Avis mystery car rental-ugghh

[John105]

There are many states and areas in the USA that this would not be true.
A gas station is completely different, it's not a public parking lot and a gas station is manned 24 hours a day, most of them are convenience stores with typically many people around, that is a lot better than a public parking lot where you would be like a sitting duck. I just call it like it is in a case like this, there is no comparison.

We seem to have total common sense and "situational awareness" in almost all cases nowadays, but let it go in other scenarios, like charging an EV. Don't we make conscious decisions to bypass cheap gas, when the station doesn't look 100% on the up and up? I felt this way (sorry if not PC) when filling back up at the Detroit Airport. I normally do not fill up for more, even on business, I get the cheapest gas. Same in Birmingham AL. I paid 40 cents more a gallon because the place looked ok near my hotel.

 

[alarmguy]

We seem to have total common sense and "situational awareness" in almost all cases nowadays, but let it go in other scenarios, like charging an EV. Don't we make conscious decisions to bypass cheap gas, when the station doesn't look 100% on the up and up? I felt this way (sorry if not PC) when filling back up at the Detroit Airport. I normally do not fill up for more, even on business, I get the cheapest gas. Same in Birmingham AL. I paid 40 cents more a gallon because the place looked ok near my hotel.

You cant pull specific examples out of a hat and apply to gasoline and what you may do or not do to bypass a gas station. My statement stands about gas manned gas stations. So I dont agree in the strongest sense. An empty parking lot may look very safe to charge until you plug in and a car pulls up to mug you or stranger comes out of no/where and points a gun (or worse) at you or your wife or daughter or son.
It's rare this will happen in a gas station full of cameras and lit up like Christmas trees vs a desperate EV owner or child or one impaired and not thinking who needs to charge up.
Maybe we can re-visit this thread in five years or maybe by then someone will find a solution but it will never be the same as gas in all locations.

 

[Torrid]

There are many states and areas in the USA that this would not be true.
A gas station is completely different, it's not a public parking lot and a gas station is manned 24 hours a day, most of them are convenience stores with typically many people around, that is a lot better than a public parking lot where you would be like a sitting duck. I just call it like it is in a case like this, there is no comparison.
This photo posted which I copied below is a perfect example.

Also to that post (not by you) you will NEVER see an increased police presence guarding recharge stations of all things, that will be up to private industry if it becomes a problem. Just the same as you do not see police guarding entire shopping malls, never mind an electric "gas" station.
Tell me, is there anyone in this thread that would honestly like their daughter (or son), wife or themselves sitting here charging their car at 1AM in the morning or anytime of night?
View attachment 177953

I don't understand what this argument has become. Don't stop in stupid places a bad times of the night. What are we doing this late other than making bad decisions of time to travel or working which I would hope would be close enough to not need to charge just to get home.

 

[CKN]

I don't understand what this argument has become. Don't stop in stupid places a bad times of the night. What are we doing this late other than making bad decisions of time to travel or working which I would hope would be close enough to not need to charge just to get home.

Exactly. The EV haters have to keep coming up with some form of objections. And lately they have become out right silly.

 

[alarmguy]

I don't understand what this argument has become. Don't stop in stupid places a bad times of the night. What are we doing this late other than making bad decisions of time to travel or working which I would hope would be close enough to not need to charge just to get home.

I think the only point being and it's a valid point. You are talking specific uses and going home to charge.
Once and IF more people buy EVs and IF 10% of the population has one, not everyone will be have the choices you mention.
What am I doing? Oh heck from maybe 17 years old to 27 years old. Im not sure I ever went home before 1AM *LOL*
Many young people go out at night to have fun!
One just needs to drive around at night to see. There is no argument. Its just fact, its a heck of a lot safer being in a gas station anytime after dark then a dark (to lit) parking lot and latterly abandoned parking lot after dark/

 

[alarmguy]

Exactly. The EV haters have to keep coming up with some form of objections. And lately they have become out right silly.

Hmmmm... so you do not find ANY validity in the statement of safety? Ummm... I think in that case your view is very jaded and unrealistic and BTW I am NOT an EV hater in ANYWAY. But my god, dont discount situations where EV is not the best choice. Pretty much that is you are saying is gasoline is never a better option. That makes you a hater, not me in any way.
Failure to see the possible safety risk of being tied to a charger at night alone, well, I said enough and cant help any further. Except to say I would never get my college age daughter an EV, nor my son.

EVs best use are for homeowners who can charge at home or have a static charge station that they can be safe at.

 

[CKN]

Hmmmm... so you do not find ANY validity in the statement of safety? Ummm... I think in that case your view is very jaded and unrealistic and BTW I am NOT an EV hater in ANYWAY. But my god, dont discount situations where EV is not the best choice. Pretty much that is you are saying is gasoline is never a better option. That makes you a hater, not me in any way.
Failure to see the possible safety risk of being tied to a charger at night alone, well, I said enough and cant help any further. Except to say I would never get my college age daughter an EV, nor my son.

EVs best use are for homeowners who can charge at home or have a static charge station that they can be safe at.

And it's safer to fill up you ICE vehicle if you have a 55-gallon drum in your garage. Don't have to be vulnerable in a public gas station. And if you make your own coffee that will be cheaper as well!

 

[y_p_w]

I think the only point being and it's a valid point. You are talking specific uses and going home to charge.
Once and IF more people buy EVs and IF 10% of the population has one, not everyone will be have the choices you mention.
What am I doing? Oh heck from maybe 17 years old to 27 years old. Im not sure I ever went home before 1AM *LOL*
Many young people go out at night to have fun!
One just needs to drive around at night to see. There is no argument. Its just fact, its a heck of a lot safer being in a gas station anytime after dark then a dark (to lit) parking lot and latterly abandoned parking lot after dark/

I worry more about gas stations where I’ve been accosted by panhandlers, especially during the day. And at gas stations, cash is being spent, and would be thieves can see who has pulled out a wallet and perhaps if they have cash. I don’t consider that safer, but I have to get gas for my car.

 

[alarmguy]

I worry more about gas stations where I’ve been accosted by panhandlers, especially during the day. And at gas stations, cash is being spent, and would be thieves can see who has pulled out a wallet and perhaps if they have cash. I don’t consider that safer, but I have to get gas for my car.

I dont blame you, this is a big country and if your location is correct under your name. Well, just let's say if I see one pan handler in a months time, that is significant to me. I cant even remember when was the last time, actually now that I think about it, maybe its not allowed here because I am not sure in 6 months I ever saw one. You're also in an area where I believe people walk in stores and leave without paying. I seem to read that all the time.
So if they are in gas stations as you say. I cant for the life of me imagine wanting to be tied to a EV cord at night in a parking lot alone.
But that is just me, we live in different worlds and even though I have a CWP to protect myself I would never ever want to use it, oh heck I dont even bother carrying.

 

[alarmguy]

And it's safer to fill up you ICE vehicle if you have a 55-gallon drum in your garage. Don't have to be vulnerable in a public gas station. And if you make your own coffee that will be cheaper as well!

your being silly
Let's see, hang out in dark parking lots at night while you charge your car makes more sense then refueling for a few minutes in a manned well lit gas station convenience store.

 

[CKN]

your being silly

I am.....

 

[Torrid]

I think the only point being and it's a valid point. You are talking specific uses and going home to charge.
Once and IF more people buy EVs and IF 10% of the population has one, not everyone will be have the choices you mention.
What am I doing? Oh heck from maybe 17 years old to 27 years old. Im not sure I ever went home before 1AM *LOL*
Many young people go out at night to have fun!
One just needs to drive around at night to see. There is no argument. Its just fact, its a heck of a lot safer being in a gas station anytime after dark then a dark (to lit) parking lot and latterly abandoned parking lot after dark/

Oh you're not wrong. I'm probably just old enough that self preservation has finally taken over from my early life stupidity.

 

[PandaBear]

Return went well, thanks. BITOG was a great help, especially letting me.know I could return the car without penalty charged at 70 percent.

Overall, I liked the car only two issues. The side rear mirrors are too small. I suspect TSLA wants the driver to use the screen as part of the check to change lanes. I am old school and want the side mirror to be a key tool as part of lane changes. The other issue was simply for a keyless vehicle, I still had to place a credit card like device manually on the center console. Numerous times I couldn't get the card to be identified by the security system. I suspect a TSLA owner has less of these problems with the tSLA smartphone app.

The car as stated is nice. The technology is awesome, well above anything I have sampled in other 2023 manufactured rental vehicles. The fuel drain is a deal breaker though. Can't believe how fuel inefficient the vehicle is. A ice is much more fuel efficient. And the cost of the charge was more than what isuspect I would have paid for a like sized ice vehicle in Texas. But this thing needed too be charged daily.

I charged once in the dark, and all I can say is (mark this post) , in the near future, armed guards will need to be posted at every TSLA charging bank. This will be the future target of violent and armed criminals. And you best like your TSLA owners cigarette smoke and their cell phone conversations. You will involuntarily be party to those things.

View attachment 177831

I remember an analysis I read back in school when doing a hybrid project, that a single digit percent (5? 7? I forgot) of the aerodynamic drag of a car comes from the mirror. I think Tesla wants to make it smaller as today we have rear view camera and Tesla's screen is super big, so probably most drivers just use the backup camera instead. I do notice a lot of my friends got into accident when turning because they aren't used to the mirrors, so everyone got to be more careful about it I guess.

Eventually one day EV will be affordable and everyone including drug dealers, gangs, homeless need to charge, not just upper middle class. Hopefully you can charge near you and you are near a nice place, but that doesn't mean they will not build in rough area like gas stations are also in rough area to serve a need. Security camera would probably be needed for sure, and there will be graffiti for sure, but I suspect most people wouldn't take the chargers out for scrap just like most thugs wouldn't take out the gas pump to scrap in most ghettos. Maybe in the future we will see "caged" and "gated" super chargers in those area so you need to scan a phone or card to get inside with a car, so people knows not to get caught on camera?

 

[PimTac]

I don't understand what this argument has become. Don't stop in stupid places a bad times of the night. What are we doing this late other than making bad decisions of time to travel or working which I would hope would be close enough to not need to charge just to get home.

If you are constantly traveling like Gon does then how do you know which places are bad? In some cases the entire city is not safe. Schedules might dictate a late evening or early morning fuel up or charge up.

 

[PandaBear]

I've yet to really see much of a paid security presence at any Tesla Supercharger other than maybe just basic mall security. However, I've yet to be at one where I was thinking it felt dangerous at night.

However, nearly every one I've seen was in the parking lot of some retail business (i.e. shopping mall) and/or tourist attraction. I've yet to use one, but I hear some Tesla Superchargers are at government buildings. This was the only one that seemed to be random. This one is in a seemingly random location. I guess the parking lot services a few retail businesses, but I barely noticed them. Mostly it was for several nonprofits and a public library. Kind of a weird setup though, with the retail businesses mostly served by a separate parking lot on the other side of the buildings.

https://www.google.com/maps/search/...904,-124.1953527,129m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu

From what I could tell - it was a little used parking lot that was in a fairly convenient location about a block away from the main drag - US-101/L and M Streets. But it wasn't in a big-ish shopping center complex nor attached to a specific restaurant. It also seemed like the kind of place the police wouldn't necessarily be patrolling as much as the main streets. And other than recent paving at the charging stations, it wasn't the most well maintained parking lot with lots of potholes. they also had this, which might have been interesting if I had a different car.

That being said, if charging stations ever become a point for criminal activities, I would expect an increased police presence. Perhaps it's unfair, but once reasonably affluent people start getting victimized at a specific location, that's when police act.

There is a few important difference with gas vs supercharging or overnight charging. For gas you are expected to have driver near the pump or in the store to use the bathroom / shop. In bad area you talk to the counter if you want to buy stuff, or the pump turn off at night because nobody would go there and nobody would work there. Stuff may get graffiti but not taken apart for scrap (no value in doing so). For overnight charging, you would expect the driver just plug the car in and go into a building nearby, just like a normal parking lot. For better or worse EV will not make you safer or more dangerous (other than maybe having a security camera running 247 when you park).

For fast charging so you can continue to drive, say 30 mins, you would be either next to other drivers who card into the charger, or a stranger "walking into" the charger. The safety concern of other drivers who card is probably not that bad since if something happen they would be identified, people know the license plate of the car and people know the card the offender use to pay. The stranger walk into the lot like a panhandler, would be just like panhandler get into the gas station, 5 mins is more than enough for them to "beg".

If your concern is robbery, then the only way around it is NOT to stop by those areas regardless of gas station, bathroom, or chargers. Nobody will hire armed security (they are useless today anyways as most don't shoot when the stores are robbed due to liability, this is not 1993).

How do public parking lot deal with drug dealers and armed robbers would be how superchargers deal with them.

 

[PandaBear]

If you are constantly traveling like Gon does then how do you know which places are bad? In some cases the entire city is not safe. Schedules might dictate a late evening or early morning fuel up or charge up.

How do you deal with your boss sending you into a bad area for business trip? Do you refuse to go?

 

[Torrid]

How do you deal with your boss sending you into a bad area for business trip? Do you refuse to go?

I travel constantly for work. Most of them are bad areas except for my home terminal. Luckily they're the same locations over and over again and I know those areas. Again, I don't think any of these issues are specific to EVs like so many here want to say. There's one location I go to that their convenient stores are no longer 24 hours due to robberies, so those are unmanned, poorly lit gas stations at 1am. Guess where I'm not at 1am?

 

[JeffKeryk]

If you are constantly traveling like Gon does then how do you know which places are bad? In some cases the entire city is not safe. Schedules might dictate a late evening or early morning fuel up or charge up.

Then the traveler should plan his/her trip based on those parameters. Charge during safe times or rent the appropriate vehicle.
I struggle with an EV as a rental car as I understand rentals.

 

[PF52]

Then the traveler should plan his/her trip based on those parameters. Charge during safe times or rent the appropriate vehicle.

And just like that the thread has come around full circle.

 

[PandaBear]

I travel constantly for work. Most of them are bad areas except for my home terminal. Luckily they're the same locations over and over again and I know those areas. Again, I don't think any of these issues are specific to EVs like so many here want to say. There's one location I go to that their convenient stores are no longer 24 hours due to robberies, so those are unmanned, poorly lit gas stations at 1am. Guess where I'm not at 1am?

Then the traveler should plan his/her trip based on those parameters. Charge during safe times or rent the appropriate vehicle.

It is really not the fault of EV if you decide to charge in a "bad area". It is my personal opinion that GON got the priority backward. You go to an area that you need to go to, then decide to charge there. Same as the gas station analogy. If safety is your concern, you should go to an area to charge that is safe (just read some Google Map reviews and you will know, pretty easy in 2023), or charge a few miles away if you are going to sit for 30 mins, you are already sitting for 30 mins anyways so might as well do it somewhere you like instead of waiting till the last mile to look for a charger in desperation.

If you live in a "bad area" and has an EV, but they refuse to build a super charger there because some out of town visitors may be robbed by your neighbors? Would that be bad too?