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

Whoever captures the US market for EV is going to be the dominant force in auto for decades. Tesla I don't think is up to the task, and seem to have little interest in marketing to an economical market.

I know that faster than moving to EV, panels are flying up on roofs lately because I think people are realizing that controlling the monthly cost for the majority of your electricity by using panels is the way to go. The issue is just taking on debt to finance. However the infrastructure, and the business side of panels are there, and operating well where EV is much lacking in available options. So I see EV as being essential BUT only as a single car option for the next 5 to 10 years.

Low mileage & usage large gas car with a daily driver EV powered by controlled cost home electricity mostly powered by solar seems to be formula moving forward for most families. Ford seems to see that coming and wants to get an affordable EV in everyone's driveway soon. I think they can do it. I don't think Tesla or Rivian are the right fit for what American families need right now.

 

Tesla is essentially first to market with mainstream acceptance and takes the whole Apple approach to marketing: We're premium, we're the best, we're a status symbol.

I don't think you can discount them especially with the other US automaker stumbles with recalls and failures in the EV market.

I do think these insane fires and heat are going to push the envelope on global acceptance of non fossil fuel means of travel so any company that has a good solid business plan will do well.

 

Yeah, safety and comfort/convience are big ??? since the design isn't something people are used to.

The external wheels remind me of those gladiator movies where you clip the chariot wheels and the whole thing flips over.

I don't like having only cameras for side mirrors too. Seems like we put our faith more and more into electric panels, but I'm still "old school" for analog and I'm not too keen on being a beta tester for zoomers who will think these new electric features (keyless entry, full self driving, instrumentation on a tablet) are seamless and standard.

I'm not sure about trunk compartmentalization either. They say you can fit a bike, but does it stay in the back if you slam the breaks after going 80 on the freeway?

The size is weird too. The clearance for the winged doors means compact parking is out even if you do barely fit.

I'm still intrigued at the prospect of a no-charge commuter car that's around 25k semi-stocked after rebate, but I'd rather be 2nd in line after people work out the kinks and it's die hards push the vehicle to its limits...and hopefully not die hard like the Tesla autopilot bros.

 

OG Prius almost a classic.

 

Its too bad PHEVs never really took off in the US. Those cover all the basic EV range for daily commutes while allowing for the use of gasoline for longer commutes, negating the need for fast charging. Plus, they're arguably much better for the environment since the amount of rare earth metals required is much smaller while gas is really only used sparingly.

You could build five PHEVs for every EV and give everyone a daily commute using an EV. I had all the range anxiety craziness when I originally bought my PHEV and since I work from home, I dont even come close to using up the battery. If I didn't go on road trips, I'd probably fill up gas once every 6 months. All of this extra battery capacity is utterly useless in my opinion.

 

You can blame Tesla for that. They made EVs "cool" and not PHEVs.

 

Any of you other EV drivers noticed ... I dunno ... certain other drivers just being a little more angry with you? I'm the same driver but I get a really different vibe from, say, certain trucks now than I used to get when I drove a more traditional little car. It's NBD but kind of interesting. If anything, it's made me even less likely to drive aggressively. Got too much going on to deal with some kind of road BS.

Could also be that my EV is colored like a poisonous insect of some kind tho.

 

We are going to need 10 year loans for cars if you want everyone to own Tesla at the current price point.
People driving 5 year old hyundai elantras are not ready to buy $50,000 teslas.

 

You are apparently unaware of the levels of debt people are in or prepared to go into.

 

I don't think anybody really is in a position to capture the market until the technology and prices evolve. The large majority of people can't afford a decent EV and the infrastructure probably isn't ready to handle mass adoption by the majority of the people, either.

I see the solar panel move on Nextdoor a lot. It's accompanied by the solar sharks/installers telling people how they can ditch "the man" (did they just leave the retail investment community or cryptocurrency? lol) and live without "surprise bills", etc. They seem to have increased in frequency thanks to the recent spike in electric prices. They're always willing to tell you how much you can save but aren't willing to tell you how long before you break even or the cost of the panels. If you question them openly about that part, it's always something like "let me set up an appt. with you", etc., etc. A lot of people up until the last 5-10 years were moving houses almost every 5-10 years, so if it's taking 7-10 years for any ROI on the solar panels, it really made no sense. Then you have the fact that it's the lower and middle-class that are most worried about bills and they're worried about forking over the amount of money required for no return real for almost a decade.

See, this is what I don't get. This assumes a typical mom, dad, and 1 or 2 kids. Many households have 3 or maybe even 4 cars. I think every manufacturer would like to get an affordable car into the driveway - it would make them more money. But the reality is prices are currently going up, not down, on these vehicles because they're at the mercy of the supply chain, politics, infrastructure, technology, etc.

I'm over here itching to get a new house with solar panels and an electric car, too, but nothing in the electric car segment really excites me yet, and it's not a great market to buy a new house, and I don't want to sell my current house just yet. So I'm willing to wait for a little maturing of the tech and see what happens in the next couple of years.

 

Definitely. And I don't even have stickers on my Mach-E.

Some dudes are upset because it's "not a Mustang." (Well, Ford says it is and so it is. There's a pony on it and everything.)

Some dudes are mad because they think you are a hippie enviro. (Guilty, but you wouldn't know it just from looking at my car and watching me drive.)

Some dudes think I'm rich and the car costs a lot more than it does. (Fellas, it's not a Beamer, much less a Rolls.)

Some dudes come up to me in the parking lot. I play nice and show them the car. You can see the anger dissipate in real time. When I tell them it cost me less than an F-150 and then mention it takes about $5 of electricity to fill up when charging at home, they're usually sold.

 

It is a common occurrence.

1) SUVS and Truck drivers generally hate Tesla.

2) Hondas and BMWs will try to race you if you are driving a Tesla

3) A lot of other folks just hate Tesla

 

All valid points. The big question you raise in my mind that people think about is if I sell my home with panels will the price I get back in equity be enough to pay those off without taking a hit. Assuming you can just sell the panels and pass the servicing contract etc. off to the new owners. I don't want to spend 30K on panels and it only increases my home value by 10K. Then when I sell my home I lose 20K in equity.

I assume a home with panels will go for more and be a huge marketing asset, but hard to predict. I'm also someone with a pool too where I'll probably lose a bit of what I invested there. With a pool it's sort of expected so it is what it is, but you don't want to be THAT overbuilt on your home beyond what you'll lose on a pool.

 

People come up to you in the parking lot? That's insane to me. Why do they care what someone else is driving?

And from a practical POV why would you try to antagonize someone in a state like Texas with lax laws about concealed carry?

 

Yeah, this would again boil down to how long you want to own your home and the reason(s) you want solar. If you're a mid-term homeowner (like you own the house for 10-15 years), financially it can be a crapshoot as far as payoff, but then you have to weigh the fact you may not be at the mercy of the electric/grid companies (as much), you're not at the mercy of rate fluctuations, you are being "a better person to the environment", etc. if those things matter to you. If you're in the house for closer to 20 or more years, the possible price appreciation on your house combined with the amount of money you may have saved having the panels in the first place, etc. may make such a hit not as painful to some. The downside is you'll be trying to sell a home with solar tech that's probably 15-20+ years old at that time assuming you never replaced or had to replace anything. I don't know if that will be an issue. I've heard people say selling a house with panels is harder than selling one without, but I don't know why that would be unless it has something to do with insurance or something.

For me, a pool is different than solar panels. A pool can raise the value of your house, but as I joked with friends, a pool is like you dig a hole in your backyard, pay tens of thousands of dollars for it, then continue dumping water and money into it throughout the year for years so you can sit in some water for a few weeks out of the year. lol. It's almost like the longer you own it, the more you lose on it. It's a luxury to me rather than something like solar panels which can have a definite payoff and potentially save money in the long-run. I would rather everybody be able to get an EV (or some type of alternative fuel vehicle) than a pool. lol.

 

I live in a non-Hipster part of Oregon. There aren't many EVs around and most parked encounters are initially hostile-ish curiosity.

 

Based on what I've heard about Oregon, that sounds about right.

 

I don't even have a Tesla. I have a used EV that cost as much as, like, a new modest ICE car -- and i3, which I love -- but damn. The hostility is palpable.

 

Oh yeah... i3's are gonna get some hate. I'm not even sure EV people like i3's.

 

Placed Bob on ignore list once he said i3