Here in the northern Calif area, I’m seeing quite a few electric cars on the road, mostly Nissan Leaf’s and Tesla Model S’s. More than I’d expect. And those Tesla Model S’s sure can go from a stop to 30 mph very quickly. Besides very extreme cars like high end Porsches, I don’t see this kind of acceleration in any other car, at least not during my daily commute. My Corolla, it has plenty of acceleration for my needs, but it wouldn’t even have a chance of keeping up with a Tesla Model S in a test from 0 to 30 mph. Wouldn’t even be close. Interesting, I don’t see the same acceleration w/the Nissan Leafs; they seem to have the same acceleration as other gasoline cars. I’m not going by the specs, just what I’ve noticed in seeing them going down the road. Maybe it is just that the driver’s of the Tesla are more aggressive.
Anybody else noticing lots of electric cars on the road these days? Could be the start of something big.
That Tesla is fast, and expensive. Big batteries let it develop lots of torque and hp. The Leaf’s actually affordable, so it has much less powerful motors, and smaller batteries.
I’ve seen a total of two Leafs (Leaves?) on the road, and not a single Tesla. Also the most basic Tesla Model S starts at over $63k USD after the $7500 tax credit and before you check a single option box. For $63k it’s not exactly a screaming deal IMHO. The Leaf is much more affordable, but still it’s $30k+ for a compact car with some significant limitations. I still think that an affordable electric car with about double the range and more battery-friendly heating/AC systems are a good decade away.
Also you only need to spend about $32k for a car that will match or beat the Tesla S in terms of performance. The Mustang GT, Camaro SS, and Charger/Challenger SRT8 are all equal or better than the Tesla S in acceleration, braking, and handling.
One of the claimed advantages of electric cars, which makes logical sense in a theoretical way, is the elimination of some routine maintenance and expensive repairs, from oil changes and exhaust systems to timing belts and such. That’s the theory. I’m going to be very interested to see how that shakes out after five or ten years. Will the battery replacement costs prove to be just as expensive in the long run? Will the electronic issues arise? That’s not to mention the range limitations. I’m hopefully optimistic.
I’m a big fan of electric vehicles for those who have a shorter commute distance and who can have an EV as a second family vehicle, or who are retired and rarely go far. The convenience of “fueling up” at home and never needing to stop at the gas station would be a luxury. For my needs, an electric bicycle, really a Vespa like scooter, is perfect for most of my daily needs, no need to get in the car. In fact, I have one, but it’s such a cheap product that it’s not really worth the new batteries it needs, so I’m on the hunt for a better replacement.
I’ve been surprised and thrilled to see the occasional Nissan Leaf around our small town, but I don’t think I’d recognize a Tesla S unless I saw the nameplate. Makes sense though that they’d be more common in the Bay Area where George is.
Here in Southern CA, Leaf’s (leaves?!) are all over the place, Tesla not so much. I saw one the other day and could not recognize what car it was until I almost rear-ended it to read the name-plate
It’s going to take a quantum leap in battery technology before an all electric car is really viable There’s also the issue of constructing who knows how many power generation facilities and rebuilding the entire electrical grid to handle millions of people plugging in their cars.
It would be interesting to know just how many miles those Tesla drivers are managing to eke out with aggressive driving.
So far, I have seen one Tesla on the road in NJ, and–as I mentioned in a different thread–I viewed a couple of their model S versions in their new showroom at The Short Hills Mall.
I have seen one Nissan Leaf, and I also saw one of those horrendous-looking Mitsubishi electric cars.
In addition to Consumer Reports stating that there was essentially nothing about the Mitsu to recommend it, it has to be the plug-ugliest thing on four wheels. It actually makes a Smart Car look stylish by comparison.
If you haven’t seen a Mitsubishi I-MiEv, here is a link so that you can feast your eyes–but don’t say that I didn’t warn you about possible eye damage:
Tesla seems to have done the electric car right. They made it a car people would want to own even if it were NOT electric. They’ve made me optimistic for electric cars in the future.
Electric cars are easily made fast because a gas engine provides power on a curve, it needs to wind up a bit to have any real power; a significant part of their torque comes from the inertia of rotating masses (primarily the flywheel). But with electric motors the moment the magnetic fields are created they pull & push on one another at full strength…full torque is almost instant.
There’s a Tesla dealer about a mile from me (downtown Wash DC) and I see the demo car from time to time.
I has some parking lot dings and scrapes. Looks no more glamorous than an old Saturn or Nissan.
Our company has an office in Boston I have to go to every once in a while. In the parking garage next to the office…there are about 10 spots for plug-in electric vehicles. And I usually see 5 or 6 vehicles there every day.
A few months ago I saw a Fisker driving down the highway. That’s the one and only time I saw one. One of my coworkers drives a Leaf and is happy with it.
The only Leaf I’ve ever seen here with plates on belongs to the City Transport Department and they bought it for testing purposes. At night it sits in an underground warm parking garage, plugged in. The city does have a number of Prius vehicles in use for the parking authority…
I have not seen a Leaf or Tesla on the road in western NY but that is not surprising. Our electric rates are among the highest in the country and what would you do with an electric car in a snowstorm. We average about 90 inches a lear, double or triple that in some areas south of Buffalo. How long can you keep warm in an electric car when you are stuck on the Thruway overnight. You would need to get towed home after the road cleared. Emergency road clearing crews would just get it out of the way (into the ditch if necessary) and leave you to deal with it later.
They aren’t even ecologically friendly here, most of our electric is generated by coal burning plants.
I have seen quite a few Nissan Leaf cars, and a couple of Tesla S and Roadsters over the years.
Nothing to get excited about, but I do have to admit, the Tesla S is a very good looking car.
“Tesla seems to have done the electric car right. They made it a car people would want to own even if it were NOT electric.”
And at $63,000 after you and I pay for the federal tax rebate, it isn’t surprising. And it only goes 230 miles at 55 MPH. Do a little stop and go , and the mileage will plummet. Still, that will get some successful doctor or lawyer to work and back without a charge just about anywhere. As @OK4450 implied, there need to be big improvements in battery charge density and manufacturing costs before electric-only cars will be practical for large numbers of drivers.
I agree that there is hope for electric cars. We are a mere 10 years away from electric-only vehicles as a practical alternative to gasoline powered commuter vehicles. Until then, the best we have are the Volt-like cars. I’m sure that we can all agree that the Volt is a long way from a practical all-electric car. Two generations, at least, I think.
One more thing: like @FoDaddy, I don’t see many (any?) electric cars. I do see a fair number of Volts, but a couple-a-three live in my neighborhood. Maybe it’s because we are Right Coasters and we don’t get the same incentives that Cali drivers do.
BTW, I’d much rather have a stylish, easily distinguished, attractively priced C7 than a Tesla S.
I wouldn’t kick a Shelby GT500 out of bed for eating crackers either.
