OT: Electric Vehicles--anyone driving them or seriously looked at them?

[robt57]

Originally Posted by sg8357

Current EV = Windows 3.1

My kids 2005 Prius is DOS then... Showing my age...

[bikeboy1]

I am working at one of the GM Canada plants where the EV600 delivery van is currently ramping up and I am hoping that with these delivery vans the infrastructure will be developed along with the growing numbers of these vans that go out the door for Fed Ex and DHL.
We are also installing charging stations in the parking lot for the general public to plug into as well as having existing charge stations for the workforce here.
Yes these are heavy vehicles but they are trying to keep weight down so that operators will not need an AZ license to drive.

[Gsinill]

Originally Posted by saab2000

They're still not great for road tripping unless they're with the brand that has become a bit toxic lately due to their dear leader. That brand has a reliable and widespread en-route charging network. The others are less reliable and are more random.

All that said, I'm not sure I would replace my 4-year old Tiguan again. It has plenty of life in it and was paid for, etc. etc........ But what's done is done and I'm moving forward as a Model Y owner.

Charger is at home and 99% of my driving will be local, as in within a 100 mile radius, meaning a charge will get me out and back with little stress.

But for folks who are remote or in rural places and can't charge at home or regularly tow or drive long distances, EVs are still full of compromises. But for my situation it's in a real sweet spot.

I wouldn't replace a good working vehicle that doesn't need replacing. I did and have some regrets about that. But if someone is in actual need of a new vehicle it's worth researching EV options and charging options. It's changing and evolving rapidly at this point.

My brand new Model Y will probably be old tech in five years......

Same here!

We just got our Mini SE, it's a blast to drive.
The range is a joke but for the short trips to run errands around town and my wife's commute to work where they have chargers, it's ideal.

I consider myself a car guy, but right now it's hard to imagine that I will get anything other than an EV as long as we keep that 700-mile-range SUV as a backup.

[robt57]

Yeah, the PHEV and EV 2 car combo is great.

Pacifica range touts 540miles. I've got 520 once.

[Nizzle]

Originally Posted by bikeboy1

I am working at one of the GM Canada plants where the EV600 delivery van is currently ramping up and I am hoping that with these delivery vans the infrastructure will be developed along with the growing numbers of these vans that go out the door for Fed Ex and DHL.
We are also installing charging stations in the parking lot for the general public to plug into as well as having existing charge stations for the workforce here.
Yes these are heavy vehicles but they are trying to keep weight down so that operators will not need an AZ license to drive.

Very cool!! I think delivery vehicles are one of the most obvious places where EVs hold a huge advantage. Already heavy vehicles that do a ton of stop-and-go driving with regular charge schedules. I have seen one of the Rivian Amazon delivery trucks around SD. I think the EV600 had a ~100mi larger quoted range than the Rivian (250mi total). It will be cool to see these roll out!

[fa63]

Why did you see / read this? Just curious; from my limited knowledge of batteries, I thought sodium-ion's main disadvantage was its lower energy density compared to lithium-ion.

Originally Posted by bikinchris

Battery makers are ready to switch to Sodium instead of lithium. They've also figured out a way to make them last as much as ten times longer.

[malbecman]

Chiming in late as I somehow missed this thread. The missus and I bought a Ford Mach-E about 1 yr ago and we love it. Absolutely zero problems and all that instant torque of the EV motor is fun (plus makes it really easy to get on the freeway).
Have spent literally zero dollars on maintenance and had no problems so far.
No oil changes, no smog checks, no gas stations. We charge at home on 120V (I know, really slow but it works for us) and the cost per mile is really low. I'm sold on EVs.

[HenryA]

Originally Posted by Spaghetti Legs

Funny you bring that up. Around about 2012, when I was still driving a gas car (Passat wagon) I was coming home from work and the gas needle was on empty. This was a night shift so I decided I'd gas up on the way to work that night. Next evening right before I went to work, huge storm blew through, trees down everywhere and electricity out for what would be about a week. I babied the car to work and back but afraid to drive anywhere else as the car was on fumes. Power was out to a huge area and no gas stations were operating anywhere nearby. Car sat in the driveway for a week+. If I had an EV it would have been charged up, like it is every day when I'm ready to go and wouldn't have been an issue.

At any rate, electricity generation capacity is a real concern but I think it's likely capacity will grow on pace with EV adoption, just like it does with increased energy demands in every other sector.

I think this is why I try to keep a full tank. The 20 gallons additional gas at home is for the equipment, but of course it works in a car.

[Nizzle]

Originally Posted by fa63

Why did you see / read this? Just curious; from my limited knowledge of batteries, I thought sodium-ions main disadvantage was its lower energy density compared to lithium-ion.

Also curious where this was found. That would be good! I generally thought sodium ion batteries main advantage was being cheaper. Here is some recent work from PNNL where they essentially found a better electrolyte for Na ion batteries (more longevity, but not 10x Li). They also touch on some of the benchmarks for current Na ion batteries (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-022-01055-0). They definitely have lower energy density making them quite heavy so they aren’t ideal for EVs. Given the amount of RnD going into Li ion batteries relative to Na, I wouldn’t expect Na to catch up anytime soon. Also the cathode used in this study contains nickel and cobalt. Supply wise, these are also extremely concerning. Most cobalt comes from china and the Congo (far from conflict free). Almost none is sourced in the US despite half of the new EV tax credit being dependent on that.
Look out for silicon based cathodes for Li ion batteries. That could be a huge game changer in both the environmental impact and energy density.

[bikinchris]

Originally Posted by fa63

Why did you see / read this? Just curious; from my limited knowledge of batteries, I thought sodium-ion's main disadvantage was its lower energy density compared to lithium-ion.

I've seen where adding sulphur? to the battery in some way slows the growth of tentacles of deposits inside the batteries that ends their life. Several groups are in late phase testing.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by HenryA

Gonna need some serious infrastructure for EVs.
Power generation and a way to transport it.

I think we're seeing some grasping at straws by people who believe in magical central planning over market forces. They remind me of people starting a small business but who have no customers and no plan to get any. Or even a business plan.

That said, I'd have an electric car if infrastructure was in place and 100% functional. (as long as I also had an IC car for trips and back up)

And store it if the 'grid' is wind, solar only. I know that's unlikely as the grid will be a 'mix', including natural gas, for a long time to come.

I think the ingenuity of the human race can solve most problems.

But not until the 'human race' is forced to...as in, some crisis or another. Climate change is a good example. I guess when the mid west looks like a 21st century dust bowl and the coasts, Florida are mostly underwater...

[verticaldoug]

The Vision EQXX from Mercedes reached 700 miles on a charge. It will not come to production but the technology will trickle down into the existing lineups of Mercedes EQs quite quickly.

Swedish Iron Ore Miner KLAB has announced a large discovery of Rare Earths in Lapland. It'll take 10 years or so to develop, but it will happen.

I think the ingenuity of the human race can solve most problems.

Whether we can solve this one, or we are just glorified bacteria in a large petri dish, only time will tell..... thinking it's a 50/50 proposition or a lot less of us will make the journey.

[bikinchris]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

And store it if the 'grid' is wind, solar only. I know that's unlikely as the grid will be a 'mix', including natural gas, for a long time to come.


But not until the 'human race' is forced to...as in, some crisis or another. Climate change is a good example. I guess when the mid west looks like a 21st century dust bowl and the coasts, Florida are mostly underwater...

People who complain that the electric grid can't handle EV proliferation forget that the introduction of the electric refrigerator put a load on the grid like never before and air conditioning was MUCH worse for grids. The grid WILL adapt because there is money to be made. Frankly, we need to completely remake the whole grid anyway. We need a smart grid to withstand a mass solar ejection. If a big enough solar storm hit today, it might be several YEARS before we could repair the millions of exploded transformers.

My focus is not toward just climate change, but the fact that our current energy focus is unsustainable. If you give a damn about future generations, we HAVE to change.

[weaponsgrade]

Tesla just cut the price of the Model Y:

https://tinyurl.com/mrkd27t6

As much as I want to get an EV, I don't think I drive enough to justify the cost. Max is maybe 40 mi/week shuttling kids to/from school and their activities. I have a 2009 CRV in good working condition (needs new tires soon) and a GX460 as a weekender. $50k+ buys a lot of gas.

[bikeboy1]

Originally Posted by Nizzle

Very cool!! I think delivery vehicles are one of the most obvious places where EVs hold a huge advantage. Already heavy vehicles that do a ton of stop-and-go driving with regular charge schedules. I have seen one of the Rivian Amazon delivery trucks around SD. I think the EV600 had a ~100mi larger quoted range than the Rivian (250mi total). It will be cool to see these roll out!

The range was originally supposed to be 250mi but they got even more than expected which I think was closer to 300mi. We have another EV coming online once the 600 ramps up and its going to be a 410 which will be 4 or 5 ft shorter.
The panels are quite light on the 600 as an electrician and myself moved a roof out of the way by hand to get access for a manlift. The equipment used to maneuver these big panels are huge. We have several Fanuc robots that can handle 1700kg payload as the end effectors are 800kg just on their own.
One of the managers was saying that if one van is low on charge another van can be plugged into it and equalize the charge between the two batteries but I think the infrastructure will still take time to develope. That being said many of our trades in the plant are switching over to EV.