OT: Electric vehicles

[WhichReligionIsRight]

Golf course Roomba.

 

[Knight Shift]

Love my Ford Lighting. Outside of long trips, it beats my ICE in every category. Awesome for tailgate. Everyone ask me about it in the yellow lot. If you 2 car owner, one of them should be an EV.

ETA I also have it setup as a backup generator for my house. It’s not the full house setup (too expensive). It runs enough items to make it livable.

Were we parked next to each other in Yellow Lot for Wisconsin game?

 

[Knight Shift]

I think @Rutgers NJ may have you on this point though. The timeline of EV's vs ICE vehicles on US roadways would certainly lead to more ICE vehicle fires. If we are looking at the last 20 years, there were probably 200x more ICE vehicle miles driven. Maybe that multiple is even much more then that.

And while an ICE vehicle being submerged in salt water probably means it is on it's way to the scrap heap, it doesn't raise the risk of car fire(well maybe slightly due to potential electrical issues) but and EV submerged in salt water does look to raise the potential for car fire significantly.

TWC mentioned it this morning, and even extended that warning to electric scooters and golf carts. And they noted the difference between fresh water and salt water, with the latter being a more serious issue.

Ahem. There is a right and a wrong way of doing things. Seems Rivian has addressed the issue, and it sounds like a Tesla manufacturing defect. Therefore, it is a recall issue, like ICE vehicles with manufacturing defects. That will not stop the idiotic anti EV crowds from running with dumb narratives. Wonder if Faux news will run this story?

https://insideevs.com/news/735934/rivian-r1t-flood-hurrican-helene/

 

[jtung230]

Were we parked next to each other in Yellow Lot for Wisconsin game?

Def not. I couldn’t make it due to a conflict.

 

[Knight Shift]

Tax and spend state sticks it to EV buyers, but maintains goal of all electric by 2035. Stupid is as stupid does. However, at least there are still incentives for low income people for EV purchases, but likely most of those people do not live in private homes and easy access to EV charging will be limited.

NJ wants you to buy electric cars. So why did it kill the no-sales-tax incentive?

The Murphy administration says it wants all cars sold in New Jersey to be electric by 2035. But it just ended a big financial incentive for buyers.

www.app.com

 

[mildone]

Tax and spend state sticks it to EV buyers, but maintains goal of all electric by 2035. Stupid is as stupid does. However, at least there are still incentives for low income people for EV purchases, but likely most of those people do not live in private homes and easy access to EV charging will be limited.

NJ wants you to buy electric cars. So why did it kill the no-sales-tax incentive?

The Murphy administration says it wants all cars sold in New Jersey to be electric by 2035. But it just ended a big financial incentive for buyers.

www.app.com

I seriously doubt all cars sold in NJ will be EVs by 2035 or even 2045. I think that's become pretty clear to Murphy and his staff. The mandate is in place to help incentivize the auto industry switch to EVs. But the auto industry has been pushing back and neither Murphy nor any governor of any state can do a whole lot about it without losing their next election.

As I've said all along, the mandates (except perhaps in CA) are probably not a real thing.

Also, if the taxes raised by eliminating the EV sales tax savings are actually spent on infrastructure, and from what I see when out driving, there sure does seem like tons of infrastructure (road and bridge) spending taking place around NJ these days, then I'm good with it. I prefer zero government funded EV purchase incentives where the government instead funds more rapid public charging development.

 

[RU-05]

Also, if the taxes raised by eliminating the EV sales tax savings are actually spent on infrastructure, and from what I see when out driving, there sure does seem like tons of infrastructure (road and bridge) spending taking place around NJ these days, then I'm good with it. I prefer zero government funded EV purchase incentives where the government instead funds more rapid public charging development.

I assume this is from the federal infrastructure bill.

 

[Knight Shift]

I seriously doubt all cars sold in NJ will be EVs by 2035 or even 2045. I think that's become pretty clear to Murphy and his staff. The mandate is in place to help incentivize the auto industry switch to EVs. But the auto industry has been pushing back and neither Murphy nor any governor of any state can do a whole lot about it without losing their next election.

As I've said all along, the mandates (except perhaps in CA) are probably not a real thing.

Also, if the taxes raised by eliminating the EV sales tax savings are actually spent on infrastructure, and from what I see when out driving, there sure does seem like tons of infrastructure (road and bridge) spending taking place around NJ these days, then I'm good with it. I prefer zero government funded EV purchase incentives where the government instead funds more rapid public charging development.

The simple economics of supply and demand, which are driven by the cost and ready availability of fuel (whether the fuel is gasoline, diesel or electricity) should drive the switch over. It's been stated many times in this thread ad nauseum that hybrids with range of 40-60 miles are a great compromise. Until there is a workable grid and ready availability of public charging for people who do not have the convenience (or luxury?) of installing a charger at their home, all this government hand waving and misdirected funds will not change consumer behavior.

I assume this is from the federal infrastructure bill.

Yes. Arizona is absolutely bonkers with road construction. They widened I-17 between Phoenix and Flagstaff for something like 50 miles. In all of our years (nearly 20) of driving between Phoenix and Flagstaff, there were minor bottlenecks within 10 miles of the Phoenix Metro area. But it seems many states are away with money and spending like mad.

 

[mildone]

The simple economics of supply and demand, which are driven by the cost and ready availability of fuel (whether the fuel is gasoline, diesel or electricity) should drive the switch over. It's been stated many times in this thread ad nauseum that hybrids with range of 40-60 miles are a great compromise. Until there is a workable grid and ready availability of public charging for people who do not have the convenience (or luxury?) of installing a charger at their home, all this government hand waving and misdirected funds will not change consumer behavior.

Agreed.

For me, the EV mandates are a political/incentivizing thing, here in the US. Not a real thing. So I pretty much ignore them. I think it highly likely most if not all mandates will be adjusted and readjusted as political needs dictate.

I'm with you on hybrids being a great compromise. I think car manufacturers also prefer hybrids for obvious reasons, although they won't publicly discuss those reasons much (also for obvious reasons).

Hybrids might be more complicated and more costly to own. But I see tons of hybrids in local towns in NJ and they always seem to be running entirely on battery (they're always very, very quiet). Those folks are all saving on gas, cutting down on emissions, and extending the maintenance life of their ICE components by not using them much.

And when hybrid owners need to take long road trips, they can do so without the potential delays inherent to public charging. I think we'll continue to see a lot of evolution of hybrids that extend range and increase efficiency while lowering emissions more and more. Lessons from the hybrid tech from F1 engines will eventually find its way into road cars. I think hybrids have a bright future.

 

[mildone]

I assume this is from the federal infrastructure bill.

Yes. Arizona is absolutely bonkers with road construction. They widened I-17 between Phoenix and Flagstaff for something like 50 miles. In all of our years (nearly 20) of driving between Phoenix and Flagstaff, there were minor bottlenecks within 10 miles of the Phoenix Metro area. But it seems many states are away with money and spending like mad.

That's been my assumption as well. Unsure how true it is, but it seems logical and the timing works.

It can be annoying in how it causes delays. But I do appreciate nice roads and safer bridges.

 

[Knight Shift]

Why a Day 1 Cybertruck reservation holder is getting a Lightning​

I was a day 1 Cybertruck reservation holder. I'm also an all-in TSLA investor and have been for several years. I'm currently driving a 6 year old Model 3 which was paid in part from TSLA stock, and have a 18 year old Crown Vic that's still running strong. With close to 80,000 miles on my Tesla, I was looking for an upgrade, but I wasn't about to pay $100,000. So I waited for the $80,000 model with the $7500 tax credit.

In the meantime, I test drove a Lightning and loved it, but it was too much back then. I then rented one on Turo, and loved it even more. Tesla then started offering test drives of the Cybertruck. I liked the Cybertruck, but to be honest, I wasn't as blown away by it as the Lightning. I don't know why not- Cybertruck is arguably the better truck in nearly every metric. I think because I already own a Tesla and I knew pretty much what to expect and it aligned with my expectations. But I wasn't expecting Ford to deliver such a nice comfortable truck with the Lightning. I can't tell if I like the massive frunk more, or the comfortable ride, or the Tesla-like acceleration.

A few weeks ago Tesla started emailing early reservation holders saying the $80,000 Cybertruck was available, so I immediately converted my reservation to an order at 2AM, put a non-refundable $250 deposit down, and then went to bed. The next morning I realize that despite Tesla previously saying Cybertruck would qualify for the tax credit (it even appeared on EPAs site), it in fact does not, because it uses some Chinesium in the 4680's which disqualifies it for the tax credit, even though it's below the $80,000 threshold. The non-Chinese sourced components were supposed to come in a few months when Tesla finalizes their dry electrode process.

I tried to reach out to Tesla's non-existent customer service (they only exist to sell cars and help get orders through, they aren't interested in actual customer service- in fact I was eventuallly ghosted by them). I was willing to eat the $250 fee if they could just put me back in my place in line, but they refused to hold the order and said the only way I could get out was to cancel my order (and reservation).

I was bummed out after having waited years for this truck only to be screwed. Maybe it was just a coping mechanism, but in pure spite, I decided to immediately save ~$30,000 and get the truck that I actually was more impressed by, from a company that put a roof over my head as a kid, put food in my stomach, and put me through college.

My truck should arrive this week, built in the same factory my dad worked at for years.

Why a Day 1 Cybertruck reservation holder is getting a Lightning

Story time and rant below. I was a day 1 Cybertruck reservation holder. I'm also an all-in TSLA investor and have been for several years. I'm currently driving a 6 year old Model 3 which was paid in part from TSLA stock, and have a 18 year old Crown Vic that's still running strong. With close...

www.f150lightningforum.com

 

[mildone]

US to probe Tesla's 'Full Self-Driving' system after pedestrian killed in low visibility conditions

The U.S. government’s road safety agency is investigating Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” system after getting reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian.

apnews.com