What do you all think of Electric Vehicles?

[bjcheung77]

I'm not on the market for a new vehicle, but was interested in looking at the newer ones available later on this year.  I came across this a few months ago and it looked like an 'above average' option at a pretty good price point if you have the cash to get one.  Nissan isn't the biggest brand for EV's but they have a good set of cars already using EV and/or Hybrid technology.

Link: 2023 Nissan Ariya Starts At $45,950 In US, Reservations Now Open (motor1.com)

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Oh, and their link to the crash test video and auto debut: https://www.motor1.com/news/575719/nissa...est-video/

[rachel83az]

I think EVs are good in theory, but I'm not sure that they're all they're hyped up to be. At least, not yet. Battery disposal/recycling, in particular, can be quite damaging to the environment.

[ss20ts]

They're not really practically in many areas of the US. We don't have charging stations all over like gas stations. We have weather which can impact the batteries. If you're stuck in a traffic jam from an accident in the winter for 12 hours or more what do you do for heat? This actually happens several times a year in various parts of the country.

Then there's the whole mining lithium thing. The whole recycling thing. There's a great deal of environmental concerns with the batteries. Can the power grid support an increase in the number of people charging vehicles? Many communities struggle to keep the power on in a heatwave. There's a great deal of infrastructure that needs to happen to make these vehicles an every day reality. They're finally making batteries that can go for 200 miles. Still not enough for some of my day trips and vacations. There aren't any charging stations in campgrounds in the mountains. Can't tow anything with them either so that's a problem. I already drive a hybrid and it's got a ton of problems. I'm not really impressed with these vehicles based on my own experience of driving this SUV for 3 years.

[jsd]

the Lucid Air looks interesting

[Alpha]

They're certainly not for everyone but you will continue to see an increase in number.  Perhaps more practical for areas of higher population density, at least at this time.  If gas prices stay high they're more attractive.  Also, a shifting demographic could be to their advantage.  Look for more of these, especially in the cities.
12 Best Electric Bikes (2022): Affordable, Cargo, Folding, Commuter, and More | WIRED

[dfrecore]

Just remember that they're not powered by unicorn farts and rainbows - they use ELECTRICITY, which comes from...well, that depends on where you live and your local power plant. But when I hear snowflakes talking about them, they see the upside and none of the downside, and forget that charging them uses electricity...like coal-power, or nuclear-power, or whatever. They seem to think that electricity is magic or something. Oh, and then to set up a charging station in your home is fairly expensive; and then to charge it up isn't exactly free either. If you live somewhere like CA where electricity is quite expensive, your will will go up substantially to do this.

Once I left CA, it was SHOCKING to me how expensive electricity was. It's like 1/6 of the price here in SC. We pay about ⅓ of what we used to, in a bigger house, with more weather extremes (we previously lived in San Diego and didn't use heating or A/C for at least half of the year); and we had a huge amount of solar before, and it's still SO much less expensive here.

[Pats20]

For that kind of money give me a Ram with a Hemi 

[Alpha]

Just remember that they're not powered by unicorn farts and rainbows - they use ELECTRICITY, which comes from...well, that depends on where you live and your local power plant.  But when I hear snowflakes talking about them, they see the upside and none of the downside, and forget that charging them uses electricity...like coal-power, or nuclear-power, or whatever.  They seem to think that electricity is magic or something.  Oh, and then to set up a charging station in your home is fairly expensive; and then to charge it up isn't exactly free either.  If you live somewhere like CA where electricity is quite expensive, your will will go up substantially to do this.

Once I left CA, it was SHOCKING to me how expensive electricity was.  It's like 1/6 of the price here in SC.  We pay about ⅓ of what we used to, in a bigger house, with more weather extremes (we previously lived in San Diego and didn't use heating or A/C for at least half of the year); and we had a huge amount of solar before, and it's still SO much less expensive here.

I think that most people who buy these vehicles understand that they're going to be spending a bit more money with at least a bit more inconvenience factored in.  They see it as being pro-environmental and worth the cost.  The production of electricity is not without its problems but overall it's a cleaner alternative to gasoline powered vehicles.

[ss20ts]

For that kind of money give me a Ram with a Hemi 

You have no idea how much I miss my Hemi! I Fred Flintsone it uphill now.

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I think that most people who buy these vehicles understand that they're going to be spending a bit more money with at least a bit more inconvenience factored in.  They see it as being pro-environmental and worth the cost.  The production of electricity is not without its problems but overall it's a cleaner alternative to gasoline powered vehicles.

Burning coal is cleaner than gas powered vehicles? Burning natural gas is cleaner?

[rachel83az]

Burning coal is cleaner than gas powered vehicles? Burning natural gas is cleaner?

If your car was directly powered by coal? No. But it's more efficient (and thus less polluting) to make 1000W of power at once (for instance) than it is to have 20 generators, each producing 50W of power.

But there are still issues with the batteries and how damaging they can be to the environment.