My 2 months of being an electric car owner

[pronstar]

You clearly don't understand the saying, "there is no such thing as a free lunch" do you?

Guess what your shiny plastic panels are made from in your car. FOSSIL FUELS
Guess what your tires are made from. FOSSIL FUELS
Guess where your electricity in your house comes from. FOSSIL FUELS

YOU ARE PAYING FOR FOSSIL FUELS IN EVERY CAR YOU BUY. Just because you see it in the end product doesn't mean you are using them.

I do understand what fossil fuels are...oops, I mean FOSSIL FUELS.

I'm not sure you do, though, because most everything you just listed is a PETROLEUM BYPRODUCT, not a FOSSIL FUEL

And I don't think I ever stated I'm against FOSSIL FUELS. Just shooting down old notions about gasoline cars being the most efficient form of propulsion.

 

[pronstar]

Mercedes has one coming. They are claiming to get better than 50 mpg in a full size e class sedan. Makes a sissy little prius car look like dinosaurs in technology. Prius curb weight 3000 lbs. E class sedan curb weight 4000 lbs. Not to mention the obvious. Bigger, faster, more hp, better MPG and much more SAFE.

Peugeot had a diesel hybrid that went on sale in Europe a while back. It's pretty expensive, since clean diesel tech commands a similar premium to hybrid tech. But it gets phenomenal mileage. I think they offer diesel hybrid drivetrains on several models now, all with great efficiency.

The current E250 is a diesel (but not a hybrid) that has been shown to get superior mileage than the current Prius in some real-world test conditions. And it has all the benefits you note - bigger, faster, etc. No need to wait for it, you can buy it now. Sweet car...but there's no way in hell I'll drive another $50k car into the ground on my morning commute on the 405. Been there, done that. Never again.

BTW (uh-oh, there's the ALL CAPS again LOL) the Prius is a chunky car, I'm pretty sure it's well north of 3,000 lbs.

Please understand - "efficient" and "saving money on my 60 mile daily commute" have nothing at all to do with "fun to drive" or "bad- ass car".
To me, the car I rack up miles on is a transportation appliance, and I want to minimize my out of pocket.

 

[RandyH]

Note to self....execute a usage fee for charging sessions at the office.

 

[E4L]

This has me thinking I should change the vehicle I drive to work. My excursion isn't the best vehicle to drive to work. It takes me 15-20 mins to get to work I wonder if it's even worth leasing a vehicle.

 

[OCMerrill]

Note to self....execute a usage fee for charging sessions at the office.

Seems to me all the incentives, rebates, Gov this or that plus the willingness by a few to get electricity where ever they can w/o paying for it makes these thing advantageous.

Cole Trickles primary ride is a Jeep and Pronstar's was a dodge truck. Both of those are a tough commute car and I think we all get that. I think 14 mpg on CT's jeep is a perfect storm and worse in most other driving. If the numbers work out for them then that's great. To make one pay you would have to drive it allot further then a 36 month lease I would think but it is a new car and many like to run with new cars. Us working folk deserve to spend it however we feel makes us happy. Even I bought a small car once trying to justify the payment over fuel savings. It did not work out for me but I cant fault the idea as that car was just a major POS.

But yes, I would treat this the same way as stealing office supplies.

 

[Spot]

Thanks for the post. I am sold. The wife and I both commute to work and get hammered with gas bills.

 

[ductape1000]

My work van full of tools runs about 8k lbs and gets about 12mpg. Will the Volt pull it to work and back for me? I travel up to 50 miles each way. I could plug it in on the jobsite... what's another cord.

 

[boatpi]

Ford is working on an all electric transit van with a 120 mile range , this will be icky some. This is a good post, about going from a to b in comfort and saving $$.

 

[Boat 405]

I do understand what fossil fuels are...oops, I mean FOSSIL FUELS.

I'm not sure you do, though, because most everything you just listed is a PETROLEUM BYPRODUCT, not a FOSSIL FUEL

And I don't think I ever stated I'm against FOSSIL FUELS. Just shooting down old notions about gasoline cars being the most efficient form of propulsion.

Fossil fuels - oil, coal, natural gas. But then again you'll probably argue about grass being green and the sky being blue. :blah:


Prius curb weight - 2921 lbs. And my point is spending money to buy a new electric vehicle that gets better mpg than your current vehicle is usually a loser, unless you were in the market for a new vehicle at the time.

Cost of new car, cost of new registration, taxes on new car, all of these things add up. If you are replacing a car sure you'd pay them regardless. If you are adding a car to save on fuel, think again. You can fill a lot of fuel for the cost of a new car addition vs a replacement.

Never said a gasoline car was the most efficient either. I said a turbo diesel engine was and will continue to be until something big comes along. New car manufactures are mandated to produce a certain number of electric vehicles each year. Without a lot of hype and marketing they would never sell. Perhaps they offer a lower cost alternative for the immediate end user. How many cars have you driven that the battery lasted 300,000 miles. I'd say zero. Now a typical turbo diesel engine will go 300,000 miles without skipping a beat.

 

[Boat 405]

My work van full of tools runs about 8k lbs and gets about 12mpg. Will the Volt pull it to work and back for me? I travel up to 50 miles each way. I could plug it in on the jobsite... what's another cord.

I've got two sprinter work trucks for my business. A 2003 and 2004. They have a 2.7 liter turbo diesel. Both truck outfitted identically with about 1500 lbs of tools and materials. I'm getting 19-20 mpg on both vehicles. I can drive it floored or baby it around makes zero difference. I've never got better and never got worse. They have the profile equivalent of pushing a shoebox through the wind but the mileage is unbeatable for what it is.
Turbo diesels are definitely the future. Look at Europe, for the last 15 years everything is a 1-3 liter turbo diesel coupled with a manual transmission. Fuel there is 10 bucks a gallon. I'd say they figured it out, and it's not electric cars.

 

[Uncle Dave]

I've got two sprinter work trucks for my business. A 2003 and 2004. They have a 2.7 liter turbo diesel. Both truck outfitted identically with about 1500 lbs of tools and materials. I'm getting 19-20 mpg on both vehicles. I can drive it floored or baby it around makes zero difference. I've never got better and never got worse. They have the profile equivalent of pushing a shoebox through the wind but the mileage is unbeatable for what it is.
Turbo diesels are definitely the future. Look at Europe, for the last 15 years everything is a 1-3 liter turbo diesel coupled with a manual transmission. Fuel there is 10 bucks a gallon. I'd say they figured it out, and it's not electric cars.

Buy a new Sprinter you'll change your tune about their economy.

Turbo diesels USED to be the future now we have DPF's, and DEF to deal with and they are horrendously complex with differential pressure sensors all over the exhaust systems. New units are not nearly as thrifty as what they used to be. My 2013 Sprinter 3500 long wheelbase high top (dually) gets about 15 in town and 17 on the highway.
Barely better than a new gas equivalent. I went that route for business so I could use a diesel genset (8KW) rather than the crappy air cooled Oanans.

To the guys with Volts - If you care more about performance than battery life and want to see what your volt can do, have Alexi at Boostpower hack it like he did his- you'll be impressed.

Uncle Dave

 

[Sigus]

I love my Tesla!

Cost of purchase ridiculous, cost of operation extremely reasonable. Due to dropping my 12 to 7 kWh cost to .04 the cost to operate is very cheap.

Living in AZ this will also effect my juice bill during the summer months when the air is rolling 24/7.

We also drive from Scottsdale to Havasu a couple times a month. Depending on which ride I take it could cost 150 round trip. Tesla cost 0, there is a free charging station in Quartzite, takes about 20 minutes to juice up and good to go.

Didn't purchase the car because it was green or low long term cost of ownership, but because the wife could use the HOV lane and save about an hour a day in ass time.

 

[Cole Trickle]

Well, I own a penis and there is no way it will fit in an electric car. I guess I could tuck it and talk with a lisp.

I do love reading all the cost justification you potential Sierra Club members are spewing.


Mileage controlled lease...I can buy a fair amount of diesel on a paid for car for $400 mo plus an extra $ hundy on my electric bill.
There is little talk in this thread about insurance and Lic fees. I guess that free in an electric car.




I am happy for those that want them and think they are great.:thumbsup When they are nuclear powered then I'm interested.

How big can that penis really be.....after all you own a jeep Cherokee and had a automatic hhr....lol

Like mentioned earlier this car cost me $362 a month to drive 1000 miles.

I don't think there is another car on the road that I could own and operate at that price point.

The biggest advantage is my jeep is now a toy and being upgrades to 37's and flat fenders

 

[RogerThat99]

I find a company car is even less to operate. No fuel, no maintenance, no repairs, no car washes, etc...

 

[Cole Trickle]

I find a company car is even less to operate. No fuel, no maintenance, no repairs, no car washes, etc...

Yes.....

 

[BigQ]

I've got two sprinter work trucks for my business. A 2003 and 2004. They have a 2.7 liter turbo diesel. Both truck outfitted identically with about 1500 lbs of tools and materials. I'm getting 19-20 mpg on both vehicles. I can drive it floored or baby it around makes zero difference. I've never got better and never got worse. They have the profile equivalent of pushing a shoebox through the wind but the mileage is unbeatable for what it is.
Turbo diesels are definitely the future. Look at Europe, for the last 15 years everything is a 1-3 liter turbo diesel coupled with a manual transmission. Fuel there is 10 bucks a gallon. I'd say they figured it out, and it's not electric cars.

Hybrid-Diesel would be great for those.:thumbup:

Electric vehicles are really picking up in Europe though last i read. As more manufactures start to sell them (some need to for compliance ) the adoption will be even greater. The DC charging infrastructure will be crucial to the growth of all electric.

 

[500bbc]

What's the actual ROE factoring out the government subsidy on purchase along with the GM bailout.

Don't we all own part of your car?

 

[OCMerrill]

I like the car also, and think it's very sporty looking. I didn't realize how easy it was to buy a used one. I pulled up Volts on autotrader.com within 25mi of my zip code and there are currently 27 used for sale, many with under 10k mi and under $30k.

Now why is that?

My buddy, lives in Chino, is a complete gear head and restores classic cars as a side living. He bought his wife a Volt (leased) and in a couple of months they are turning it in. I've tried to get the reasoning out of him because they are not leasing another. His volt lease is close to $400 a mo though. Top of the line car.

 

[OCMerrill]

How big can that penis really be.....after all you own a jeep Cherokee and had a automatic hhr....lol

As big as the internet allows. My balls however are swollen pretty good from your last kick.

 

[Cole Trickle]

What's the actual ROE factoring out the government subsidy on purchase along with the GM bailout.

Don't we all own part of your car?

Yes...

Bring beer and I will let you drive me around

 

[pronstar]

Prius curb weight - 2921 lbs. And my point is spending money to buy a new electric vehicle that gets better mpg than your current vehicle is usually a loser, unless you were in the market for a new vehicle at the time.

Cost of new car, cost of new registration, taxes on new car, all of these things add up. If you are replacing a car sure you'd pay them regardless. If you are adding a car to save on fuel, think again. You can fill a lot of fuel for the cost of a new car addition vs a replacement.

Never said a gasoline car was the most efficient either. I said a turbo diesel engine was and will continue to be until something big comes along. New car manufactures are mandated to produce a certain number of electric vehicles each year. Without a lot of hype and marketing they would never sell. Perhaps they offer a lower cost alternative for the immediate end user. How many cars have you driven that the battery lasted 300,000 miles. I'd say zero. Now a typical turbo diesel engine will go 300,000 miles without skipping a beat.

You're like the Tom Brown of this thread
Besides the curb weight of a Prius, everything in your post is your view of reality, but all of it has already been disproven.

Cole Trickle has already shown the math that he's driving his Volt for free, based solely on the fuel he's saving compared to his truck.
It's the very first thread in this whole cluster-eff
The math is making sense for a lot of people.

Turbo diesel alone is not the most efficient way to propel a car.
This has been proven.

The big thing to come along is already here:
Hybrid technology is fuel agnostic - it doesn't matter what kind of fuel - recapturing energy lost in braking, and storing this energy, is what hybrid technology is. Recapturing this energy is what will help carmakers meet fuel-efficiency regs.

And the thing after that?
It's here, too. BEVs - Battery Electric Vehicles. The technology isn't ready for prime time yet but it's moving in that direction.
Perhaps fuel cells will be big, but hydrogen gas presents all sorts of challenges.

And all carmakers have already stated that hybrid is where they are investing.
Just look at the cars on offer now, and the cars that are coming.
Even Porsche and Ferrari are embracing it.

And when battery technology improves, the push will be toward BEV's over hybrids.
Government regs are exactly why electric cars, hybrid cars, are on the market.
Unfortunately, that's the reality we live in.
But it's the direction we're going, the writing is on the wall, the regs have already been crafted and put into motion.

As far as reliability?
My wife's Prius has over 100k miles on it...but here's better proof for you:
Look at cab fleets across the country.
What do we see?
Hybrids. Why? Because maintenance costs are low.
They could give two shits about fuel economy - the drivers pay for fuel.
Hybrids in the field are racking up hundreds of thousands of miles - in livery fleets across the country.
And we just aren't seeing significant numbers of battery failures that "doom and gloom" naysayers predicted.

This is all information that is very easy to find.
Just because you don't believe any of it, doesn't make it untrue.

Turbo diesels are definitely the future. Look at Europe, for the last 15 years everything is a 1-3 liter turbo diesel coupled with a manual transmission. Fuel there is 10 bucks a gallon. I'd say they figured it out, and it's not electric cars.

You can keep repeating that turbo diesel is the future.
But it's quite easy to "look at Europe" and it's very clear that its not the future...not unless paired with Hybrid technology.
EU regs mean carmakers there are working toward electrifying the automobile as well.
And their regs are also pushing BEV's long-term.

The cost of FOSSIL FUELS (as you like to shout it) will continue to get upward pressure due to government regs.
I don't agree with it - I'd love to have cheap fuel.
But that's reality.
The cost will eventually be driven high enough, that it doesn't make financial sense for "we the people" to light it on fire to make our cars move.
That's reality.

 

[Boat 405]

You're like the Tom Brown of this thread
Besides the curb weight of a Prius, everything in your post is your view of reality, but all of it has already been disproven.

Cole Trickle has already shown the math that he's driving his Volt for free, based solely on the fuel he's saving compared to his truck.
It's the very first thread in this whole cluster-eff
The math is making sense for a lot of people.

Turbo diesel alone is not the most efficient way to propel a car.
This has been proven.

The big thing to come along is already here:
Hybrid technology is fuel agnostic - it doesn't matter what kind of fuel - recapturing energy lost in braking, and storing this energy, is what hybrid technology is. Recapturing this energy is what will help carmakers meet fuel-efficiency regs.

And the thing after that?
It's here, too. BEVs - Battery Electric Vehicles. The technology isn't ready for prime time yet but it's moving in that direction.
Perhaps fuel cells will be big, but hydrogen gas presents all sorts of challenges.

And all carmakers have already stated that hybrid is where they are investing.
Just look at the cars on offer now, and the cars that are coming.
Even Porsche and Ferrari are embracing it.

And when battery technology improves, the push will be toward BEV's over hybrids.
Government regs are exactly why electric cars, hybrid cars, are on the market.
Unfortunately, that's the reality we live in.
But it's the direction we're going, the writing is on the wall, the regs have already been crafted and put into motion.

As far as reliability?
My wife's Prius has over 100k miles on it...but here's better proof for you:
Look at cab fleets across the country.
What do we see?
Hybrids. Why? Because maintenance costs are low.
They could give two shits about fuel economy - the drivers pay for fuel.
Hybrids in the field are racking up hundreds of thousands of miles - in livery fleets across the country.
And we just aren't seeing significant numbers of battery failures that "doom and gloom" naysayers predicted.

This is all information that is very easy to find.
Just because you don't believe any of it, doesn't make it untrue.




You can keep repeating that turbo diesel is the future.
But it's quite easy to "look at Europe" and it's very clear that its not the future...not unless paired with Hybrid technology.
EU regs mean carmakers there are working toward electrifying the automobile as well.
And their regs are also pushing BEV's long-term.

The cost of FOSSIL FUELS (as you like to shout it) will continue to get upward pressure due to government regs.
I don't agree with it - I'd love to have cheap fuel.
But that's reality.
The cost will eventually be driven high enough, that it doesn't make financial sense for "we the people" to light it on fire to make our cars move.
That's reality.

I'm wrong your right. Sorry. I love when people run out of talent always resort to attacking ones character. Lol

 

[OutCole'd]

I'm wrong your right. Sorry

Pronstar, you have to admit, you can't argue with this kind of logic.

 

[LowRiver2]

I'd own one if I had to drive my own vehicle to work:thumbsup

I burned 102 gallons of gas this week on off hour call outs, that city 6.0 gasser gulps fuel at code 3 WOT

Then again, no hybrid can lug my 2600 lbs of work issued gear around yet, maybe some day:thumbsup

 

[pronstar]

I'm wrong your right. Sorry. I love when people run out of talent always resort to attacking ones character. Lol

:-(

I apologize if I attacked your character.
My intent was to just respond to words on the screen.