What Factors Are Swaying EV Adoption in the U.S.?

When I see the major brand service stations start installing chargers at all their stations then I will sense that the adoption rate is accelerating enough.

My prediction is that most if not all of these decisions by automakers to stop production of ICE vehicles will be extended into the future as their deadlines approach. Hybrids will be a big factor in that.
 
Thanks to the media, fear is a factor. Fear of burning alive, fear of a burned-down house being at the top of the list.
This doesn't affect all households, as some people don't travel, and other people may plan to retain their ICE cars as a backup, but the inability to jump in and drive to far-away destinations without planning a long pit stop will sway folks away. But this will eventually be fixed.
 
A few things holding me back:
1. Price - i'm not wanting to pay the big prices of any nice new vehicle right now
2. Future Improvement - I believe they will get a lot better in the future
3. Tesla is the only real option due to its beautiful charging network. Tesla doesn't have anything that really gets me going. The 3 and Y in a few colors is just not that interesting.
4. The advantages given by EV don't matter to me. 4a Rapid acceleration = don't care. 4b fuel savings per mile = dont care. I couldn't safely enjoy the power of a properly equipped model 3 nor would its $$$/month of savings matter because i don't drive a ton.
5. Winter Performance. Good old gasoline vehicles don't care if its cold.
 
buster said:
www.lubesngreases.com

What Factors Are Swaying EV Adoption in the U.S.? - Lubes'N'Greases

The transition to electric vehicles is imminent, but the speed of adoption remains debatable. Explore the factors that may influence how quickly EVs will permeate the car parc.
www.lubesngreases.com www.lubesngreases.com
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The EV market globally is 2% of the total sales, here they are being rammed down our throat by the "Greens" and governments that want to appear environmentally responsive, of course they haven't done any study as to how green an EV really is, it is NOT. The grid cannot take the demand on hot summer days when the A/C is at full blast so how well with we fare if everyone had an EV? It will take years to built the grid up and I doubt it ever will for new forms of energy are coming up and the only one IMO that has a chance is the fuel cell as it can take advantage of the current Gas Stations grid and it doesn't require an "Adjustment" on the part of drivers.
 
PimTac said:
When I see the major brand service stations start installing chargers at all their stations then I will sense that the adoption rate is accelerating enough.
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A service station's business model is to have you in and out in five minutes, with loss leader fuel and hopefully high profit snacks, cigs, and lotto tickets.

Gasoline sales in most places require a human to oversee the process for fire/ environmental reasons. Electricity can be made safe enough to dispense through a Chargepoint vending machine.

I drive 120 miles round trip to work. In a gas-only car I have to buy fuel once every three days or so. In my Prius Prime I can stretch it to five under ideal conditions. Charging at home is automatic and takes the edge off of my fuel buying on the road. I believe that work should be where money comes in, so any expenses related should be minimized.
 
Pelican said:
The EV market globally is 2% of the total sales, here they are being rammed down our throat by the "Greens" and governments that want to appear environmentally responsive, of course they haven't done any study as to how green an EV really is, it is NOT. The grid cannot take the demand on hot summer days when the A/C is at full blast so how well with we fare if everyone had an EV? It will take years to built the grid up and I doubt it ever will for new forms of energy are coming up and the only one IMO that has a chance is the fuel cell as it can take advantage of the current Gas Stations grid and it doesn't require an "Adjustment" on the part of drivers.
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A fuel cell is not an energy source. Cracking water to make hydrogen is inherently inefficient. What source of energy will be used to produce the FUEL to go into the cell? It's not an answer. Ballard Energy has been touting the "fuel cell" since 1979 and it's still not a viable option. In 1979 we were expecting another Ice age instead of global warming. I was 8 at the time and heard how sheets of ice were coming due to our energy use. While we affect climate, the majority of policies put in place to control "climate change" are putting $$$ into someone's pocket, not making any difference.
 
The high price of admission and zero resale value or usefulness after 10 years (I keep my vehicles a LONG time), the combination of which equates to a very high cost of ownership. Being on a fixed income, the cost of ownership is a BIG concern for me (and many others like myself).
 
In my undereducated opinion, EV use will become widespread only if the economic benefits outweigh the inconvenience. Government mandates will only result in an inordinate number of vehicles nobody wants left on the lots, with subsequent bankruptcies of major automakers.
In order for the transition to EVs to happen we will need to see cheap electric power rates (availability of charging stations assumed), or the price of gasoline to skyrocket. Increased gas pricing has a political impact (something we are seeing now), and is something politicians with any sense of self preservation will avoid.

Widespread use of cost efficient and safe nuclear power electrical generators is the only way I see this happening.

Hybrid vehicles on the other hand, make a lot of sense right now from an economic and ecological standpoint.
 
buster said:
www.lubesngreases.com

What Factors Are Swaying EV Adoption in the U.S.? - Lubes'N'Greases

The transition to electric vehicles is imminent, but the speed of adoption remains debatable. Explore the factors that may influence how quickly EVs will permeate the car parc.
www.lubesngreases.com www.lubesngreases.com
Click to expand...
Here is what's swaying me: appropriate EV options. I have zero interest in a sedan or an SUV, and need more space than a micro hatch, which means there are really no good options out there. If VW puts their wagon in production and imports it to the US, or if Tesla decides to make a wagon, I'm on board.

My wife, on the other hand, prefers a taller vehicle, so the ID4, Q4 and Model Y are all on the list if and when she decides she wants a new car.
 
That article has some comical errors, "constant velocity transmissions", "boxes with up to fifty individual cells that look a bit like a AA battery".
And if he knew anything about EV gearboxes he'd know that they all use ATF or gear oil of similar specifications, and very few are 2-speed.
 
Always look out for the writers. Many are English majors, not technical people.They freely go with back and forth between BEV’s and Electric Vehicles. Electric vehicles include hybrids in the count as well as BEV’s.

Another beef is that Hydro is tucked in nicely to give renewables a nice sounding 20%. The vast majority of hydro is from huge power dams built in the last 90 years. Subtract that and renewables are back at about 13 %.
 
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I find living with an EV a bit boring despite that I can easily outrun most ICE cars on our roads. My small manual-shift 4-cylinder SUV is more engaging and entertaining, even if slow and 4x more expensive to fuel. It puts a smile on my face everytime I drive it while the EV is just, well, "efficient" at getting me around. And I'm a DIY addict, the EV really only requires cleaning, very dull.

Perhaps adding multiple manually-shifted gears, fake V8 noises and even manual motor field commutation for the very quick-witted?

ArrestMeRedZ said:
Widespread use of cost efficient and safe nuclear power electrical generators is the only way I see this happening.
Hybrid vehicles on the other hand, make a lot of sense right now from an economic and ecological standpoint.
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Since it's not 1980 any more and your climate has already gone down the gurgler, I would agree that those are the best practical options. Countries with higher renewable energy already in place, often more by good fortune rather than good planning will need to carry more of the burden for a few decades.
 
tcp71 said:
A fuel cell is not an energy source. Cracking water to make hydrogen is inherently inefficient. What source of energy will be used to produce the FUEL to go into the cell? It's not an answer. Ballard Energy has been touting the "fuel cell" since 1979 and it's still not a viable option. In 1979 we were expecting another Ice age instead of global warming. I was 8 at the time and heard how sheets of ice were coming due to our energy use. While we affect climate, the majority of policies put in place to control "climate change" are putting $$$ into someone's pocket, not making any difference.
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The only way for fuel cell to work economically better than CNG (where most of them are cracked from in practice today), is to have a nuclear reactor that crack it thermally (I forgot the exact name of the process, but it is thermal chemical based rather than electrical based like electrolysis).

So an exotic reactor, locates near fueling station, expensive transport (leak, high pressure, highly explosive vs even Lithium battery), and exotic waste just like nuclear power plants. I'd say it is not something that will go well in commercial sector. I can see this being a doomsday vehicle if WW3 break out and it is you vs the world and you don't have oil or lithium.

Lithium battery and grid electricity is much simplier.
 
wag123 said:
The high price of admission and zero resale value or usefulness after 10 years (I keep my vehicles a LONG time), the combination of which equates to a very high cost of ownership. Being on a fixed income, the cost of ownership is a BIG concern for me (and many others like myself).
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This IMO depends on who build it. Tesla and Leaf are going to be bad for 15 years, but if Toyota build it like a Prius then it will still be worth quite a bit, and have reliable reman batteries with new cells after 15 years.
 
Kiwi_ME said:
That article has some comical errors, "constant velocity transmissions", "boxes with up to fifty individual cells that look a bit like a AA battery".
And if he knew anything about EV gearboxes he'd know that they all use ATF or gear oil of similar specifications, and very few are 2-speed.
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If this guy is a 40 year veterans working for Chevron and Pennzoil and still write an article like this, you can bet it is 1) just a quick 2 hr job that pays the bill, 2) it is a feed to sway the wall street algo trading to boost the oil price or stock price, 3) it is a paid advertisement so some politicians can use as a source for some sort of bills, 4) they have a slow day and they need something to post to meet the quota.

If a college student turns in a homework with this quality he would probably get a B. I don't disagree with his points but the way he support the argument is "well it may be this but it may also be that". I will probably trust owners' forum and test data from companies instead of these kind of articles.
 
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