EV news. Hybrid News. A Path Forward.

Next gen seems will be definite.

 

Might be the replacement for my trusty 2009 Tacoma.... if I don't get tempted by the new Tundra hybrid first. Not that I really need anything that big.

 

Great news!! $7.5 Billion from infrastructure bill going towards EV chargers!! 500,000 chargers by 2030, $65 billion towards electrical grid for EV and customer grid improvements and lots of jobs!!. PROGRESS!!!

https://www.greencarreports.com/new...ard-nationwide-network-of-500-000-ev-chargers

 

That'll help for sure but it is gonna take a looooong time to get it where you can charge an EV anywhere as quickly and conveniently as gassing up. Just thinking about my own situation.... an EV that I charge at home would be 100% perfect for my normal daily driving. But on weekends I go to my GF's place that is in a condo building with outside parking, some designated for owners, some for visitors. Even if they eventually install charge points for owners what about visitors? And how will they work? Can't be free for just anyone driving around so would need credit card interfaces. Then we drive out to PA many weekends and gas up along the way in rural areas. Good luck finding an EV charge point there. This infrastructure bill is a start but it is really only a baby step compared to the scale we are talking about.

And they really need a breakthrough like the solid state batteries under development that will hold more charge safely and be able to be charged much more rapidly. But then that will require much more robust electric power infrastructure everywhere. Not saying that we won't ever get there but it is going to be a long time. So as much as I'd like to get an EV version of a Tacoma, I believe that for at least the next 10 or 20 years a hybrid will be the better choice. IOW this transition will not be like flipping a switch.

 

By 2030 Solid State batteries and sub 20 min charging will be in play for sure. As EV batteries are still an ever evolving power source every month seems to bring new innovations with small hurdles to jump to bring faster charge times to all. It's coming. No doubt. But as far as charging cost's, this is America, you will pay for charging everywhere but still it's cheaper to charge than gas up to go the same mileage. That's been proven. But in Finland and Norway i believe, charging is free for all EV owners. That is subsidised by their governments and also taxes they pay and profits from fossil fuel production are deferred somehow. But still less than what Americans would pay for charging.

 

Oh, yeah, paying is fine. My point is the logistics and scale of it all. There are just so many different types of buildings, residences and road topographies that the path to duplicating the ability to fuel EVs as easily as gassing up is a very long road indeed. Another scenario to consider... basically any interstate highway or turnpike with service plazas between cities... Even if you manage to duplicate the number of gas pumps with EV chargers (that's a LOT!) and an EV optimistically takes only 2x or 3x the time to "fill up", you will have enormous lines and waits. I haven't seen any credible plans for how to make this work. Not saying it can't and won't eventually. But IMO we are talking decades to get there. Or we just won't be doing many road trips.

 

Well people do take long road trips now in EV's. Their route is dictated by the charging areas. The logistics of placement of the chargers is beyond our skillset i would think but private buildings, apt complexes, condos etc. are the responsibility of the owners of said buildings to install chargers. There are subsidies to install them there. So EV owners at apartments and condos need to pressure the landlord or building owner for chargers.

 

Sure they do. But that is maybe 1% of the traffic if even that. And even then that requires a lot of planning and thought. I have seen service plazas where the few Tesla chargers were all in use. If you then drove up you'd be waiting for a couple hours, at least, just to get started charging.... except that probably wouldn't even work because I bet those slots are reserved. So forget about impromptu trips.

The issue is developing an EV charging infrastructure to the enormous scale that will address the entire fleet and be at least equivalent to the current situation for ICE vehicles. That's why my next Tacoma will be a hybrid, not an EV. Got to get through what I believe will be a very messy and lengthy transition period.

 

Well this is the current state of EV charging and why this infrastructure bill is so important. The need was assessed and stalled a few years ago but now it's getting done. We all just have to wait for battery technology to catch up to America's fast food quick world of EV charging times.

 

Yup, this is a definitely a good thing in very many ways. But "getting it done" is an overly optimistic assessment. This is a baby step... But you need to take those before you can walk. And like babies we can "fall down" again several times along the way.

 

Yep, will take time. People have to be patient. But easier to complain than be patient for some..lol

 

https://www.wired.com/story/norway-electric-vehicle-tax/

 

Unfortunately, patience is not a strong human characteristic!

 

We are going to be in the same boat as ICE vehicle numbers decline since the gas tax is the primary way roads are funded in most places.

 

Looks like they already have a plan. One thing is for sure, the government knows how to tax the shit out of its’ subjects…errr I mean citizens.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfr...-vehicle-mileage-tax-program/?sh=291fd4e031c6

 

That makes the most sense. I have believed we should have gone to this a long time ago for this (EV transition) and other reasons... like sprawl, that allows a few to benefit from roads built and paid for by the many who will never use them.

 

Well it's a volunteer pilot program. Be interesting the states that opt in.

 

Guessing it will become mandatory once EVs out number the gassers.

 

Who knows. But if it makes the roads safer I don't mind.

 

No, it is just an alternate, and IMO fairer, way to replace the revenue that was generated by the gas tax. And in many ways very similar since a gas tax is pretty much a mileage use tax already. Got to build and maintain roads somehow.