Electric car thread

[adrenalated]

Thanks for the links good summary content. With some upcoming life changes, we're probably just a year or two out from an EV to replace the 20 y.o. civic. Something that can be a daily commuter and make mountain commutes happily.

We had to sell our EV, but I think we're only a couple years out from jumping back in.
Quiver will be
-300ish mi range AWD EV (wife's commuter + most day trips, needs to do 150mi commute in all weather, in the mountains) . Equinox EV currently top contender here but I could easily see Hyundai or Kia kicking it in the nuts
-beater ass truck for doing truck shit like hauling snowmobiles in the bed and generally fitting in with the neighbors
-motorcycle for me to go get parts for my broken ass beater truck

[Garbowski]

Ground clearance does not seem to be great on too many models. I'm looking hard at the Rav4 prime which still has a gas engine but can do 42 miles all electric- that is plenty for us around town.

[doebedoe]

We had to sell our EV, but I think we're only a couple years out from jumping back in.
Quiver will be
-300ish mi range AWD EV (wife's commuter + most day trips, needs to do 150mi commute in all weather, in the mountains) . Equinox EV currently top contender here but I could easily see Hyundai or Kia kicking it in the nuts
-beater ass truck for doing truck shit like hauling snowmobiles in the bed and generally fitting in with the neighbors
-motorcycle for me to go get parts for my broken ass beater truck

We're in same boat -- wife commuter + ski/run/hike day trips. Would like the truck to be reliable enough to hold a small pop-top slide in and take on longer road trips. Equinox caught my eye too.

No motorcycle. But the NA Miata and e-cargo bike cover those bases.

[Foggy_Goggles]

@flat brim tundra lift

That should be our quiver but my wife is what you might call....resolute? And won't share any vehicles with me so she wants her HRV and her F150 and we don't have parking for an EV grocery getter.

But I might be able to pencil some type of EV battle wagon for my business. The challenge, besides parking, is that the dirt roads (and they paved roads) rattle shit to death.

[Toadman]

Kia is going to sell a fuck load of those… is that the first “non-luxury” three row BEV SUV?


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

Co-worker bought a Kia EV6. Nice enough looking vehicle. Haven't had a chance to ask them how they like it. But did a quick search on the Kia website and they had about 6 in stock at the local Bend Hyundai dealership. Meanwhile, you can't find much inventory of Ford Mach-E's. Quite a few of the Volvo EV's are available now as well. Good luck finding and EV pickup truck though.

[gravitylover]

This is what I've been waiting to see for a few years. https://www.businessinsider.com/toyo...ectreon-2023-6 Now, how do we retrofit 75% of the roads in the country?

[chaka]

Are Fisker Oceans shipping yet? Anyone have any time with one? It is on our shortlist of AWD electrics that aren't obscenely priced.

[schuss]

This is what I've been waiting to see for a few years. https://www.businessinsider.com/toyo...ectreon-2023-6 Now, how do we retrofit 75% of the roads in the country?

It's like 10% efficiency and spits out a shit ton of electrical interference. More likely we see multi plug setups and battery tech to charge as fast as a gas fill-up.

[dcpnz]

This is what I've been waiting to see for a few years. https://www.businessinsider.com/toyo...ectreon-2023-6 Now, how do we retrofit 75% of the roads in the country?

“Electreon drove a Toyota Rav4 Prime — a plug-in hybrid model, not a full EV — for 100 hours straight, only stopping to switch drivers. “

Averaging 12 miles per hour ???

Sounds incredibly impractical. I’d rather just stop to take a leak and recharge for 20 mins.

[bodywhomper]

The ev VW van sound pretty cool and fun. Wonder how many other companies are gonna step up and match or out do them and not break the bank.

[3pin]

My issue, is the build of lightning I want is more than 80k, Every extended range build right now is over.

Now we may pivot and replace my wife's highlander hybrid with 80k with an EV9 when they come out.

https://www.kia.com/us/en/ev9

grskier - it’s not impossible. I just bought a Lightning Lariat ER, and it’s going to sneak in under the tax credit threshold. I had a reservation from day 1, but bailed on that order process in Feb with the price increases for 2023. Every dealer in Seattle area had another $10k or greater ADM tacked on as well - f that.

After looking around considerably this spring, I found an untitled 2022 dealer demo in rural WI - almost no miles, qualifies as a new sale, and 2022 window sticker is under the $80k threshold (credit is based on sticker MSRP minus destination & delivery). Not as much interest around there, so also marked down a little. The 2022 actually has a bunch of the features that they deleted over the winter due to supply chain, and between a little extra discount and tax credit, it’ll be 20% less than the exact same 2023 truck.

Every dealer that had an allocation had a demo, and they couldn’t sell them for 6-9 months. A bunch are on the market now, key is to look in lower demand markets and find one that’s still untitled. Definitely a few still out there if you’re motivated:

I talked to this dealer, but ultimately bought a different one: https://www.lancecunninghamford.com/...6W1EV3NWG02253

This dude took the same tack and found another: https://www.f150lightningforum.com/f...ed-511a.15477/

I had to wait a little longer for shipping, but should have my truck on Monday.

All that said, EV9 also looks sweet and will still probably be cheaper than a Lightning when they’re available.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[gravitylover]

It's like 10% efficiency and spits out a shit ton of electrical interference. More likely we see multi plug setups and battery tech to charge as fast as a gas fill-up.

Efficiency will come up. I don't know nearly enough to speculate on how to reduce or remove that interference but I bet there's a sufficient solution. We know that fast charging reduces battery life so why are we so focused on it? Batteries are best around 60-80% right? A constant charge system could keep the battery in that optimal range. I think that you may be right about the tech part, solid state, quick charging batteries will solve many of the issues I have but not needing to stop for charging is still something I'll look forward to.

“Electreon drove a Toyota Rav4 Prime — a plug-in hybrid model, not a full EV — for 100 hours straight, only stopping to switch drivers. “

Averaging 12 miles per hour ???

Sounds incredibly impractical. I’d rather just stop to take a leak and recharge for 20 mins.

It'll get better. I'd like an e-car with a smallish battery pack for a bunch of reasons and something like this would make that more feasible.

[frorider]

It's like 10% efficiency and spits out a shit ton of electrical interference.

Agree, the inherent inefficiency of inductive charging is magnified by the separation distance & non-stationary implementation here. Why the hell would we want to waste that much electrical power?

[nickwm21]

If we’re going to spend all that effort to rip up all the roads with diesel equipment and lay all that copper and asphalt, why wouldn’t we put in high speed public transpo in instead?


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[J. Barron DeJong]

Agree, the inherent inefficiency of inductive charging is magnified by the separation distance & non-stationary implementation here. Why the hell would we want to waste that much electrical power?

All cars are going to need to look like this in the future:

[jono]

If we’re going to spend all that effort to rip up all the roads with diesel equipment and lay all that copper and asphalt, why wouldn’t we put in charging rail ferries so you can charge while rolling "driverless" instead?

Fixed.

[Tamburello Rouge]

Co-worker bought a Kia EV6. Nice enough looking vehicle. Haven't had a chance to ask them how they like it. But did a quick search on the Kia website and they had about 6 in stock at the local Bend Hyundai dealership. Meanwhile, you can't find much inventory of Ford Mach-E's. Quite a few of the Volvo EV's are available now as well. Good luck finding and EV pickup truck though.

I bought a KIA EV6 GT about six weeks ago. I absolutely love it. Compared it to the Model Y Performance and the Mach E GT. For me the EV6 checked the most boxes. Very happy with my decision.

[bodywhomper]

What’s the chance that current tech will be fairly obsolete in the near future (5-ish years)?

It feels like production is ramping up a lot across manufacturers. I’ve glimpsed at headlines about new and improved battery tech. Higher efficiency, less weight, lower carbon footprint, reduced social/ethical heartache. Is this true? Are there milestone projections being published for consumers?And hydrogen fuel cell tech, what’s going on with it (noticed a Shell gas station last week where 1/3 of pumps were hydrogen)? My understanding that hydrogen fill stations could become more common.

We struggle with the concept of buying a new car. We typically hold onto to cars for 10+ years. All of our cars are getting long in the tooth.

As a consumer, I wonder if I’m considering buying something that will be obsolete in the near future. Will gas become so expensive by 2028 that a gas/hybrid will become extremely expensive to operate and worth nearly nothing on the used market?

I remember a few years ago when Toyota lobbied against the California law about future sales of gas cars, but now it feels like they are jumping in head first, eg new battery and new manufacturing/assembly plants in the US.

[alpinevibes]

What’s the chance that current tech will be fairly obsolete in the near future (5-ish years)?

It feels like production is ramping up a lot across manufacturers. I’ve glimpsed at headlines about new and improved battery tech. Higher efficiency, less weight, lower carbon footprint, reduced social/ethical heartache. Is this true? Are there milestone projections being published for consumers?And hydrogen fuel cell tech, what’s going on with it (noticed a Shell gas station last week where 1/3 of pumps were hydrogen)? My understanding that hydrogen fill stations could become more common.

We struggle with the concept of buying a new car. We typically hold onto to cars for 10+ years. All of our cars are getting long in the tooth.

As a consumer, I wonder if I’m considering buying something that will be obsolete in the near future. Will gas become so expensive by 2028 that a gas/hybrid will become extremely expensive to operate and worth nearly nothing on the used market?

I remember a few years ago when Toyota lobbied against the California law about future sales of gas cars, but now it feels like they are jumping in head first, eg new battery and new manufacturing/assembly plants in the US.

Mr Bean's opinion piece in the Guardian skirted these issues/thoughts a bit; here's a good rebuttal: https://thedriven.io/2023/06/05/debu...-ice-vehicles/

Regardless of that. I would say there's low likelihood of the technology changing dramatically over the next 5-10yrs+. With automakers and governments investing billions/trillions in EVs and EV infrastructure, I don't think you'll see a big pivot away from that. Battery tech will continue to improve but unless solid-state somehow become dramatically cheaper to manufacture, I think it will be reserved for high-end models or option packages. Traditional EV batteries will dominate the lower-end market for the foreseeable future as economies of scale allow their production to lead to sub-$30k EV's across the market.

[skaredshtles]

If we’re going to spend all that effort to rip up all the roads with diesel equipment and lay all that copper and asphalt, why wouldn’t we put in high speed public transpo in instead?

So much this.

[Dromond]

I just bought a gas SUV - a super cheap old one for occasional use that I don't expect to have for more than 5 years. Part of the reason is that unless I was driving a lot of miles on long distance road trips (wearing it out fast) I'd hesitate to buy a new gas or even hybrid vehicle today just because the fuel situation seems more unstable than electricity at this point, and it's a lot of money to spend on something that sits around much of the time getting outdated quickly by new longer range EVs.

My father in law just got a new EV6 and likes it. I'm hoping some of the shorter range (cheaper, lighter) models of the current gen cars can be had cheaper used in a few years to replace our tin can Fiat 500e commuter car. Days trips and commuting are such a sweet spot for EVs right now.

[Toadman]

I bought a KIA EV6 GT about six weeks ago. I absolutely love it. Compared it to the Model Y Performance and the Mach E GT. For me the EV6 checked the most boxes. Very happy with my decision.

It seems that KIA is one of the few car mfg's that has inventory of EV's. I was toying with the idea of at least taking one for a test drive.

[neufox47]

Yes there is a federal tax credit that applies to EVs. Exact amount depends on model. Best source for that: https://fueleconomy.gov/feg/tax2023.shtml

I don't think the vehicle you are asking for currently exists yet though.
Everything you can currently buy: https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...-ev-models-us/
Everything known to be coming: https://www.caranddriver.com/news/g2...c-cars-trucks/

Edit: I think that e-Transit linked above proves me wrong.

Man there are some good cars available and even better coming. It’s going to be wild to see what happens over the next 5 years and it will really be nuts when we finally get to a new battery technology that doubles or triples battery density.

[bodywhomper]

Thanks for responses to my musing and mild conundrums.

I wonder if hydrogen will be the way for medium and heavy duty equipment and plug-in ev will be the way for cars and light trucks. I thought this article was interesting. Where electric transmission(?) infrastructure exists, I wonder if the Walmart and Amazon distribution centers (and similar places) will have commercial hydrogen generating and fueling stations and EV charging stations.

https://www.fleetowner.com/emissions...drogen-highway

[schuss]

I honestly doubt hydrogen gets much traction as it doesn't really offer any advantage over fossil fuels except mildly improved pollution.
Construction equipment will likely go electric sooner rather than later given torque curves of electric motors. Just have a fucking large jobsite battery that gets swapped out for top ups (think construction debris bin model).
Other stuff will likely stay fossil fueled as it's a drop in the bucket and there's plenty of available pollution controls as it is.
It will go away as battery tech+ev efficiency starts to swing the cost calculus as regen braking alone is enough to make any fleet cost modeler salivate at reductions in brake costs/downtime.