"I'm just here for the gasoline mate."

[Kguillemette | 1,547]

If charging stations were more common up here in NH, an EV would very likely be my next car. As it stands, they are mainly on the 93 corridor. I'm sure in the next 5 years or so they'll start to follow me out to the boonies.

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,056]

2 hours ago, MrWunderful said:

0% chance. Batteries are extremely heavy, and dangerous. Tesla uses custom forklifts and battery lifts. There are months of classes required to safely disconnect and reconnect, not to mention jiffylube doesnt have the physical space or infrastructure for multiple 1000lb batteries.  Battery storage is heavily regulated due to explosion danger.

The most likely solution is much more charging centers, which I love because it keeps us electricians busy. 
 

Tesla already has quick charging stations popping up every 25-50 miles off main highways here in norcal.  One is 100% solar powered. 

Thats unfortunate, because I have no desire to have to rent a hotel room because my battery needs to charge, or find something to do for a few hours. Its just too impractical 

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

16 minutes ago, LeatherRebel5150 said:

Thats unfortunate, because I have no desire to have to rent a hotel room because my battery needs to charge, or find something to do for a few hours. Its just too impractical 

I think you can get about 100 miles on a 30 min charge on a tesla brand charger, but I may be wrong. 

[JamesRobot | 5,819]

When are we gonna get Mr. Fusion?

[Link | 2,725]

The charging time issue is being worked on, the industry is quite aware it's a barrier. Mr Wunderful is correct, the best at the moment takes half an hour; like your cell phone this is "rapid charging" and will get you to 80%. In the meantime early adopters have no problem commuting and charging while they are at work or home for hours at a time.

Cross-country tripping isn't there yet but that doesn't mean it isn't coming. A quick google tells me the upper end range is now 400 miles (2021 Tesla S). Here on the video game forum we know that technology of various sorts is always increasing in capacity and capability.

[Tulpa | 3,529]

8 minutes ago, Link said:

Here on the video game forum we know that technology of various sorts is always increasing in capacity and capability.

Definitely.

You have to remember that in the early days of cars, steam was the most common form of propulsion, followed by electric batteries. Gasoline cars were a distant third, as they were considered the most unreliable and hard to start (they used the crank start, which actually killed a few people.) The only advantage to gas was ease and speed of refueling. It wasn't until the magneto and electric starter was developed that gas cars were able to be the standard. Innovation can take time.

Edited March 15, 2022 by Tulpa

[Tabonga | 2,328]

The first mass produced car (Ford Model T) - could run on either alcohol or gas - there was a switch in the body of the car to go between fuels. 

This may sound odd but was extremely practical - before the days of intersate highways and a service station network Model T owners could buy alcohol from farmers who used leftover materials from crops (unlike today they didn't use what could be used as food) to distill alcohol.

There is a school of thought that one of the hidden drivers behind prohibition was the petroleum industry that  wanted a monopoly on fuel for cars.  The variant of alcohol generally being produced by farmers was not suitable for consumption by people but it was suitable for use in cars.  But it was still outlawed.

Edited March 15, 2022 by Tabonga

[FireHazard51 | 2,047]

12 hours ago, LeatherRebel5150 said:

Im not a major supporter of electric everything. But I will say if you want to make it more viable even more quickly, there needs to be developed a quick-change battery solution. Just like you can change out your grills propane tank. I should be able to pull up to a Spiffy Lube, they yank the pack out from under the car, slap a charged one up in there and away I go. The fact I cant drive non stop for however long I decide is a problem.

If your tank is always full at the start of the day why would you need a super quick recharging station that is less than 5 mins?  People can totally do road trips in a Telsa, I've done it myself.  Basically we would drive like 100-175 miles and take a ~10-15 min break to refill.  Honestly it made for the most relaxing road trip I've ever done.  The short breaks every 2-3 hours kept me from feeling drained at the end of the day.  

Now if you're someone who takes long distance trips all the time and can't allow for the additional 5-10% time to your trip then electric isn't for you.  Like I said, electric isn't for everyone but it is for the majority of the public.  Range anxiety and perceived untolerable inconvenience of recharging times comes from the lack of experience with an electric vehicle.  With more charging stations and more people confirming it's not a big deal to do a roadtrip with an electric vehicle will change.  Even with current technologies it's totally viable for MOST people (not almost everyone, but just most.....like 60-75%).  And again I'm just saying viable and not that they want to but they could go electric.  And if you own more than one vehicle I'd say that number goes up to like 90% of people can use an electric vehicle for their "daily" driver and they could have a ICE vehicle for their specialty needs like towing long distances.  Assuming they can charge their vehicle at their home.

The biggest group of people who electric doesn't make sense for is those who live in apartments or rent homes/townhouse that won't allow a 220V outlet installed for car charging.  But in my city I can totally see someone who lives within 15 miles of our Tesla chargers could totally do it as they are next to a grocery store so you could just make more frequent trips to the store (as often as you fill a regular ICE vehicle).

Edited March 15, 2022 by FireHazard51

[Tulpa | 3,529]

1 hour ago, FireHazard51 said:

The biggest group of people who electric doesn't make sense for is those who live in apartments or rent homes/townhouse that won't allow a 220V outlet installed for car charging.

Depends on the state. In California, an apartment tenant can request a charging station to be installed (at the tenant's expense, same as a homeowner) and the landlord must comply unless a couple of exceptions are met (tenants don't get onsite parking, the unit has fewer than five parking spaces, or there's already charging stations available onsite.)

[Link | 2,725]

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

Funny how quick prices shoot up, but how slowly they come down. 
 

Wonder if gas companies are seeing record profits (again)?

[Tanooki | 4,949]

Care to update that gas prices around the world for the local VAT added to them?  No one ever likes to adjust for that before making a point how it's dramatically cheaper here or factoring in what gets handled domestically too which has some impact.

[Tabonga | 2,328]

It never ends!  Gas seems to now go up in price every day.

 

Edited May 11, 2022 by Tabonga

[Californication | 1,478]

It needs to be nationalized - this price gouging is a joke.

Edited May 12, 2022 by Californication

[Tanooki | 4,949]

It needs to  be heavily regulated is what at this rate as it's becoming a national stability issue, which can in turn be even a national security issue when costs get to the point it causes issues with the functioning of daily life.  Got a nice 40cent hike this morning from yesterday evening...yeah that's natural (my ass.)

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

Wonder if anyone in congress knows any Oil lobbysists

 

Nah taking money from industries you regulate is inherently corrupt

[Kguillemette | 1,547]

I personally hope to see widespread adoption of the new F150 lightning. It seems super promising with a 200 mile range and a very reasonable MSRP for the base model. In a couple years, it's a full size pickup I can realistically see myself owning. In the meantime, it seems the Maverick is a hot commodity. Ford is a brand name that your oversized pickup truck, Trump bumper sticker, flag waving, gun toting, don't tread on me mfs tend to trust. I think there's a big chance the lightning pops off and becomes a new standard.

 

[Alder | 243]

We just traded in our 17 year old Subaru for a 2022 Kia Niro plug in hybrid. First new car, first EV, but we love it. Plug it in a standard outlet overnight for a 100% battery lasting ~30 miles. For most trips around town that means we don't use any gas. When I have to commute for work (~40 minutes) I've been getting 110 mpg on the trip to work and 55 mpg on the trip home, so my average mpg for the commute has roughly tripled. Now to come full circle we just need some solar panels on the house

[Link | 2,725]

On 3/17/2022 at 3:33 PM, Tanooki said:

Care to update that gas prices around the world for the local VAT added to them?  No one ever likes to adjust for that before making a point how it's dramatically cheaper here or factoring in what gets handled domestically too which has some impact.

Other way around imo. In America lower pump prices are subsidized through several channels including war and foreign occupation, who do you think pays for that.  Not to mention the environmental cost that is simply shunted off onto future generations. But I'm glad to hear you're in favor of government regulation for some purposes.

Edited May 16, 2022 by Link