Tesla Model 3

[freebeard]

The deposit on an Arcimoto SRK was $100 instead of $1000, so I went with that.

For in town — I'm hoping to hold onto the diesel Dasher for road trips. It's a sunk cost.

The SRK is supposed to be autonomous ready. It has a smartphone cradle in the handlebars. I think Arcimoto should cut a deal with Tesla for access to the Supercharger network.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by freebeard

My son's Charger SRT-8 has infrared sensors that monitor the occupants of the front seats so it adjusts their zones appropriately.

And how, exactly, is it supposed to decide what the occupants will think is "appropriate"? Not to mention that unless you can put some sort of barrier between the seats, it's just not going to work :-)

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by RedDevil

I've driven a rental car in California and Nevada; if Oregon is anything like that I can get how you can drive for 4 hours on end.

There are places out east of here where you could drive for 4 hours, and not see anything but the occasional jackrabbit :-)

[redpoint5]

I like automatic climate control, and it works very well in my Acura and Prius. It blows a little colder when it detects a lot of sun, and a little warmer when the sun goes down. Also, the system will monitor outside air temperature and cool the cabin with outside air rather than run the AC if it can. Same with warming the cabin.

EVs can also condition the cabin prior to departure, which is a nice feature that can also save time defrosting windows.

Finally, I have yet to meet a girl who can set a manual temperature sensibly. They run the heat on high until it's roasting, then they turn the AC on until it's freezing, and then back to full heat... never choosing a setting that is just right.

[vskid3]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

EVs can also condition the cabin prior to departure, which is a nice feature that can also save time defrosting windows.

I think this feature should be advertised more. Most guys like the 0-60 in blah-blah and million lb-ft of torque, but tell their wife that they can go out to a toasty car in the winter and cool car in the summer without using any gas, and that car will be sitting in their driveway. I remind my wife of preconditioning every time she complains about it being too hot/cold when we first get in the car, it's my only hope of getting an EV in the near future. :P

[roflwaffle]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

I drive for as long as I have fuel, and use the bathroom and stretch when filling the car. This is usually every 400 miles or 5.5 hours.

The problem is that "quick" charges aren't quick. They are about an hour for 120 miles of range. You end up stopping for 1hr every 2 hrs, which is extremely slow.

For superchargers at least, the charging rate mostly depends on the battery size and it's state of charge. 10 minutes should get ~60 miles of range, and 25 minutes get ~120 miles of range. The more you charge, the slower you charge.

Supercharging Tesla Model S 60 kWh Versus 85 kWh - Video + Graphs

Originally Posted by redpoint5

I stop for coffee and food when I stop for petrol, about every 5.5 hours.

My longest trip in a day was 1,200 miles. Santa Barbara > Santa Monica > Gresham OR > Salem The trip would have taken several days in an EV, and I had a van full of people.

In May I drove 560 miles 1 way Vancouver, WA > Twin Falls, ID. I was on the company clock, so they wouldn't have been OK with me spending 3+ hrs charging on the trip. Not only that, but I was already running 2hrs late since I hadn't planned to drive (bridge to the airport was shut down due to wreck).

I will need to drive to Medford (300 miles) occasionally, which would require at least 2 charges, possibly 3. Completing the trip in an EV would be made more enjoyable and less time consuming if I could charge at a hotel.

It make sense to drive anything less than about 400 miles since it takes time to get through the airports, and then travel to your destination.

In that case, an EV wouldn't work for you. But... I think you could do ~10-20 minutes of charging per hour of driving with enough superchargers along you're route.

[freebeard]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

There are places out east of here where you could drive for 4 hours, and not see anything but the occasional jackrabbit :-)

When I road-tripped to Bonneville in 2014, I crossed Eastern Oregon overnight at 45mph. It comes alive at night. The kangaroo rats go tick, field mice go tock, and jackrabbits go thump. Breakfast for the crows and ravens.

[JockoT]

Found this. One solution, which if not practical at the moment is certainly interesting.

One of the solutions to make range anxiety when driving an electric vehicle a thing of the past and alleviate the need for large and expensive batteries, is inductive charging on the go. After its Halo Wireless electric vehicle charging technology (WEVC) – the non-moving induction solution - Qualcomm has recently demonstrated its DEVC (Dynamic Electric Vehicle Charging) technology on a test track in Versailles Paris, which is able to send 20 kW into an electric vehicle at speeds of up to 100 kph.

Qualcomm integrated the source part of the Halo DEVC system in the 100-metre test track (called Fabric and built by Vedecom), while Vedecom and Renault installed the receiving part onto two Renault Kangoo vehicles. Further testing by Vedecom will assess operation, safety and energy transfer to the vehicles for a wide range of scenarios, including vehicle identification and authorisation upon entry on the track.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by roflwaffle

For superchargers at least, the charging rate mostly depends on the battery size and it's state of charge. 10 minutes should get ~60 miles of range, and 25 minutes get ~120 miles of range. The more you charge, the slower you charge.

In that case, an EV wouldn't work for you. But... I think you could do ~10-20 minutes of charging per hour of driving with enough superchargers along you're route.

I'll admit I had the Chevy Bolt in mind when I posted the miles per minute of charge comment, which has a much lower power charging infrastructure and lower peak charge acceptance capability. It tapers the charge around 70% SoC. EVGo is the dominant CSS charger, and that is priced by the half-hour. In a Bolt, you would want to run as close to 0% SoC as possible, and then DCFC for 30 or 60 minutes. It appears that 45 kW is the peak rate that people are seeing for their Bolts.

I would likely take my Prius on trips to Medford or Coos Bay. Perhaps I would take an EV if I wasn't in a hurry, and fudged my time card to not include time spent charging.

Originally Posted by JockoT

One of the solutions to make range anxiety when driving an electric vehicle a thing of the past and alleviate the need for large and expensive batteries, is inductive charging on the go.

This is way too expensive, and will never become a "thing". We can't even get the potholes fixed in our road, let alone embed coils of expensive copper wiring in them. We're more likely to have overhead wires similar to how bumper cars get electricity than inductive charging.

[freebeard]

No kidding

http://www.thedrive.com/news/13448/germany-to-install-overhead-electric-vehicle-chargers-on-autobahn