I’m seeing a lot of electric cars these days. Some are local, but I don’t think there are many. The hospital has some charging stations. No doubt they are mostly used by doctors showing off their expensive Teslas.
It’s not a big surprise to see a lot of electric cars with Massachusetts plates. Most electric cars can easily make the trip to northern New Hampshire from Boston. The big surprise is seeing electrics plated in Florida or Texas. Long road trips are totally doable.
It might be time to sell your gas station if you own one. Here’s my thinking on that. Gas cars can fill up in 5 or 10 minutes. During that time they can also pick up some snacks and drinks. It’s the snacks and drinks that really make money. Right now most electric cars take a good half hour to get a decent charge -much longer if you really want to top off. If you change your station from gas to electric there will be a lot less turn over.
That might not be as big an issue where land is cheap and you’ve room for all those slowly charging cars. In high property value areas the number just won’t work out. I haven’t even factored in the expense of installing all those electric charging stations.
So who’s going to put in charging stations? It makes sense for hotels where people are going to spend the night. Restaurants would also be good choices. I saw a big charging station at a Dunkin Donuts. You can have a coffee and a snack while waiting. Of course most people will start out with a charge from home.
For me, electrics just aren’t ready yet. In Japan they make cheap small electric trucks that I’d find very useful. They aren’t available in this country. Heck, small cheap electrics in general aren’t available. Actually, small cheap gas vehicles are pretty much nonexistent for that matter. Anyone who cracks the market with a decent and affordable electric vehicle should do well. Until then I’m stuck burning dead dinosaurs.
-Sixbears
It seems the economics aren't there for new EVs or even fuel powered vehicles. Who is buying these cars that cost multiple tens of thousands of dollars.
ReplyDeleteLet alone the fact that the grid cannot provide the juice with current facilities.
It's good to be old , and beyond those worries. Pity the youth
New cars in general are just stupid expensive. I like the idea of being able to "fuel" up an electric from my own solar panels. Of course, I'd need a lot more solar. Right now I could probably charge up an electric bike, but that's it.
DeleteAside from winter the e-bike is a useful solar panel recharged system. Snow-ice and bicycles is a no go for me.
DeleteCharging even an electric golf cart with no heater or ac is a huge amount of kilowatt hours. If I recall correctly in Florida where lots of sunshine is normal, they tried to sell solar roofed garages for golf carts. Still needed grid power for extended daily use.
Anybody REMEBER a few years ago when Telsa used wireless commands to "UNLOCK" their cars batteries for MORE RANGE?
Makes me a little uncomfortable that someone can use the cell towers to "Adjust" my e-car.
Maybe I'm a little paranoid but it's bad enough that police can TURN OFF your On-Star Automobile.
The rule of thumb I found was charging an electric car fully is equal to an all-electric American homes power use for 3 days.
We're having trouble with all the green power shutdown the "evil" fossil fueled BASE Power load plants to even give us reliable grid power BEFORE Electric cars become uncommon.
The Child SLAVE Labor for the rare earths for those "Virtuous" Electric cars bothers me.
The fact that over 90% of "SOLAR Electricity Farms are in fact running Natural gas generators for most of their "Green Production" is hypocritical at best.
Electric cars are best described as slave labor created coal burning cars.
There are small cheap electrics, that are used in a variety of ways. Golf carts. Many large warehouses use them inside, larger resorts use them for housekeeping,/shuttles/landscaping. Also, used in many gated communities. Places like the Villages in Florida are just a little too big for the electrics, so gas is more popular. I used to live in a Del Web community and golf carts were popular as second cars. Even had golf cart access to the adjacent strip mall for shopping.
ReplyDeleteMy dad lived in a FL community where electric golf carts were the norm. It made sense for his park. Out here in the country I'd need at least a solid real world 100 mile rage and 60 mph speed -and could run in the winter.
DeleteI understand, they are not for all purpose use. But, in the communities where they work, they are a better alternative to electric cars. I live in an area that is mostly retirees and golf carts are the norm for second vehicles. Somehow this is overlooked the the greenies.
DeleteMy dad used his like a mini truck half the time. He'd done some modifications so he could do things like haul building materials and yard waste.
DeleteMy brother's employer (SoCal) has a semi for making deliveries. They're buying an electric tractor. The tax incentives (Federal and state) make it a wash with a diesel for purchasing. They're expanding their current solar installation and will mostly charge the tractor from that. Besides that, there is the expected savings in maintenance costs.
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