10 Things I Love About My Electric Vehicle

[czbrian]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR


Originally Posted By: Andy636
I see nobody dares to mention how much bigger the carbon foot print for an EV vs a mid size sedan from factory all the way to the junkyard.

Nobody did a comprehensive comparison between the two, that why no member here can post any data to support either type of vehicle.
We need an independent party to calculate all parts at manufacture site, to daily usage to reliability of each part ... The work is too much for any person to do, only a group of dedicate/knowledge people can do it with some funds from independent source.


Here's a study I found on the net from UCLA from 2012. It shows BEV's to be cleaner over the entire lifecycle.

http://www.environment.ucla.edu/media/files/BatteryElectricVehicleLCA2012-rh-ptd.pdf

Any issues with this study? I'm not be sarcastic and seriously would like to know.

 

[Merkava_4]

I got one question:

What the heck are we gonna talk about when the last gasoline car rolls off the assembly line ?

 

[hansj3]

Bob is the plastic guy?... Iol

Electrics make sense when we have the proper infrastructure. Make the south west into solar fields, get good at reman battery packs, recycle bad cells, standardize a charging port/ cable... make it so easy and green you persionaly have to find an excuse not to buy them

Also someone had to pull up the elio car. I like the thing and would probably buy, but I will believed it when they start to ship

 

[Joe90_guy]

I worked out that here in the UK, I'm paying the equivalent of $US 6.49/US gallon for 95 RON unleaded gasoline. There are no cheaper, lower octane grades.
However, even at these prices I doubt I could make the economics of owning an EV work. The Vauxhall (aka GM) Ampera was axed here over a year ago as no-one was buying them. I reckon that my little 1.0 litre Kia, which consistently does 56 mpg, is a reasonable compromise between 'green' and economics.

 

[The_Eric]

Originally Posted By: Joe90_guy
I worked out that here in the UK, I'm paying the equivalent of $US 6.49/US gallon for 95 RON unleaded gasoline. There are no cheaper, lower octane grades.
However, even at these prices I doubt I could make the economics of owning an EV work. The Vauxhall (aka GM) Ampera was axed here over a year ago as no-one was buying them. I reckon that my little 1.0 litre Kia, which consistently does 56 mpg, is a reasonable compromise between 'green' and economics.


I'm interested to know what was the deal breaker for you? Price of vehicle or price of electricity?

 

[Joe90_guy]

Both. The Ampera was roughly about £31k (about $US49k) to buy outright. My little Kia cost just £8.5k. Power over here is also not cheap and generation capacity scarce. We have been busy shutting down coal fired power plants and replacing them with gas, wind and solar. All expensive options. We used to have a respectable nuclear power industry but the reactors are all frighteningly old now. We're supposed to be building a new one with Chinese money but it will be years until it comes on stream.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
There might be another choice coming soon. This one appears to be a simple straight forward vehicle that would make a good second family vehicle.

Link

Their site states "Incredibly safe Elio."

Do you think this 3 wheeler is "incredibly safe" vehicle ?

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: Brybo86
I'm not sure that an employer providing free charging/parking is a legit argument in favor of people buying an electric car...

How about

"My dad is paying for all the gas so I'm buying a suburban!"
Originally Posted By: HerrStig
The juice is "free" because the gubbermint is passing the cost on to someone else, what else is new.
Originally Posted By: Nate1979
Free electricity? Kind of like an EBT card but where the owner thinks they are better than everyone else.

There is no such thing as free, someone is paying for it. The question is who pays ?

In the case of employers provide charging stations to employees free of charge, the cost of installation, maintenance and electric are paid by employers, not by users.

Employers are doing this to promote clean air under pressure by Federal, state and local governments also from local community. They may also get good PR for doing their share of cleaner air.

In So Cal, many shopping centers, hotels, restaurants and other businesses have free of charge to plug in vehicle drivers.

There are some benefits to certain group of vehicles, one of them is car pool. Many Interstate Highways in CA have car pool lane for 2 or more occupants, even some toll highways have free access for vehicles with 3 or more occupants.

Now, all EV vehicles have these benefits, do you think it is unethical/immoral to take advantage of these benefits ? Yes, these benefits costs EV drivers zero penny, the actual cost is paid by someone else but should EV drivers decline these benefits ?

I do plan to buy Tesla Model 3 when it's available in 2017, and I plan to take advantage of all benefits that an EV will give me, from several thousands dollars rebates from Federal and CA to free charging at local shopping malls to car pool lane access ... And I will not fell guilty doing so. Just like I took advantage of various rebates for buying tire, oil, auto parts ... If taking advantage of rebate(s) is immoral to you and you don't participate, so be it.

 

[hattaresguy]

I just want a Tesla for ludicrous mode, that's just cool.

 

[MikeHigg]

My next personal car will be a Nissan Leaf. I'm looking at the moment but also still learning about them, still have a lot to learn.

 

[MikeHigg]

My next personal car will be a Nissan Leaf. I'm looking at the moment but also still learning about them, still have a lot to learn.

 

[expat]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
There might be another choice coming soon. This one appears to be a simple straight forward vehicle that would make a good second family vehicle.

Link

Their site states "Incredibly safe Elio."

Do you think this 3 wheeler is "incredibly safe" vehicle ?


Very safe....for a motorcycle.

 

[expat]

Question ......Will an EV provide sufficent heat for it's occupants during sub zero temps.

I would imagine that could cause a large drain on an already suffering battery.

 

[raytseng]

Originally Posted By: expat
Question ......Will an EV provide sufficent heat for it's occupants during sub zero temps.

I would imagine that could cause a large drain on an already suffering battery.


well, how is that much different from needing to crank the A/C in hot temperatures.

HVAC is always going to affect range, but they've taken it into consideration.

Tesla is the #1 selling car in norway and the leaf #3; yes tax incentives play a role; but end of the story is that the heating is not a dealbreaker issue as shown by the stellar sales in a snowy country.

 

[Cujet]

I remain "in love" with the Tesla Model S "D". It's everything I want in a car. I even "love" the Zero SR electric motorcycle, it's about as perfect a commuter bike as possible.

From a performance standpoint, I do believe the Tesla "D" is close to competitively priced. And, is likely more capable than other large, luxury cars.

0-60 in 2.8 seconds is remarkable.

 

[DoubleWasp]

Originally Posted By: Andy636
I see nobody dares to mention how much bigger the carbon foot print for an EV vs a mid size sedan from factory all the way to the junkyard.


It's the batteries and motors that are killing the environment. Massive strip mining for miniscule material recovery, and highly toxic manufacturing process.

But as long as all of it is going on in Asia, instead of the US, it's fine.

 

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted By: DoubleWasp
It's the batteries and motors that are killing the environment. Massive strip mining for miniscule material recovery, and highly toxic manufacturing process.

But as long as all of it is going on in Asia, instead of the US, it's fine.


BINGO!

 

[kxc262]

A/C does not require as much electricity in my experience. Had my car on idle with it on and it useless less than .5 KwH

The heater does burn much more battery and in colder climates this may be an issue. Some cars will let you charge and use climate control at the same time (pre-heat or pre-cool the vehicle while plugged in). The Leaf does not allow this. Once climate is reached, it will use less energy, but still drain more power to generate heat

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: DoubleWasp
Originally Posted By: Andy636
I see nobody dares to mention how much bigger the carbon foot print for an EV vs a mid size sedan from factory all the way to the junkyard.

It's the batteries and motors that are killing the environment. Massive strip mining for miniscule material recovery, and highly toxic manufacturing process.

But as long as all of it is going on in Asia, instead of the US, it's fine.

Tesla signed an agreement with a Nevada company for mining lithium in Nevada. I think environment impact on mining lithium is within EPA guideline, otherwise the mining company could not get permits from Federal and Nevada to do so.

The mega-factory in Nevada to produce lithium-ion battery is also have reasonable environment impact to receive all permits from various Federal and state agencies. Tesla and Panasonic must done their home works before invest billions into the plant.

Engine, Electric motors are much simpler to manufacture and environment impact is much less than ICE. An ICE vehicle needs these parts that not used in EV: Coolant system, transmission and differential system(for rear wheel drive car)... Body, chassis, suspension, seat ... are the same for either type.

Starting from building either vehicle type to the end of its life, between 200-500k miles, the total energy usage and environmental impart should be used to compare. For ICE vehicle the oil exploration, drilling, extract, transport, refine, transport gas/diesel to retail outlets ... should take into account. For EV vehicle how electricity is generated should be counted, but electric can be generated with cleaner sources such as nuclear, solar, wind, hydro-[censored] ...

Yes, whatever you produce you will impact the environment, even some simple things likes BBQ with charcoal does pollute the air.

 

[bdcardinal]

I love the concept of the P85D/P90D. The Model S is the only electric car that does not scream "look at me, I drive an electric car" plus it is the only one with decent range and performance. If I had the money, I would daily drive a P85D/P90D in a heartbeat.

I think the best part about Tesla is they don't pretend their products are good for the environment like every other manufacturer that makes electric and hybrid vehicles.