Beautiful downtown Chesterton, Indiana, has two stalls along the street where one can plug in and get a metered charge (I presume). There were two cars using the spots when we saw them. I hope they weren't there for the whole day.Pat and I have been about gas mileage since we bought our first car together in 1973. Every advancement seems to have been offset by things that consume energy (electrical systems, weight, or whatever), and we are only getting marginally better mileage than we did back then. I would like to go to a hybrid, but the gas buggy we currently have could well be the last car we ever need.
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
I have actually thought about buying an electric vehicle - it would be perfect for my daily city-suburban commute of 14 miles each way. I'm not convinced that they pollute less overall than gas-powered vehicles given the nasty stuff in batteries that has to be mined or produced, and the pollution from generating the electricity to recharge them, but it would be very cheap to run (way cheaper than the 14 mpg. F150 that I didn't really want but ended up with). The only thing ruling it out is the cost of a new one, and my lack of knowledge about when the battery packs die in a used one. The fact that both my wife's and my vehicles will need to be replaced before I can retire only adds to the need to buy something reasonably priced.
BaltACDMy next outing will be a Indianpolis Motor Speedway at the end of the month if I feel I have sufficiently recovered from my kidney surgery.
Best of wishes to you there Balt! Get well soon!
My concern is long distance trips. Not that I make a lot of them, but I can usually pull them off in 8 hours - about 500 miles. In order to compete with a fuel powered vehicle, I need to match that, meaning "fill-ups" on the order of 30 minutes or less, not overnight.
On a day to day basis, I could probably live with the limited range. But for trips to the railroad and to visit my daughter and family, I'm looking at 70-90 miles one way, and it sounds like if I'm running HVAC, I'd need to ensure charging at my destination.
Also unanswered is what happens to those batteries once they get replaced? Will they end up buried like windmill parts?
There are several electric fire trucks now on the market. Every single one of them has an on-board Diesel genset...
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Flintlock76 BaltACD While Tesla's aren't cheap - neither are today's gas vehicles. All depends on what you're looking for. Personally I buy compacts, a lot cheaper than a pick-up or an SUV and a lot better on gas. I don't need a pick-up or an SUV so I don't bother with them. I'm driving a Hyundai Accent at the moment. I don't get in it, I put it on!
BaltACD While Tesla's aren't cheap - neither are today's gas vehicles.
All depends on what you're looking for. Personally I buy compacts, a lot cheaper than a pick-up or an SUV and a lot better on gas. I don't need a pick-up or an SUV so I don't bother with them.
I'm driving a Hyundai Accent at the moment. I don't get in it, I put it on!
Every daily driver I have had since 1988 has had two jobs to do - 1. the normal things one gets a vehicle for 2. tow the race car and assorted race equipment wherever I decide to race. Tracks range from Homestead-Miami Speedway in the South to Watkins Glen International in the North and as far West as Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka and Road America at Elkhart Lake, WI and any number of tracks in between.
Vehicles that have performed in this service range from a 1984 Dodge Daytona Turbo, 1990 Jeep Cherokee, 2003 Dodge Durango and 2017 Ram 1500. Each vehicle was a step up from its predecessor for its towing ability. The Daytona lasted 200K miles, the Cherokee 300K miles, the Durango 360K mile and the Ram is at 68K and counting.
My next outing will be a Indianpolis Motor Speedway at the end of the month if I feel I have sufficiently recovered from my kidney surgery.
This forum no longer performs any function in as short a time as 3 seconds.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
The missus and I are still using our 2006 bought-new Corolla. We have enjoyed it a great deal, and as you might expect, it has been exceptionally easy to keep and to operate. However, I'm noticing that, as the male population of near/newly retired males rises, as predicted years ago, so has the number of 250's and 350's, Silverados, Ram's, Tundras, Avalanches, Durangos, Sequoias, Highlanders....the list goes on, all with bumpers whose lower surfaces meet my headlights at the top, near the hood. It wouldn't take a leap of faith to conclude that, in the event of an oopsie, I'm not going to fare well. Nor, the missus. So, contrary to your position, our second vehicle will definitely be a larger, more robust, more survivor-friendly vehicle, and that will happen soon, as soon as the electric vehicle market gets on a surer footing. I think we'll find what we can use, at a decent price, about 2024/5. At least, that's my hope...and plan.
I'm driving a Camry hybrid. Nice riding car. Get 42 to 45mpg. High 30's in midwinter. A little low to the ground for me to get in and out of now. Don't want a lot of the electronics, but what can you do?
Not gonna be an early adopter of all electric.
I work - not live - in a location where a lot of people own a Tesla. To the point of heat and AC made by a previous poster, there were fewer of them on the road during July and August - noticeably fewer - and in the longer winters you almost can't find any on the road - from about November thru March. Just one anecdotal observation.
BaltACDWhile Tesla's aren't cheap - neither are today's gas vehicles.
Flintlock76 Gramp I keep seeing more Tesla's in our area. Owners must be figuring out how to keep them charged as they use them. I'm seeing a lot more of them around here too. I think the people buying them are just showing off how much money they've got. You know, the same people who bought BMW's, Mercedes, Land Rovers, Hummers, and various and sundry "Suburb-Y-Tank" SUV's. Teslas ain't cheap brother. Have a look. I almost had a cardiac arrest. https://www.motortrend.com/features/how-much-is-a-tesla/
Gramp I keep seeing more Tesla's in our area. Owners must be figuring out how to keep them charged as they use them.
I keep seeing more Tesla's in our area. Owners must be figuring out how to keep them charged as they use them.
I'm seeing a lot more of them around here too. I think the people buying them are just showing off how much money they've got.
You know, the same people who bought BMW's, Mercedes, Land Rovers, Hummers, and various and sundry "Suburb-Y-Tank" SUV's.
Teslas ain't cheap brother. Have a look. I almost had a cardiac arrest.
https://www.motortrend.com/features/how-much-is-a-tesla/
While Tesla's aren't cheap - neither are today's gas vehicles.
At one time I vowed to myself I would not pay more for a vehicle than I paid for the 1st house I bought -$20K. That vow got broken when I bought the 2003 Dodge Durango (dealer demo with 6k miles). It got further trampled when I bought the USED 2017 Ram 1500 truck with 17K miles.
I live in a single family house in an urban environment--not spread out like the burbs, and not lower Manhatten.
What I would like is essentially an electric golf cart. Or maybe an electric Smart car.
I would use it to "go to the store". Top speed maybe 35mph.
It would also have to be cheap.
I am NOT going to buy a Tesla for this purpose. And if I have to go a long ways or haul a buncha stuff, I have a van. Gas powered.
They seem to go for $8K. I was thinking Five.
Ed
GrampToyota has said it's bringing an electric SUV to the US next year.
I don't know, that story's from June and the Toyota "no all-electrics" word I got was just a few days ago. Maybe the electrics are going to be for export?
https://www.kbb.com/car-news/toyota-confirms-electric-suv-will-go-on-sale-next-year/
Flintlock76 Several weeks ago I read two very good and well balanced articles concerning electric vehicles. Both articles were remarkably similar, and from regular reporters and not "car guys." Once they'd gotten used to the instrument panels which were a bit different from conventional cars the driving went pretty well. They were impressed with the acceleration and quiet and ease of driving. The cars were comfortable and the ergonomics were well thought out. Both were fun drives. Now, the downside. As one reporter put it, "If you've ever been stuck in a traffic jam and sweated out the gas gauge as it got lower and lower, just wait until you're stuck in traffic with an battery charge meter getting lower and lower and NO idea where a charging station is!" Therin lies the rub, there are NO charging stations in the same proliferation as there are gas stations! And when you do find one there's no quick "gas n' go," you're stuck there for anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes getting a charge, and even then it's not going to be the maximum. And if you need to run the air conditioning you'll drain the battery faster, and in the winter running the heater will drain it faster still. Both reporters drew the same conclusion, for local trips around town, maybe short commutes, the electrics are fine. Forget cross-country trips, they're not practical. I also read a review of a Ford electric pick-up truck. With no load it has a 300 mile range. Put a load on it and it drops to 100. Make of that what you will. By the way, Toyota does not and has no plans to make any all-electric cars, considering them impractical for most uses and for a variety of reasons. They'll make hybrids like the Prius, but that's all. How long is the battery life? On an all electric I don't know, but on a hybrid like a Prius the consensus is when the car gets to the 100,000 mile mark plan on getting rid of it. The battery will need replacement soon, an expensive proposition, and the generator will begin to fail around that time as well, and it's a PITA to replace.
Several weeks ago I read two very good and well balanced articles concerning electric vehicles.
Both articles were remarkably similar, and from regular reporters and not "car guys." Once they'd gotten used to the instrument panels which were a bit different from conventional cars the driving went pretty well. They were impressed with the acceleration and quiet and ease of driving. The cars were comfortable and the ergonomics were well thought out. Both were fun drives.
Now, the downside. As one reporter put it, "If you've ever been stuck in a traffic jam and sweated out the gas gauge as it got lower and lower, just wait until you're stuck in traffic with an battery charge meter getting lower and lower and NO idea where a charging station is!"
Therin lies the rub, there are NO charging stations in the same proliferation as there are gas stations! And when you do find one there's no quick "gas n' go," you're stuck there for anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes getting a charge, and even then it's not going to be the maximum. And if you need to run the air conditioning you'll drain the battery faster, and in the winter running the heater will drain it faster still.
Both reporters drew the same conclusion, for local trips around town, maybe short commutes, the electrics are fine. Forget cross-country trips, they're not practical.
I also read a review of a Ford electric pick-up truck. With no load it has a 300 mile range. Put a load on it and it drops to 100. Make of that what you will.
By the way, Toyota does not and has no plans to make any all-electric cars, considering them impractical for most uses and for a variety of reasons. They'll make hybrids like the Prius, but that's all.
How long is the battery life? On an all electric I don't know, but on a hybrid like a Prius the consensus is when the car gets to the 100,000 mile mark plan on getting rid of it. The battery will need replacement soon, an expensive proposition, and the generator will begin to fail around that time as well, and it's a PITA to replace.
Toyota has said it's bringing an electric SUV to the US next year. https://www.kbb.com/car-news/toyota-confirms-electric-suv-will-go-on-sale-next-year/
A couple months' ago we traded off my wife's VW for a Chevy Spark, despite the name it's gas powered and we got the second to last new car they had on their lot. While doing paperwork we got around to talking about electric battery only cars. The salesman told us of a guy who had bought one and was bringing it in for servicing. Despite what the listed range was, it ran out of juice about 15 miles short and had to be towed in.
That miliage range they advertise, does that include running the A/C or heat, radio and all the other electronic gizmos that new cars seem to have. I've also heard that battery replacement on the hybrids is about 5 years or so and is as said, an expensive proposition. What's the used car market going to be for some of these cars?
We've been running a train eastbound that carries Teslas. It runs under an autorack symbol, but besides the Tesla loads it's filled out with stack traffic. I had it a few trips back. Forty-eight autoracks of them on that day.
Jeff
The running gear in the Rivian is in many respects ideal to what a proper heavier vehicle would use; presumably it has fairly large long-travel magnetorheological shocks that handle most situations as well as much more expensive and noisy full-active suspensions would.
But as noted by Wayne and others, the thing remains a toy as long as onboard recharge is not provided. For the Rivian a solution similar to that on the Fisker Karma would be reasonable; the provision of emergency generator or battery (likely a combination) on roving emergency vehicles might be a partial solution for vehicles dying in rush-hour or blocked traffic, but there's little substitute for something with onboard 'refillable fuel' storage for extended range and practical operation.
The easiest answer is very similar to the 'right' design for battery-electric locomotives: put in an onboard 'smart' connection that can take charging input from some external source -- say an efficient genset in a small streamlined trailer, which was and is an effective solution to long road trips with luggage in Tesla roadsters -- and let the aftermarket decide what you can use.
My questions are:
How long is the battery life in years before you need to swap it out? As I drive 30,000 miles per year, I need 8 years of reliable operation out of any vehicle I purchase.
How long is recharging to a full "tank"? (If I am heading to, say, the Black Hills or Wyoming or Colorado, I would want to know how many days it will take to get there. Right now I can make it in one long day to the majority of the US in a gas-powered vehicle.
It sounds like it might work for running around town, however.
It may go zero to 60 in three seconds, but it doesn't sound nearly as neat as other trucks accelerating.
York1 John
At first I thought you were talking about slack in a caboose...
Plenty of vehicles to be shipped out of Bloomington, Ill.?
https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2022-rivian-r1t-electric-pickup-truck-first-drive-review/
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