Electric Vehicle Thread

18

fdhfoiehfeoi @ 2019 May 3, 10:48am

It's more about its Fukusima-like location, I believe. Building it on the beach was the original assinine act.

Ok, but Tsunami's are far more common on Japan, and nuclear energy is one of the safest forms of energy production in the world.

19

RWSGFY @ 2019 May 3, 10:55am

NuttBoxer says

but Tsunami's are far more common on Japan

It takes just one tsunami similar to one which devastated Crescent City in 1964 to make nuclear shit hit the fan in the middle of very densely populated area. The possible downside exceeds any imaginable upside from "carbon-free energy" by order of magnitude.

20 socal2 @ 2019 May 3, 11:29am

Quigley says

Now I’m interested in the Chevy Bolt!

You should go test drive one and be sure to put it in "L" mode which give you one pedal driving. The acceleration and torque are awesome, but it is the regenerative braking which makes the Bolt such a blast to drive. I never use the friction brakes, I just take my foot off the accelerator and maybe hit the regen paddle on the steering wheel if I need to slow down more.

A friend of mine who is pretty well off just got done test driving the Tesla X and 3 and decided to go with the Bolt.

21 clambo @ 2019 May 3, 2:54pm

Today driving into Santa Cruz I saw 4 Bolts within a few minutes of each other, those are evidently popular here.

22

FortWayneAsNancyPelosiHaircut @ 2019 May 3, 2:55pm

I've seen two kinds of EV owners. Average people who just bought it because it saves them from buying gas and they got solar panels already (Prius). And young liberal kids who think they are saving a planet... completely unaware of world around them.

23

HeadSet @ 2019 May 3, 3:02pm

clambo says

Today driving into Santa Cruz I saw 4 Bolts within a few minutes of each other, those are evidently popular here.

Were they waiting in line at a charging station?

24 clambo @ 2019 May 3, 3:30pm

headset, the Bolts are all over the place here. They weren't charging probably because they have a 238 mile range.

In S. Florida I was averaging about 200 miles per week but I didn't have to commute anywhere. I could have driven a Bolt and charged it once or twice per week and gotten along fine.

I'm not interested in the car for environmental reasons, rather economic, practicality and esthetic reasons.

I would never own a Tesla for example; I think they're ugly and so expensive and etc.

25

Hand_Of_Glory @ 2019 May 3, 3:36pm

Tim Aurora says

http://patrick.net/post/1323735/2019-04-07-evs-are-cheaper-to-operate-and-much-cleaner-than-ice

I am on my third EV, it is so fun to drive I am not going back to that 20th Century ICE

Like I said above, if you like it, good on you.

As an aside, anyone contemplating buying an EV should be aware of the full value. The cost is always come down as the industry scales.

https://www.edmunds.com/fuel-economy/the-true-cost-of-powering-an-electric-car.html

26

Heraclitusstudent @ 2019 May 3, 4:03pm

The thing to consider is that solar and batteries prices are not static: they are collapsing.
And they are collapsing because there are people who buy these technologies now.
The people who buy early super expensive Teslas paid for investments that will allow one day electric vehicles to be by far cheaper than gas cars (they are simpler).
And - given that solar power prices are also collapsing - electric vehicles are going to be clearly the greenest.

So the rant above amount to conservative nay saying in the face of progress - progress from which everyone benefits.

The willing, fates guide them.
The others, they drag.

27

MisdemeanorRebel @ 2019 May 3, 4:10pm

How do you store all that Solar Power after 5PM on a January in Washington or Massachusetts?

Molten Salt.

28

Hand_Of_Glory @ 2019 May 3, 5:31pm

Heraclitusstudent says

The thing to consider is that solar and batteries prices are not static: they are collapsing.
And they are collapsing because there are people who buy these technologies now.
The people who buy early super expensive Teslas paid for investments that will allow one day electric vehicles to be by far cheaper than gas cars (they are simpler).
And - given that solar power prices are also collapsing - electric vehicles are going to be clearly the greenest.

So the rant above amount to conservative nay saying in the face of progress - progress from which everyone benefits.

The willing, fates guide them.
The others, they drag.

Not a conservative breh. Thanks for your opinion.

29

RWSGFY @ 2019 May 3, 5:46pm

socal2 says

You should go test drive one and be sure to put it in "L" mode which give you one pedal driving. The acceleration and torque are awesome, but it is the regenerative braking which makes the Bolt such a blast to drive. I never use the friction brakes, I just take my foot off the accelerator and maybe hit the regen paddle on the steering wheel if I need to slow down more.

A friend of mine who is pretty well off just got done test driving the Tesla X and 3 and decided to go with the Bolt.

Sorry, but there is no way shape or form Bolt/Volt/Leaf or whatever other tall FWD electric econobox is more fun to drive than Tesla3. The latter handles beautifully, on par with the best RWD sports sedans out there, the former are all firmly on the scale between horrible and simply meh. Of course, there is nothing wrong in choosing an electric econobox if one doesn't care about handling and the whole "fun to drive" thing is limited by "0-40 acceleration from a stop light" for them.

30 clambo @ 2019 May 3, 6:23pm

The height of the car matters less if the center of gravity is low with the weight of the batteries and motors down low.

The Bolt has the equivalent of 200 HP which is a lot for a small car. My Volvo hauls ass with 250 HP but it's a heavier car.

Everyone who drives it says it's fun, and for $30,000 less money than Tesla you can spend the extra dough on having other kinds of fun.

They must be selling a lot of them in some places, I see them all over the area I'm in.

31

RWSGFY @ 2019 May 3, 6:29pm

clambo says

for $30,000 less money than Tesla

What car is "$30K less than Tesla3" again?

32 clambo @ 2019 May 3, 6:31pm

The Bolt is about $30,000

I guess the Model 3 is close in price until you add on all the stuff which really makes it expensive. I bet most 3s actually end up being $45,000.

I can't just go buy a Model 3 rather I must pay $ then wait for months and I guess people do that too but I sure won't.

33

RWSGFY @ 2019 May 3, 6:43pm

clambo says

I guess the Model 3 is close in price until you add on all the stuff which really makes it expensive.

You don't have to add anything. RWD and great handling comes standard.

34

komputodo @ 2019 May 3, 7:55pm

socal2 says

Suggest the EV haters test drive a Chevy Bolt, Hyundai Kona, Kia Niro or a Tesla if they can afford one.

Umm, I don't think you have to be able to afford a Tesla to test drive one...I'm sure you didn't mean it that way.

35

BayArea @ 2019 May 3, 8:47pm

Comment I heard from a coworker this week upon laying eyes on a Chevy Volt...

“I’d be embarrassed to be seen in that” LOL

How is it possible after all these years that GM still makes the most hideous looking cars on the road today? It blows my mind that this is still true post federal bailout.

36

Ceffer @ 2019 May 3, 8:56pm

BayArea says

How is it possible after all these years that GM still makes the most hideous looking cars

They use a senile old Russian designer who used to design Lada's and Yugo's.

Actually, I have heard a lot of good things about the Volt from end users.

37

NDrLoR @ 2019 May 3, 9:10pm

Hand_Of_Glory says

Electricity for much of the US and world is powered through coal

Or natural gas.

38

FortWayneAsNancyPelosiHaircut @ 2019 May 3, 9:12pm

Civic/Corolla can't be beat. Cheaper to start, cheap on gas. EV's are expensive and unreliable toys. No one knows how long they last, Teslas I hear are junk that breaks a lot. Prius seems to last longer, but again (battery life is unknown).

39 mell @ 2019 May 3, 9:38pm

Agree if EVs work for you that's great but there's no credible data that they have a better pollution footprint than modern ICEs. Best is a competition of both models as it brings out the best on both sides.

40

Automan Empire @ 2019 May 3, 10:24pm

The car in the OP appears to have run over an open manhole cover or larger road hazard.

41

RWSGFY @ 2021 Oct 23, 11:44am

The report: https://www.andersoneconomicgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/EVtransition_FuelingCostStudy_10-21-21.pdf

42

fdhfoiehfeoi @ 2021 Oct 23, 12:09pm

Your converting energy before using it(in almost every case), always a net loss. Also, and this is rarely thought about, electricity is fully controlled and monopolized, way more than oil could ever be. If you eliminate gas vehicles, you centralize even more authority under a single entity, always a recipe for disaster and totalitarianism.

43

HeadSet @ 2022 Feb 22, 8:35pm

Where will the electricity be generated to supply all these chargers? Likely from on-site gas and diesel generators.

44

Ceffer @ 2022 Feb 22, 10:19pm

"Sorry. Your social credit score does not allow you any electricity. We will tow your car and sell it at auction."

45

HeadSet @ 2022 Feb 23, 7:38am

HunterTits says

They need to be located near the grid. The article gets into that.

Yes, they will be connected to local power. But how is that local power going to supply the extra demand of electric cars? Or is that problem going to be solved by just having a few connections per site, so very few cars can charge per day? Supplemented by on site generators when people complain about long lines.

Swappable pre-charged batteries would be a better choice, provided they really want Americans to keep their driving habits. Instead, mandated all electric cars with long charging times and a shortage of electricity will result in Americans greatly cutting back on driving. I would be more inclined to believe the exclusive electric car if the idea behind the charging stations was to co-locate the charging station with a large solar field that constantly charged swappable batteries.

Also, it is 2022 - where are the self-driving cars that were promised by 2019?

46

Ceffer @ 2022 Feb 23, 9:41am

47

HeadSet @ 2022 Feb 23, 6:28pm

HunterTits says

That's Australia, right? Says Ministry of Health but the phone number is not North American. That rules out Canada.

Interesting that they have 800 numbers there.

It is New Zealand

48

Booger @ 2022 Feb 23, 6:34pm

HeadSet says

Swappable pre-charged batteries would be a better choice

I don't want someone else's used shitty battery.
Now for fleet usage, I could see swappable batteries.

49 socal2 @ 2022 Feb 23, 7:34pm

HeadSet says

Also, it is 2022 - where are the self-driving cars that were promised by 2019?

I'd say Tesla is about 95% there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uS5oOt8gIGU&source=patrick.net

50

HeadSet @ 2022 Feb 24, 2:26pm

socal2 says

HeadSet says
Also, it is 2022 - where are the self-driving cars that were promised by 2019?

I'd say Tesla is about 95% there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uS5oOt8gIGU&source=patrick.net

That was impressive, but appears to be dependent on extremely detailed geo data. How did the car know where the 4 way stops were, unless such info was programmed in. Such a reliance on detailed street data would mean that each time an intersection is changed to a a 4 way stop, for example, that street data would have to be propagated to all self-driving cars in the country.

51

Hircus @ 2022 Feb 24, 3:43pm

Ceffer says

"Sorry. Your social credit score does not allow you any electricity. We will tow your car and sell it at auction."

... and donate the proceeds to a cause of our choosing.

52 socal2 @ 2022 Feb 24, 7:59pm

HeadSet says

That was impressive, but appears to be dependent on extremely detailed geo data.

I believe the other guys like Waymo are the ones that rely on Lidar and geo-mapped routes. They are basically a trolley service on fixed routes.

Tesla is doing it entirely differently than everyone else relying on their "vision system" which uses it's cameras to read traffic lights, signs, stripes, cars, people, obstacles along with it's AI to figure things out in real time. It uses GPS mapping for basic navigation, but it is getting to the point you can pretty much plop a Tesla in the middle of a parking lot or a field and it can figure it's way out. There are over 60,000 beta testers on the road right now feeding the neural network more data every day making the system better and better.

53

Patrick @ 2022 Mar 22, 5:36pm

https://nitter.pussthecat.org/Not_the_Bee/status/1505679545965314054?source=patrick.net

Ben Bergman
@thebenbergman
Mar 20
The very rare time as a Tesla owner I wish I could pay $6/gallon for gas and be on my way. We need more super chargers

Lines at the Tesla charging station!

It's not just how much it costs, it's how long you have to wait to fill up.

54

B.A.C.A.H. @ 2022 Mar 22, 5:41pm

Patrick says

It's not just how much it costs

Yes it is.

It's always about how much it costs to have a Status Symbol.

55

Eman @ 2022 Mar 22, 9:21pm

Here’s the cost to operate my Tesla 2017 Model S. I shared these numbers with my friends last week. The drop off in usage in 2020 was due to SIP so less driving. The drop off in usage in 2021 was due to charging for free a little more often.

For people who wait in-line to charge, they don’t value their time, and it’s definitely a loss the moment they do that. We still take our gas car for trips to SoCal. Screw free supercharging. Our time is more valuable than waiting in-line and save a few bucks.

56

joshuatrio @ 2022 Mar 23, 12:30pm

Yeah my electric bill hasn't even budged since charging my Prius prime daily. I rarely ever burn fuel now.

Next vehicle is full electric. So much quieter and smoother than ICE cars.

57

Eman @ 2022 Mar 23, 1:54pm

joshuatrio says

Yeah my electric bill hasn't even budged since charging my Prius prime daily. I rarely ever burn fuel now.

Next vehicle is full electric. So much quieter and smoother than ICE cars.

Personally, I think hybrid makes the most sense. Otherwise, we should be able to stack batteries for longer road trips. To carry 300-mile range worth of battery while only operate 30-50 miles each day is carrying a lot of dead weight.

patrick.net

Electric Vehicle Thread

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