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

[mac_1103]

Might be worth waiting for the second model year, after early bugs are killed.

IMHO that's true for me for any car, BEV or ICEV.

Excellent points, of course.

That’s why I haven’t bought a Rivian yet.

But they sure do look sweet.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

That’s why I haven’t bought a Rivian yet.

I wouldn't buy a Rivian until I'm sure that they're going to be around 5-10 years after I buy the vehicle, as that's how long I keep them. They're incinerating money at a rapid rate, but unlike Tesla don't have any real first-mover advantage that I can see.

 

[Airborneguy]

Yeah the 5 year mark is what I am waiting for, to even consider one. I see a ton of them in NJ, mostly the SUV. And the Amazon and AT&T deals really help but that doesn’t mean they will stay in the consumer market.

 

[Kent88]

The EVSE (/charger) that came with my EUV is branded with Chevrolet, but looks incredibly like a Webasto Go, I would really like to know if the adapters/pigtails are interchangeable between the two.

 

[mashdar]

The EVSE (/charger) that came with my EUV is branded with Chevrolet, but looks incredibly like a Webasto Go, I would really like to know if the adapters/pigtails are interchangeable between the two.

Sigh. The internet population doesn't seem to know what an OEM is any more, making this much harder to answer with search.

That connector sure does look the same.

edit: there is always a chance it's an off the shelf connector with different pinouts. For the NEMA plug, it would be easy to check pinout. If there are other connectors, I'd be wary.

edit2: here we go!
https://www.chevybolt.org/threads/2...recall-aug-31-2023.51884/page-2?nested_view=1At least some of the GM chargers are OEM Webasto?

 

[Kent88]

Sigh. The internet population doesn't seem to know what an OEM is any more, making this much harder to answer with search.

That connector sure does look the same.

I agree on both of your statements.

edit: there is always a chance it's an off the shelf connector with different pinouts. For the NEMA plug, it would be easy to check pinout. If there are other connectors, I'd be wary.

I found that Ford uses similar EVSE. There was an entry in some Mach-E forum that suggested Ford had them change something just enough that the parts were no longer interchangeable, but I have no idea how competent that poster was, or if that was a Ford specific alteration.

edit2: here we go!
https://www.chevybolt.org/threads/2...recall-aug-31-2023.51884/page-2?nested_view=1At least some of the GM chargers are OEM Webasto?

Yep, Webasto proudly states that they supply to a variety of EV makers.

 

[Kharnynb]

https://www.volvobuses.com/en/news/2022/feb/three-electric-bus-orders-secured-in-finland.html
my small town in eastern Finland has switched to electric buses since the start of this year, as someone living on a busroute street, it's a lovely reduction in noise.
As far as problems with the use, especially in sub zero temperatures(which is nearly half the year here), so far my friends that use the bus daily to get to work haven't complained even once about missing or delayed buses yet.

 

[sibelman]

Electric cars in the news

 

[Airborneguy]

Electric cars in the news

That’s about the best mass media article I’ve read in years.

 

[doug293cz]

Brew on

 

[mashdar]

View attachment 838005

Brew on

Yeah, but there were big environmental problems with all those horses. Totally different.

https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Great-Horse-Manure-Crisis-of-1894/

 

[Kent88]

Some days on HBT people fail to define what a pastry stout is, other days you learn about pay toilets. Some days you learn about Lodo, other days you learn about horse manure crises.

 

[Kent88]

https://www.reuters.com/business/au...ding-tesla-cybertruck-nissan-leaf-2024-01-01/

 

[Thorrak]

https://www.reuters.com/business/au...ding-tesla-cybertruck-nissan-leaf-2024-01-01/

$7500 price drop incoming soon!

 

[Bilsch]

this is scary...locking you in the car... no thanks,
https://www.americanthinker.com/blo...s_backwards_down_a_boat_ramp_and_ignites.html

What the writers of this fairy tale hit piece didn't know about the Model S and X is the emergency manual release mechanism is built into the same door handle you pull to open it normally. The first 1/4" of the throw activates the electric release and then if you continue to pull, it tightens up a slack cable that then manually opens the door.

But hey.. A for effort dreaming up a super scary, your gonna die, EV story.

 

[Bilsch]

Not all is well in the EV bubble. Still subsidized. Still take forever to charge. Still lacking sufficient chargers. Still on track for special road taxes.

And yet none of that is true in my case or has happened in the 6 years I've owned my Tesla. Guess I'm just lucky.

 

[Airborneguy]

Similar to “coulda, woulda, shoulda” anti’s are always saying, “you wait, you’ll see, it’s coming.”

Yawn.

 

[Broothru]

Not truly an electric car, but just got a RAV4 Prime as the new family road trip car. Goes 42mi on electric, and fully charges over night on a 120V 15A circuit! As a daily driver it'll be pretty much 100% electric. We may have trouble using the gas fast enough; I'm already considering only filling it a few gallons at a time.

We stick with Toyota for reliability. Also neat that it will make it to rural Maine without stopping for energy.

We only get 33-35 miles per charge in our Prius, (small battery bank) but only takes 5 hours vs overnight to full charge @ 120V/20a. 2017 vehicle, 65k miles, absolutely nothing but routine servicing. Fun to drive. Only problem is having to run in ICE mode often enough to require refueling with fresh petrol in the 9 gallon tank.

SWMBO’d wants to get 240V/50a service to her side of the garage + $500 for rapid charger, but I’m foot-dragging that one, unless I can get an EV for my side. Hard to justify the $$$ given our ages and demographic, though.

 

[Broothru]

Well, there's some good news.

Of course, you may not see it as good news that Americans bought more EVs in 2023 than in any previous year. Eye of the beholder / one man's poison, I suppose.

Too, there's now a wider selection than ever - still not enough at the low/small end of the market, but more to come. I'm mildly excited by the upcoming Volvo EX30.

 

[Broothru]

SOLD! I want this car yesterday!

We bought our first Volvo in 1974, and have owned a least one in our ‘stable’ of cars ever since (currently one Volvo, one Mercedes and one Prius). Ima call the dealership tomorrow.

 

[Bilsch]

Similar to “coulda, woulda, shoulda” anti’s are always saying, “you wait, you’ll see, it’s coming.”

Yawn.

My favorite is: Ford and GM are going to destroy Tesla.
Always makes me chuckle.

 

[Kent88]

I tend to buy GM and I don't hear that one much. Like, maybe I could count the number of times on one hand. I guess I just don't hang out with that crowd or visit use the right Google or YouTube search terms.

I have noticed plenty of Tesla superfans with YouTube channels suggest, on a couple occasions, that Tesla has beat/destroyed/checkmated traditional auto companies.

The auto industry has clearly demonstrated that it can support several auto companies. The transition to EVs is going to be pretty disruptive, but I don't see a reason why Tesla, GM, Ford, and Stellantis-Chrystler can't all still exist in 15 years as established, major companies.

If I was forced to put money on one of those companies not being around in 15 years, I'd say Chrysler. They're making weird decisions in the EV transition. I don't hope for them to fail, they're just dragging their heels.

I'm really curious how Rivian will navigate their first few years. I think they had a bad recall last year, but their marketing team has given them sort of a Jeep feel without the inefficiency (not that I know their vehicles mi/kWh).

 

[day_trippr]

Time will tell of course, but I wouldn't dismiss Stellantis quite yet. With the last merger there's old line money behind the company and a super broad international product set. That level of market coverage and diversity can allow segments to push the envelope and bring interesting products to market instead of just "me too" stuff...

Cheers!

 

[GrogNerd]

how to fight an EV fire?

FIREFIGHTING FOAM

CLASS D EXTINGUISHER

PANCAKE NOZZLE

FIRE BLANKET

PIERCING NOZZLE

LET IT BURN

 

[Airborneguy]

Strange that your example pic shows a car that is no longer on fire and didn’t even pop the tires. Sure seems to have been put out within a reasonable amount of time based on the pic YOU choose to “prove” your agenda.

 

[mashdar]

SWMBO’d wants to get 240V/50a service to her side of the garage + $500 for rapid charger, but I’m foot-dragging that one, unless I can get an EV for my side. Hard to justify the $$$ given our ages and demographic, though.

I briefly considered adding a lelev 2 charger. The layout of the house/garage makes it pretty convenient to route the cable from the panel.

But I realized that there's functionally no difference to us between a 12 hour charge and 2.5 hour charge; it's just going to sit there overnight. So the charger would be more for "cool" factor than anything practical.

Add to that that the transformer feeding the house is tiny (10kVA? 15?). I'd likely need to open a permit and upgrade the service.

OTOH, having charging capability would likely help house price if selling. IMO people should be running 100A feeders* to garages, though, as the day of 60A charging circuits may end soonder than you think. The price difference between a #6 and a #3 installed is probably worth paying.

*I mean size the wires for future 100A.

 

[Kent88]

But I realized that there's functionally no difference to us between a 12 hour charge and 2.5 hour charge; it's just going to sit there overnight. So the charger would be more for "cool" factor than anything practical.

That's how I ended up feeling about it when we had a Volt. Ninety-something percent of the time the car would charge up enough overnight to do what we needed the next day, I don't think we would have gained much by putting in a level 2 EVSE, and we might've undersized what we installed so we'd be updating it now anyway.

Now with a Bolt I definitely need a level 2 charger. I should really contact the electricians that Qmerit passed my information to.

 

[Airborneguy]

I know I am an outlier when it comes to daily mileage, but I still highly recommend installing at least a 30amp outlet if you don’t want to buy an actual charger.

I absolutely need a charger/240 outlet. I average around 70-100 miles daily. If I tried to survive on 120 I’d be running a deficit fairly often. Since I DON’T want to use the gas car on the weekends while the Tesla “catches” up, I quickly jumped first to a 50amp outlet, then to a JuiceBox 40 charger.

 

[Kent88]

I technically wouldn't have to put in a level 2 charger in my garage. There's a DC Fast Charger in easy driving range that hardly gets used, and I rarely ask the vehicle in this role to go more than 100 miles in a day. But it does occasionally happen, and that DC charger is almost definitely more expensive than the electrons I put in at my garage.

 

[tracer bullet]

didn’t even pop the tires

That back right tire's not looking good.

As someone who's around lithium battery manufacturing I'd agree that lithium fires are hard to put out. There are Class D extinguishers and also compounds such as "Lith-X" but they tend to be in manufacturing environments and would be hard to apply to a battery in a car. The answer somewhat is to let it burn.

That said, these situations are like 1 in a zillion. I don't have the data but would sort of bet that it's the same or less frequent than a gas engined car catching fire. And it's not like that's exactly easy to put out either - how many car fires have you seen where the car can be salved? I've probably seen a dozen burnt cars in my life and zero of them made it.

We share the same views, I think, by the way.