If we incent people to buy electric cars won't that free up more gas?

[craig]

If too many start buying too soon the power grid can ot handle it. It will take decades to transition.

Nat gas generators in every garage. Municipality's have good Nat gas distribution infrastructure.

 

[phoenix2020]

I drive 45,000 miles per year, mostly business related. Not enough infrastructure for electric cars exists for that amount of driving.

That is fine. For someone driving 45,000 miles per year, the litmus test will be operating cost per mile + availability of fast charge infrastructure on highway routes. For the former, EVs are already a flat-out slam-dunk winner - all the things you have to deal with yearly, from oil changes to brake pads, all largely go away. For the latter, charge infrastructure, I think you will want to wait about 3 more years.

 

[craig]

I drive 45,000 miles per year, mostly business related. Not enough infrastructure for electric cars exists for that amount of driving.

No but you are unusual. Most cars are driven 30 miles a day.

 

[Simpletruther]

I really wish people would do some simple math to understand the true nature of this "power grid" problem.

Electrifying the ENTIRE US automotive fleet would increase our aggregate demand by about 10%. If we can't do that over a few "decades" then we have bigger problems to deal with than electrification.

This site:

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www.kbb.com

Seems to say it's more based on the cost per month.

 

[jotathought]

I have had one for 4 years. Plug it into 110 in my garage. If you drive only 50 miles a day it is almost free.

Okay .. what if I need to drive 100 miles? It's a 60 mile round trip from work and back.

 

[IQ57]

The practicality of EV is for a small percentage.

Again, where does the power/electricity come from?

 

[craig]

My questions would be: how much is a common EV, can the average American afford one and what are the limitations of it (e.g. long road trips)?

They are very affordable. You should do some research. And the driving experience is much better. It is only the range that you need to consider.

 

[Grand Mal]

Creating more problems to solve problems.

This doesn’t make any sense.

Yeah, cars can never replace horses. Who wants to have to buy fuel in cans at the hardware, and have to find a smith who can repair them?

 

[EdwinWillers]

I drive electric cars all the time. The cost is anywhere from $2.00 to $6.00 per mile, but I figure it's worth it, saves having to walk all 18 holes.

 

[jotathought]

They are very affordable. You should do some research. And the driving experience is much better. It is only the range that you need to consider.

If I were a city commuter .. yes .. would definitely consider an EV for work commute. Unfortunately, that's not the case for me, and I'm frequently driving 60+ miles each day when I go into the office.

 

[IQ57]

Cars replacing cars does not equal cars replacing horses.

So cars can go farther than horses
EV cars can’t go as far as gas cars

So are we going backwards?

 

[Grand Mal]

The practicality of EV is for a small percentage.

Again, where does the power/electricity come from?

Where I live It's all solar. The sun picks water up off the ocean and it falls on the mountains and we make it turn turbines as it runs back down to the ocean.

 

[craig]

Okay .. what if I need to drive 100 miles? It's a 60 mile round trip from work and back.

Then you would need to plug into a 240 outlet, like a dryer. Need an electrician unless you have 240 in your garage.

 

[LetsGoBrandon]

For the former, EVs are already a flat-out slam-dunk winner - all the things you have to deal with yearly, from oil changes to brake pads, all largely go away. For the latter, charge infrastructure, I think you will want to wait about 3 more years.

I disagree. The cheapest electric car that is as viable as a gasoline powered car starts at $60,000.00. I'll stick with gasoline. And roughly two thirds of the power generation to charge those electric cars still comes from coal fired power plants. And disposal of the worn out banks of batteries will also be a pollution factor.

 

[craig]

I disagree. The cheapest electric car that is as viable as a gasoline powered car starts at $60,000.00. I'll stick with gasoline. And roughly two thirds of the power generation to charge those electric cars still comes from coal fired power plants. And disposal of the worn out banks of batteries will also be a pollution factor.

That is just not true.

 

[IQ57]

Solar Fields
Wind Turbines
Dams

All great for the environment, right?

Where do the turbines come from again?
The cobalt for EV?

China

China doesn’t pollute. Don’t worry about it.

 

[beefheart]

I have a hybrid that gets 55 mpg and an electric bike, and I work at home. I barely even drive anymore.

 

[craig]

Solar Fields
Wind Turbines
Dams

All great for the environment, right?

Where do the turbines come from again?
The cobalt for EV?

China

China doesn’t pollute. Don’t worry about it.

Nit pick much?

 

[Grand Mal]

Cars replacing cars does not equal cars replacing horses.

So cars can go farther than horses
EV cars can’t go as far as gas cars

So are we going backwards?

Whoosh!
You can drive an electric car across Canada, and that's a pretty fair distance. There's electric ships and buses and transport tractors and the biggest float-plane airline in North America, Harbour Air out of Vancouver, has completed testing of an all-electric DeHavilland Beaver and are just awaiting the certification to begin changing over their fleet.

 

[LetsGoBrandon]

That is just not true.

Which part?

 

[IQ57]

An electric car, across Canada in the winter? How many days/weeks?

You can drive an EV any distance, sure. What about time? Terrain? Weather?

Doesn’t sound practical.

 

[phoenix2020]

I disagree. The cheapest electric car that is as viable as a gasoline powered car starts at $60,000.00. I'll stick with gasoline. And roughly two thirds of the power generation to charge those electric cars still comes from coal fired power plants. And disposal of the worn out banks of batteries will also be a pollution factor.

The cheapest electric car that is viable as viable as a gasoline powered car starts at $45,000 or so. It will cost about 30% per mile in fuel costs versus gasoline so whatever you pay today in gas per year, cut that cost by about 70%. Then, take the cost of brakes, engine maintenance, transmission maintenance, all the fluids for all the pumps and actuators, etc., over your 4 years / 200,000 miles and zero them out. Then, price in, however you wish to do so, the value of a quieter ride with limited NVH, vastly improved performance, and far improved crash safety due to the fundamentally superior vehicle structure. (You can value this at $0 if you don't care about any of it.). If an EV comes out ahead, as it does for many people, then choose it. If it doesn't, then wait 2-3 years and re-evaluate.

It doesn't have to be any more complicated than that.

 

[phoenix2020]

This site:

Loading…

www.kbb.com

Seems to say it's more based on the cost per month.

Yeah, there's a long thread here from last year where that article was thoroughly, absolutely debunked. Every now and then someone does a "EV charging more expensive than gasoline" google search as you probably just did, finds that article, reads the title to confirm it matches their narrative, then posts it here. It would be great if people actually read and understood costing scenarios in articles like these, but then again most Americans have terrible personal financial planning skills which is why so many well-employed Americans have no savings and no retirement but a large truck and a big TV. So sure, EVs are crazy expensive to charge so you should definitely absolutely not buy one; ignore all the people who are saving money through EVs since they're Fake News or something, and instead I recommend you buy a large displacement, fuel-inefficient gasoline vehicle, the larger and less efficient the better, so as to take advantage of our cheap gas prices. Show those EV owners who's really saving money. Also, buy a TV you can't afford.

 

[craig]

Which part?

My experience. I have driven an electric car for the last four years. A Nissan leaf that cost $24000 dollars after incentives. Plug it in 110 ac to charge overnight at off hour rates. And I don't drive my 2016 Cad CTS anymore because the leaf is much more fun.

 

[IQ57]

Many people?

The KISS approach to understanding things.