As expected the people who ‘need’ EVs now have them, while us normal people continue to live our normal lives.
I would never buy an electric car or get into a computer driven vehicle. At my age I do not trust computers. They do not last very long and are unpredictable. These vehicles are all fine tuned as they come out of the factory but in six months they are falling apart. The less computers the better. I had a 1956 Buick that was the most reliable vehicle I ever had and it did not have any computers only the radio had electronics. I also had a 1957 Pontiac that was very reliable. I remember when I was young I used to make fun of all the new cars that were sitting on the side of the road while the old clunkers were still going and were easy to maintain.
No surprise, Tesla drives the data. Due to less demand Tesla has had to drop the price’s substantially. Buyers who pay federal taxes can qualify for $7500 tax credit driving Model 3 and Y price’s under 40k. (Before T&L) You would have to think like a Democrat to pay last years 40k used EV prices today.
The trend is real, but IMHO the media crashed the EV market because they began running negative stories to hurt Elon Musk.
I thought for a few milliseconds that if the price comes down below a gallon of milk I could use one to drive over to get groceries or something. But then what happens when the batteries die, or the electronics stop working. What happens if it overheats and catch fire, what’s it going to cost to insure it? Will AAA even come and get me on the side of the road? Where am I going to charge it, over at the CVS parking lot?
Seemed like a good idea for less than a second and then sanity returned, coffee kicked in... Yeah, I think I’ll stick with my ICE car.
[sips coffee and types]
I met an electrician that bought an old Ford pickup that was electric. It was new in 2000 or so???
I forget how much money he put into it, but it wasn’t a whole bunch IIRC (a few thousand??). But he did all the work himself in replacing the battery and what not. He drives it to work every day.
I imagine it would be a lot more difficult for him to work on a new EV with technology more developed over the last 24 years.
All it took was one cold January and my next-door ditched his Tesla and is now driving a new, sporty F-150. Gasoline version.
Yep. We simply don’t have the technology to make EVs as practical as gas vehicles. Even if you live in a heavily urban area with access to rapid chargers it’s just not worth it practically or financially in the long run.
Now hybrids? They’re pretty good. They give great gas mileage while retaining the reliability of internal combustion cars. But EVs? They’re just not there yet. And I have zero interest in having to rely on a 100% electric car or truck.
EVs are not used cars. They are used batteries.
Uh...what if the battery needs to be replaced?
My only comment about this is that last week I bought a used Fleet Transit Cargo van decked out with shelving, drawers, ladder rack on top and step ladder holder inside that hangs from the roof(never saw that one before). It even came with a backup beeper and governed at 76 ;). This is one of those side of the road lots. Evo Motors in Seffner Fl.
Anyway, while cruising the lot looking around, there were about 18 Teslas sitting there.
This place attracts a “bargain” hunting crowd, me among them considering the Van was cheap and had about 6k worth of shelving and racks with it.
I never figured I’d see Teslas at one of these discount places, but there they are and they were pretty cheap too.
Used EV’s are worth about as much as used toilet paper.
There is one use case for an EV: SHTF. If fuel supplies were to stop a solar system could charge an EV. Of course, not going places might be less of an incentive to own a car, but there will always be a need for transportation.
Doesn’t help that Hertz is having to dump theirs because renters don’t want to pay big bucks for not having put gas in them before return.
But yes, who would want a 5 year old plug-in and look at a 5 figure battery replacement or a possible hazardous material disposal fee in a few years.
The Wal-Mart in Mountain View, CA installed a dozen Tesla charger stations near the door to the store. People now sit in their cars on 88 degree days charging their cars! It’s the weirdest thing. All the stations were full yesterday and every car had somebody inside waiting, waiting, waiting. All the car windows were rolled up, too, so their AC had to be on while waiting. Nothing says “I love the planet” more than sitting in your broiling EV in summer with the AC running full blast while you wait for the charging to finish. What a WASTE of energy.
I felt like asking one of those people “Did you know there is a liquid fuel that can be poured into a car in a couple of minutes and you don’t have to wait in the car while refueling?”
EV’s failed to win the market more than 100 years ago for a plethora of reasons, most of which are just as true today as they were then.
They do have use cases that they fit well, but those are extremely limited.
If folks want an EV by all means buy one, but tax dollars should not be subsidizing the purchase and people should not be forced into having to buy them.