Range anxiety is overrated

[NeilBlanchard]

We are quite likely to get a Chevy Bolt EV. It is definitely a hatchback. It has 17 cu ft of hatch space with the seats up, and 56.6 cu ft with the seats folded down.

94.4 cu ft total on the inside volume - which is slightly larger than the Tesla Model S (94 cu ft).

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

I don't think your example car is a good argument. Cars are only introduced to the market new.

I think it is a perfect example, the people complaining most about EV prices are USED car buyers that would never buy a new one anyway.
(something I could say about myself until an EV made me buy my 2nd new car ever)

Many current EV owners are people who have never owned a new car, interesting statistic that tells me that EVs are attracting a different kind of car buyer. One that would normally either
1. Buy used
2. Buy a truck/suv

By the numbers, new car buyers typically just buy a Suburban, Ford F150 or Dodge Ram crewcab and don't even notice cars.
People who normally buy used buy the most new cars and are apart of a different demographic than the "New car buyers" who buy mostly trucks and SUVs.

Next Think Norway went bankrupt before 1 car was even out the door at Think US, so the manufacturer was out of business before market adoption could be determined, but I have to guess that the think was "overpriced" at its initial price point but we can't really know since it was amazing they could sell out their inventory at all, from an out of business company selling an unsupported car.

How often does a company that no longer exists sell all its inventory to new car buyers?

Just food for thought, is the real problem that evs are cars

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by rmay635703

Many current EV owners are people who have never owned a new car, interesting statistic that tells me that EVs are attracting a different kind of car buyer.

Well. the Insight (2000 bought in '03 or '04) was as close as I've ever gotten to buying a new car. And if it had been just a car, I doubt I would have even considered it. But it's a neat techno-toy, among other things, and likely has saved me a pile of money over the years.

[basjoos]

If you come home to a dark house (power lines down in wind/ice storm) with only 5 miles range left on your EV batteries, how practical is it to hook it up to your home or portable generator to boost the range back up to a usable distance (> 40 miles) so you could get back to work the next day or drive out to a commercial charging location (assuming their power hasn't been knocked out as well).

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by basjoos

If you come home to a dark house (power lines down in wind/ice storm) with only 5 miles range left on your EV batteries, how practical is it to hook it up to your home or portable generator to boost the range back up to a usable distance (> 40 miles) so you could get back to work the next day or drive out to a commercial charging location (assuming their power hasn't been knocked out as well).

I've had that happen, just turn on my volt, hook up a 12v inverter, I can run a TV, lights and a fridge, then when I need to go to work, I just drive there power or not.

It doesn't matter. Electric when you need it, gas when you don't

[JSH]

As a new EV owner I find this conversation interesting. My previous cars were a Jetta TDI wagon and a 2nd Generation Prius. Both very economical cars and very reliable. The 05 Prius was 12 years old and needed the suspension replaced after 150K miles. Logically I would repair the car for $1K and drive it for another 150K miles. However, I wanted something different.

About this time my company got 6 Smart EV's for employees to drive between our 11 facilities. They also allowed us to take them home at night or on the weekend. So I checked one out. My big concern with EVs was range. After driving the Smart EV to home and back (Using the A/C one way and heat the other) I found that range was not an issue for me. I looked into leasing one through our company program but they wanted to much. I then read about the Spark EV which is the "hot hatch" of the EV world with a 0-60 time of 7 seconds. I found one at my local Chevy dealership and took it for a spin. It was a fun little car and drove like a go-cart. I asked how much it was and the salesman said I could lease it for 0 down / $100 per month / 39 months. SOLD! That is 1/2 the just the purchase price of buying a car and keeping it for 10 years like I did with the TDI and Prius.

3 months / 1500 miles later I don't regret the choice at all. I kind of regret not buying the car as I could have purchased it for $10,500 after the GM rebate and Fed tax credit. Range has not been an issue. I can drive to work twice or anywhere in my Metro area and back on a charge. If we need to drive farther we take my wife's car. What has been a problem is keeping the mileage under the 10,000 miles per year the lease allows.

I think people will be skeptical of electric cars until they personally drive one or know someone that does. At least that has been my experience. I was skeptical of both hybrids and EVs until I personally drove one.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by JSH

Range has not been an issue. I can drive to work twice or anywhere in my Metro area and back on a charge.

Sure, if you live in a metro area and don't frequently need to drive distances approaching the range of your EV, an EV with that range will work just fine. (Though why not take a bus?) It's us folks with longer distances to drive who have the range problem.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

Sure, if you live in a metro area and don't frequently need to drive distances approaching the range of your EV, an EV with that range will work just fine. (Though why not take a bus?) It's us folks with longer distances to drive who have the range problem.

That is the whole point of saying range anxiety is overblown. Most people are like me. The average person has a short commute, lives in a city, lives with someone else, has two cars in the household. Electric cars won't work for all people today, only the majority of them.

A few stats:

• 81% of the US population lives in urban areas
• The average US household has 1.9 cars

Why don't I take the bus? The bus is much slower than driving and a transit pass costs $100 per month. (Same price as the Spark EV) I do use the train and streetcars sometimes and it is nice to have options. For most trips I have 3-4 viable methods of transport.

[Ryland]

Originally Posted by basjoos

If you come home to a dark house (power lines down in wind/ice storm) with only 5 miles range left on your EV batteries, how practical is it to hook it up to your home or portable generator to boost the range back up to a usable distance (> 40 miles) so you could get back to work the next day or drive out to a commercial charging location (assuming their power hasn't been knocked out as well).

Power goes out and gas stations are dead too.

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by Ryland

Power goes out and gas stations are dead too.

I was going to mention that too, I doubt I am the only one who has gotten stuck in a gas station the day after Christmas in ice cold blowing snow low on gas waiting forever for the electric to come back on near 10 pm