Electric cars?

That has literally happened to me one time only. In Ft. Pierce. The car and the app actually tells you how many stalls are open at your destination supercharger in real time. In fact, looking at this moment on the app, I see that my closest supercharger has all six of its stalls in use. I guess some folks are traveling today. lol But 37 miles away from me 6/7 are available.

That is something on Tesla’s network. I don’t know if Electrify America has something similar. However, it shouldn’t be hard to do if they wanted to.

 

and does a gas car have a xmas mode?

 

Perhaps this will give an idea.

The transition to unleaded fuel in the US started in 1975 it took until 1996 (21 years) for in use on road vehicles to transition to unleaded fuel. Leaded fuel is still used today (classic cars, off road vehicles, jet fuel) but you cannot buy it at the local gas station. Keep in mind the transition required changes in the car manufacturing industry (catalytic converters, engine modifications, fuel intake ports, gas dispensing handles and dedicated fuel tanks at the gas station). Gas stations had to offer leaded and unleaded fuel as the transition took place. On Jan 1 1996 leaded fuel was removed from the open market. Running leaded fuel in a car that requires unleaded fuel will cause damage to the engine as will running unleaded fuel in an engine designed for leaded gasoline.

What Is Lead Substitute and Do You Need It?

Cars on American roads keep getting older

The average age of a car on U.S. roads rose to 12.1 years in 2021, according to IHS Markit. The average age had been 11.9 years in 2020. In 2002, the average age was 9.6 years.
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Here we are in 2022 and gas powered vehicles are still on the market. While there are hybrids and electric vehicles available the majority of the market is still internal combustion engines (ICE) across the globe.

The internal combustion engine is here to stay and a complete turn over to an electric fleet or an alternative fuel will not happen any time soon. Certainly not in my lifetime and possibly not yours either.

The issues to today with conversion to electric is a major undertaking. While EV(s) are currently available our electric grid is not anywhere capable of supporting a full conversion to EV. Infrastructure is a major issue. This will take decades to build and create a reliable 24/7 electrical grid.

As for your 2008 car you are already past the 12.1 year mark. Keep the car serviced and in good running condition and it should serve you well for years to come. Hopefully the market will be more amenable by then. My advice drive it into the dirt.

 

My next vehicle the 2023 Mustang GT.

 

Electrify America has one station in Orlando, at Florida Mall. Obviously, there are many other non-Tesla type stations.

 

If you're going by the meme, something doesn't add up...

 

I know you’re joking. But there’s a reason we moved from horse transportation besides speed. The smell of any city when horse power was what moved America would be an indication.

 

I’m just waiting to see if the heavy/rare metals during the manufacturing process cause ground water issues. An issue that is ignored.

 

Are you speaking of evaporative extraction? I'm not familiar with battery manufacturing water issues.

 

I have no desire to own an EV. However, I have no issues owning a hybrid. I live in a condo that has an open parking garage out front. The only electricity out there is for the lights. Our building was built in 1970. Our electric capacity is limited. Limited enough that I cannot install an insta water heater in my unit.

I fully support people buying EVs, installation of charging stations, monetary incentives for the purchase of EVs, and giving the middle finger to Saudi and Russia.

 

Not yet. The issue isn't the cost, but the infrastructure and technology needed to comfortably recharge on the go. Batteries are at least 10 years away from being good enough to recharge on-the-fly. It takes me 5 minutes to fuel my ICE but it takes far longer to recharge an EV. Until EV batteries can recharge at least close to that, EVs will never come close. Essentially the day that gas stations become charging stations in the same way, then it's a done deal.

 

Tesla batteries, and there is tooons of data to back this up, are something like 94% original capacity after 150k miles. Tesla claims they will 300-500k miles. The data tracks close to that, but obvs can't say for sure yet.

Good guess is 20-30 years though.

 

Yep. And they have REAL miles to support this with vehicles that are driven constantly for transportation services. Some hundreds of thousands of miles usually on their second battery pack. A full pack replacement, outside of warranty, is $14k ish. Clearly a high expense, but so is an ICE engine rebuild. It also will decrease over time as tech cost decreases or lead to longer range when that is replaced. The data suggest vast majority of EV buyers will never replace the battery pack.

Here’s an example of one of them. See How A 2015 Tesla Model S 70D Holds Up After 424,000 Miles

And here’s some info on Tesloop’s fleet.

Here's What Happens to Tesla Electric Cars After 300,000 Miles | Digital Trends

However, between the weight and the instant torque, EVs do eat tires.

 

This is thinking from an ICE perspective, not an EV perspective. You don’t need plentiful gas stations in cities because the vast, vast majority will simply charge at night for their average 20-40 miles of daily use. Charging infrastructure at hotels, rest stops, and other regular interstate stopping points does need to fill out but you’re talking about road trips which is a minority of travel.

I also do not believe charging times are a major impediment for the above usage reasons. Cost of fuel, whether by sanctions or us no longer subsidizing oil, could be a bigger driver of adoption. Right now it is tied to environmental concerns and better performance/tech. A place with high gasoline prices, Sweden, sells a ton of electric with 6/10 plug in vehicles.

 

How does one charge at night if you live in a 30/40 story building and it can't be retrofitted for charging stations to handle all that live there? Now multiply that in a large city x 20/30/100 buildings. Just 1 possible obstacle. Now mass transit would be a solution but that also has its own obstacles like large adoption in a short time period.

 

Same, my sister bought a Tesla model 3 a couple years back, and even with it being on the low end of their tier of vehicles, the pickup on that thing and how insanely quiet it is is a sight to see. Suffice to say, once my current car is paid off, our next vehicle will be a Tesla. It’s a no brainer. They are a marvel of engineering.

 

Urban charging is an obstacle, but bear in mind, only 27% of Americans live in urban areas and of those, a smaller subset live in the type of situation you described; and of those a smaller subset don't desire to own a vehicle.

BaaS (battery as a service) is being implemented by Nio in China - where you swap out your battery at a dedicated station in minutes. I don't see there being enough demand in the US to warrant this as a different/competing charging system. Instead, I think you'll see more charging show up at residential parking garages, work places, libraries, schools, etc.

This will take time, no doubt.

 

Even if I wanted an EV now I wouldn’t be able to charge it at home unless I drag the extension cord across the sidewalk (which I’m sure would not be allowed).