Judge's Take - Honeymoon Over With EVs

[blackman777]

Originally Posted By: dareo
A volt would have cost about 33.5k plus taxes minus $7500 credit, or about 5-6 grand more all said and done. At today's price and only 28 mpg on the acccord, that is 60k miles of gas bought.

Yes manufacturers need to find a way to lower costs on EVs or unlimited-range EVs. Otherwise they simply don't make sense. It's a shame batteries are so expensive.

 

[RGR]

Originally Posted By: dareo
To enjoy an EV/Volt you must:
Live in a warm, but not too hot place, that doesn't get too cold.
Drive short distances for everything
Make enough $$$ for the tax credits to be lucrative
Have a garage that you can wire up 240v charging
Have Solar panels and/or cheap electricity
Tolerate slow acceleration-unless you got tesla bucks
Be a good driver so you don't crash and burn.
Tolerate heavy compact cars-Volt is one porky tiny 4 seater.
Not be in love with manual transmissions
Tolerate having a second vehicle for when an EV's capabilities are exceeded.
Be okay with the fact that a Volt with a diesel generator would be vastly superior, yet they did not build it.


What a wildly uneducated view on EVs!!

I live in Colorado, where it goes below 0F during the winter, and hits 95F on a hot day in summer. I drive short distances, and commute from Denver to Washington DC quite regularly. I received no tax credits upon purchase, because I purchased lightly used. My garage is wired for only 110. Fueling the car costs $0.09/kWh, twice as much as my normal electrical rate because of the tiered system here in Colorado. I suffer no slow acceleration, keeping up with those around me, and many others, as long as we aren't drag racing Corvettes from the red light. I am a very good driver...score 1 for your list so far. My Fusion is certainly not a compact car. I love manual transmissions, just don't happen to own one right now. Require only 1 car to commute locally, or 1800 miles in one weekend. Who cares about a Volt, or a diesel they didn't make, we are discussing what IS, not what someone is fantasizing about.

I recommend ownership and knowledge prior to uneducated opinion and speculation grounded in ignorance.

Ford Fusion Energi, 11000 miles, sitting in the garage charging as I write this, soaking up perhaps $0.30 in electricity for its next EV foray into suburbia.

"you must"...I just love those who talk in absolutes....

 

[JustinH]

Electric only cars are toys for rich people. I can never make the dollar signs add up to make it worth it. I think that hybrid which charges the battery with a gas engine is more logical, but even that does not pan out for me.

Give me a gas powered civic or fit, that would be fine.

If you go Prius versus a gas powered corolla, corolla wins every time. You can even get a camry used for the price of a used prius and you will have a larger car.

 

[RGR]

Originally Posted By: JustinH
Electric only cars are toys for rich people.


So us solidly middle class folks aren't allowed to buy them!! What is this country coming to, limiting the wise car buying choices of the middle class!! I'm voting Libertarian next election!


Originally Posted By: JustinH

I can never make the dollar signs add up to make it worth it.


I never figured buying a car was a strictly economic decision myself, sort of hard to put a dollar value on driving a Chevy Aveo day to day versus a Mustang 5.0 isn't it? Sure, one is more expensive, but what it DELIVERS for that extra money, that has a value, so what value do you assign to fun? Coolness? Gizmos, a better radio, or the ability to silently cruise the mean streets of a metropolis near you on pennies of electricity rather than spewing pollution everywhere with every revolution of the crankshaft?

Originally Posted By: JustinH

I think that hybrid which charges the battery with a gas engine is more logical, but even that does not pan out for me.


Mine does that too!! Plug-in hybrids are really what hybrids should have been back in the Gen 1 days. Talk about the best of all worlds, right? For upper class folks anyway, as a middle class guy I guess I have to go give mine back.

Originally Posted By: JustinH

Give me a gas powered civic or fit, that would be fine.


For me it was a 5-speed Fiesta. Certainly quite a bit of value...if money is all that mattered. Otherwise the lack of cruise control, ability to only get 30 mpg around town, lack of mass surrounding the driver, small size, all knocked it out of the ring.

Originally Posted By: JustinH

If you go Prius versus a gas powered corolla, corolla wins every time. You can even get a camry used for the price of a used prius and you will have a larger car.


More small cars. What is it with small cars? Don't people drop family and friends into cars anymore and GO anywhere?

So far it appears the only thing I have sacrificed with my Fusion Energi is half a trunk.

 

[Nate1979]

Why are you responding to an old thread?

 

[hattaresguy]

This thread is ancient, Fisker is gone.

 

[RGR]

Originally Posted By: Nate1979
Why are you responding to an old thread?


Historical understanding. Once upon a time, people had this interesting idea on EVs. Then they became more popular, things changed, some of the issues claimed to be fact back then have been sorted out..and presto!!

The world turns out to be different, and better than expected. I was an early hybrid adopter, and while interesting and occasionally pretty efficient, they just didn't hit on all cylinders.

With Volt owners getting out past the 200K mark, battery prices coming down, and plugins allowing the advantages of both EV and efficient road tripping, the world is becoming that better place.

And no that Teslas is putting enough ZIP-BANG in their cars to throw Vette drivers all out of whack in red-light encounters, it isn't as though things are going to get BETTER for the ICE folks, now is it?

 

[Jarlaxle]

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[MikeHigg]

Can't agree, EVs are just emerging. Don't get an EV and mis-apply it and then talk bad about it. If you can only afford one car get a gas car, unless you're sure an EV will work for you. Better yet, have 2 vehicles and one of them an EV then you can use it for its intended purpose and do longer trips in the gasser. I always keep 2 or 3 vehicles around so am going to pick up an EV now that they're getting cheap for all those little trips I do. Plugging up at home will be MUCH easier than visiting gas stations in my opinion.