I agree with Mr. BunsenBurner.
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I am not a truck driver, but it appears there are several electric options available/coming down the pike. https://insideevs.com/car-lists/electric-trucks/amp/
I have another question. About electric cars.
I see several manufacturers are coming out with electric SUV’s. Volvo is one that comes to mind. The range is 250 miles.
I read an opinion piece that says that electric car are being driven an average of 5,300 miles a year.
It is just an opinion piece, one I don’t necessarily agree with
Check out this article from USA TODAY:
Electric cars aren’t the climate-change answer Joe Biden is selling you
But when I do get an electric car, I’d like to to replace one of the cars we already have. That we drive an average of 15,000 miles a year. I’d like one to use on trips, and for me, I’d like to have a range of 500 miles which is how far my gasoline car range is.
I understand that electric cars are great for daily commutes. But I live in an area where things are spread out. 250 miles would just get me to the airport I use and back for instance.
For you, how far would you want in your electric car if you could pick?
For those who own an electric car, do you take it on trips? How far? Also how long does it take to charge at a public charging station? How much is the cost?
If you have Apple TV watch Long Way Up. Check out the Rivian electric truck. The Harley e bikes are interesting too.
I just had a loaner Etron from Audi. Nice but not $75k nice.
If you will still have multiple vehicles, does each one need to handle 100% of your driving?
I.e. if 99% of your driving is comfortably within a 200 mile (round trip) range from home (and you have convenient overnight charging in your garage), then it may not be worth paying more for a 500 mile range EV if you keep another vehicle anyway.
For really long trips, it may be more worth noting recharging speed and fast recharging station availability. This is likely to improve in the future.
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Ideally yes, I would like each vehicle to be able to carry 100% of my driving needs. Especially a SUV, which would be my preferred way to drive long distances.
In the past, before I lived in the land of the deer, we would buy one newer car. And that car would do the bulk of our driving other than my husband’s commute. Once that car was older and over 120,000 miles on average, my husband would commute in our older vehicle and we would get a newer vehicle that would be our workhorse.
I don’t see the point of having one new electric vehicle and one newer vehicle for our trips. That isn’t the case right now but it was for 25 years and what I would prefer.
LOL! This is exactly my philosophy. My car broke 120,000 miles. H’s 2003 had some PITA car issues (heat/AC), so we got a new car. Mine now goes to work and the weekly Walmart trip. My car should still have a lot of life left, but I do NOT want to break down going to the airport. And that’s 1:30 away minimum - sometimes 5 hours depending on which airport. I grew up with my parents who had a fleet of super old and unreliable cars. I’ve had to walk along the interstate way too many times!
(We did keep H’s car as a spare. It has 4 wheel drive which is a nice plus in the winter - if we ever get snow, lol.)
I was surprised on my recent driving trip, how many hotels now have electric charging stations.
However, I’ve read that the charge doesn’t last as long in cold weather. Plus, I wouldn’t want to structure my trip around where I can find a charging station and adding in the time needed to do a full charge.
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All current batteries, other than a few (mostly test) vehicles powered by fuel cells, rely on chemical reactions to work and chemical reactions are less efficient at lower temperatures. Another problem is that the recharging process isn’t fully reversible so batteries lose their capacities after each charge.
However, it is often more the case the reduced range in cold weather is due to use of the cabin heater, which consumes a lot of power if it is a resistance-based heater (rather than a heat pump (reverse air conditioner), although heat pumps get less effective in very cold weather). Heated seats consume much less power.
Battery management strategy can make a large difference. Cars with air-cooled batteries, smaller top and bottom buffers, and high maximum recharging rates relative to capacity tend to have worse battery degradation. Owner charging habits can also matter. An owner who mostly uses overnight charging at home to 80% or so unless they actually need the full charge for a trip may get better battery life than one who uses fast charging a lot, charges to 100% a lot, and drains to 1% a lot.
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Does running the A/C reduce the range of an electric car significantly?
Bottom line: For me it is more environmentally friendly to have just one all purpose car and then keep that car in good repair and use it for many years. I am currently in a 13 year old car with 160,000 miles on it. Having two cars (even if one is electric) means that more raw materials are consumed, including lithium mining if electric, more manufacturing (uses energy) and more old cars in landfills.
Batteries won’t last as long at lower temperature even in the best case where the owner turns off all comfort features of the vehicle.
Also, even with the best practice in battery management, current batteries will lose capacity over time.
Batteries will lose their capacities even faster with faster charging. It’s a real dilemma.
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The current generation of electrical vehicles aren’t suitable for long-distance driving (even with their claimed longer range). If you drive anywhere close to its maximum range, you’ll likely reduce the battery capacity permanently after a few such trips.
I have a Tesla Model 3 as my daily driver (pre-covid, now mostly just in the garage).
It is a fantastic car for normal commuting, but I rarely take it for trips. For trips, nothing beats the convenience of a gas powered car, which can add 400 miles of range in about 5 minutes.
In contrast, trips with an electric car need to be planned. First, you need to verify that the areas you are traveling to either have SuperCharger stops along the way, or if you can make it to your destination, that you have a spot to charge at your destination. While the SuperCharger network is the best one out there, it is most available along well traveled highways, but not so great for a trip into the mountains.
The longest trip I have taken with my Tesla is about 300 miles one afternoon, and a return 300 miles the next day along a major interstate. This wasn’t bad at all, in that SuperCharger stops are usually near food, so that we didn’t have to wait extra for it. While my Tesla Model 3 Performance has a theoretical range of over 300 miles, that’s under ideal conditions, and real-world efficiency with my lead foot is about 25% less.
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With my preference for traveling off the beaten track, it will be many years before I would buy an electric car. Plus, I need the extra room for family trips with luggage, the grandson’s car seat, etc. etc.
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So many auto manufacturers have committed to changing their fleets to all electric vehicles. By 2030, which is 9 years.
I wonder how they are going to convince us that we want electric vehicles?
One thing that would have to change is the vehicles themselves. They are going to have to be as convenient as gas engines. And the public perception of their performance.
Seems like a hard hill to climb in less than a decade. But then who knew we were all going to be carrying around a pocket computer in our pockets?
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There is a significant percentage of people who find electric vehicles more convenient than liquid fuel vehicles. The biggest factors of inconvenience are:
- You do not have and cannot install home charging (e.g. many people who rent their housing).
- You do trips beyond the electric vehicle’s range, do not like the slower “refueling”, and your household does not have another road trip car.
On the other hand, for those who have or can install home charging, not having to visit the fuel station to refuel is a significant improvement in convenience. So are the lesser maintenance needs.
As far as performance goes, longer range electric vehicles are plenty fast.
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I have to say that the 10 minutes max I spend at the gas station once every week or every other week is not a great burden on my life.
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If anyone is interested how electric cars and motorcycles react to cold weather and extreme conditions watch The Long Way Up on Apple TV. Plus the scenery is amazing.
In order for electric vehicles to be competitive on the market:
- The charging stations will have to be faster and priced as equivalent to gasoline.
- The range will have to be close to 400 miles (in cold weather and with the AC running and all the rest like a gasoline car).
- The price will have to be equivalent or cheaper.
- The seating and luggage capacity will have to be the same.
Right now, I don’t think there is a sufficient supply of lithium to make the batteries that would be required. Companies are trying to extract lithium from mine tailings and from the Salton Sea but I don’t think they’ve found success in that yet.
And I’ve read there may not be enough electricity to power cars if every car was electric.