Reality check on electric cars

Consumers Reports listed their top 10 recommended vehicles. Seven of 10 are EVs. You have to send them emails explaining to them how wrong they are. What do they know compared to you obvious and totally fair experts?
 
gfm7175 said:
Sounds quite "environmentally friendly" to me. :)

Five years sounds about right. The one that I'm currently using in my small SUV is just over 6 years old (it will be 7 years old at the end of this year, but I plan on replacing it a bit before then to prep for next winter).
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Heh. Winter is when an old battery tends to fail you, since lower temperatures mean slower battery chemistry. A weak one might nurse you through the summer, but when temperature drops in fall, it's done. It just doesn't have the oomph to run that starter anymore.

But it's nicer to change one out on a summer day!

gfm7175 said:
The battery in my other car is only maybe half the age of this one, if that (I don't remember the exact age of it though), and re: winter I only drive that car during the periods of winter in which the roads are in pristine condition (seeing as that car is a rear wheel drive large sedan and I don't wish to mess with adding weight to the trunk when it's easier to just drive my "all wheel drive" SUV during such conditions as that vehicle is so much better at handling them). This winter was rather mild though, so I actually drove my large sedan a fair bit this winter.
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We've had a very mild winter here also. Pretty normal for a strong El Nino cycle like we've just had. The storms we usually get are sent south, to make a mess of the SDTC (Los Angeles and San Diego are seeing flooding this year). That desert soil just doesn't soak it in like it does up here. At least Lake Mead is filling somewhat. That should help the SDTC's overuse of that water.
gfm7175 said:
I enjoy being able to replace a battery for ~$150 (give or take) instead of having to pay more than I paid for my entire "certified used" RAV4 back in like 2015 or whenever.
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Nice...isn't it? AND you can do it yourself with common tools, right in your own driveway! Easier than changing a tire on most cars!
 
Nordberg said:
Consumers Reports listed their top 10 recommended vehicles. Seven of 10 are EVs. You have to send them emails explaining to them how wrong they are. What do they know compared to you obvious and totally fair experts?
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Why I don't read Consumer Reports.
They aren't experts.

Less than 1% of the cars on the road are EVs.
The EV market is crashing (again) for a reason.
 
Nordberg said:
That is pretty much how it is.
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Only if you ignore all maintenance on EVs. All of the EV owners on this forum that I've ever interacted with are all very proud of the fact that they neglect all maintenance on their EVs. Their EV's won't last as long because of it.

Nordberg said:
You plug in the outlet
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Outlets are not plugged in. I suspect that you meant to say "plug into the outlet".

Nordberg said:
at night and wake up to a full charge.
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...... because you fall asleep while waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting for the EV to refuel because it takes soooooo dang long to refuel it.
 
RB 60 said:
What if you forget to plug it in? Ops..
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...or the power fails...
...or you don't have a garage to plug it in at night with...
...or the plug wasn't properly inserted...
...or the kid comes around and unplugs it for a gag...
...or the charger itself fails...
...or the risk of fire during charging...
...or...

He's trying to pivot. The discussion was maintenance of vehicles, not charging them.
He has already admitted that he doesn't maintain his car.
 
gfm7175 said:
What if an overnight storm takes out the power? Oopsie! :)
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I've had storms take out power for a week/i] AND in the winter (it was an ice storm). I could still get gas though, since service stations used generators (gasoline powered, using their own gasoline!).

Ice storms are somewhat common here. Not your average snow storm. It's freezing rain, and weighs down high tension power lines until they fail.
One storm here took out the entire high tension system where I live and both substations. It all had to be completely rebuilt before power came back on. Took a week. I give credit to those crews! That was damn fast!
 
Well this is interesting....after two years of only having an electric outboard on their dingy these cruisers have decided to go back to gas....electric is a fine alternative to rowing....does not remotely substitute for gas:


Sounds Familiar.
 
The largest sailing YouTube just got a new boat....as much as they wanted to go all green (these are the same people who hauled Greta across the Atlantic because she did not want to fly) Riley decided that he is not dumb enough to not get a giant diesel to go along with the electric engine:

 
Into the Night said:
I've had storms take out power for a week/i] AND in the winter (it was an ice storm). I could still get gas though, since service stations used generators (gasoline powered, using their own gasoline!).

Ice storms are somewhat common here. Not your average snow storm. It's freezing rain, and weighs down high tension power lines until they fail.
One storm here took out the entire high tension system where I live and both substations. It all had to be completely rebuilt before power came back on. Took a week. I give credit to those crews! That was damn fast!
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A squirrel took out a power grid a few years ago. Fried them both. I recall it was out for over 2 days until they got new transformers and installed them. Fortunately, it was during summer.

Freezing rain, high winds, and heavy snowfalls bring trees down on power lines
 
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RB 60 said:
A squirrel took out a power grid a few years ago. Fried them both. I recall it was out for over 2 days until they got new transformers and installed them. Fortunately, it was during summer.

Freezing rain, high winds, and heavy snowfalls bring trees down on power lines
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Gas stations work on electricity. When it goes out, they close.
 
Nordberg said:
Gas stations work on electricity. When it goes out, they close.
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nordie, I have been alive for many decades. Only once was there a power outage that affected gas stations in the city. When a squirrel takes out a transformer, yes it will take out the grid for a few blocks.
 
RB 60 said:
A squirrel took out a power grid a few years ago. Fried them both. I recall it was out for over 2 days until they got new transformers and installed them. Fortunately, it was during summer.

Freezing rain, high winds, and heavy snowfalls bring trees down on power lines
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At least it was quick for the squirrel.

Yes. Any number of things can take out electric power for an hour, a day, a week, or however long. Icing, trees, critters, car wreck hitting power poles or a substation, etc.

Freezing rain is pretty common around here. The Cascades, particularly near the Gorge, is an ice making machine. The icing snaps trees and drags down and snaps power lines, and tree branches fall on them then as well.
The icing hits all power lines, but the trees typically only affect the distribution lines.

High winds aren't usually a problem here, due to the trees blocking it. It IS a problem in more open areas though, ripping down any power line.
 
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