slo’s TUESDAY 11/12 poll - EVs (electric vehicles) 🚗

[georgina]

Not quite. Tracy sings YOU got a fast car.

 

[MommaKetch]

I do not drive an EV, but I did consider one during our most recent car purchase in the Spring of 2022. I often wish I'd bought a Honda hybrid.

I will consider one again when my 2019 car is close to being out of warranty.

 

[dizneegirl]

We've got 2 EVs, and have driven EV exclusively since 2018. No problems here. We live in the middle of nowhere, and travel by car quite a bit. We top up the cars in the garage every night.

We drive 1000+ miles to Florida and back 2-4 times a year every 2-3 years. We drive 300+ miles and back to visit relatives a few times a year. We've tripped 3500+ miles to TX and back. When we first drove to Florida, it was a little nerve-wracking between charges, but in the 7 years since we first did it, we've found more and more chargers added... we can now pick and choose when and where we stop. We have Teslas, so charging is really easy. We can put in a destination, and the car will tell us when we'll need to stop, and how long we'll need to charge while we're there. Yeah, it adds a little time to a trip, but DH and I love the driving part of the trip... it's all part of the fun. And usually, it's about the time one of us needs to stop and take a break, or get a drink, or get lunch... thank you, Buc-ees for putting those chargers in along I-75!

DH has over 225K miles on his car. Still the original batteries. And brakes. My car is a year newer than his, and charges must faster because I have a newer battery technology. The new Teslas charge even faster than mine.

We've driven in sub-zero weather. We've pulled a trailer through an ice storm in single- and low double-digit weather. It's not fun, but it can be done. You just have to manage your charge.

If you think it wouldn't work for you, you're right. It's a bit of a different mindset to drive EV exclusively. But they're far more durable and easier to drive than most people think.

 

[tvguy]

I do not drive an EV, but I did consider one during our most recent car purchase in the Spring of 2022. I often wish I'd bought a Honda hybrid.

I will consider one again when my 2019 car is close to being out of warranty.

I would think the depreciation and sales tax by trading off cars that quickly would exceed any repair costs. All though part of the warranty on our 2020 Camry Hybrid is 10 years or 150,000 miles. But I expect modern cars to be trouble free for at least 10 years. That has been the case with our Fords/Mercurys. This is our first Toyota, and they are supposed to be more reliable.

 

[VandVsmama]

I'd rather have a root canal than own an electric vehicle.

 

[geargrinder]

I bought an EV about 4 years ago. It's been the best car we've owned by far.

Interesting to see many of the opinions on here from non-EV owners about owning an EV are invalid, or downright false.

 

[Imzadi]

My car is a hybrid and I love my car and will always have a hybrid if they are always available.

This wasn't one of the choices so I picked other.

I've test ridden in a few EVs at the auto show here, which is now total EV cars. The sales people tell us about all the fancy features they have. Some really are very powerful with impressive acceleration and supposed horsepower. Yet, there still aren't enough places to plug in EVs, especially on long trips. I also don't want to be sitting for 2 hours waiting for my car to recharge, when I would be still driving. I'll pick a hybrid for my next car until the EV technology improves a bit more.

 

[monarchsfan16]

I have no interest. My husband leased an EV for a bit. He's the ideal EV driver. He really only drives to work and his commute is about 20 miles round trip. When he had his EV he was able to charge at work for free. As the cost of electricity in NH skyrocketed (we are above the national average) that perk dried up.

I, on the other hand, sometimes drive 100 miles in a day just for work. Whenever we day trip (often 200 miles round trip), we take my car because I do better with long distance driving. What we learned (confirmed?) from my husband's lease is that EVs don't currently have a range that supports my lifestyle, particularly in the winter. Having to charge every other night would NOT be financially beneficial in NH. And on a road trip, I can gas up my car in 5 minutes. Can't charge that quickly. Honestly, the rural areas we daytrip and road trip to also don't have the infrastructure yet.

I'm also not sold on the overall environmental impact. Electricity is still being produced with fossil fuels. Batteries need disposal, and just what damage are we doing in creating these behemoth batteries? The added weight of the vehicles is going to create excess wear on the roads, which are paved with fossil fuels.

Gas vehicles or possibly hybrid for me until I'm not given a choice.

 

[TCRAIG]

They are neither wonderful, nor bad.... And yet both. In considering an EV you have to consider what your habits are and whether one is right for you.

If you're a family that has one car used only for commuting and you live in a home or condo with a garage, then an EV is perfect for you. You can charge it overnight, and use it to go to work. It's a great option. But if you live in an apartment or a place with street parking, uh not so great. Where EVs are less than ideal is the long haul. That 1,000 mile battery Musk promised is nowhere on the horizon. And well it's not a simple problem of technology. It's a problem of the laws of thermodynamics. We can put out a battery that can go 1,000 miles and charge up in 5 minutes tomorrow. The problem is it would sacrifice both safety and longevity. Again this is a thermodynamics problem, not just a problem that technology is going to overcome. And infrastructure isn't quite there yet in a lot of areas of the country. The bottom line is on a 12 hour drive, I'm either 3 hours ahead of you in a gas car, or I can stop along the way and spend 3 hours at places I want to see whereas you're stuck charging your battery wherever the charger is. It's doable, but not ideal.



Only if it makes the sound.

If it doesn’t make the sound - I would - kinda like you gotta make the lightsaber ‘whoosh’ sound when battling invisible siths…hahaha

 

[tvguy]

I bought an EV about 4 years ago. It's been the best car we've owned by far.

Interesting to see many of the opinions on here from non-EV owners about owning an EV are invalid, or downright false.

Yet 46% of current EV owners say their next car will be an ICE. https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/25/ev-owners-want-to-buy-gas-cars-again.html

 

[geargrinder]

Yet 46% of current EV owners say their next car will be an ICE. https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/25/ev-owners-want-to-buy-gas-cars-again.html

Take a look at the actual survey quoted by CNBC. The survey says 29% of current EV owners "consider" switching back to ICE vehicles.

Inverse would say, 71% will consider staying with EV's.

Quite a bit different that the attempted spin by CNBC.

 

[firefly_ris]

I think they are cool and have definite purposes, unfortunately none of those purposes match our family or lifestyle at this time. A friend of ours has a big dually diesel that he drives long distance and uses for work related purposes, and then has a small Tesla sedan that he uses close proximity to home for every day back-and-forth stuff, and charges it at home. I think this is a great use. For urban settings I think they also make a lot of sense.

For us -- our electric rates are jumping insanely high -- I wouldn't want to add overnight vehicle charging to my home bill. I live rurally and there is nowhere else nearby to charge. If they were as fast and as numerous as gas stations that would be better.

I tow stuff with my truck, and we do a lot of home improvement work and so need something that can tow a camper, has decent payload weight in a pickup bed, and so on.

We do a lot of long distance driving trips because plane tickets for 5 people is $$$. My truck can go 700 miles on 1 tank before I need to stop and fill up on highway trips. Regular puttering back and forth at home with traffic I get about 640 miles on a tank.

My husband drives a Maverick gas hybrid which has been the best of both worlds. It gets on average 42mpg and we paid $24k for it, and we don't have to plug it in anywhere. It is a bit less efficient in our cold Buffalo winters since batteries are less efficient in the cold but overall excellent mileage, and it can tow a utility trailer with a golf cart, lawnmower or 4 wheeler on it, and the low-sitting bed is great for taking it to load up on mulch and garden supplies.

It's something I would consider for the future but not at this point in time living out in the country and with 3 kids and 2 dogs at home still. EVs that are larger than a sedan at this time seem astronomically priced and I am not a car payment person. Of course, all vehicles are astronomically priced now - I can't imagine buying another half ton pickup at this time, nuts. I'll just drive this one til the frame rots out.

 

[Dive Bar Casanova]

We just sold our EV6 and will be buying a Blazer EV SS.
Absolutely loved our EV6. Like shooting a prize horse selling it, but we need a bigger Dog hauler.

We solar charge at home 90% of the time.

Tesla solar panels on the roof, a power wall we haven't had an electric bill in 3 years. We have a running credit of $464 to $800 on our monthly electric bill. Read that Credit, Edison owes us for the power we put back into the grid.

On the road Electrify America and EV go "chargers" we have found work best, but that's relative, they are so often broken but when they work, they charge good.

 

[tvguy]

We just sold our EV6 and will be buying a Blazer EV SS.
Absolutely loved our EV6. Like shooting a prize horse selling it, but we need a bigger Dog hauler.

We solar charge at home 90% of the time.

Tesla solar panels on the roof, a power wall we haven't had an electric bill in 3 years. We have a running credit of $464 to $800 on our monthly electric bill. Read that Credit, Edison owes us for the power we put back into the grid.

On the road Electrify America and EV go "chargers" we have found work best, but that's relative, they are so often broken but when they work, they charge good.

Wish I had a power wall with my Tesla system. Actually, it was put in 9 years ago when it was still Solar City. And our electric provider requires a $24 a month payment for being connected to the grid that can't be offset by selling power back to them. About 8 months of the year our bill is that $24, as we send back more power than we use. Winter being the only time we actually use some power off the grid as there isn't enough sunlight.