EVs getting hot again, as expected.

[DonTom]

See here. Worldwide EV sells are way up.

The good deals on used EVs in the USA will be gone soon, if not already.

-Don- Auburn, CA

 

[Derby6]

Toilet paper sales were up during COVID too. Just sayin.

 

[DutchmenSport]

We beat the Covid toilet paper hysteria ... 100% because a couple years before the hysteria hit, we'd converted all of our toilets with Bidets in both the camper and the house. All during Covid, we never purchased a single roll of TP. In the last 5 years we've purchased... maybe ... a total of 10 rolls of TP ... mostly for blowing noses and picking up dog messes when they have accidents (or for visitors who just don't understand the Bidet)l.

About EV's. Time will tell how it all pans out. People have not changed since the formation of the world. People are so stupid and gullible and believe every type of hype if it's repeated long enough, if that hype be true or not. The news media and social media sites are still doing the same thing they've always done... pick their own agenda and present it in such a way it brings fear and terror into the hearts of gullible people.

I think EV's are here to stay, and like any other commodities humans purchases, it will have it's up's and down's too. But one thing is certain ... Americans still love their automobiles... no matter how they are powered!

Looking for the best deal... keep the vehicle you have. Why go in debt 50 or 60 thousand dollars with payments through the roof every month, all so save $10 a month at the pump! That makes no sense to me! Do the math ... the LONG term math, and then decide if a different vehicle (of any type) is right for you.

 

[uchu]

The worst time to buy an EV is during oil crises. Reminds me of all the panicky stock sellers, dumping all their shares when the markets are in turmoil.

 

[bigbAZ]

My timing is impeccable. A few months ago I reluctantly sold my VW TDI which averaged 33 city and 47 highway (62 once when my wife drove it 200 miles) and bought a Ford Ranger 2.7 ecoboost. Getting right at 17-20 on premium fuel. The VW was starting to get uncomfortable on long trips as we got older.

I'll bet that car went up in value now though.

 

[DonTom]

The worst time to buy an EV is during oil crises. Reminds me of all the panicky stock sellers, dumping all their shares when the markets are in turmoil.

Yes, I agree. If the EV costs a lot more, it will be a lot cheaper to buy the gasoline.

OTOH, I think many people would rather spend MORE money on a nicer EV car when the gasoline price is high, and I think they realize it. IOW, they just do not like the oil company BS. Just like the many people who will not buy Tesla because they dislike who the CEO is. IMO, that is the very best time to buy a used Tesla and that doesn't help Elon one bit. He now has to compete with his own used market.

FWIW, I never thought the cost was a good reason to buy or not buy an EV. I prefer the features of EVs, such as regen in the hills around here and the home charging and being able to leave the A/C when parked, and the quick warmups of the heater etc., etc. etc. Money had nothing to do with my decsion.

-Don- Auburn, CA (still using my new Starlink outside)

 

[bigbAZ]

Has anyone read about the new solid state battery by Donut? If the claims are true it could be a game changer. 100,000 life cycles, full charging in 5-10 minutes and and ranges double what is currently out there. They are available starting this week. The only thing I didn't see addressed is the infrastructure that will be needed to put that much power into multiple vehicles simultaneously. I read about it in this mornings WSJ then went online where I found a lot of skepticism. Battery - Donut Lab

 

[DonTom]

Has anyone read about the new solid state battery by Donut?

Yes, in year 2020, six years ago. Of all the countless EV battery vaporware (it is endless), the SS battery is the ONLY one I believed as true. This was published Tue, Dec 8 2020.

Also See here and here.

With the other countless designs of EV battery vaporwear, usually the most important part is not mentioned. Making the new great battery is the easy part. Making it safe is the extremely difficult part. The SS battery is well proven to be extra safe compared to all other EV batteries, so I believed it would really be available.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[DonTom]

They are available starting this week. The only thing I didn't see addressed is the infrastructure that will be needed to put that much power into multiple vehicles simultaneously.

Probably not that big of a deal. The charging times will be much less, so that means more power for less time. A KWH is a KWH regardless of the time it takes so get that KWH. IOW, it is possible that you can get 20KWHs of charge in one second or in one year.

Also, often with DCFC, the power is shared. IOW, you often will get a faster charge being the only vehicle where there are 30 DCFCs compared to when there are 25 vehicles charging. This type of stuff varies with how much total power is available on the lot as well has the charger design.

Notice Tesla Superchargers are labeled as 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B.

If somebody is using 1A, only use 1B if it is the only one available. You will get a faster charge rate at 2A or 2B, if neither side is being used.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[DonTom]

The worst time to buy an EV is during oil crises.

Yes, buy low, sell high is the general rule. Not many wish to get rid of their EVs these days.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[weighit]

Watching the prices of gas and diesel raise over the past few weeks at the local gas stations, and my electric rates have not budged. Still filling my Tesla every night for the same few cents as before the problem over seas.

 

[Big_John]

Could be... maybe .... only if you life in a metro area. If you life rural... EV's are a No-Go. To many miles in rural, country areas.

I would be up for a plug-in hybrid... like a Ford Maverick.....

 

[DonTom]

Still filling my Tesla every night for the same few cents as before the problem over seas.

You're still paying too much. Countless free to use EV charges stations here in the Reno area.

Today, after a ride to Genoa, NV, I had lunch on they way back in Carson City while my 2023 Zero DSR/X was charging up at no cost, right across the street, as shown here. A black M3 Tesla to my left and a White Tesla Model Y to my right also charging up there, with a couple of other free ChargePoints open for any possible others.

6.5 KW charge stations but my bike can only accept 6.6 KW max. There are also many 14 KW charge stations which are also free to use in other areas.

They also have charge stations in Genoa, but those cost 56 cents per KWH. I don't want to go broke over charging up a 17 KWH battery on a bike! Those are at the golf course here. They are 12KW, but I can only use 6.6 KW anyway. But your Tesla can use the entire 12 KW. So I charged up in CC.

Very nice & scenic ride to Genoa today, at no energy cost, as my last charge on that bike was also free.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[DonTom]

If you life rural... EV's are a No-Go.

No towns with charge stations within 200 miles or so?

If you can home charge, you do not care about the chargers in your own area. Charge stations on the road are not used the same way as are gas stations. Always leave home with a full "tank" unlike with gas cars.

To find the charge stations you can really use, look at least 150 miles away from home on this Plugshare map. And you will see you usually can find EV chargers as needed just about anywhere these days.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[weighit]

I could drive about 12 miles to the supercharger and get free charging, my time is worth the few cents per night to charge in my own garage. If I take a trip then I will stop and get the free charging I got with the purchase of my car, otherwise not worth my time.

 

[DonTom]

I could drive about 12 miles to the supercharger and get free charging, my time is worth the few cents per night to charge in my own garage. If I take a trip then I will stop and get the free charging I got with the purchase of my car, otherwise not worth my time.

The free supercharging means either your Tesla is quite old or else it is quite new.

Should I assume new? Some of the older Model S's get free Tesla Supercharging for life and is transferable by doing nothing, because it is the car, not the owner who gets the free Supercharging for life with the older Model S.

Tesla has no way to bill it on those cars.

BTW, when I had the six months of free Supercharging (2018 Tesla Model 3, LR, AWD), I only tried it one time and only for around five minutes, just to see how it worked. So I know what you mean, so nice and easy to charge up at home while doing other things and always leave home with as much charge as one wants.

At each of my houses (Auburn, CA & here in Reno, NV) Tesla Superchargers are less than three miles away. I have no need for those.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[weighit]

When I bought the 2016 X used, Tesla had a special offer for 2 or 3 months, buy Full Self Driving for $3,000, but it would not full work for a while till they released it. So I bought it, and waited for about 2 years till it started to work. Then in 2025 they would allow anyone who bought FSD to transfer to a new car, and give you free super charging for the life of the car under your ownership. Felt it was a good deal so moved up to a new X. I do own a Hybrid vehicle I tow behind the motorhome, but never drive it when the tesla is availible when home. The X is just too much fun.

 

[TheBar]

No towns with charge stations within 200 miles or so?

If you can home charge, you do not care about the chargers in your own area.

To find the charge stations you can really use, look at least 150 miles away from home on this Plugshare map. And you will see you usually can find EV chargers as needed just about anywhere these days.

-Don- Reno, NV

Obviously you have never lived in a truly rural area. Which is 97% of the US and not on your radar. And has 18% of the population. Which is why EV works in Europe but not here. Any vehicle which doesn't work for everyone should never have been suggested as the only solution. Or spending billions of taxpayers dollars trying to force it happen. Or even taken seriously which is what has happened after reality set in.

Maybe there are several chargers listed along a 200 mile route. But the only chargers along this rural route are 35 miles out of the way. It would take an extra hour to get to and back from the chargers much less the charging time itself. An extra couple hours makes a 1 day trip impossible. You may not understand but no EV is worth spending a night with the in-laws.

 

[DonTom]

Obviously you have never lived in a truly rural area.

Nope, but I often ride in such places. But I do have to plan my charge stops in advance, but mainly because electric motorcycles have less than half the range of most EV cars.

In some ways, EV charging is getting worse in some rural areas, because FireWire went out of business. Firewire made DCFCs (DC Fast Chargers) for the rural areas. They were ran by batteries and could charge up by solar as they would not get much use. The advantage was they could be installed anywhere. But obviously there is a money problem with this idea, not enough usage to support the costs.

Here is an example of a place I used to be able to charge up. MiddleGate, NV. Population is under 20 people. It's on Highway 50 which out there is referred to as the "loneliest road in America":

When these solar powered DCFCs batteries crapped out, and AFAIK, now they all have, nobody around to replace the batteries any more which are most likely no longer made.

However, in this case, it's not a big problem because 20 miles more east is Cold Springs Station RV Park where they have a couple of DCFCs that always work. The "10" is the reliability number, which goes from 1 to 10, 10 meaning they are always working for everybody who needs a charge, and "1" means they have not worked at all for anybody for quite a while.

But there are several places in NV, where I cannot charge today where I could six years ago. In some places it is getting worse instead of better.

But Middlegate still has a solar powered AC EV charger that still works, but will take hours to get much of a charge in most vehicles, but is still often helpful, as one can add enough juice just to get to the next DCFC in perhaps a half hour or so. It is 6KW, where the DCFC was 50 KW, so it takes about six times longer to charge.

My biggest EV complaint has always been how they group the chargers together in the larger cities, (such as Sacramento, CA) instead of spreading them out better.

But when I go on a long trip in the middle of nowhere, like most here, I use an ICE RV, not an EV. So it still is not much of an issue to most of us. Not many drive a long ways out n the middle of nowhere. Most people drive less than 40 miles per day.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[Big_John]

No towns with charge stations within 200 miles or so?

Yes, there are charging stations within 200 miles of me, but I will NOT be one of those morons sitting at a charging station for an hour while my EV gets some juice. NEVER..... Especially, after I drive to town, buy groceries and then have to sit for 30-60 minutes to just get home. Ridiculous.

But a Plug-in Hybrid is a whole different story.... I never have to sit at those MORON charging stations.

......