Given the opportunity would you use a electric car/truck as your daily driver, If not why?

[Randy888]

I would use an electric car/truck if i had the money to buy and maintain it

I currently use an electric car/truck

I would not use an electric car/truck because i perfer gas-powered ones

Other

Results

[MrOracle]

There are currently no electric vehicles that could meet my needs, EXCEPT for a Tesla to replace my car, which is my secondary vehicle. My primary vehicle is a full-sized Ford van, and an electric version of that would likely cost $80,000, which is more than 8 times what I've put into my current van, and even then, probably wouldn't be viable given the amount of miles I drive per day.

Electric cars are fine for people whose driving is primarily a reasonably short commute to and from their job, ASSUMING they own a home and can thus install a charger at home. For people who rent, or live in an apartment, home charging is usually not viable at all.

And let's talk about charging for a minute, because if you can't meet ALL of your charging needs at home, charging is a critical issue for an electric car.

Forget Tesla for a second - let's pretend they don't exist and you've bought some other electric car. You might have been told (and it's true) that there are more non-Tesla charging locations than Tesla locations, so what could go wrong? Oh, so, so much!

There are 31 different (non-Tesla) charging networks in the US. In order to use a charging location, you have to be signed up for that network, which means creating an account, and entering all of your data, including credit card info, and many of them require account verification (which can take 24 hours, sometimes more) before you can charge. How convenient does that sound on a trip?

Then, you'd discover that the vast majority of these charging locations have 2 or 3 charging stalls, max. Tesla's average charging location has 8 stalls, but many have more, and there are busier locations that have 50 or more stalls. Even worse, once you buy an electric, you'd soon figure out that the vast majority of those charging locations only provide 48 kWh charging. Nearly all Tesla charging locations are 120 kWh (there are a few that are only 60), and many newer or bigger ones are 240 kWh. The more kiloWatts the charger can supply per hour, the faster your car can charge. Because most non-Tesla chargers are only 48 KWh, people need to stay in the stall for far longer charging - and remember there are far fewer stalls. A tiny Nissan Leaf can fully charge in an hour, but a mid-sized sedan or crossover might need 2-4 hours to charge at that rate. How'd you like that in the middle of a long trip, or a work day?

Oh, let's not forget that a lot of those charging stations are BROKEN. They have to have displays to tell you what's going on (and how to sign up for an account, etc.) because there's no universal standard - and people seem to love smashing the screens. Many also have an emergency cut-off button that, once pressed, requires an electrician to reset. Want to know how many of those buttons get pressed by random people?

Finally, Tesla seems to understand where it makes sense to install charging locations: near restaurants and malls so that people have something to do while they wait. Lots of non-Tesla charging locations are car dealerships, Harley dealerships, and other places with few or no services that are 24/7 or anywhere close.

If you think I'm just a Tesla fan, you'd be mistaken - I have a number of serious problem with Tesla - but when it comes to charging, if you don't have a Tesla and you can't meet ALL your charging needs at home, the charging landscape is absolutely abysmal. A bunch of companies took billions from the government and provided the bare minimum, and it SHOWS.

[Slartybartfast]

Yes we need to start installing ev chargers everywhere. Tesla is opening its network to other evs and frankly the new batteries coming this year and in the next few years are so much better. 600. Mile range 15 min charge half the weight much cheaper etc.

We spent trillions on warS for oil, we spend billions on oil subsidies, we spend billions on ports dredging etc. All for the private profits of a few who use that money to influence our political system.

[Shamalien]

@Slartybartfast I don’t think that’s the solution. 15 minute charge time is still way too long, and it will always be too long. Charging that quick also impacts battery health. Gas refills in a minute.

[Slartybartfast]

@Shamalien First, if right now , every ev owner bought an SUV and every Tesla a diesel truck we would have lines at the pumps like the 1970s.
What I see are people in $65,000 trucks that only ever haul their bedliner from their xerb 7 acre tax exemption alpaca farm to their city job.( Literally most of the people I work with fit this description in some way) complaining about the price of gasoline.

[Slartybartfast]

And then fighting against evs fir some quixote reason

[Slartybartfast]

Quixotic

[MrOracle]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e55Vued028

Watch this video to see how practical EV trucks and SUVs are today. You may think that everyone drives one of these to commute in, but LOTS and LOTS of these vehicles are purchased to be USED and USED HARD. There's just no way that these bigger EVs are ready for prime time.

[LikeALog]

Not in he near future.
Currently, lithium is used in the batteries. Mining and processing of lithium is not environmentally friendly. Worn out batteries have limited capability of being recycled at present and go to landfills. Replacing the batteries boosts about US$16,000 plus labor. EV's are heavier than non EV's and wear out tires faster putting more micro particles of rubber in the air than non EV's.
I'll wait until these issues are resolved

[LikeALog]

*costs not boosts

[Slartybartfast]

The place I got some of my batteries fro. (used) was a company called Ascend, they claim a %98 recovery rate, better than the palladium platinum in a gas cat converter.

The newer batteries have lifespans that will probably outlast most people and frankly ice engines are so bad it would be hard to find something worse. Only by seriously overestimating an evs potential and absurdly underestimating the massively bad ice engines environmental damage do they even come close.

Remember there are entire nations and the biggest most powerful lobby in the USA spending billions to convince us to maintain their world order.

[menina]

I would. In fact my plan is to have an electric car.

[exitseven]

I was pretty excited about electric vehicles for a while and expected my net one would be electric. However I do not think the technology is mature and I think that all the old batteries will end up in a landfill and the lead will leach into the soil and end up in the water table. They also will be expensive, not because they have to be but because the manufacturers want to load them up with all kinds of gadgets we don't need or want just to inflate the price. An electric vehicle does not even need a transmission.
Electricity will have to come from someplace and if the global warming crowd thinks that windmills will be able to carry the load I think the world is in for a bumpy ride.

[Slartybartfast]

A used ev battery is worth around $3000 in scrap. Go ahead, try to buy one from a junk yard then tell us again about them going into landfills.

Absurd, not happening.

[exitseven]

@Slartybartfast I looked at a hybrid vehicle ten years ago. I was told it was 1000 to 1500 to recycle the battery. Those batteries are smaller than the all electrics.

[Slartybartfast]

Hybrids like the Prius used nickel metal hydride batteries until recently. Not lithium.

[Slartybartfast]

Oh, fyi. I'm an Engineer who is literally building his own ev at the moment. I have a bunch of the new 2c charge lifepo batteries. They have a rechargeable lifecycle which will probably mean we will both die of old age before the battery!!

There are several new batteries coming soon that don't need cobalt etc even a solid state battery with no lithium at all.

The anti ev PROPAGANDA including the often exaggerated environment issues and other easily debunked or outdated information. Do you really think the oil depending nation's and industries aren't flooding us with misinformation?

It took fifty years of people dieing to admit cigarettes we're dangerous!!

[exitseven]

@Slartybartfast Thanks for the info/ Maybe in ten or 15 years when I am ready to replace my truck the batteries will be good enough.

[Slartybartfast]

The only vehicle using the batteries I have , has a 600 Mile range. In the next few years we should see new batteries really change things up. I can charge these to %80 in less than 14 min!

[exitseven]

@Slartybartfast wow, that would be cool.

[Slartybartfast]

I love never having to go to a gas station, I don't miss standing in the snow, rain, sleet to pay $100 for gas. I just plug in when I get home and charge off the solar on my garage roof. Three months so far and I've paid zero for fuel. I bought a used e-gulf and I'm literally saving more on gas then my car payment. It's like I'm commuting for free.

[Shamalien]

Fuck electric cars. It’s a fucking stupid idea. Literally potato brain. So you generate the electricity, store it in a battery, then use it? Why not just skip the middle man and put the gas in the tank, save a few hours of charging time? Hydrogen fuel cells make wayyyyyy more sense if we’re talking alternative

[Slartybartfast]

First, this is a newer technology. It's mostly the battery. I'm an Engineer and was putting an electric motor in my old Saturn last year when I managed to get ahold of the "next gen" fast charging batteries. I can charge them to %80 in about 14 min. The first car with these has a 600 Mile range. There are at least four competing new designs for batteries, some that don't use lithium at all. The average equivalent mileage using an ice motor is over 100mpg.

Yes , it's not for everyone right now, but half the population lives in a city. Suburban homes usually have enough solar potential to power their commuting easily. The shed I charge my e gulf on has four panels on it I bought used for $400 as of three months I haven't paid anything for my 20 Mile daily commute groceries etc, Saving about 40-50 gallons I used on my f-150 that I still keep if I need to haul something.

[Shamalien]

@Slartybartfast f150 is a big car. What would it take to power that without gas? If you can solar gen all the energy then it’s a nice solution, but for how long can we continue mining lithium at this rate?

[Slartybartfast]

F150 is a truck. It runs on gasoline. I'm just explaining how evs can work for the majority of commuters saving both gas and money.

Saving the planet for the future and not supporting the oil industry which has caused so many wars , manipulated our elections etc..

[Shamalien]

@Slartybartfast it has an electric versiob

[Slartybartfast]

Yes, but my motivation is convinence (never going to a gas station I charge at home.)
Cost, the $400 I spent on the solar panels and the $300 inverter provide more than enough to cover all my normal driving, work , groceries etc. And obviously evs require a lot less maintenance then ice motors to operate.

My e golf with $36,000 miles cost me $12,000, less than I paid for my old Saturn.

[Redstang88]

Thought about it, but not anytime soon. If I buy a smaller car it’s gonna need to be road trip capable, and EVs are still a long way from having the range I need

[jshm2]

I did.

It's only workable if you're not doing too many miles between charges.

[NathanDavis]

lmao...