Our son recently leased an EV. He spent over $2,000 installing a level 2 charger in his garage though now has a separate meter for the charger that gives him a lower rate for electricity…I surmise the rate is subsidized by the rest of us. He also has a charger at his work so for in town driving so far so good. However, he has yet to experience driving his EV during a bitter cold Minnesota winter. He recently took his EV to his wife’s family cabin in northern Minnesota…about a three hour drive in an ICE vehicle. The trip took D-Day like planning to get to a charging station along the way adding maybe a half an hour to the trip for a recharge. Once at the cabin it took another 20 minute trip to a local Indian casino for a top off charge and then another recharge on the way back. Note our family cabin is a little further north and takes about 3.5 hours of travel time in an ICE vehicle allowing two brief comfort stops including one to top off the tank at a gas station that usually has a cheaper price for gas. Our son was recently in a rear end accident that did substantial damage to the rear of his EV. While the vehicle was still drivable many of the back up sensors were damaged and the mostly plastic body had tearing damage. Our son estimates the repairs will cost the other guys insurance company north of 10 grand. No word on whether there was any battery damage which could mean totaling the EV.
EV’s are the answer to a problem nobody has......................
If it gets totalled and “scrapped”, it’ll probably wind up in Ukraine.
https://ts2.space/en/tesla-model-x-sold-online-in-the-us-ends-up-in-ukraine/
#79 another 20 minute trip to a local Indian casino
Is that the one by Leech Lake? : )
Generally speaking, heavier cars provide more protection for occupants in an accident, if other design safety features are equal. Imagine a gas pickup colliding in a head-on with a compact car — the lowest g-loading is in the heavier vehicle. But with EV’s, the batteries are so heavy the manufacturers have to reduce weight when engineering all of the other parts to compensate for the heavy batteries (that do not provide crash protection), and to extend the range of the energy-hungry, inherently heavier vehicle. So their structures are often less crash-worthy without more costly engineering gimmicks and materials. Not to mention if you’re trapped in an EV and there’s a fire, if the batteries short out then the ensuing fire is nearly impossible to extinguish.