In reply to Karacticus :
I could see that.
Do you prefer it or silence?
In reply to Karacticus :
I could see that.
Do you prefer it or silence?
I'm interested in JC Penney, "the retail magnet "....just kidding. You nailed my main concern with your notation about where your parents live. Once some major fuel station adds the charging stations; Pilot? Loves? Petro? I think it'll break it open.
In reply to chandler :
Doh, I'll have to fix.
And I realize that not everyone here is driving an EV to my parents' house. That's just the most rural place that we regularly visit.
We have a few different ways to get there once we leave the highway. They all take about the same time. One way hardly passes any gas stations–like, just two little, rural ones over the hundred or so miles. But it's a nice drive.
For me, the big thing was EVs being able to get form here to Orlando–an hour each way. That was the big line to cross.
And, I agree, once the gas stations start adding chargers, that will be huge. It would be nice to fuel up under cover, too.
Although speaking of on-the-road fill-ups, it's been eye-opening to see the open chargers along I-95.
Those with EVs, how often are you recharging away from home and/or work?
David S. Wallens said:In reply to Karacticus :
I could see that.
Do you prefer it or silence?
Can hardly hear it inside the vehicle unless the windows are open.
Does appear to help move pets and such out of the way-- which by the way is another nice thing about the 360 degree camera setup .
David S. Wallens said:Those with EVs, how often are you recharging away from home and/or work?
Back when I had a LEAF with an 80-mile range as our primary "real" car, maybe once a month. With a modern EV with 250 miles of range, maybe a few times per year.
I've written about this before, but I hate hate hate hate how inconvenient it is to refuel my gas-powered Honda Element. None of the places I go have gasoline, but all of them have electricity. No idea why I can't fill it up at home like I used to fill up the LEAF. And that's before you factor in the exponentially lower cost per mile to drive the EV around.
It's baffling to me that we're all totally fine with fueling our cars being a separate errand. Gasoline cars are the automotive equivalent of not owning a fridge--every time you want a sandwich or a drink you have to drive to McDonalds's.
And to be clear: I love gasoline cars and have a garage full of engine swapped cars and love them. But I'm totally fine with having fun on weekends with the gas cars I enjoy (and fuel with gas cans anyway), and using an electric car for day-to-day driving.
chandler said:I'm interested in JC Penney, "the retail magnet "....just kidding. You nailed my main concern with your notation about where your parents live. Once some major fuel station adds the charging stations; Pilot? Loves? Petro? I think it'll break it open.
GM is working with Pilot to put chargers in about 500 Flyin' J and Pilot stations.
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a40614414/gm-ev-fast-chargers-pilot-flying-j-truck-stops/
There was a charger rollout at the various "Travel Ontario" stops along the 401 and other big Ontario highways a few years back. It's happening.
Rural areas will always be the last, although it's easier to put a charger in the middle of nowhere than a gas station because the infrastructure is already there, if only partially. If you're only passing two gas stations on the way to mama's house, well, it's going to take a while before someone sees fit to put a high speed DC charger there. For the time being,the solution would be a mobile charger that can be plugged in overnight while you visit. Or look at other networks like EVgo or Chargepoint instead of just EA. When the Tesla network opens up to other vehicles, that'll unlock a bunch of options as well.
The sketchiness of a charger out behind a Walmart surrounded by shipping containers is an excellent point. Like filling up in Detroit where the attendant is behind an inch of Lexan.
Our EV very rarely gets charged away from home. By far the most common is a high speed charger near the interstate if we are on a road trip.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
My wife mentioned not feeling safe there alone after our first stop there. As a woman, she said, I simply wouldn't feel safe stopping there alone. Even though it's a Walmart parking lot, it's too secluded.
Upon arriving and seeing all the lights out, she let out a big nope.
She wasn't there when the dude appeared from the bushes.
At the moment, the charging infrastructure (which is the new and scary part, so it's what everyone always focuses on when doing test drives) is thin enough that there aren't often multiple options for non-Teslas. So EA is probably totally satisfied with that station. But once there are other options, consumers will choose the ones with better amenities/fewer sketchy guys in bushes and hopefully a nice, clean, well-lit charging area will become a priority for the networks.
In reply to Tom Suddard :
I'm trying to think when, if we had an EV, we'd have to fuel up on the road. Going to my parents might be the one biggie, so a few times per year. Plus whenever Iron Maiden is coming through the state.
Hello, Cocoa.
And hello, West Palm Beach.
So did I read this correctly? One charging station was $14.79 for 80 miles of range? Ouch. My Honda goes a lot farther on that kind of coin. It really appears that EVs work because a lot of the charging stations are "free" or heavily subsidized. Once everyone is weened of gas and everyone is using EVs I bet those subsidies will disappear.
I wonder if the auto manufacturers have people on staff who come up with the sounds the cars make, or if they sub that work out to consultants. It's kind of a weird new occupation that no one had ever thought of a decade or two ago - thinking up new sounds for cars to meke. All I can think of is the sound of George Jetson's car. 
Hello, Miami.
I'll post an update in the morning. I took out my contacts and then realized that i left my glasses at home.
In reply to David S. Wallens :
Uh oh.... been there done that. Nowadays I'm old and long married and just wear glasses all the time. Someone once said they make me look smarter and I figured that's not a bad thing. I also have a few different ones for driving and safety glasses for work, and after a few years I have plenty of spares available. I keep spares in each car, in my computer bag, etc.
stuart in mn said:I wonder if the auto manufacturers have people on staff who come up with the sounds the cars make, or if they sub that work out to consultants. It's kind of a weird new occupation that no one had ever thought of a decade or two ago - thinking up new sounds for cars to meke. All I can think of is the sound of George Jetson's car.
There was actually a Vince Vaughn/Kevin James movie from 2011 where the two main characters are inventing/selling car noises to OEMs. I don't recommend it, and the car stuff is a pretty small part of the plot, but the idea existed enough for it to be part of the movie over a decade ago.
David S. Wallens said:Hello, Miami.
Welcome to the jungle!
AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) said:So did I read this correctly? One charging station was $14.79 for 80 miles of range? Ouch. My Honda goes a lot farther on that kind of coin. It really appears that EVs work because a lot of the charging stations are "free" or heavily subsidized. Once everyone is weened of gas and everyone is using EVs I bet those subsidies will disappear.
It's kind of the Wild West out there on recharging fees. Some charging stations are marked way up. Some aren't. Charging at home gets you really cheap operations and obviously charging at a free station is even better. But eventually I'm sure rates will be a bit more standardized and the expensive fees will go away. At least so the optimistic side of my brain says.
43 cents a kw/h is insanely high! That is in the range of the Big Island (Hawaii).
Giant, over sized radiator grill..... sigh.... they couldn't give that up for this car?!
Have you mentioned the retail cost? (and general availability).
How much regen do you get going down hills?
(That's a joke BTW)
AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) said:So did I read this correctly? One charging station was $14.79 for 80 miles of range? Ouch. My Honda goes a lot farther on that kind of coin. It really appears that EVs work because a lot of the charging stations are "free" or heavily subsidized. Once everyone is weened of gas and everyone is using EVs I bet those subsidies will disappear.
Electricity is a bit like drinking water. It's piped into your home as a commodity, and there, it's super cheap. If you want it packaged to pick up quickly on the road, you'll pay a premium. It shouldn't hurt so much, since it's only on your road trips. If you're needing a public charger more than a few times a year, there's a good chance an efficient car that burns gasoline still makes economic sense.
Honestly, (unpopular opinion here,) most people could get by with 110v home charging. For an efficient compact car, that's 40+ miles of range every night.
Paid public chargers almost never beat gasoline on a price per mile basis. Maybe it'd be better if it did for adoption purposes, to serve consumer expectations of a "go somewhere and fill up" errand analog.
Thing is, there's no "we have gasoline at home" pricing analog.
I'd have to go back and check the numbers, but my fuel cost for charging during a trip is roughly equivalent to a 40 mpg gas car if memory serves. Of course, I start the trip with a free "tank" and I will stay at hotels that offer a free "fill" overnight, so the total average is less than that. And of course, I don't pay much for fuel when I'm not on a road trip. Before we were on solar, our cost per mile was roughly 3 cents.
Eventually, charging stations will be tightly enough packed that they'll start to compete on amenities, non-sketchiness, price and speed.
In our case, we'd probably still be driving an electric every day even if the cost was the same as an ICE because the car has a bunch of other attributes we like a lot. The fact that it costs less to feed is a bonus.
Miami was fun and already on the way back. So far, smooth sailing. I'm currently at a Walmart in Ft. Lauderdale. Didn't need to fuel up but want to make a stop so fueling while checking something online.
Filling up my EV at home was about 1/5 the cost of filling it up at a public charger. Yeah, that water bottle vs. home tap water analogy is pretty good.
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