Ok, you’re hopeless.
Anyway.
Here’s a great Tesla review from Car and Driver.
Warning, deeply held “EV Truths” may take a beating…
Yes, math is easy but it is only a small part of the whole decision. You can use 60 gallons of gas per month or none. You can drive a car you like or one you don’t. A car is not a fungible, utilitarian commodity. It has to be comfortable and feel good. I spend as much time in my car as I do in my lazy chair at home. I’m not going to watch a baseball game and eat dinner while sitting on a wooden stool, and I’m not going to drive a car that I don’t like.
But if it is just about the math, tell me…you can get a couple of corn dogs for $2.99 or a steak and baked potato for $24.99. Which is the right choice?
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Since we are facing a “climate emergency”, and “all life on the planet is at stake”, and “it may actually be too late to reverse the calamity”…unless we switch to EV’s…
No one should be allowed a steak and potato…eat bugs.
If it’s really a “climate emergency”, then why are we building $100,000 EV’s that go from 0 to 60 in 2 seconds? Isn’t 0 to 60 in 20 seconds fast enough? I mean, all life on the planet is on the line here…
Do we really need “luxury” EV’s at all? Can’t you see how ludicrous that is? A 9000 pound EV Hummer is “Green”? That’s going to save the planet from climate change?
Car and Driver did a 40k mile EV test. The car wore out the tires at 30k miles because of it’s battery weight…how is this green; getting ~50% less mileage out of tires?
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That is where the money is. More than one hundred thousand people placed deposits on Tesla vehicles, the Nissan Leaf doesn’t get the same attention. Seems like most EV owners are not poor or frugal.
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… or the same level of sales.
Over the last 5 years or so, I can count only about 10 Nissan Leafs that I have recognized on the road. By contrast, I am now seeing about that number of Teslas (mostly Model 3) every day. It could well be different in other areas, but that is what I observe in my area.
What tires were on the EV, and which EV was it? Your assertion isn’t backed up by much evidence and isn’t persuasive.
I think OldDays above makes a good point predicting that as IC new car sales become minority segment, EV’s become predominant, good chance the price of gasoline may go up significantly. Wallet-hit for those still owning IC cars; due to loss of economy of scale in gasoline production & distribution. Other side of the teeter totter though, there are indeed various benefits to be gained by burning less gasoline. My concern is that when politicians — often corrupted by money in politics — try to steer these sorts of basic economic decisions by mandate, very easy to get it wrong.
Also easy to forget that gov’t paid-for, but otherwise unfunded, financial incentives attempting to drive the economy in a politically desired direction may comes back as inflation, another dollar for a carton of eggs. In other words the dollar more you pay for your eggs doesn’t really go for the eggs, it goes to an EV company.
Sure, I will buy the argument that a car should be comfortable and pleasant to drive…however, spending more money does not necessarily result in better comfort, etc. In fact, I would argue that economy cars are often more reliable, comfortable, and fuel efficient–and certainly easier to drive and park on congested streets.
I would say that the all-time nicest riding, most comfortable vehicle I ever owned was the 1995 Dodge Caravan, and I owned two of them. Both were the base model with hand-crank windows, etc, but the seats and driving position, suspension, performance and efficiency were vastly superior to anything I have ever driven before or after. The sound system in the Caravan was amazing as well, with the stock speakers and head unit.
Now, I have three vehicles which we drive…a 2000 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 in work truck trim, a 2002 Daewoo Lanos 4-door sedan, and a 2004 Toyota Corolla in CE trim. Believe it or not, the Daewoo is one of the nicest riding, most comfortable cars I have ever driven, with excellent ergonomics, a soft, plush seat, and excellent visibility and driving position. And this was literally the cheapest new car you could buy in this country when it was sold new. The driver’s seat in the Daewoo has a knob to adjust the lumbar support, something which the base model Corolla lacks, and my back can really feel the difference.
People here always make fun of cars such as this, (and the contemporaneous Ford Escort, Chevy Metro, Kia Rio, Chevrolet Aveo, etc.) but the truth is that these economical cars can provide years of comfortable driving…if you take care of them. If not, then they will fall apart just like a much more expensive model would.
False. Tesla specified less tread according to Car and Driver.
When I was first getting started and looking for a car, a salesman told me if you are going to drive a lot get the most comfortable car you can and your back will notice the difference over the years. So I always drove olds, and Buicks, some new some old but I’ve never had back problems.
Actually depending on your regional costs, for increasing numbers of Urban/Suburban drivers EV is becoming the more attractive choice.
And as regarding government “financial incentives attempting to drive the economy in a politically desired direction” can we ignore the huge incentives provided the Oil Companies including the Depletion Allowance?
Bottom line is that we need energy, oil, wind, nuclear, renewable, whatever and that Government plays a role in “jump starting and avoid whipsawing” our choices.
We’re a nation of individualists but we come together for the collective nedds.
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That’s absolutely right. A few years ago my wife bought a new car, towards the top of the price range, and with all the options including 8-way heated and cooled seats. You know what? I just can’t get comfortable in that car. Yet I sit in my car 2-3 hours a day and find it perfectly comfortable.
What does it say about me that I’m more comfortable in a Chevy than in a Cadillac?
When people ask me what car is the best to buy, I tell them the one that feels most comfortable and looks good to you.
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HOW?!
The insurance on my Bolt is almost $1600/year, full coverage. My 2018 Mustang GT AND 2010 CX-7 together was $1300/year(both are gone now and Bolt is my only car), so how in the 19 circles of Hades is someone paying $2400/year for a base model Corolla?
But are you 25 years old with a low credit score ?
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We’ll flag away but point was if you have one bad law in the oil depletion allowance, it is unwise to create a second bad law by subsidizing certain vehicle types. In other words let the market work.
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I keep forgetting they use credit scores for things besides, you know, getting credit these days. It’s been 17 years since I was 25.
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Sum ting Wong there as they say. Neither of my cars are more than $500 a year and been that way since new and never higher in the last 40 years. Location can make a difference if you are in a big city or if you have insurance with all the same company. I guess I would be investigating.
My insurance is cheaper here in CA with two teen drivers. But I have high deductible and haven’t had any claims, thankfully. I recently had mice chew out the wiring harness on one of the cars while parked at a family member’s garage for the two weeks we were on vacation. Cost me $1200 but I didn’t file a claim as it wasn’t worth it (deductible is $1K).
Now one question; if most people/cars are switched to EV, wouldn’t that decrease the demand for gasoline and drive the price lower or at least keep it level?
I, for one, am not a fan of Tesla and I have test driven quite a few. They are just not put together well. So, as a car guy, I actually would prefer the Corolla with an eye for longevity and less headache. If I were to go EV, the short list would be VW ID4, Fort Mustang Mach E and the Hyundai Ioniq 5. All in the ~$40K range with better driving dynamics IMO.
And to add fire to the math, my high tier electricity during the summer months is 37 cents.
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Just as an aside, I’ve been seeing ads on television for a new, small, modular nuclear power plant that’s going to go online in Idaho by 2029. This sounds promising to me and might go a long way toward bending the US transportation paradigm toward EVs.
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Depends on where you live. When we moved to NH from central NY our insurance TRIPPLED. Same insurance company/same coverage (state farm).
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