[Sean-a-Tron]

We've all bought EV's for various reasons, however, are you EV 4 LIFE?


In other news, I will have owned my Volt for 1 year in two days! I'm still loving the car, though the infotainment system is irritatingly buggy and lacks user friendliness.

 

[llninja]

I'm all over the map for my next vehicle. It could end up being a CTS PHEV, a Tesla model S, a Jaguar iPace, a Volvo V60 hybrid, an NSX, an i8, or even a used ELR. But then again as recently as last weekend I was searching for crew cab Silverados and deciding between a silverado or a suburban. We could even end up with a Subaru Outback. Odds are the next car will turn out to be something not even on my current radar. Maybe an Apple Car?

 

[Mister Dave]

Heteromorphic

.

All polls should have an "I like pizza" option.

 

[charliebrown]

EV 4 LIFE baby. My 2014 Volt has 31k miles @ 250+ mpg. My next car will likely be all electric... hopefully self-driving...

The auto business is going electric..like it or not. I keep telling people their next car is likely to be an EV The trend is in motion folks. No one gonna stop this freight train now...

https://electrek.co/2017/05/05/electric-vehicle-sales-vs-gas-2040/

 

[Shivetya]

No. The simple reason is the technology is not ready yet and likely won't be for five years. People celebrating a mediocre two hundred mile range in good conditions are just reaching. The near future is some form or REX EV at best. Battery technology still requires half a ton or more of batteries to get acceptable range for local use only, it is no where near usable for regular long distance travel; the idea of waiting an hour between four hour drives is laughable.

 

[llninja]

EV 4 LIFE baby. My 2014 Volt has 31k miles @ 250+ mpg. My next car will likely be all electric... hopefully self-driving...

The auto business is going electric..like it or not. I keep telling people their next car is likely to be an EV The trend is in motion folks. No one gonna stop this freight train now...

https://electrek.co/2017/05/05/electric-vehicle-sales-vs-gas-2040/

2040 is a glacial pace. In 2010 when the first volt was released, I was hoping that by now there would be a dozen electrified vehicles from GM. Where are we at today? We have volt g1/g2 and short-loved spark EV (limited availability), the bolt, the ELR, the CT6 PHEV, and the Chevy Malibu Hybrid. Tesla has the model S and X with the 3 on the way. Nissan still only has the leaf. BMW has the i3 and i8. Audi the a3 Etron. Ford has the focus ev, fusion energy, and Cmax. volvo has the v90. Mercedes has one B-class. Toyota has the Prius prime. Then there's the laughable Miev. Hardly a choice if you ask me.

There are more on the way with Ford and VW piling on soon, but every year I'm hoping for somebody to show up with a volt beater with a Rex, yet the volt still reigns supreme. Where's a 300 mile BEV? Why isn't there an AWD electric CUV? Where are the trucks and my favorite, a Voltec Subyukonade? Who is going to be the first traditional automaker to go all-in and offer ice, range extended, and battery-only options for their entire vehicular lineup? In my eyes, it's not happening fast enough.

 

[bjrosen]

What I really want is a BEV with 450 miles of range and an extensive fast charger network, it might be 10 years before that happens. I would settle for a Gen3 Volt or other EREV with 1/2 Bolt range, 120 miles, which I expect to see much sooner. A 120 mile EREV is effectively a pure electric for all local driving and I can still go somewhere. Let's look at my driving for the last two weeks,

Last weekend went into Boston to see a Gilbert and Sullivan opera. The garage that I park at when I goto symphony or operas is the Christian Science Plaza garage which has (or had) two free EVSEs, one has been broken all year, now both are, so I had to use the crappy L1 that came with the car (they have outlets in the EV spaces). As a result even with an opera I couldn't get a full charge and had to come back partially on gas. If the Volt was 1/2 of a Bolt the trip to Boston and back would be 100% electric with no need for destination charging. All of my frequent local trips, Newburyport, Rockport, Jaffery NH, would be 100% electric with no need for a recharge which would be great because none of those places has charging available.

Memorial day weekend. Went to Northern Vermont, did 980 mile in three days. This trip would have been impossible in any BEV on the market today except maybe a P100 Tesla which would have been white knuckle close to it's range limit (it also costs more than I paid for my house in 1983). Vermont is doable in a Tesla if you stick to the interstate because Tesla has a supercharger in Lebanon NH and Burlington VT but that's an utterly uninteresting trip. We used highways as far as Woodstock VT and then it was all country roads, drove up via Middlebury and back via Fort Ticonderoga NY, not a problem for the Volt which has 400 miles of gas range on top of the EV range (which was depleted on the trip up, got a little charge at the hotel via the Level 1 but not a full charge because they shutoff the light pole outlets at dawn). A 450 mile BEV with superchargers would have been comfortable for this trip but the P100's 315 mile range would have been at the hairy edge, probably would have worked but you couldn't risk it because there is no backup for a BEV (i.e. AAA can't bring you a can of electrons if you run out of charge). A longer range EREV (i.e. Volt with 1/2 Bolt range) would have improved the trip by increasing the EV% to 40 or 50 but a 120 mile range is not as life changing as it would be for local driving.

Bottom line is that I expect my next car to be a >100 mile EREV and the one after that to be a 450 mile BEV.

 

[eDreamin']

...Bottom line is that I expect my next car to be a >100 mile EREV and the one after that to be a 450 mile BEV.

I'm with BJ. With the current battery technology and charging infrastructure, BEVs are not the complete answer, and I don't expect to see radically better tech before 2030. Put 100 miles of electric range in a non-compact car (Malibu, Impala, Equinox, etc.), and the world will be better off. But don't expect it anytime soon, because car manufacturers make more money polluting the world, and that's the bottom line.

Oh, and I like pizza too.

 

[llninja]

What I really want is a BEV with 450 miles of range and an extensive fast charger network, it might be 10 years before that happens. I would settle for a Gen3 Volt or other EREV with 1/2 Bolt range, 120 miles, which I expect to see much sooner. A 120 mile EREV is effectively a pure electric for all local driving and I can still go somewhere. Let's look at my driving for the last two weeks,

Last weekend went into Boston to see a Gilbert and Sullivan opera. The garage that I park at when I goto symphony or operas is the Christian Science Plaza garage which has (or had) two free EVSEs, one has been broken all year, now both are, so I had to use the crappy L1 that came with the car (they have outlets in the EV spaces). As a result even with an opera I couldn't get a full charge and had to come back partially on gas. If the Volt was 1/2 of a Bolt the trip to Boston and back would be 100% electric with no need for destination charging. All of my frequent local trips, Newburyport, Rockport, Jaffery NH, would be 100% electric with no need for a recharge which would be great because none of those places has charging available.

Memorial day weekend. Went to Northern Vermont, did 980 mile in three days. This trip would have been impossible in any BEV on the market today except maybe a P100 Tesla which would have been white knuckle close to it's range limit (it also costs more than I paid for my house in 1983). Vermont is doable in a Tesla if you stick to the interstate because Tesla has a supercharger in Lebanon NH and Burlington VT but that's an utterly uninteresting trip. We used highways as far as Woodstock VT and then it was all country roads, drove up via Middlebury and back via Fort Ticonderoga NY, not a problem for the Volt which has 400 miles of gas range on top of the EV range (which was depleted on the trip up, got a little charge at the hotel via the Level 1 but not a full charge because they shutoff the light pole outlets at dawn). A 450 mile BEV with superchargers would have been comfortable for this trip but the P100's 315 mile range would have been at the hairy edge, probably would have worked but you couldn't risk it because there is no backup for a BEV (i.e. AAA can't bring you a can of electrons if you run out of charge). A longer range EREV (i.e. Volt with 1/2 Bolt range) would have improved the trip by increasing the EV% to 40 or 50 but a 120 mile range is not as life changing as it would be for local driving.

Bottom line is that I expect my next car to be a >100 mile EREV and the one after that to be a 450 mile BEV.

Ummmm, no. The gen1 volt got 38 miles of range, gen2 gets 53 miles. There is no way they will double it to over 100. I actually fear that there will not be a gen3 when BEVs become more and more popular. If there is a gen3 volt, my guess is 75 miles of EV range before you switch to Dino juice, and Ari C will be one of the few who might be able to stretch that to 100+, but us mere mortals will be happy with 80 on a good day with then wind at our backs.

 

[Norton]

I'm all over the map for my next vehicle. It could end up being....or even a used ELR. ....

Saw a silver ELR out in the wild for the first time!!!
What a beautiful car and so exotic! People probably think it's that Badass Cadddy with the +500 HP.

I was passing it at 80 mph on the interstate in my silver SBox Chevy BEV.
Gave it the thumbs up, but it was illegally tinted and I couldn't see in.

I change my vote:

 

[Norton]

... my guess is 75 miles of EV range before you switch to Dino juice, and Ari C will be one of the few who might be able to stretch that to 100+, but us mere mortals will be ...

It's not hard.
Just drive as slow as humanly possible.

 

[bjrosen]

Ummmm, no. The gen1 volt got 38 miles of range, gen2 gets 53 miles. There is no way they will double it to over 100. I actually fear that there will not be a gen3 when BEVs become more and more popular. If there is a gen3 volt, my guess is 75 miles of EV range before you switch to Dino juice, and Ari C will be one of the few who might be able to stretch that to 100+, but us mere mortals will be happy with 80 on a good day with then wind at our backs.

The Bolt's 60KW battery is a little more than 2X the weight of the Volt's 18KW battery. The Bolt is also rated at 119 MPGe vs 103 MPGe for the Volt. Roll the Bolt's improvements back into the Volt and put in 1/2 of the Bolt's battery, 30 KWh, and you have a Volt with 120 miles of EV range at the same weight as the Gen2 Volt. The Volt is more aerodynamic than the Bolt, which frankly is a brick on wheels, and you should be able to do better than that.

 

[flyingsherpa]

I'm with BJ. With the current battery technology and charging infrastructure, BEVs are not the complete answer, and I don't expect to see radically better tech before 2030. Put 100 miles of electric range in a non-compact car (Malibu, Impala, Equinox, etc.), and the world will be better off. But don't expect it anytime soon, because car manufacturers make more money polluting the world, and that's the bottom line.

Oh, and I like pizza too.

I don't expect we'll ever see an EREV with that much AER... it's really diminishing returns for the vast majority of cases, so it makes little sense to increase the car's cost (batteries are getting cheaper, but still costly and heavy) for such edge cases. I'm not saying I wouldn't like it, because I would, I just don't see a car company doing it as it doesn't make financial sense. My guess is that the longest range EREV will be 60-70 miles AER (I expect gen3 Volt to be around 60 max, if they make one, as I think they'll focus on cost reduction rather than range increases). But we'll see!

I do consider myself to be "EV 4 Life" but I think I'll have a PHEV/EREV just because I only have one car and don't want to deal with charging on roadtrips. Also, I rent my home, and that can make it hard to find a place that allows charging, so I need gas to make sure I don't get stranded.

 

[llninja]

Saw a silver ELR out in the wild for the first time!!!
What a beautiful car and so exotic! People probably think it's that Badass Cadddy with the +500 HP.

I was passing it at 80 mph on the interstate in my silver SBox Chevy BEV.
Gave it the thumbs up, but it was illegally tinted and I couldn't see in.

I change my vote:

No, you need to try deep dish papa del's

https://www.papadels.com

 

[Fourdoor]

If anyone makes an AFORDABLE RWD convertible EV (think, miata EV) I am all in... but I can't afford a Tesla Roadster, so instead I am burning E-85 in my heavily modified Miata...

I have even looked into doing an EV conversion on my Miata, but currently they are still pretty expensive to do.

Keith

 

[jupitermoon]

No. The simple reason is the technology is not ready yet and likely won't be for five years. People celebrating a mediocre two hundred mile range in good conditions are just reaching. The near future is some form or REX EV at best. Battery technology still requires half a ton or more of batteries to get acceptable range for local use only, it is no where near usable for regular long distance travel; the idea of waiting an hour between four hour drives is laughable.

How can the technology not be there when people are using it every day and living with it just fine? How many products would you like me to name that are also "mediocre" and yet people are using it and have no issues with?

Do you carry around a 10 gallon tank of water when you go for a hike or run? If not, then why would you want a 400 mile range car to sit in traffic 2 hours a day every day 50 weeks a year just so you can "occasionally" go further?

 

[llninja]

Any affordable EV coupe (doesn't need to be a ragtop), I'm in. I'm suddenly about to become an empty nester as the youngest is headed to a math and science boarding school. So a use Does ELR is a distinct possibility.

 

[bjrosen]

How can the technology not be there when people are using it every day and living with it just fine? How many products would you like me to name that are also "mediocre" and yet people are using it and have no issues with?

Do you carry around a 10 gallon tank of water when you go for a hike or run? If not, then why would you want a 400 mile range car to sit in traffic 2 hours a day every day 50 weeks a year just so you can "occasionally" go further?

200 miles is just a commuter car, for me that's useless because I don't commute but I do take long trips every Saturday in good weather, at least 250 miles but usually well in excess of 300 (a couple of my day trips are nearly 400 miles). There is no BEV, including a Tesla P100, that would handle my needs at the moment. The addition of a few more superchargers and the Tesla could almost do it but there is no way in hell that I'd pay more for a car then I did for my house. For me a BEV needs at least 400 miles of range plus a much more extensive fast charging network to be practical and that's not going to happen until the middle of the next decade. A Bolt would be useless as an only car as will the Model 3 which is going to max out at a 75KWh battery, both are completely satisfactory as second cars. The Volt can go anywhere that I want to go, just did a 980 mile trip around Vermont and back, but it's EV range isn't good enough to be a pure EV at home, a 100 mile range and it would be. I think a 100 mile Volt is completely doable with current technology and I hope GM builds one, but I fear Chevy may be putting all of it's eggs in the Boltec basket and won't bother doing anymore Voltec cars even though that's a mistake because the CCS network is years away from being good enough (it's non-existant right now) and batteries need to double in energy density before they have sufficient range for all purpose cars.

 

[Dutch]

A "battery only" vehicle with a 150 mile (minimum) range would not work for me as my -only- vehicle, but it would be heavily utilized for about 90% of my yearly travel. The remaining 10% is a fairly even split between distance trips (400-700 miles) and "heavy" work like towing.

Having said that, now that I've been driving mostly EV for a while now, I would be EXTREMELY irritated to go back to a typical ICE vehicle full time.

 

[SSonnentag]

I'm with Norton. I change my vote from EV for life to PIZZA!