What will it take to make you seriously consider an EV?

Cost of purchase, cost of repairs, life of vehicle battery, charging infrastructure (difficult to find and long charging times), vehicle range, vehicle hauling, inability to charge in apartments, dependence on electrical grid, not quite viable in rural areas, etc, etc. That's not even taking into account rising prices due to battery making raw materials becoming more and more expensive due to supply and demand being substantially worse than oil.

Basically, I have a hybrid right now and I wish I didn't, and that's not even a full EV. It was more expensive to buy, most repairs cost more in labor/parts compared to good oil gas powered vehicles, replacing the battery is a huge concern that's likely to cost more than replacing the motor and unlike a motor that's well maintained, has a finite life. Range for hybrid is fine due to gasoline power, but not so for full EV, good luck finding places to charge it due to weak infrastructure and simply not viable if you don't own a home (like an apartment complex) as you will be screwed out of easily being able to charge your car nightly. Long distance driving is a nightmare in certain areas of the nation and the hauling power of EVs is absolute trash. And let's not talk about natural disasters such as hurricanes wrecking the electrical grid as we've seen happen way too frequently here in Houston, I definitely do not want to rely on daily electric charging when you can go without electricity for weeks.

Unless a lot of things are improved rapidly it's simply not likely that the majority of the nation will adapt, as customers such as myself are not as likely to give EVs or hybrids a second chance without addressing these issues. So far, it remains a niche market that will likely grow but not overtake gas powered vehicles without huge changes. I know personally, I'm not trying to buy another hybrid/electric vehicle again.

 

What "will" it take?

 

"fenced in area", billy bob thronron

 

What size charger? Grande please.

Seriously through bro...there are people who go inside a starbucks and study and what not. or just...i don't know chill?

If spaceghost doesn't do something, it makes no sense why others would.

 

Only noting its a marketing gimmick. Some people love their gimmicks. Best to load up on that Subway and Volvo stock. This is a game changer.

 

cough FSD cough

 

Mrs. rimrocker is taking the Mach-E for her first solo trip. She'll leave with a 100% charge and about 295 miles showing as the range, which is pretty good for the temps we have. (On a non-scorching summer day, I can get it up to 340 miles, but most of the time it's around 315-320.) The trip is about 280 miles. It's cold today and she'll be going over several passes, so I have her set up to charge for 20-25 minutes at a Dairy Queen at about the halfway mark. It'll be interesting to see where she's at after the cooler temps and the ups and downs on the passes. My guess is the terrain and temps will push the charge to around 40% before the charge. The second leg is flatter and presumably a few degrees warmer. She'll have several charging options at her destination before she starts back.

 

Some update on our 2022 Ford Escape PHEV.

PROS
- The drivetrain is fantastic and insanely efficient. In good weather (~80F) and traffic conditions (some city and mostly slow highway of ~55-65mph), the car has an all EV range of about 43 miles which is better than 38miles of EPA estimates.
- Even after electricity runs out, I get about 44.5mpg in hybrid mode which is also great.
- Love all of the hard buttons for infotainment and HVAC control. 8" infotainment screen is a tad small, but it's not bothering me as much as I thought.
- Lane centering works well. I am still a bit anxious with it on, but I think I'll relax once I use it a bit more.

NEUTRAL
- Interior quality is... fine. It doesn't feel luxurious, but with leather seats and premium sound, it doesn't feel bad.

CONS
- Road noise is not great on highways, definitely more than competitors. The first impression I got when I test drove a gas Kia Sportage is that it's incredibly quiet on the highway. I don't get that feeling in the Escape.
- I don't like how aggressive the adaptive cruise control in braking and acceleration. In normal mode, the AAC accelerates way too hard and brakes way to late and hard for my liking. Changing the drive mode to 'Eco' and setting the following distance to max helped a bit, but still not as smooth as I could drive it.
- There is a rattle that the dealership can't fix in the backseat. They tried for a while then they took me on a test drive with another 2022 Escape and it also had the same rattle. So the dealership claims that it's 'normal' and not under warranty. It's BS and not a good sign for build quality. It's a faint rattle so my wife wants to just live it.

Overall, I am fairly satisfied with the vehicle, especially for the price. I will end up paying around $37k after all fees and tax rebate. I don't think I can do any better for the price for an electrified CUV.

 

anyone want to move to NJ?

Here’s one data point that may be of interest to New Jersey residents: lease a 2023 Tesla Model 3 RWD for $356 per month with $1,600 total drive-off. This was made possible by a $4,000 point-of-sale New Jersey EV rebate, which when amortized over a 36-month lease term, results in savings of $125 per month. Additionally, EVs are exempt from sales tax in New Jersey.

 

I have.

120% offset to account for both EVs charged at home and home electricity.

EVs with solar = amazing.

I am in Massachusetts and after vetting several companies I went with a local one for servicing etc.

Tesla solar was by far the cheapest, and despite owning two Tesla EVs, I didn’t go with their solar for two reasons: 1) Poor response time and servicing. 2) they don’t use microinverters.

I went with REC panels and enphase microinverters. The cost was $3.25 per watt before any federal or state incentives which is good for Massachusetts.

Yes, the new incentives include an increase in federal tax rebate from 24% to 30% as well as $1000 rebate from Massachusetts. However, these solar companies are punks. They just raise their prices to offset that.

Nevertheless, over the long term it’s very beneficial despite the solar companies being greedy.

Next on my agenda are heat pumps which will take advantage of solar for both heating and cooling the house. Heat pumps qualify for 30% federal tax rebate in addition to $10,000 Massachusetts state cash rebate. Amazing.

 

Electric vehicle drivers get candid about charging: 'Logistical nightmare'
Charging on the go is neither easy nor fast.

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/bro...y-charging-electric-vehicle/story?id=97389275

 

https://electrek.co/2023/02/27/tesla-dominates-brand-loyalty-us-electric-cars-taking-over/

 

Precisely why Tesla wins out every time I am EV shopping.

The charging network is incredibly important as an EV owner and most people put too much emphasis on other things that are not as important.

When shopping for EV look at the Range, charging network, charging speed, and efficiency first. Everything else later.

I have experienced pain at non Tesla chargers which is why I stayed away from Non Teslas.

ionic 5 and EV6 promises you 18min charging time yet you will be hard pressed to reliably find those. Rivian is inefficient and a long distance trip on it can be a nightmare.

With Teslas I have yet to run into charging or charger issues. Always available when I need it and always working.

A friend of mine was shopping for EVs and we went through pros and cons of each. He wanted the Rivian and given inefficiency and the charging time, I told him it’s fine as long as he doesn’t take it for long distance trips. He said not to worry because it will be mostly drive around town and within 30 miles. Fast forward, and after 2 months of ownership, he has taken it for long trips a few times and each time it has been a charging nightmare for me. Range anxieties with Rivian are very real.

There are a lot of people like my friend who when making purchase think they will not need the super charger but the reality hits them hard down the road.

 

Count me in.

I am sticking with Tesla because of what they are offering with the EV experience.

That being said, my loyalty is because of the advantages they are offering. Once they start to lose their advantages, I will strongly consider other brands.

For example, if Tesla freely opens every single super charger to all other EV makers, most likely they will lose me as a “loyal” customer. Because they negated their advantage. And I am sure there will be many like me.

 

As it should be. Loyalty as long as they are making the best products or experiences on the market.

 

Mrs. rimrocker completed her journey yesterday. 250 miles used what would be about 95% of a full charge, which is not bad for the terrain and weather. She stopped midway for a late lunch and put about 35% back on during a 23 minute charge and made it to her destination just fine. When she arrived, she got a salad and some snacks at a grocery store and sat in the car until it was charged up to 70%. She'll charge for 15-20 minutes before she leaves on Friday. Long trips aren't that difficult but do take a bit more planning and slightly longer breaks--but that's no big deal for us because we're old and need those breaks anyway. There are several apps that help you find charging stations and so far, we just use Electrify America because it's plug and charge with no app and they seem to be in better shape than some of the others.

 

If you're in Houston or Texas, I'd be interested if you can post your eventual findings here. I'm interested in adding solar to the home too, but really detailed information are often hidden behind companies trying to sell you stuff. I did some research a couple of years ago and didn't go for it because pay-back period is 10+ years due to low electricity prices, no net-metering, and no state incentives. The calculus may be different now though due to the higher electricity costs.

 

With my RAV4 Prime, I don't bother using public chargers since my car charges so slowly and most bill by time. But how much did your wife spend on charging those 23 minutes and what was the cost?

 

I'm about to pull the trigger. I have some info that says it's another 10% for American-made steel and American-assembled parts, which not all solar install companies qualify for. I think the current best quotes (not in price, but seemingly legit companies) have my payback at 7 years. There are assumptions though. I'll have to go through the details about guaranteed power generation and warranties. I have multiple properties - might have to use a family member with a big tax deposit burden like myself to do multiple installs. Net-metering makes sense at one place and free nights at another place. Either way, I have to cancel my current providers and sign up with the best companion plan. Net-metering makes the most sense if you have ample southern facing roof space. The other plan is to get a free nights program paird with a battery. If there's less roof space, there will be little-to-no time where you're creating excess energy to sell back; however, you can store up your excess day energy (on super suny days) in the battery along with charging up your battery on free nights. Combined, that should battery power should combine with your panels to take care of most of the day.

 

$12.90. The cost was $0.43/kWh on the Hyper-Fast charge.

For 250 miles each way, I figure it will cost us $50 or so for the total trip.