Will you buy an electric or hybrid car next?

The adaptive cruise tech is indeed great. Not to be confused with fully self-driving tech. Meaning hands off the wheel anywhere you go. :slight_smile:

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I think we are like minded in terms of an eventual personal switch to EV. I however take @ucbalumnus to heart as a consumer not just as a country.

I think until the local grid can provide a proven, sustainable and cost efficient supply of electricity in the face of incremental demand diversity also benefits the consumer in spite of our virtuous goals.

Applications like city buses, school buses, garbage trucks, and urban mail and delivery trucks are among those where EVs are obvious choices.

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Electric vehicles (and hybrids to a lesser extent) are typically heavier (usually with a lower center of gravity).

But if you drive in snow and ice, it is best to get winter capable tires, regardless of vehicle.

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So wouldn’t it make sense for state, local and the federal government to move to EV first as it would be paid for in a largely progressive manner through taxes?

The current approach is highly regressive placing people of modest means in a position where they can’t yet afford most EVs and consequently are paying increased prices at the pump. If the government entities you highlighted were to shift first gas prices would be reduced as demand for gas went down. Lower income citizens would receive relief, electric capacity could be improved, prices of EVs over time would be more affordable and emissions would be reduced.

Seems like we are putting a horse in front of a carriage and forcing the lower socio economic classes to disproportionately shoulder the burden.

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That’s good to know, thanks. But I wonder if there are any here. I doubt it, as we seem to be 20 years behind most of the country.

Super Cruise is hands free. Eyes have to be on the road or the car “yells” at you. It does not help for one’s “daily driver” around town, but it is an absolute game changer for road trips.

Can you not wear sunglasses while using Super Cruise?

You can wear sunglasses.

Yes, and that is why there is so much of a fight over how much of the US Postal Service’s fleet buy to replace the ~30 year old Grumman LLV mail trucks should be electric vehicles.

Short term oil price fluctuations are not easily controlled by the US government (though other governments which own their countries’ oil companies may have more influence).

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These are a good option if concerned about your carbon footprint…

https://www.fastcompany.com/90678020/the-lenses-in-these-sunglasses-are-made-from-captured-co2

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No but both short term and long term prices are to varying degrees dictated by supply and demand. If governments successfully shifted fleets to EV domestic gas demand would go down and likely reduce price at the pump.

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To be honest, I don’t know if they have them where I am either. I really don’t think they get used a lot. I can guess the reason: the Bolt (and I think other EVs as well) tell you how many miles of charge you have left with good accuracy (expected + min + max), down until you are very, very low on charge.

  • If I have an 80-mile trip to make and my Bolt tells me I only have 50 miles of charge left, I’m not going to second guess it - I will know I need to charge before I go. I won’t need AAA help.
  • Let’s say I have an 80-mile trip and 120 miles of charge left. I get halfway there and get caught in a horrible traffic jam. In a conventional car I might have to worry about idling out of gas, but an EV doesn’t idle so I’m never worried about running out of charge. If I’m outrageously low on charge (see above point on why that is very unlikely to happen), I might potentially have to turn the A/C off to eliminate its small power draw. I have never had to do that, but it could happen.
  • The heater draws more power. If you were in a horrible traffic jam and you could not get by with the seat warmer (it draws much less power than the heater), then I guess conceivably you could watch yourself run out of battery? I believe those situations are rare (here in North Carolina those situations really never come up) and that I am describing a problem that sort of supersedes anything EV-specific about AAA. If I lived in a colder climate I would probably be more careful about being generously charged before going on a longer trip. I can be a little sloppier about my charging habits here.

If your EV broke down by the side of the road for some other reason besides running out of charge - say, a flat tire - all the typical AAA roadside services would still be applicable.

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Yes, and so is Tesla autopilot. Again, people confuse this with full self-driving, which neither of these two techs are. :slight_smile:

It doesn’t cost the company but it is not “free”. The taxpayers are funding that grant from the state. The hundreds of thousands of “free” charging stations which are supposed to be built across the country aren’t free either……they are being funded by the public…the majority of which don’t own the types of cars that need them.

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So… how does this match a 3 year wait for a Ford F150 Lightning due to so many deposits being put down that they closed the option back in May?

I’ve been looking around at other EVs thinking of just replacing one of our Ford Escapes. There aren’t any to be found nearby and there are waiting lists.

This is all being forced by the gov’t? How?

I could go out and buy a gas powered car or truck today if I wanted to. We have no desire to.

I think EVs are far more attractive to many people than companies thought they would be - no gov’t “forcing” required.

Undoubtedly some comes from people like us who weren’t interested until our son bought his Hyundai and we got to see it in action.

Those of you who prefer gas powered, fine, but don’t assume everyone shares your views. Many don’t.

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Quite a few of us do not use the majority of services funded by our taxes.

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And that’s a topic for another thread ….or perhaps a whole set of volumes.

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FYI: at least in my neck of the woods, Google provides RT information on how many EV ports are available at the chargers. This is a screenshot of Google search for “EV charger.”

Note “6/6” - 6 out of 6 ports open, but Tesla is their own apparently. :laughing:

This is just the top 4 hits. There is a whole list to scroll down.

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Supply chain issues. It difficult to find or order many cars, new or used, right now.