Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations

driver100

suydam said:

I think people buy them because they get great fuel economy. Thus enabling a nicer lifestyle overall.

Have you seen the price of gas lately?

If everyone drove a Prius the electrical grid would burn out...we would have black outs.

driver100

imidazol97 said:

abacomike said:

If you think it's easy to look at an upside down photo of a Prius, let alone any car or SUV, you are mistaken or You suffer from a visual impairment!

Upside down? It looked okay to me. But then I clicked on the actual picture
and it went to a larger version that is upside down? I took it on my Android
phone. Transferred to my PC using the charging cable. And it was upside
down so I turned it 180 deg. in Paint Shop Pro, saved it, and uploaded it
here.

I don't know how to change it. I'll try.

Looked fine on my Toshiba laptop.

Since you guys have knowledge or cell phones let me run this by you.

I finally gave up my 6 year old clam shell phone and bought a new phone at what you call Radio Shack and we now call the Source since they went out of business in Canada a few years ago.

I only use the phone for about one call a week, 2 minutes a call = 8 minutes a month, mainly to let my wife know I may be late or something.

The phone, a Hauwei was $90 and had 4 out of 5 stars.

Twice I charged it up and it ran out of power in about 5 minutes. The guy in the store looks really annoyed whenever I come back.

This time he told me to charge it up, let it run out of power, then charge it and let it run out again to reset the battery.

I charged it and it was turned on but not used for about 6 hours, and it has about 25% power left - that is better but not of much use.

I may have to do it again and maybe it will be even better the second time I charge it from zero, like he told me to do.

But, does this sound normal?

driver100

While I am trying to fix my phone, the other thing that happened....things always breakdown when we are away from home for any length of time....was the remote control on the bedroom TV wouldn't work. It wouldn't turn the TV on or change channels (I did get it on using the TV remote, not the cable remote).

I remembered a trick my IT guy told me to try and that got it working again. Take a headphone jack and jam it in and out of the headphone socket a few times. That fixed it quickly. My IT guy said it resets the connection. Much better than calling "The Guy".

abacomike

driver100 said:

If you think it's easy to look at an upside down photo of a Prius, let alone any car or SUV, you are mistaken or You suffer from a visual impairment!

Upside down? It looked okay to me. But then I clicked on the actual picture and it went to a larger version that is upside down? I took it on my Android phone. Transferred to my PC using the charging cable. And it was upside down so I turned it 180 deg. in Paint Shop Pro, saved it, and uploaded it here. I don't know how to change it. I'll try.

Looked fine on my Toshiba laptop. Since you guys have knowledge or cell phones let me run this by you. I finally gave up my 6 year old clam shell phone and bought a new phone at what you call Radio Shack and we now call the Source since they went out of business in Canada a few years ago. I only use the phone for about one call a week, 2 minutes a call = 8 minutes a month, mainly to let my wife know I may be late or something. The phone, a Hauwei was $90 and had 4 out of 5 stars. Twice I charged it up and it ran out of power in about 5 minutes. The guy in the store looks really annoyed whenever I come back. This time he told me to charge it up, let it run out of power, then charge it and let it run out again to reset the battery. I charged it and it was turned on but not used for about 6 hours, and it has about 25% power left - that is better but not of much use. I may have to do it again and maybe it will be even better the second time I charge it from zero, like he told me to do. But, does this sound normal?

No, it is not normal for a phone on "stand-by" to only last 6-10 hours.  10 years ago my Motorola Razor flip phone's battery would last 2 full days with lots of use - and that was not a smart phone.

Driver, you should purchase a halfway decent phone, not a piece of junk.  My iPhone 6 is charged once a day at night between 9:00 and 11:00 PM.  Remember, I use my iPhone as a phone as well as a computer.  So it is constantly being used.

The phone you use every so often needs to be reliable - the one you have is definitely not reliable.

stickguy

i agree with Mike. a phone should last days on standby. Actually, if you aren't getting calls coming in, just power it off instead. fire it up when you need it.

demand a replacement, or return for a different model.

verdugo

abacomike said:

That's too low according to my mechanic at Mercedes.  He said that at those lower pressures, the tires wouldn't last 10,000 miles.  At these inflations, which are heavy load inflations, I should get 15,000 miles on the tires.

10,000 or 15,000 miles? Who cares! You'll be on your 3rd vehicle after trading that one. \

abacomike

verdugo said:

That's too low according to my mechanic at Mercedes.  He said that at those lower pressures, the tires wouldn't last 10,000 miles.  At these inflations, which are heavy load inflations, I should get 15,000 miles on the tires.

10,000 or 15,000 miles? Who cares! You'll be on your 3rd vehicle after trading that one. \

Not this time.  The newly redesigned E Class comes out for the model year 2017.  I've seen pictures of it already.  It is expected to debut in the Spring of 2016, from what I've read so far.  I expect to keep this one at least until June/July 2016.  By then, I will have well over 16,000 miles on the car. 

It it would be foolish to buy a 2016 E that is being phased out.

But I've done foolish things like that before.  But that would be throwing money away!

oldfarmer50

abacomike said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Wow.

Just posted a lengthy post and it up and disappeared. ???????

Happens to me frequently.  Definitely must be some "gremlins" in this code (had to keep something about cars in this post).

Remember the American Motors Gremlin?

Farmer - must have something to do with that upstate New York slang you use!

AYYUP!

abacomike

EH!!!

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

Farm, Are you still thinking about a new Mustang. Drove by a dealer today. They had an orange GT and a yellow Ecoboost parked out front. I liked the yellow better.

Orange? yuck! That's the one color I would never want on a Stang.

At the risk of upsetting Mike, yes I'm still "interested" but I think I've procrastinated my chance of getting a 2015 away. It's just that I was so underwhelmed by my test drive that I can't seem to pull the trigger. I've recently been researching ways to amp up the exhaust note because that car deserves to SOUND like a muscle car.

I'm not giving up yet. After all it took me 3 years before all the stars aligned on the Eclipse.

oldfarmer50

stever said:

You may want to start composing in Notepad or something @oldfarmer50, at least until you (or we) figure out why your posts are getting lost.

You assume that I know what 'notepad' is. I take back my statement about that post disappearing because lo and behold right underneath your original response my lost post appeared TWICE! Must have been lost in Edmunds Twilight Zone.

oldfarmer50

stever said:

Looks like your transmission post was stuck in the automated spam filter @oldfarmer50. When I "restored" it, two of them appeared. Dunno, maybe the software thought you were posting the same thing over and over and grabbed it.

Me? Spam? The Edmunds system is a harsh critic. Gee wiz. :@

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

Speaking of tires (which I am sure we were recently, on one thread or another), in the Sunday paper today the auto writer had a piece about the proliferation of ultra low profile tires. Interviewed a local (philly burbs) guy that bought a 2013 MB E550, back in IIRC May, 2013 (slightly used). As of now, he has had to replace 6 tires!

Total outlay, about $2K, and untold aggravation. Even better, he dug up the service history of the original (brief) owner. They had 3 replaced (wonder why they traded it in 6-9 months after buying it!)

Eventually had to garage it, waiting until enough road repairs are done that he can risk driving it again. And yes, the roads in this area (greater Philadelphia) really are that bad.

I think it had 255/35 somethings on it.

Mike is lucky to have pothole free roads in Fla!

Potholes? I gots your potholes right here!

Just spent $500 putting new rear struts on my son's car after he got a flat tire hitting a pothole. Turns our the pothole broke his rear air strut in 3 pieces and sent a piece into the tire destroying it. I keep looking up for the B-52 bombers to make their next run.

abacomike

That orangie-cantelopie-pumpkinie Orange I saw on the BMW 435 yesterday in the mall is a "special order" color per the MSRP sticker on the car.  

As for upsetting Mike, Farmer, nothing YOU could do or say would upset me because you are not a self-absorbed, insincere kind of guy.  You are the "real" thing - unassuming and honest.  So have a go at me (or two) - and get off your duff and buy that Mustang you yearn for!

stever

You've been "verified" with the spam filter as being a good guy @oldfarmer50. Now you can spam all you want LOL.

@driver100, I guess you mean a plug-in Prius or whatever they call the pure EV one. Hm, guess they don't have a pure EV, so in theory no Prius owner would need to plug into the grid. I think we're kind of dumb relying on a regional/national grid anyway. One transformer blowout shouldn't take out the whole city. Your neighborhood, fine. But everyone around for 20 square miles? Or the entire East Coast?

oldfarmer50

abacomike said:

Imid - if I ever tried to post a picture/photo on this site, both my computer (PC) and my iphone 6 would disintegrate in my hands.  I couldn't post a picture even if my life depended on it!  the fact that you were able to post a photo (upside down or right side up) is just short of a miracle to me with my limited computer skills.  

Mike, no one is more computer phobic than I but I discovered that if you click on that little folded over page in the toolbar at the top of your post draft it allows you to post pictures. At least it works with the iPad.

oldfarmer50

abacomike

Old Farmer, that picture of the red Mustang resembles the look of a Ferrari!

abacomike

I just tried to post a picture and "Siri", my iPhone buddy who talks to me and answers my questions, etc.), said to me, "...Dave, Hal is not happy with the way you are messing him up!"  Dave?  Hal?  "2001: A Space Oddesy"?  Nah, couldn't be!  But my picture is somewhere out there in cyberspace.  

Stever, if you come across it, let me know!

stever

Ha, Apples are a different ether than the medium I'm used to dealing in. But keep messing with that folded corner icon and I bet you'll figure it out.

driver100

abacomike said:

driver100 said:

imidazol97 said:

abacomike said:

If you think it's easy to look at an upside down photo of a Prius, let alone any car or SUV, you are mistaken or You suffer from a visual impairment!

Upside down? It looked okay to me. But then I clicked on the actual picture
and it went to a larger version that is upside down? I took it on my Android
phone. Transferred to my PC using the charging cable. And it was upside
down so I turned it 180 deg. in Paint Shop Pro, saved it, and uploaded it
here.

I don't know how to change it. I'll try.

Looked fine on my Toshiba laptop.

Since you guys have knowledge or cell phones let me run this by you.

I finally gave up my 6 year old clam shell phone and bought a new phone at what you call Radio Shack and we now call the Source since they went out of business in Canada a few years ago.

I only use the phone for about one call a week, 2 minutes a call = 8 minutes a month, mainly to let my wife know I may be late or something.

The phone, a Hauwei was $90 and had 4 out of 5 stars.

Twice I charged it up and it ran out of power in about 5 minutes. The guy in the store looks really annoyed whenever I come back.

This time he told me to charge it up, let it run out of power, then charge it and let it run out again to reset the battery.

I charged it and it was turned on but not used for about 6 hours, and it has about 25% power left - that is better but not of much use.

I may have to do it again and maybe it will be even better the second time I charge it from zero, like he told me to do.

But, does this sound normal?

No, it is not normal for a phone on "stand-by" to only last 6-10 hours.  10 years ago my Motorola Razor flip phone's battery would last 2 full days with lots of use - and that was not a smart phone.

Driver, you should purchase a halfway decent phone, not a piece of junk.  My iPhone 6 is charged once a day at night between 9:00 and 11:00 PM.  Remember, I use my iPhone as a phone as well as a computer.  So it is constantly being used.

The phone you use every so often needs to be reliable - the one you have is definitely not reliable.

Thanks Mike and Stick...the phone stayed charged for 6 hours on standby. The guy at the store said to let it go dry twice, and recharge twice. I have done it once and went from 5 minutes to 6 hours......I'll try again but if it doesn't work I will take it back.

Thanks for the help.

driver100

stever said:

You've been "verified" with the spam filter as being a good guy @oldfarmer50. Now you can spam all you want LOL.

@driver100, I guess you mean a plug-in Prius or whatever they call the pure EV one. Hm, guess they don't have a pure EV, so in theory no Prius owner would need to plug into the grid. I think we're kind of dumb relying on a regional/national grid anyway. One transformer blowout shouldn't take out the whole city. Your neighborhood, fine. But everyone around for 20 square miles? Or the entire East Coast?

Stever, I heard them say on the news (in Canada) if a few people on a street owned a car that plugs in it isn't a problem...but, if everyone on a street plugged their car in at the same time the electric power system couldn't handle it....there would be a blackout. I am doing the country a service by running my gas powered car.

nelsonf

Are all of you guys with tire and/or suspension damage from potholes able to file a claim with the city for reimbursement?

When I had my VW R32 a few years ago, I came around a corner and ran into a pavement patch that was about 2 inches proud of the street, without a "ramped" edge.

Both of my front tires ended up with a bulges in the sidewalls, and one rim was knocked out of round.

I filed a claim with the city of Seattle, and 'eventually' got reimbursed for the two tires, prorated for the mileage, and for the cost of the rim repair.

Just curious.

abacomike

Driver, I've heard of many, many ways to justify buying a plug-in electric car, but never have I heard of your rationalization for not buying an electric plug-in vehicle.  A blackout?  You've got to be kidding.

abacomike

nelsonf said:

Are all of you guys with tire and/or suspension damage from potholes able to file a claim with the city for reimbursement? When I had my VW R32 a few years ago, I came around a corner and ran into a pavement patch that was about 2 inches proud of the street, without a "ramped" edge. Both of my front tires ended up with a bulges in the sidewalls, and one rim was knocked out of round. I filed a claim with the city of Seattle, and 'eventually' got reimbursed for the two tires, prorated for the mileage, and for the cost of the rim repair. Just curious.

I've heard of that situation - filing a claim for damages.  If it's the city's responsibility to maintain a street, you have a better chance of being reimbursed than if it's a County or State maintained road.

ab348

The rules here about claiming damages from the city for potholes, etc are: if you are the first to report a situation that causes damage, you're out of luck. If others later encounter the same situation and incur damage, the city will go good for it.

venture

abacomike said:

nelsonf said:

Are all of you guys with tire and/or suspension damage from potholes able to file a claim with the city for reimbursement?

When I had my VW R32 a few years ago, I came around a corner and ran into a pavement patch that was about 2 inches proud of the street, without a "ramped" edge.

Both of my front tires ended up with a bulges in the sidewalls, and one rim was knocked out of round.

I filed a claim with the city of Seattle, and 'eventually' got reimbursed for the two tires, prorated for the mileage, and for the cost of the rim repair.

Just curious.

I've heard of that situation - filing a claim for damages.  If it's the city's responsibility to maintain a street, you have a better chance of being reimbursed than if it's a County or State maintained road.

Surprisingly, here in central PA there are very few potholes this spring. At least around where I live. Probably because it got cold and stayed cold. We didn't have the freeze/thaw cycles we usually have in the winter.

stickguy

actually, in Jersey the potholes were not as bad as last year (still bad, but last year was the worst I have ever seen). And the county especially (more so than the towns) are really lax in fixing them.

I have no idea if I could ever get reimbursed, but I doubt it. around here they are great at extracting money from us, but not at all interested in returning it. Would also have to prove where it happened, and that isn't always possible. Pretty much would have to get disabled in the hole, and get the police/tow truck evidence! But if you wham one and find out later you have damage, they will just claim it could have happened elsewhere.

fezo

"If everyone drove a Prius the electrical grid would burn out...we would have black outs."

This is as silly a thing as I have heard considering that with rare exception the only electricity a Prius uses it generates itself. Absolutely zero from the grid

The last thing that's going to happen is plug in cars knocking out the grid. They are moving slowly into the mainstream. The grid will adapt. By the time I have one I'll have solar electric and charge the car on my own.

stever

driver100 said:

if everyone on a street plugged their car in at the same time the electric power system couldn't handle it....there would be a blackout.

Ah, I see what you are saying - the powers that be are thinking the "smart grid" will solve that issue. Rolling brownouts, if you will. (earthtechling.com)

I'd rather go the Fezo route, assuming my collectors would dump into my spare (Tesla/Nevada made) battery in the garage, and I'd swap packs out if I need to drive in the evening after zapping my range all day, like EV forklifts have been doing for years.

The Prius gets all the glam but perhaps isn't the best example here since it's not a pure EV, and Toyota is supposedly going hydrogen.

abacomike

Speaking of electrifying (how's that for staying on subject?), the second season of "TURN" started tonight with a 2 hour premiere on AMC channel.  Jamie Bell is still the star and the acting is outstanding!  Give it a look see on AMC until 11:00 PM EDT tonight.

driver100

stever said:

driver100 said:

if everyone on a street plugged their car in at the same time the electric power system couldn't handle it....there would be a blackout.

Ah, I see what you are saying - the powers that be are thinking the "smart grid" will solve that issue. Rolling brownouts, if you will. (earthtechling.com)

I'd rather go the Fezo route, assuming my collectors would dump into my spare (Tesla/Nevada made) battery in the garage, and I'd swap packs out if I need to drive in the evening after zapping my range all day, like EV forklifts have been doing for years.

The Prius gets all the glam but perhaps isn't the best example here since it's not a pure EV, and Toyota is supposedly going hydrogen.

Batteries don't always work very well. Snow storm hits Washington, traffic is tied up for two hours, all the Battery Electic cars have to be towed away....can't just buy a can of gas.......they take 4 to 8 hours to charge up.
WHY BATTERY CARS AREN"T A GREAT IDEA

The problem with the electric grid is more like this:

However, in the process, all these electric and hybrid cars may dramatically increase our reliance on another fuel source -- a stable electric grid. And the power grid, as it exists today, may not quite be ready to handle this new surge in load.

In a new analysis out of the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory, Les Poch and Matt Mahalik of Argonne’s Center for Energy, Environmental, and Economic Systems Analysis (CEEESA) says if demand for plug-ins skyrockets, a flood of new electric cars could strain America’s power networks to the limit.

“Depending on what Americans do with their new cars, energy suppliers could be overwhelmed—or they could stand to gain a lot,” Poch says.

Mahalik adds that "until now, the pattern of power use in the U.S. has been relatively stable and predictable for the past 30 years,” says Mahalik. “The last major bump was probably the widespread adoption of air conditioning.”

Electric vehicles stand poised to throw off that stable pattern. At this point, the researchers say, "No one knows how quickly electric cars will catch on, in what areas they’ll be most popular, or when everyone will choose to plug in their cars."

Full article

suydam

On my list of things to fear this scenario is pretty far down.

abacomike

Driver, I used to live about 8 miles from Argonne National Laboratories and am quite familiar with some of the research they have done, especially in energy.

IIRC, they have a nuclear facility on site which powers the facility internally - not on the grid so to speak for defense reasons.

I read most of the article and understand now where you are coming from.  I believe that the future of energy production for the automobile lies in the hydrogen fuel cell.  But that will be 20-30 years before it becomes practical.  As for the electric plug-ins, I see them as a stop gap approach along with hybrids until hydrogen can be safely and economically produced for the production of energy.  Nuclear power is still the best long-term answer to electricity production.  

Solar energy production is still inefficient considering the number of arrays needed to produce electricity in the quantities necessary at the present time and in the near future.  With research and technology, that will change making solar power more cost effective.

In summary, electricity still appears to be the way of the near future in powering vehicles - at least until hydrogen fuels cells become safe and highly available.

fezo

I disagreed with the articles - particularly the guy who can only base his electric vehicle argument based on the Leaf. Tesla as it exists now - as opposed to where it will be in five years - already is way past what he is posing as issues.

As Mike says, an electric car as such is not the long term solution but is likely a medium term solution.

And trying to tie the grid into cars that run on electricity that the gar generates itself is disingenuous. It's a red herring.

BTW, we bought the Prius because it's an insanely practical car. Cheap on gas but also quite roomy enough for a family of four to go away for a week. If I want to bring my guitar that puts us in the Mazda but that was so when the alternative was the Camry. The Prius is not a small car. It's a well designed mid-size.

You want a gas engine car go right ahead. No one's stopping you. I have a couple myself and will buy them in the future. Just don't try to scare people out of electric cars with these chicken little articles.

driver100

suydam said:

On my list of things to fear this scenario is pretty far down.

Maybe you don't live in an area where traffic can get tied up for hours. I have an aquaintance who loves his Tesla, but he couldn't drive from Toronto to Rochester NY. Had to rent a car........

If you do run out of an electric charge, for any reason, it isn't going to be easy to get going again..not sure what AAA will do in those cases.

driver100

abacomike said:

Driver, I used to live about 8 miles from Argonne National Laboratories and am quite familiar with some of the research they have done, especially in energy.

IIRC, they have a nuclear facility on site which powers the facility internally - not on the grid so to speak for defense reasons.

I read most of the article and understand now where you are coming from.  I believe that the future of energy production for the automobile lies in the hydrogen fuel cell.  But that will be 20-30 years before it becomes practical.  As for the electric plug-ins, I see them as a stop gap approach along with hybrids until hydrogen can be safely and economically produced for the production of energy.  Nuclear power is still the best long-term answer to electricity production.  

Solar energy production is still inefficient considering the number of arrays needed to produce electricity in the quantities necessary at the present time and in the near future.  With research and technology, that will change making solar power more cost effective.

In summary, electricity still appears to be the way of the near future in powering vehicles - at least until hydrogen fuels cells become safe and highly available.

Good analysis and I go along with it. I don't like to be on the leading edge of new technology in the case of an expensive and necessary item like a car. Some people think they are saving the planet by buying an electric plug in car......they are only hurting their pocketbook and possibly giving themselves a lot of frustration. I call it "false economizing".

Talk about new technology, I am considering tossing my new cell phone and going back to my good old clamshell.

qbrozen

Alright, so a few points...

1. Strain on the electric grid? Well, let's not forget that most will be charged at night when demand on the grid is far lower.
2. People always fall back on the "longer trip" argument. Nobody said it had to be your only car. Hell, we don't even have an electric car currently, but when it comes to longer trips, the smaller cars all stay at home while we load up the van, so it doesn't matter what powers those other vehicles.
3. AAA will have to tow it. Oh well.

Personally, I like the idea of a range-extending gas engine. But I'd be quite satisfied with a 300-mile range electric car. There are maybe 2 times a year where I would need anymore than that and, as previously mentioned, those are times we'd take a far larger vehicle anyway.

driver100

fezo said:

I disagreed with the articles - particularly the guy who can only base his electric vehicle argument based on the Leaf. Tesla as it exists now - as opposed to where it will be in five years - already is way past what he is posing as issues.

As Mike says, an electric car as such is not the long term solution but is likely a medium term solution.

And trying to tie the grid into cars that run on electricity that the gar generates itself is disingenuous. It's a red herring.

BTW, we bought the Prius because it's an insanely practical car. Cheap on gas but also quite roomy enough for a family of four to go away for a week. If I want to bring my guitar that puts us in the Mazda but that was so when the alternative was the Camry. The Prius is not a small car. It's a well designed mid-size.

You want a gas engine car go right ahead. No one's stopping you. I have a couple myself and will buy them in the future. Just don't try to scare people out of electric cars with these chicken little articles.

I have nothing against the Prius...I have been in a taxi cab Prius in Vancouver, amazing amount of room and it feels solid, nice ride and comfortable.

It probably is a step in the right direction if you are inclined toward being practical and are worried about the environment etc. A large part of the choices we make when we buy a car is a statement about ourselves. Someone who thinks safety is important buys a Volvo (daughter) though lots of other cars are just as safe. I know someone who bought a hybrid Lexus R300 because his kids are concerned about the environment, yet they leave every light on in the house and have all their electronic gadgets going all the time.

My original statement was about the people who drive a Prius and think they are holier than thou because they think they are saving the planet, when they really don't have a clue. And, I am not referring to you fezo. I understand why you bought a Prius and that is fine.............I'll consider one when over 50% of the population is driving one, and if it gives me the same thrill as a good old gas powered engine.

driver100

qbrozen said:

Alright, so a few points...

1. Strain on the electric grid? Well, let's not forget that most will be charged at night when demand on the grid is far lower.
2. People always fall back on the "longer trip" argument. Nobody said it had to be your only car. Hell, we don't even have an electric car currently, but when it comes to longer trips, the smaller cars all stay at home while we load up the van, so it doesn't matter what powers those other vehicles.
3. AAA will have to tow it. Oh well.

Personally, I like the idea of a range-extending gas engine. But I'd be quite satisfied with a 300-mile range electric car. There are maybe 2 times a year where I would need anymore than that and, as previously mentioned, those are times we'd take a far larger vehicle anyway.

I like to limit the amount of stress in my life, so:

1. Strain on the electric grid? Well, let's not forget that most will be charged at night when demand on the grid is far lower.

I don't want to run out to the garage at 7 pm every evening to plug in my car. Besides, an expert said the electric system said if everyone on a city street charged up at the same time the system couldn't support it, and our electric bills will go sky high.

2. People always fall back on the "longer trip" argument. Nobody said it had to be your only car. Hell, we don't even have an electric car currently, but when it comes to longer trips, the smaller cars all stay at home while we load up the van, so it doesn't matter what powers those other vehicles.

They fall back on the arguement because it is logical. What if you do get lost, get caught in a traffic jam, and your power goes before you reach your destination. And, why buy an expensive car you can't use on long trips...you are going to use the less desireable car for long trips. If my car is indisposed we can jump in my wife's car and know we will get to where we have to be.

3. AAA will have to tow it. Oh well.

They only come out 3X a year the last time I belonged, about 5 years ago. I don't want the hassle of having to get towed, that's why I try to drive a newer car. I have been caught in one hour traffic tie ups so I try to keep the car filled up and get gas when there is 40% left. I like the reliability of a gas engine. Occassionally I am tired at night and I forget to turn the dishwasher on...what if I forget to plug in my car?

stever

The funniest part is that it's more thrilling driving a gasser "in an area where traffic can get tied up for hours". Life on the 401 eh?

I'd love a Leaf in the garage running off panels, but I have no illusions about road tripping in it. Around here we can go days without driving at all, so the downside of "free" fuel is that we'd clog the roads more. It's kind of nice only having one car in the garage too.

stickguy

Only makes sense to me as a local runabout station/errand car. I like to worry so suffering from range anxiety would kill me.

I do think it makes sense for the post office fleet though.

driver100

stever said:

The funniest part is that it's more thrilling driving a gasser "in an area where traffic can get tied up for hours". Life on the 401 eh?

I'd love a Leaf in the garage running off panels, but I have no illusions about road tripping in it. Around here we can go days without driving at all, so the downside of "free" fuel is that we'd clog the roads more. It's kind of nice only having one car in the garage too.

I call the 401 driving roulette - one day a truck or a car is going to collide with you. I used to commute 2 hours each way, every day on the 401 for almost a year. Thank goodness I got canned from my job...I would have had a mental breakdown, and was planning on quitting anyway. Since they canned me I got a nice severance, and they paid out almost $2000 for our daughters orthodontical car - I was still on the plan until the end of the month.

We try to avoid the 401 if we can.

stever

Worst highway in NA. But I haven't driven all of them. Yet.

(It wasn't too bad the last few times we drove a short section of it cutting through to Niagara from the UP).

qbrozen

driver100 said:

I don't want to run out to the garage at 7 pm every evening to plug in my car. Besides, an expert said the electric system said if everyone on a city street charged up at the same time the system couldn't support it, and our electric bills will go sky high.


They fall back on the arguement because it is logical. What if you do get lost, get caught in a traffic jam, and your power goes before you reach your destination. And, why buy an expensive car you can't use on long trips...you are going to use the less desireable car for long trips. If my car is indisposed we can jump in my wife's car and know we will get to where we have to be.


They only come out 3X a year the last time I belonged, about 5 years ago. I don't want the hassle of having to get towed, that's why I try to drive a newer car. I have been caught in one hour traffic tie ups so I try to keep the car filled up and get gas when there is 40% left. I like the reliability of a gas engine. Occassionally I am tired at night and I forget to turn the dishwasher on...what if I forget to plug in my car?

As to point 1: You can set the car to charge when you want it to. I know my Leaf had that capability, so I'm sure the Tesla does as well. I'm not sure how expert the expert is or how well that person thought out his/her comments, but I can tell you my central AC drew more amps than my Leaf (my lights never dimmed when I plugged the car in). I could see there maybe being a problem if, let's say, everyone was charging their cars at the same time AND half the AC compressors came on at the same time AND someone was running their dishwasher, or some sort of crazy combination like that. But the cars alone? I don't buy it.

As to the rest: I completely understand range anxiety. The Leaf in its previous iteration did not work for us for this very reason. However, we were pushing a 70-mile roundtrip in a car that averaged 70 miles on a charge. If you've got a car with a 300-mile range and the same 70-mile roundtrip, I'm not the least bit concerned about a little traffic or even getting a little lost. If, however, you have a 200-mile daily commute, the electric car is probably not a good idea for you anyway. I would think a 300-mile car is going to satisfy the vast majority of people nearly all the time.

I did buy an expensive car I can't use on long trips. Why? Because I spend 351 days per year NOT on long trips, and I don't want to be driving a minivan all the time.

I can't think of a single vehicle on the market that would do everything I want all of the time. There is always compromise somewhere. A Panamera 4S probably comes closest for me, but I can't afford it. And even that wouldn't have satisfied last week's family trip with my family of 4 and all our luggage and ski equipment on a 7.5-hr drive to New Hampshire.

stever

The fix for the plug-in issue is some form of induction charging. Just have to park the car in the same spot in your garage every time.

If EVs do take off, there's going to be a run of complaints about people tripping over cords, crooks swipping the cords in public parking spots for the copper, etc. You run into that in the north with block heaters - when people plug their cars in during the day at a work or public parking lot, you get the joy of avoiding cords everywhere, in addition to the snow and ice piles. And it is a hassle plugging and unplugging something every day.

This is a screen grab from a lot in Finland, but you get the idea:

robr2

driver100 said:

suydam said:

On my list of things to fear this scenario is pretty far down.

Maybe you don't live in an area where traffic can get tied up for hours. I have an aquaintance who loves his Tesla, but he couldn't drive from Toronto to Rochester NY. Had to rent a car........

If you do run out of an electric charge, for any reason, it isn't going to be easy to get going again..not sure what AAA will do in those cases.

Your acquaintance must not love his Tesla enough. There are charging stations on 190 in Niagara Falls and along 90 in Buffalo and Rochester. It's less than 75 miles between stations.

abacomike

I have an interesting dilemma for all of you to consider and respond to:

"Driver A is in the right turn lane of a 3 lane road stopped at a red light facing east.  Driver B is in the cross-traffic left lane (left turn lane) facing north also waiting for his left turn light to turn green.  Driver A begins to make a right turn on "red", which is allowed at the same time Driver B begins to make a "U-Turn" after his left turn arrow lights up.  Both cars collide in the intersection."

Who is the driver at fault?  Driver A or Driver B, and why?

fezo

"If everyone drove a Prius the electrical grid would burn out...we would have black outs."

"I have nothing against the Prius...I have been in a taxi cab Prius in Vancouver, amazing amount of room and it feels solid, nice ride and comfortable."

These statements seem to be at odds with each other. Meanwhile, you can't consider the grid as a static utility. We as a civilization do not need to live by an existing grid. It is up to those who maintain the grid to expand it to meet our current (sorry) needs. There will be fights over this and who pays (hint - in the long run we all do) and how urgent a priority we are ready to assign it.

This is entirety the infrastructure argument. We are drinking water from 150 year old aqueducts, driving on inadequate inadequate roads. It has to be addressed. Of course doing this runs right into the anti-taxers who don;t care about water, roads,mass transit.

The current budgeting plan dos not work. it's "let's raise X trillion and see how we can spend it." We need to move to a method where we identify the needs, figure out what the bill is going to be and tax accordingly. There's a lot to do so the early years will likely be tough, but the building needs to be done.

Perhaps we need to start rebuilding the infrastructure like we build the Interstates. Declare them a military and place the in the defense budget budget. Few complain about that.

Meanwhile,I'm waiting on my George Jetsen car that runs on seawater.

abacomike

Even the casino I frequent has 3 electric charging spaces on each of 7 floors in their parking garage.  Futuristically, there will have to be hundreds of thousands of similar charging stations in every community, town, city, State and every region of the U.S.  Today, that seems mind boggling.  Eventually, if EV's take off, the cost of the infrastructure to accommodate this is also mind boggling.