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A 9-hour drive in Toyota's new electric SUV showed me how brutal EV road trips can be with the wrong car
msn ^ | 04/15/2023

Posted on 04/15/2023 9:07:38 AM PDT by devane617

Electric cars are quick, quiet, and kind to the planet, but limited range and lengthy charging times mean road trips aren't exactly their strong suit.

That's what I learned when I took Toyota's new bZ4X SUV from New York to Washington D.C. one weekend in early April. The 500-mile journey wasn't some epic coast-to-coast adventure, but rather the kind of long-haul drive someone might casually take a few times per year and not think twice about — if they're behind the wheel of a regular gas car.

Let's nerd out for just one moment to establish some basic concepts.

Every EV has a maximum charging rate, expressed in kilowatts (kW), that governs the amount of power it can accept from roadside fast chargers. For the bZ4X AWD I tested, that's an uncompetitive 100 kW. The higher an EV's rating, the faster you can hypothetically charge — so long as you find a charging plug whose rating is equal or greater.

But you don't always achieve that max charge rate due to the charger, the temperature of the battery, or, in my case, settings built into the vehicle itself. During my trip, the car never got close to 100 kW, leading to some excruciating charging times.

(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: automotive; electric; ev; hybrids; toyota; twofaced; youaskedforit
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To: devane617

With current technology, EVs should be relegated to large heavy vehicle fleets like transit buses and delivery vehicles where a large depot infrastructure can be put in place to support it…


41 posted on 04/15/2023 9:54:37 AM PDT by Magnatron
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To: devane617
"Electric cars are...kind to the planet"

Author Tim Levin is an uninformed idiot. A useful idiot for leftist causes, perhaps, but an uneducated, incurious, uninformed idiot nonetheless.

People like this are incapable of thinking these things through from a SYSTEMS perspective. All they can think about is tailpipe emissions.

When you look at the overall EV system, from mineral requirements, recycling potential, short battery life, toxic waste disposal, rebuilding the entire country's electrical distribution infrastructure, horribly wasteful low energy-density solar and wind power, disposal of old solar and wind generating equipment at 20 years, killing of whales and eagles, hours wasted waiting for recharges, lack of utility-scale energy storage systems...you name it, it is a colossal ecological disaster in the making.

An EV system is probably ten times more destructive to the planet than an ICE engine based system.

42 posted on 04/15/2023 9:55:12 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (I don’t like to think before I say something...I want to be just as surprised as everyone els)
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To: dfwgator

And crooks love to steal the charging cables to get a few dollars at the “recycling store.”


43 posted on 04/15/2023 9:56:08 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (I don’t like to think before I say something...I want to be just as surprised as everyone els)
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To: SamAdams76

And not nearly cost effective as a commuter car. A cheap used beater is a better option financially, but no one Ooohs and Aaahhs your used beater. So drop $60,000 on an electric


44 posted on 04/15/2023 9:56:26 AM PDT by cyclotic
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To: Dr. Sivana

“Why is it inevitable?”

The only answer to that is the GD government is dictating it and the GD government is populated by starry-eyed eco-idiots who get stiffies from dictating how other people shall live.

The drive to make the wholesale change-over is not based on science, technology, engineering, ecological soundness, systems analysis, or common sense. EV systems fail on all those counts and fail big-time.


45 posted on 04/15/2023 9:59:18 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (I don’t like to think before I say something...I want to be just as surprised as everyone els)
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To: Ann Archy

Think electric Golf Carts......


46 posted on 04/15/2023 9:59:41 AM PDT by Paladin2
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To: devane617

I’d be OK with a small EV just for local errands but I can’t justify the environmental harm, additional costs of ownership, harm to our grid, and contributing to the CCCP. I’d have to be one heckuva self absorbed S O B to do that.


47 posted on 04/15/2023 10:01:58 AM PDT by Chauncey Gardiner (V%%ivamus stultus ignarus mori )
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To: falcon99

The average step-down transformers on the poles in your neighborhood (or underground) can handle charging only 3 or 4 EVs in your neighborhood. That leaves 10 to 15 houses that will not be able to charge their EVs at home.

The dirty little secret of EVs is that the ENTIRE secondary distribution system will have to be changed out, from the distribution wires to the step-down transformers to the wire drop to your house and every house will need a charger.


48 posted on 04/15/2023 10:03:05 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (I don’t like to think before I say something...I want to be just as surprised as everyone els)
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To: devane617

Does ‘New York’ mean New York City, NY? If so then 500 miles must mean a round trip to and from Washington DC. Is he talking about 9 hours to drive one way or round trip?

I’ve taken an electric vehicle between those 2 cities many times and it took me less than 3 hours each way. They even sold food and beverages onboard.


49 posted on 04/15/2023 10:11:30 AM PDT by posterchild
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To: All
Electric cars are quick, quiet, and kind to the planet

EV batteries and exotic metals used are NOT kind to the planet.

50 posted on 04/15/2023 10:16:30 AM PDT by BipolarBob (Not my fault, yer Honor. I went to the Alec Baldwin School of Firearms Handling. )
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To: Paladin2

YOU CANNOT COMPARE!


51 posted on 04/15/2023 10:20:17 AM PDT by Ann Archy (Abortion....... The HUMAN Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: Ann Archy

Um, he’s talkin’ about golf carts.


52 posted on 04/15/2023 10:21:02 AM PDT by Afterguard
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To: devane617

>kind to the planet

Utter bull puckey.


53 posted on 04/15/2023 10:21:28 AM PDT by fretzer
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To: devane617

“ Electric cars are … kind to the planet…”
Where do the charging stations get their juice?


54 posted on 04/15/2023 10:22:24 AM PDT by bwest
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To: Ann Archy

(golf cart)


55 posted on 04/15/2023 10:26:48 AM PDT by Varsity Flight ( "War by🙏🙏 the prophesies set before you." I Timothy 1:18. Nazarite prayer warriors. 10.5.6.5)
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To: Afterguard

HelloI KNOW he’s he’s talking talkingabout golf cart....not getting it.


56 posted on 04/15/2023 10:30:57 AM PDT by Ann Archy (Abortion....... The HUMAN Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: Captain Peter Blood
...get a trailer for the EV, on the trailer you have either a diesel or gasoline powered generator. You hook up the charger to the car and have it being charged all the time.



57 posted on 04/15/2023 10:33:08 AM PDT by T.B. Yoits
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To: devane617

Wouldn’t it be easier to do what they did in the old days when they thought people were the cause of weather problems? Just build pyramids and sacrifice children to appease the weather gods.


58 posted on 04/15/2023 10:35:43 AM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: Ann Archy; Paladin2
I’m betting that TRUMP has NO EV’s!!

He was clearly referring to golf carts.

59 posted on 04/15/2023 10:41:22 AM PDT by higgmeister (In the Shadow of The Big Chicken!)
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To: higgmeister

O G!! BEYOND PSTUPID!


60 posted on 04/15/2023 10:43:11 AM PDT by Ann Archy (Abortion....... The HUMAN Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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