It is cheaper, but not as convenient as home charging. Also, (AFAIK) harder on the battery.
That’s not at ALL what I was talking about. I was talking about an individual. An individual can go off grid. People do it all the time. I’m not talking about country or state wide.
There are plenty of people who have solar panels. People with more land may have a small wind turbine. Our ancestors used them in the past and folks who have the space can now. Likewise with the micro hydro. My grandparents used it.
As I said my house is too shady for solar, but we do have some property elsewhere with a creek on it and micro-hydro is an idea we have tossed around. It would be really cool to charge up the car on that. As it is at our home base we are nuclear powered for better or worse.
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The post you high lighted of mine was talking about the broader picture. Yes, individuals can do all sorts of things that are not easy for the population at large. For instance, my great-grandfather installed an intercom system (his invention) in his home back in the 1930’s. It was very futuristic at the time but definitely not available to everyone.
According to U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and Analysis , California got 41.6% of electricity from natural gas, 8.5% from nuclear, 15.6% from hydroelectric, and 34.3% from non-hydroelectric renewables in September 2023. Since natural gas is the only fossil fuel category, that means 41.5% from fossil fuels, not 65%.
Interesting stats from the link you posted:
Fossil fuels both produced and in demand in California.
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In 2022, California was the seventh-largest producer of crude oil among the 50 states, and, as of January 2022, the state ranked third in crude oil refining capacity.
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California is the largest consumer of jet fuel and second-largest consumer of motor gasoline among the 50 states.
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I’ve been binging Suits–you know, the one with the princess. It’s on Netflix and there have been commercials for the latest electric Cadillac
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Given that California is the largest state by a significant margin (with 12% of the US population and is almost twice the population of the third ranked state, Florida), it’s not surprising.
I test drove the Lyriq. It was OK but wasn’t interesting enough to make the short list in its class IMO. If you were already a particular fan of the brand it would be a good choice, but if you were brand agnostic, it has more compelling competition. Subsequently, GM has released disastrous sales figures for its EVs and pulled back on their short term goals for them. They also ditched CarPlay and AA for future models and updates, so in general not on the right track.
OK with me–I live in Brooklyn and don’t have a car! Rent when I need one.
D1 and her fiance drove their Tesla for the first time last weekend to Mammoth from San Diego to ski. The trip is 400 miles one way. They stopped twice to charge and arrived about 30 minutes after H, D2 and I did in H’s Tundra. It was easy to find charging along the way and they didn’t have to wait at either place they charged on the way there or back. We had a storm on Saturday night and received about 11 inches of snow. The Tesla did well in the conditions and they will definitely be taking it to ski again.
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This one is on my list because right now they are offering $7,500 off regardless of whether or not one would otherwise qualify for the tax rebate. Looks good to me for what you get - no waiting for a tax return, almost everyone eligible, $7,500 off the price at purchase. But to your point, I am a fan of the brand (I realize GM is not for everyone) and I absolutely love Super Cruise.
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Relevant to the discussion awhile back regarding repair costs for EV’s…
“Electric vehicles have been hurting Hertz’s financials, executives have said, because, despite costing less to maintain, they have higher damage-repair costs and, also, higher depreciation.
“[C]ollision and damage repairs on an EV can often run about twice that associated with a comparable combustion engine vehicle,” Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr said in a recent analyst call.”
https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/11/business/hertz-tesla-selling/index.html
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As the article notes, this is a Tesla problem not an EV problem.
Tesla is 80%of their EV fleet, prices have dropped a lot in the last year, and Tesla has relatively more expensive repair costs.
I imagine that headline would get fewer clicks though.
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It says they are not purchasing other brands of electric vehicles but instead are purchasing ICE cars to replace the electric vehicles.
Rentals like Hertz are among the worst case uses for EVs. Only those with enough familiarity with EVs and the intended rental use (including those trying before buying) are likely to choose them, since the default assumptions among most renters are based on ICEVs.
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I was referring to the quotes ohibro highlighted about repair costs. I certainly wouldn’t take this article as evidence that non-Tesla EVs are more costly to repair than ICE vehicles.
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I continue to belleve that EV’s work best by those who can charge at home (or at work).
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I agree that the current battery tech doesn’t make it easy for those who need to charge often but don’t have access to a personal charger. Our X was slow to wake up after spending 2 days in sub-freezing temperatures parked outside of the garage. Had no issues with charging though.
Yes. Also, EVs work well for commercial vehicles with predictable parking periods in places where charging can be installed, such as garbage trucks, school and public transit buses, mail and package delivery trucks, etc. On the other hand, rental cars are among the worst use cases in many situations.
However, the unexpected cold can also be a problem for ICEVs, when people who do not expect it did not buy block heaters for their ICEVs, or see weak starter batteries not have enough when it gets that cold (EVs with weak 12V batteries can have similar issues).
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