Posted on 02/26/2023 4:02:24 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Owners of electric vehicles are finally admitting that recharging away from home is a total "logistical nightmare," between finding charging stations, and the fact that in the best case scenarios it takes 30 to 40 minutes, and up to two hours, to recharge.
"We're going through the planning process of how easily Maddie can get from Albany to Gettysburg [College] and where she can charge the car," said YouTube personality Steve Hammes, who leased a Hyunday Kona Electric SUV for his 17-year-old daughter, Maddie.
"It makes me a little nervous. We want fast chargers that take 30 to 40 minutes -- it would not make sense to sit at a Level 2 charger for hours. There isn't a good software tool that helps EV owners plan their trips," he told ABC News.
The report comes on the heels of the Biden administration's announcement that Tesla would open its Supercharger network to non-Tesla owners by the end of next year - a plan which includes 3,500 Tesla fast chargers and 4,000 of the slower, Level 2 chargers.
John Voelcker, an industry expert on EVs and the former editor of Green Car Reports, said this arrangement will allow Tesla to learn a lot about U.S. drivers -- "how you charge, where you drive and what car you have." He does not expect Tesla to commit to additional charging stations.
"Tesla does not want its highly reliable and tightly integrated charging network to be clogged with people whose cars can't charge as fast as Teslas," he told ABC News. -ABC News
To try and cope with an increase in EVs, the Biden administration's 2021 infrastructure law has a goal of installing 500,000 new chargers across the country - as well as dramatically boosting EV sales, by 2030.
That said, Voelcker hasn't seen much improvement in the nation's recharging infrastructure over the past four years, and says he's heard a food of complaints over dead chargers and 'sticky cables.'
"The incentive right now is to get stations in the ground," he said. "It's not making sure they actually work."
Car and Driver editor-in-chief Tony Quiroga, says he's now been forced to wander around a local Walmart in Burbank, California while his Tesla recharges. He's also become a regular at a Mohave, California Mexican restaurant, where a Telsa charger is located.
"I imagine an ecosystem will be built around charging stations eventually," he told ABC News. "Longer trips bring up flaws with EVs. People are leery of taking them on long trips -- that's why older EVs don't have 40,000 miles on them."
Last March Swedish automaker Volvo and Starbucks said they were teaming up to install as many as 60 DC fast chargers at 15 Starbucks stores along a 1,350-mile route that spans from Seattle to Denver.
Quiroga's sister, who lives in Northern California, takes her internal combustion car -- not her Tesla Model S -- when she needs to drive across the state. Even Quiroga's team of reporters has to carefully plan and calculate how far EV charging stations are when they conduct comparison tests among manufacturers. -ABC News
"These comparisons tests are a logistical nightmare. We plan meals around recharging the vehicles," said Quiroga. "We need to have the battery at 100% or close to it to test a vehicle's performance. We have to time everything -- it requires more work."
What's more, the range of EVs plummets in the cold, or if you use things like the heater.
Sharon Bragg of Clifton Park, New York, has to charge her Ford Mustang Mach-E GT more frequently in the winter months. The GT's EPA rating is 270 miles on a full charge. Bragg said it's closer to 200 in the colder weather. Last December a Level 2 charging plug got stuck in her Mach-E and would not budge. After multiple failed attempts by bystanders, she called an electrician, who blew hot air on the plug for 20 minutes to release it.
"The whole process took two hours," she told ABC News. "I was in the parking lot from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. It was a cold day."
That said, Quiroga of Car and Driver calls these inconveniences "teething pains," which he says have greatly improved over the years.
"Where we are now versus 10 years ago -- it's radically different," he said. "Range has tripled, even quintupled. Look at the Lucid Air -- it gets over 500 miles of range in a single charge."
Now if states like California could only provide an infrastructure robust enough to handle EV demand legislated over the next 10-15 years...
Once more EVs are in use it won’t matter who fudges what numbers.
Burned existing customers will get angry and tell all their friends about all the issues—and the word will be out.
“Lemon” car brands get a bad reputation that spreads quickly and is very hard to repair.
The price of electricity is a big future issue.
On January 1st here in northern CT the per kilowatt hour cost went up by more than 60%.
The state and region have been totally tone deaf on the need to increase grid capacity—so it is hard to see electric prices going anywhere but up up up....
Meanwhile gasoline prices have remained relatively stable over the last few months.
An electric vehicle is like a multi-year casino visit—no way to know whether you will be a winner or get burned.
A friend of mine had one that basically looked like a four seat glorified golf cart. He used it for running errands around town for his business. It worked fine for going to get coffee at the local 7-11.
My son is about to start college. He currently drives an old Ford Focus. If I need to replace it I’ll replace it with a low millage used ICE car. An EV would be completely impractical. To many trips back and forth from school and no place to charge it on campus.
For myself I think I might get a Telsa Model 3 when I need to replace my current vehicle. We’d have a fairly current SUV for any road trips and a sporty looking Tesla for local trips. I’ll put it off for as long as possible of course.
Many towns in liberal states (and entire states) have passed laws that every new or remodeled house MUST have an EV charger. So you pay $25,000 whether you want it or not.
That does wonders for housing prices and availability.
“There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.”
I've read more than enough about EVs to know I don't want one and that one would never work out for me.
My choice for a 17 year old might be a 10-year old pre-dented Volvo S60. Avoiding the NYC area it's a 338 mile drive between Albany NY and Gettysburg PA. Given the S60's 17.8 gallon fuel tank, and given EPA 23/20/30 MPG (let's say 23MPG since it's all Interstate highway driving), she should be able to drive from Albany NY to Gettysburg PA without stopping.
(If her bladder holds out.)
Mandating EV chargers is a horrible idea, but I think $25,000 is a bit high.
If you already have a 240 V outlet then the changer is more like $300 to $1000 and it would make a lot more sense to get one that matches your car. Retrofitting for a 240 V outlet could be an additional $500 to $2500. Having the outlet added to a house during construction should be at or below the $500 figure.
Like I say, a bad idea, but not $25,000.
Getting a pre-dented car for your kids is an excellent idea.
IF the Feds maintain those charging stations as well as they maintain the border-—
This will all collapse in less than 3 years.
OVER half of the charging stations in Los Angeles are disabled by thieves stealing the cords.
The bloom is off the EV rose, they’re boutique cars and will always be so.
A MR COFFEE is much cheaper.
Non Telsa’s have it tougher than Tesla’s. Every rich neighborhood shopping mall has Tesla superchargers with no waiting, but finding someplace to sharge your electric Kia may be tough.
True.
In 5 minutes you could fill up, squeegee the windows and lights, check the oil, go in and buy a lottery ticket and soft drink.
Come now, you don’t actually believe that they care what you want, do you? After the last three years?!
Bake the cake.
Stay locked down.
Wear the mask.
Get the jabs.
Drive an electric car.
Ride mass transit.
Eat bugs.
So where would a crackhead find nice copper cable’s plentiful and easily accessible in order to scrap it ? These vehicles are fine for around your area but for long distance they are garbage and doing basic repairs and maintenance will be another nightmare.
Now if states like California could only provide an infrastructure robust enough to handle EV demand legislated over the next 10-15 years…
At 30-40 minutes to charge, how many charging stations would you need? And how many hours of people’s lives will be spent waiting? This whole thing is almost as stupid as masks and socialist distancing. Every day, we take another step closer to Idiocracy.
Well; it USED to.
But now it appears to be on number 8 or 9 right now!
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