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Electric Vehicles Are the U.S. Auto Industry’s Future—If Dealers Can Figure Out How to Sell Them
The Wall Street Journal ^ | March 7, 2021 | Nora Naughton |

Posted on 03/07/2021 8:08:35 PM PST by MinorityRepublican

Car dealer Brad Sowers is spending money to prepare for the coming wave of new electric models from General Motors Co. He is installing charging stations, upgrading service bays and retraining staff at his St. Louis-area dealership to handle the technology-packed vehicles.

But when he considers how many plug-in Chevy Bolts he sold last year—nine, out of the nearly 4,000 Chevrolets sold at his Missouri dealerships—it gives him pause.

“The consumer in the middle of America just isn’t there yet,” when it comes to switching to electric vehicles, he said, citing the long distances many of his customers drive daily and a lack of charging infrastructure outside major cities.

As auto executives and investors buzz about the coming age of the electric car, many dealers say they are struggling to square that enthusiasm with the reality today on new-car sales lots, where last year battery-powered vehicles made up fewer than 2% of U.S. auto sales.

Most consumers who come to showrooms aren’t shopping for electric cars, and with gasoline prices relatively low, even hybrid models can be a tough sell, dealers and industry analysts say.

Auto makers are moving aggressively to expand their electric-vehicle offerings with dozens of new models set to arrive in coming years. Some like GM are setting firm targets for when they plan to phase out gas-powered cars entirely.

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


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Editorial; Your Opinion/Questions
KEYWORDS: autonomousvehicles; chatforum; elonmusk; ev; fakenews; fastcharging; fossilfuelforever; tesla; v8powerbaby
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To: TexasGator

“Care to come ride with me? You would lose your cookies.”

Oh, please, you idiots that think you’re going to go 0-60 in 3 seconds are childish idiots. Traffic rarely allows that acceleration and you can’t afford the tires.


201 posted on 03/08/2021 6:16:31 AM PST by CodeToad (Arm Up! They Have!)
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To: MinorityRepublican

You go ahead and give up your freedom. I won’t. Diesel power.


202 posted on 03/08/2021 6:19:20 AM PST by backwoods-engineer (But what do I know? I'm just a backwoods engineer.)
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To: TexasGator

80% charge in 90 minutes. That’s 80 minutes of wasted time for a driver. DOT rules only allow 11 hours of driving per day, 14 hour on duty day max.

One can drive about 500 miles a day in 11 hours, but not if they need to stop for 2 1/2 hours to charge the truck.

Does that range take into account the weight load in the truck? Doubt it. 60,000 pounds of steel in the trailer going uphill in a snowstorm with the heat on at night? Bet that range goes down to 100-125 miles.

The average semi has 300 gallon fuel capacity. At 7 mpg, that’s a range of 2000 miles, or a fill up ever four days.

Compare that to two charges a day.

Many truckers are paid by the mile. Time is money. Time spent charging is wasted money.

Say a driver earns $.40 per mile. At two 90 minute charges per day and 200 days with an average speed of 60 mph, that works out to $14,400 in lost wages spent charging the batteries.

Say it takes 20 minutes to refuel once every four days, at the same $.40 per mile rate, it’s about $400 in lost revenue.


203 posted on 03/08/2021 6:20:56 AM PST by cyclotic (Live your life in such a way that they hate you as much as they hated Rush Limbaugh)
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To: pluvmantelo

“At present”


204 posted on 03/08/2021 6:30:03 AM PST by crz
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To: MinorityRepublican

Selling things to people who don’t want to buy them.


205 posted on 03/08/2021 6:30:44 AM PST by BradyLS (DO NOT FEED THE BEARS!)
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To: cyclotic

Most truck routes are less than 300 miles.


206 posted on 03/08/2021 7:00:42 AM PST by TexasGator (Z1z)
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To: CodeToad

“Oh, please, you idiots that think you’re going to go 0-60 in 3 seconds are childish idiots. Traffic rarely allows that acceleration and you can’t afford the tires.”

I can afford the tires.


207 posted on 03/08/2021 7:04:26 AM PST by TexasGator (Z1z)
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To: CodeToad

” Who the hell are you to say I shouldn’t??”

You have a problem. I never said any such thing. Get some help.


208 posted on 03/08/2021 7:07:07 AM PST by TexasGator (Z1z)
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To: hoosierham

“The question is why do THEY want you limited to 100 miles a day”

Where did you get that idea?


209 posted on 03/08/2021 7:08:16 AM PST by TexasGator (Z1z)
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To: MinorityRepublican

Rebuilding old cars like cuba might be a good financial investment. I think I will buy some junkers.


210 posted on 03/08/2021 7:08:34 AM PST by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are no longer being issued but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere.)
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To: Elsie

“900 kw=240v*4amps*60minutes”

kw = power

v * i * t = power * t = energy (kwh)


211 posted on 03/08/2021 7:11:32 AM PST by TexasGator (Z1z)
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To: Blue Highway

” I can fill my 16 gallon tank from almost empty to full in less than 2 minutes. “

An EV can charge at night while one is sleeping!


212 posted on 03/08/2021 7:15:42 AM PST by TexasGator (Z1z)
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To: mrsmith

“So “present day” it takes over a 100 minutes to charge an average EV.”

If you are going to quote me be accurate.

And don’t take my words out of context.


213 posted on 03/08/2021 7:17:07 AM PST by TexasGator (Z1z)
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To: MinorityRepublican

Honestly, 90% of Americans will be fine on EVs. You only need to use gas and diesel powered vehicle if you’re transporting something cross country. But for rest of us, we go to work and then when we come home, we plug in the EV to the power grid so it will be fully charged in the morning.


In some ways you may be right.

I would add there will be nothing to travel to see, parks and all museums’/entertainment will be closed. People in Russia had no reason to travel. No reason to travel except to work. It will be a hassle to travel, so we will all stay home. Think of what happened this year.

We will pretend to work, and listen to their propaganda and the tv and internet and they will pretend to care for us.


214 posted on 03/08/2021 7:18:42 AM PST by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are no longer being issued but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere.)
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To: cyclotic

“Say it takes 20 minutes to refuel once every four days, at the same $.40 per mile rate, it’s about $400 in lost revenue.”

With a fuel cost savings of that amount!


215 posted on 03/08/2021 7:23:33 AM PST by TexasGator (Z1z)
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To: TexasGator

“An EV can charge at night while one is sleeping!”

So?? Dumb relation. No one wants to have to go to sleep to charge their vehicle when they can simply gas up in minutes.


216 posted on 03/08/2021 7:23:39 AM PST by CodeToad (Arm Up! They Have!)
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To: TexasGator

“With a fuel cost savings of that amount!”

What fuel savings?? Between the high cost the vehicle itself and the fact that EV’s get about the same cost per mile as a gas vehicle, there is no savings.


217 posted on 03/08/2021 7:24:44 AM PST by CodeToad (Arm Up! They Have!)
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To: TexasGator

“Where did you get that idea?”

Because we know communists, and we know every chance they get the look for reasons to implement travel passports and restrictions.

You’re pro-EV propaganda is just too easy to see through.


218 posted on 03/08/2021 7:26:29 AM PST by CodeToad (Arm Up! They Have!)
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To: digger48

Would 300k towing work for. you?

https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-pickup-truck-6-seats-300k-towing-capacity/


219 posted on 03/08/2021 7:26:54 AM PST by TexasGator (Z1z)
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To: TexasGator

“Most truck routes are less than 300 miles.”

So? Critical truck routes are over 1,000. Nice try at the EV communist propaganda.


220 posted on 03/08/2021 7:27:42 AM PST by CodeToad (Arm Up! They Have!)
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