sure how we got it in there. Really don’t know how coach got it out. Do know we were running lots of laps the next day. Well worth it though.

 

[sibelman]

Back to electric cars! VW bug conversions.

 

[Kent88]

 

[whoaru99]

Quoted from a friend: If only we could somehow harness the energy that goes into the cumulative finger taps bitching about electric cars. We could probably take one of the power plants offline.

Add in the finger taps of bitching about the complaining about electric cars and you'd have the total package.

 

[sibelman]

Finger tapping, and the head-shaking about the lifetime cost of buying/owning an electric car, apparently lower than ICEs only in some cases.

 

[tracer bullet]

From the article, "Keep in mind, however, that this assessment did not include the Federal EV tax credit, which reduces the purchase price of certain EVs by $3,750 or $7,500. When included, the affordability scale tips decidedly toward EVs."

These comparisons are dumb anyhow. You pay more up front, save on gas costs later. One has to put it all together and evaluate the purchase cost and decide what they feel like spending.

It's like an article saying a Lexus is usually more expensive than a Kia. Yeah, well, duh.

 

[sibelman]

These comparisons are dumb

I mostly agree: I just really want an electric car, and no analysis can place a dollar value on that feeling. Similarly, one might really want a Lexus (or, in my case, an E-type

It's impossible to quantify the joy of (partially) disconnecting from the petroleum matrix. Once I replace my aging gas furnace and water heater, that joy will grow further.

That said, folks considering what to buy would benefit from a solid assessment of the total cost of ownership that takes account of all the monetary factors.

 

[Kent88]

My problem was with temperature adjusted efficiency. ICE vehicles are also less efficient in the cold.

 

[mac_1103]

ICE vehicles are also less efficient in the cold.

Everything is less efficient in the cold. I can post videos of myself working in summer vs winter for anyone who doubts this.

 

[sibelman]

ICE vehicles are also less efficient in the cold.

Somewhat, yes. How much? Dunno.

I do know it's kind of a bummer to wear a parka in my EV to reduce range loss from the cabin heater. Less concerning in my Bolt than it was in my 2012 Leaf.

 

[doug293cz]

Everything is less efficient in the cold. I can post videos of myself working in summer vs winter for anyone who doubts this.

Some electronic components work faster at lower temperatures (CMOS IIRC.) I was part of a group looking at whether or not it was practical to refrigerate CPUs to make them run faster (project didn't end up going anywhere.)

Brew on

 

[Rodrigue Planck]

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wir...50-lightning-pickup-weaker-expected-106509785
Well it's another bad story for EVs

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wir...50-lightning-pickup-weaker-expected-106509785
Well it's another bad story for EVs

When I have commented it's been deemed to political, so I am left with the market indicates a big slowdown on EVs.

From the article:

Electric vehicle sales overall grew 47% to a record 1.19 million last year, according to Motorintelligence.com. The EV market share grew from 5.8% in 2022 to 7.6% last year.

So sales grew by 47% year over year and market share grew 31% year over year, and you're coming in to dunk on EV fans because the growth wasn't even faster?

Weird flex, but ok.

 

[mac_1103]

Well it's another bad story for EVs

From the article:

Electric vehicle sales overall grew 47% to a record 1.19 million last year, according to Motorintelligence.com. The EV market share grew from 5.8% in 2022 to 7.6% last year. But EV sales growth slowed toward the end of the year. In December, they rose 34%.

So market share is growing, but just not as fast as they thought it would and they are adjusting production accordingly. Also, maybe bad news for the F-150 Lightning is only bad news for the F-150 Lightning?

 

[Rodrigue Planck]

From the article:

Electric vehicle sales overall grew 47% to a record 1.19 million last year, according to Motorintelligence.com. The EV market share grew from 5.8% in 2022 to 7.6% last year. But EV sales growth slowed toward the end of the year. In December, they rose 34%.

So market share is growing, but just not as fast as they thought it would and they are adjusting production accordingly. Also, maybe bad news for the F150 Lightning is only bad news for the F-150 Lightning?

But continued growth is key, they are slashing because they may have hit market saturation. Time will tell.

 

[mac_1103]

they are slashing because they may have hit market saturation

If that were true they would cut to zero.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

But continued growth is key, they are slashing because they may have hit market saturation. Time will tell.

So it was 7.6% in 2023. Are you predicting that EV annual sales will remain <10% market share in, say, 2030?

 

[Airborneguy]

Thanks for that article! I hadn't seen this good news about EV growth. Seems as if those open to new ideas are steadily checking them out. Those with mental blocks - for ahem, a reason - will continue to stay away. That's better for all of us.

 

[sibelman]

Are you predicting...

Here's a prediction of continued growth, though reality may never match marketing projections.

 

[passedpawn]

My problem was with temperature adjusted efficiency. ICE vehicles are also less efficient in the cold.

Not exactly. Combustion engines obviously are self-heating, which means that parts that don't like to be cold won't be cold for long. That heat, distributed by water and oil, is a sweet by-product of combustion that EVs don't have. Great for heating the cabin of the vehicle, too.

Now, before you zealots get all triggered lol, I'm a fan of the EVs and see myself in one someday. Maybe that new Ramcharger, which looks supercool.

 

[tracer bullet]

Meanwhile: BMW Says ICE Demand Has Peaked, Growth Is All In EVs From Here | Carscoops

 

[Kent88]

Not exactly.

IDK, my gas jeep definitely drops a few MPG in the winter.

You can definitely argue that the difference in winter efficiency isn't as bad in ICE as it is in EVs, but it's still there.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

 

[day_trippr]

Cliff Notes?
I stopped watching Scotty over a year ago. Too annoying...

 

[mac_1103]

That heat, distributed by water and oil, is a sweet by-product of combustion that EVs don't have.

Actually it's a tremendous fuel inefficiency.