The Automobile Thread

I don’t want to tell people what to drive, but I absolutely recommend people actually drive an EV before offering a strong opinion. Preferably you should try living with one for a month. I get upset when I have to waste time taking the wife’s car to the gas station, or heaven forbid, an oil change.

You can lease a Bolt for under $200/month, and charging from a plug in the garage is fine unless you drive more than 50 miles a day every day. I’d recommend it to just about anyone who is secure enough in their masculinity to use an affordable hatchback as their daily.

 

I'll wait for the Tesla truck. I gave them $100 and got in line the day it was announced... Until then, I'll keep the oil burner.

 

This is pretty much my story.

I was dead set on an Audi, either an S4 or a used A6. I was in contact with a few Audi dealers waiting for the right color combo and/or lease deal to show up when I decided, "Screw it, I'll go test drive a Model 3, it can't hurt to know what they're like." Within 5 minutes of driving it I'd completely forgotten about the Audi and my thoughts immediately turned to the usual newbie EV questions, like "How do I charge it?" and "Can I really make this work?" The Tesla was so much better to drive than any comparable German car. I was stunned.

Now that I've owned it for nearly two years I realize most of those initial concerns were non-issues. The car is a complete joy to drive. Things I love about it (and now take for granted) were unexpected; for example, regenerative braking. The brake pedal almost never sees use. 90% of the time I can bring the car to a stop by simply lifting off the accelerator. Most of that kinetic energy goes back into the battery rather than get converted into brake dust that just dirties up the wheels. It makes coming to red lights way less upsetting than in a regular car. Oh, and I'd be surprised if the car needed a brake job before 100K miles.

My S.O. has a 2018 Audi Q5, which most folks would agree is a pretty nice car. But every time I drive I think, "Jeezus, this thing is archaic. Look at all that brake dust, and the transmission is SO clunky and unrefined!"

 

The e-powered vehicle is a good option at this time. When technology figures out how to dump a charge into it at the speed that we can gas up a gas tank at the gas station, it will become a great option.

 

Uh oh - is this going to be a polarizing thread charged with negativity? Let’s not get all amped up with shocking stories of resistance that goes against the current.

I want to go ohm!

 

And btw - what kind of an SUV is designed in such a way that you can’t use a roof rack? Dumb!

 

@rossage you're not. Just kidding. That was pretty good.

 

Daaaaaad!

 

I'd love an electric vehicle, but i regularly drive 40-70 each way to work.

 

Similarly, I drive an average of 40-50 miles each day at work.

 

Two words: carpool lane.

The 2020 Bolt will go 200+ miles at our freeway speeds. Charges from flat in 10 hours if you can get a 40 amp circuit to your parking spot.

My 2018 has a little less range, and my wife was driving it from Orange to job sites in Santa Paula and back, with a 10 minute charge/lunch stop. I think the 2020 could make it nonstop. Orange to Big Bear and back is 70% of a charge.

My only practical gripe is that the bike only fits inside with both wheels off, other than that the cargo space is super usable.

 

Pretty much every current EV can do that, with reserve. Maybe even two days.
Though none are currently a full size truck.

 

This is a pretty cool, although clunky to use cost calculator: https://afdc.energy.gov/calc/

I like EVs, but they ain't free. Mining lithium & cobalt from not so nice corners of the planet is a nasty thing, and those electrons have to come from somewhere. CO2 reduction is a great goal, and not waiting in gas line at Costco sounds pretty awesome!

As for costs... according to the above calculator, it would take 15 years for a Tesla to pay off compared to an Accord 2L. Convenience is worth something, but you have to really want to live that EV life.



I'm hoping the new Mustang (Why did they have to use that name?!?!?!) EV is put together well... it might check a lot of boxes for my wife. For me, I don't plan to ever own a car without a manual transmission, so guess I'm stuck with ICE ICE baby.

 

Are you aware that manual transmissions are actually a modern form of theft deterent?

 

Keeps my kids from driving it!

 

Compare the Hyundai Kona EV to the Kona not-EV. Remember to add in all the tax savings, and the $450 check from Edison.

And don’t forget all the money you’ll save not buying Monster Energy, lotto scratchers, Skoal bandits, and slim Jim’s at the gas station. You’ll be fixing healthy home cooked meals from scratch thanks to your new EV.

 

How much are the fed/CA tax credits? Because without them, it looks like the EV will never pay for itself:

 

$7500 federal. $2000 state. $450 Edison.

when GM and Tesla’s federal rebates expired, Tesla cut msrp, and GM kept msrp but offers massive discounts.

 

I see what you did there, very good!! Lets just have some superconductive conversation.

 

I dropped the EV price from $37k to $27k manually... Pay off is now in 11 years. Not trying to be contrarian, my only point is that EVs don't save a person much money. They have other positives like not having to go to a gas station and not putting out tons of CO2, which are great! Ludicrous speed is pretty cool as well. Speaking of money, if a Taycan appeared in my driveway, I might budge on my MT only rule!

 

Same way I look at it. All that future waste from batteries!! I really wish Hydrogen technology would take off, but it'll probably take a while if at all. There are a couple of Hydrogen vehicles out there but the infrastructure is not there for sure compared to electric.
I've heard of technology that uses solar to produce hydrogen gas!

Also agree!!! For many of us the bottom line is or should be a concern. Payback on your investment could take awhile. For now I'll stick with lightly used hybrid or plug in hybrid vehicles.

 

Yeah, in addition to a manual transmission, I can't imagine ever buying a new car... I always let other people cover the depreciation!

Still waiting for my jet pack.

 

Yeah , autos.....terrible investments!

 

I don't have graphs, or even much in the way of figures. Lots of real life variables, and perhaps mine are not typical. But, I was spending roughly $350 a month in gas for the car I replaced with my EV. Granted that car averaged around or slightly less than 17mpg, and required premium gas. When I got the EV, and was still putting comparable miles on it (pre-covid) my electric bill went up roughly $100 per month. In a year I think I've charged it away from home twice. So for a period of time I was legitimately saving $250 a month in "fueling" costs. I know the rebates/tax credits fluctuate, but when I got mine it was $7,500 fed, $2,500 state, and $1K SoCal Edison.

 

We were promised jetpacks...



PS: If you don't like this song, you don't like rock.

 

The monthly fuel bill for my 2019 Honda CR-V is averaging about about $120 for regular use (18K miles annually). My 2009 Nissan Frontier demanded at least $200/month more in fuel costs. That $200 average in fuel cost savings every month is paying for half of my car payment.

 

16mpg AND a couple batteries. Perfect escape pod.

 

That is one mega sweet adventure rig.

 

Yanno, before I got my Tesla I had a 2004 4Runner V8. I LOVED that gas pig. If I had a place to keep it, I would have never sold it...

 

Standard Range Model 3 would cover this pretty easily. You'd just need a 240V outlet in your garage to charge it from. A NEMA 10-30 or 14-30 outlet (same thing an electric clothes dryer uses) provides enough juice to add 22 miles of range per hour of charge.