For most people EV’s problems are the ridiculous cost and the time it takes to charge one. They are not viable as a travel car unless you enjoy waiting multiple hours to charge . And until charging stations are as ubiqitous as gas stations that is also a big problem . Many people like to tout they arent paying for gas , that is fine but if you think electricity will stay at its current rate you are fooling yourself . They will also be coming for you soon to pay for the roads in mileage use taxes that current gas taxes are used for .
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But you can be sure the taxes on gas at the pump won’t be removed or lessened. So for those still running on dino juice (majority for some years yet) will be double taxed.
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“No were are not in the early stages of the technology” .
I respectfully disagree and continuing my EV-Computer analogy one of the first portable computers was the Compaq Portable, introduced in 1982. Weighed about 30 lbs, about the size of a suitcase and NO battery power but over 40 years most of these difficulties were overcome.
Much more efficient LED screens replaced CRTS, chips became much more efficient and batteries became smaller with greater energy density with the result that most of todays laptops and tablets will run at least 8 hours on battery.
EV’s benefitted from these innovations in efficiency and storage, there’s a big difference in the energy demands of a laptop and a 1 ton vehicle, carrying 2 people, moving at 70 mph for 500 miles.
But we’re not there yet, EV’s are at the “Compaq Portable” stage and it’s going to take significant additional innovations to get closer to the point we’re at today where for most folks Laptops are “better” than Desktops or EV’s are “better” than IC engines.
My WAG is another 15-20 years, just at the right time for my kids to “take away my keys”. 
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good analogy, @Beancounter 
I’m lesser pessimistic than you, but I still think we are talking 5-10+ years before we enter “EV maturity” stage, kinda late-90s in ICE-powered car terms
I think the computer analogy doesn’t apply. The key to realistic widespread EV adoption is batteries. Right now they cost too much not because of production inefficiencies, but because they use lots of rare elements. Get new battery chemistry that uses cheaper raw materials, and that’ll be a breakthrough. Possibilities are on the horizon, but not being made yet.
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A hybrid plant or animal is the result of taking the best from two individuals to achieve one individual of higher quality.
“Hybrid Vehicle” is a misnomer. It is not the best of two propulsion systems, resulting in one improved individual, but rather both systems crammed into one with more parts and potential problems, not fewer. I want or need a Hybrid Vehicle like I want and need tap-dance lessons. EV simplicity is king.
Did you read the provided information? It agrees with you and tells you that GM has that equation, with materials and cost issues resolved.
I will have to buy a ICE car while waiting for those EVs in the near future, but I’ll be all in when available. Fewer moving parts, simplicity, and low maintenance are features I want. Range and charging issues will continue to improve, too. 400 miles offered by GM will just about work for me, for the near future.
CSA
The Prius is just about the most reliable vehicle on the road, of any type.
Improved, not solved. “Our Ultium battery cells feature a state-of-the-art Nickel Cobalt Manganese Aluminum (NCMA) chemistry, which was designed to reduce the cobalt content in our batteries by more than 70 percent.”
A 70 percent reduction per car, but we’re looking at many hundreds of percent increase in battery needs. And there’s also nickel and manganese to consider. A different chemistry is needed.
Do you think gas taxes should be reduced? IMO, the 18.4 cents per gallon rate should be increased since it has been the same since 1993. EVs should be taxed as well since they cause wear and tear on roads as well. If we assume an average of 15,000 miles per year and an equivalent of 50 mpg, then at the current rate, EV owners would pay a road tax af about $55/year. That seems reasonable for anyone that can afford an EV.
Washington State has a $75/yr annual surcharge for Hybrid owners, $225/yr for EV’s. No matter how many miles a year you drive.
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Hybrids remind me of the Snuggly, that overpriced blanket with sleeves that wasn’t a decent blanket or a decent sweatshirt. In car talk, a combination of 2 systems with twice the complexity and cost with no real advantage over either.
My guess is that as the EV and related infrastructure continue to develop and costs come down, it will crowd out gasoline in the urban and suburban areas, possibly extending to the rural areas but I’m not counting out home grown alternative fuels.
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@jtsanders In answer to your question, I don’t think gas tax should be reduced at present. As long as the fuel tax money actually goes to maintaining roads and bridges it is a reasonable and logical way to fund that need. And as federally mandated vehicle fuel efficiency has increased thereby reducing collected fuel tax, some solution is required to have sufficient tax funding for road maintenance.
I’m not sure just what is an equitable solution but I do know that historically it is very rare that old taxes are rescinded or reduced when new forms of taxation are introduced.
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There will likely come a time, as climate change is taken more seriously, where it will become cost prohibitive to own an ICE powered vehicle as the government will tax them heavily.
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I’m a long time Conservative but the reality is that what started as a way to sell off dangerous by products to power the ICE has survived far beyond it’s economically rational life largely because of Corporate Welfare programs in the form of “tax Depletion Allowances”, low cost drilling leases on our Federal Lands and immunity from the environmental costs of their products, not to mention the cost to the taxpayers of our “support” to some oil suppliers that’s come back to bite us in the butt.
Imagine if some of those tax breaks had been used instead to develop our electricity supply network.
The bottom line is that if you want to see the “real cost” of gas you don’t need to increase the taxes, simply eliminate the current subsidies but in the real world “persecuted citizens” who have been subsidized for years will be kicking up a fuss.
EV’s and/or Alternative Fuels are clearly our future so let’s start putting our money and our tax dollars on the winners.
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Noting that I agreed with the flag and deleted @texases’ post as requested. The topic and discussion were going ok. Let’s keep it that way. Thanks.
I think Texas meant to have his post deleted and the one by CSA .
Wrong button. Thank you.
Cancel Culture. That’s actually the name of a proposed EV. Gotta love it. Check it out!
CSA
I am fascinated with the technology developments I have seen in my 79+ years on this planet. I was in 8th grade before our family got a television set and the set was a black and white. The price was $295 in 1954 dollars. I remember discussions in my college years about whether or not the vacuum tube would be replaced with the transistor. Fifty years ago I was punching cards to be read into a computer and we had two runs a day. If we submitted our jobs before 8 a.m. we got our results back by 4 p.m. if we submitted our jobs before 4 p.m. we got our results back by 8 a.m. the next day. Eighteen years ago, we saw a plasma flat screen television for $5000. Now, an LED flat screen television set with the same size screen can be purchased at Walmart for about $300.
Yet, the changes in the automobile have been evolutionary rather than revolutionary. My first car, a 1947 Pontiac was powered by an internal combustion engine just as most cars are today. An automatic transmission became available on Pontiacs in 1948. Fuel injection was available in 1957 as was an integrated heating and air conditioning system. Sure, there have been improvements in cars, but nothing like the changes in computer technology or televisions.
One of the big advancements in the last 20 years has been the hybrid vehicles. I need a minivan and I am just now reading Consumer Reports test of the new Toyota Sienna hybrid. It is certainly more technically advanced than my 2017 Sienna. I am anxious to see what develops with EVs.
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Ev’s have been making strides in the last many years, still not as common as Hybrid’s around my area.I know owners of the Chevy Bolt and Kia Niro EV’s along with a few older Nissan Leaf’s but many still keep some sort of Hybrid in the fleet for longer trips.
My almost 74yr old dad has considered a EV of some sort but is letting the 300mi road trip that they normally take about once a month to see the grandkids keep them in the Prius or his CR-V rather than figure out where or how to recharge along the way. There are options along the way but something with a longer range would be preferred.
The future is not personal cars but hired cars. I imagine small buses that run every 5 minutes, paid for by taxes, not fares, traveling every major road, on call for minor roads. Cars spend most their lives parked. When you want to drive cross-country you rent a car.
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