Polar Vortex and EV's - Interesting

[Old Ironmaker]

Someone said the other day where would we be without fossil fuels during that Polar Vortex last week? ………….. Dead. EV's are coming regardless of the paradigm shift most of us dinosaurs are reluctant to embrace. I want to see what the public reaction will be when a KWH is more costly than petrol. Were we live we are surrounded by Wind Turbines and thousands of acres of solar panel fields. There is a charging station in our closest town. I know of only 1 person with a Hybrid. It is 7 miles to get a gallon of milk here in bean and corn country. Not everyone lives in the big city where there is snow removal and short commutes. I don't know what EV's are available out there, are there any that can blast their way through a 6 foot snow drift during a whiteout? They will have to tear the keys of my 4X4 from my cold dead hands.

 

[wahlejim]

New company that just got a $700m dollar investment from Amazon, and GM is rumored to be in the mix for investing as well.

https://products.rivian.com/

Pickups and SUVs. The pickup has a 5,000 kg towing capacity. Over 10,000lb towing for an EV. It does not, however, say what the range is for towing, but over 400 miles for standard driving.

The biggest problem now is infrastructure and power storage. Until there is a way to to store and deliver power that is MUCH more efficient than batteries, fossil fuels will be around. Also, the country's infrastructure is extremely dated. It can't keep up with current demand and with more and more high powered electric toys joining the grid, energy companies can't keep up. We all talk about making sure our electric connections are shiny clean, I don't see energy companies out there doing the same as preventative maintenance. They wait until something blows and then replace it. More and more things are going to go with the increased power demand. Can they keep up?

 

[gm280]

The one thing seems nobody is talking about is how much it will cost to replace batteries of any type, and how much it cost to dispose of those extremely toxic batteries. Everything looks dreamy initially, but wait 'til the real problem rear its ugly heads. It cost more to built electric vehicles and batteries will be a huge pollution issue. Bank on it...

 

[garbageguy]

The one thing seems nobody is talking about is how much it will cost to replace batteries of any type, and how much it cost to dispose of those extremely toxic batteries. Everything looks dreamy initially, but wait 'til the real problem rear its ugly heads. It cost more to built electric vehicles and batteries will be a huge pollution issue. Bank on it...

Thank you for bringing that up. What is the "footprint" associated with producing, assembling, transporting, and then recycling, reusing, or disposing any (or all?) of the power storage (battery?) units needed for EV's. Lots of challenges. Yes, things change, and that's good - but let's keep our eyes open.

 

[Scott Danforth]

The one thing seems nobody is talking about is how much it will cost to replace batteries of any type, and how much it cost to dispose of those extremely toxic batteries. Everything looks dreamy initially, but wait 'til the real problem rear its ugly heads. It cost more to built electric vehicles and batteries will be a huge pollution issue. Bank on it...

batteries and controllers for a Prius puts it about $6k per replacement. cost per mile is quite high when you factor that in

 

[GA_Boater]

batteries and controllers for a Prius puts it about $6k per replacement. cost per mile is quite high when you factor that in

At the point of battery/controller replacement, a Prius probably isn't worth 6K. Pull-A-Part won't be an option, either.

Consumer Reports just dropped the Tesla Model 3 from their recommended list. Elon's push to shove 'em out the door is backfiring. If I was in the market for an EV, no Tesla would be my list. If they had dealerships to service the darn things - Maybe. But they don't. The majors are going to wipe the floor when they go big on EV's for urban use and Tesla will be remembered like Tuckers, Packards and Studebakers.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I recently sold my late fathers TDI sport wagen with 330k on the clock. the 2nd owner is just ecstatic

it still got over 54mpg at 70mph, was in spectacular shape, and worth more as a used vehicle than I would ever considering paying for a new Prius. dad bought it simply because he thought the VW commercial making fun of the Prius was funny. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXK63kvUi6U

plus with maintenance the VW would last a good 500k+ not to mention its not a prius...

 

[GA_Boater]

Does a Prius have any emissions scandals? Just askin'.

Although almost all the auto makers have stuff to hide.

 

[harringtondav]

I joke with my Prius owning friends that I'm not qualified to own one. I own a Droid, not iPhone, and I don't shop at Natural Grocers.

 

[jkust]

I don't really care one way or another....they just aren't practical for our lifestyle here in MN. Maybe some other's, just not ours. I don't want to be forced or encourage to buy one with any behavior modification either. My new BMW 750LI is fast enough, luxurious enough and powerful enough, I don't care about shaving a second off my zero to 60 time and nobody needs to hit 155 any faster than the 750 does just as I don't care about the cost of gas. Do what you want, it's just not for us for the time being. My neighbor has a new Tesla and he is maybe the worst spokesperson to drive one....couldn't remove the cool factor any faster than having him drive one.