EV news. Hybrid News. A Path Forward.

Had the sub panel and Tesla charger installed yesterday. The 110 outlet wasn’t keeping up with my charging needs. Also installed the rimetrix black wheel covers. I think they look great.

 

I get that not everyone can charge from home, but for those of us that can it changes everything. With my truck the first thing I do is look at the gas gauge and judge if there's enough or if I have to stop and get some. With my Tesla it's charged and ready to go all the time, I just get in and drive. The EV naysayers like to drone on about range anxiety, but honestly I have more range anxiety with my truck. Do I have enough gas? Did I leave enough time to fill up or should I do it later? Who has the best gas price? And lets not forget how the gas nozzle always makes your hand stink afterward.

 

Don't forget about the germs on that gas nozzle. I think the biggest hurdle for widespread EV ownership is availability and up front cost. Leaving home every morning with a "full tank" is just so nice. I wasn't super interested in EVs until I test drove my first Tesla. For me the performance and Torque of the Tesla was eye opening.

 

Can’t say I’ve ever cared or thought twice about germs on a pump handle before.

 

BC announces 5 year acceleration in 100% EV sales target to 2035 from original 2040 date

18% of 2022 car sales in BC were zero emissions with 100,000 vehicles currently registered in the province

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-zero-emission-vehicle-sales-1.6807157

 

To be fair the handles on the Supercharges are pretty gross. Not gross like a gas nozzle coated in gasoline, but still . . . My level 2 charger is as clean as any other thing in the garage.

 

Would you buy this for $30k if it came to the US? 318 Miles range AWD, and 350 mile range for RWD at $27k

Zeekr X Goes On Sale, Offers 348 Miles Of Range For Just $27,600 (insideevs.com)

 

I think that would be a popular EV at that price with the stated mileage and AWD.

 

No, but I sure can see why its tempting.

Our political parties need to get out of the way and let our businesses go, China is going to eat our lunch on this very very soon and we will have nobody to blame but ourselves.

 

How is living with it? I'm eyeing a Tesla a LOT but I fear I would dislike it quickly. For a family vehicle absolutely, for me though I like my vroom vroom noises far too much.

I had considered the "exhaust" you can buy for a Tesla but I wouldn't consider paying that kind of money for sound OUTSIDE the car. I sure as hell would pay for an App (and sadly would also pay $2.99 a pop sounds files) to play different sounds INSIDE the car though, and I hate that I admit that...

 

I've only had mine for a week and half. So far its been great. If you have never driven one try to find one to test drive. I can totally understand why they may not be for everyone. Once I test drove one I was shocked how much I really liked it. Then it was a matter of working out if I could make it happen financially and if cost of ownership would make sense. I had envisioned getting a model 3 but once I drove the Y having the extra space and slightly higher riding position made more sense. The smooth instant torque is a blast. There is a bit of a tech learning curve with them but if you enjoy tech then I think you would enjoy the Tesla. Of course this is all just my opinion.

 

Same or better range than a model 3 at about $15k less is pretty tempting for sure.

 

If it got decent reviews I would definitely consider it

Japan already ate Detroit's lunch in the late 70's and early 80's. China is going to finish the left overs and eat some of other makers in the process.

I now laugh at vroom vroom noises. All that noise and fuss for such slow acceleration. The other day a Dodge Charger looking thing (I know nothing about Chargers) decided he was going to race my Model Y on the freeway on ramp. The only way I knew he was racing me was his V8 vroom vroom noises behind me. I could tell he was going pedal to the metal, my Tesla was at maybe 60% and driving normally for me. I bumped it up to 80% and left mister Charger with a clear view of my tail lights. Freeway on ramp silliness aside having the instant throttle response makes everyday driving a pleasure in a way that vroom vroom cars can't even understand.

 

The state of Tesla charging -
February 2022 I went on my first EV road trip to southern California. About every 2 hours I'd stop to recharge myself and the car. April 2023 I went on another EV road trip to southern California following pretty much the same route. Almost every super charger on my route has doubled, tripled or quadrupled the number of chargers. In 2022 I had one 5 minute wait to get one of the 8 the chargers at Primm Nevada. In 2023 there are 32 chargers at Primm and no waiting. The number of Teslas charging has also increased noticeably. Even though there were more cars, charging was a non-issue. I never once had to wait and never once had a problem with a charger, they just worked.

 

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It's not necessarily about just the noise, or just the performance, or just the ...

Driving is like a orchestra, the collection of different components. The noise is the percussion, the handling is the woodwinds, the performance is the brass. This is why the Miata and the BRZ are loved, they are a small band, but a good one.

I'm afraid the Tesla will be like a good trombone (a brass), an amazing component on its own but still far from the cohesiveness of a whole orchestra.

I am dying to try one. I'm just afraid that pure power won't be enough.
I do have a reservation on the cybertruck, I just hope I can get over how terrible it looks

 

As the former owner of a BMW M5 I am completely aware of the symphony and have conducted many, many performances. I'll take the EV's instant response to the gas pedal 10 times out of 10 over the sluggish BMW engine and manual transmission. You really should drive a Tesla. If there's a showroom near you the test drive process is super simple. Go online, pick a time, go to the showroom, show your drivers license and proof of insurance, test drive. There is absolutely no dealership bull shit. When my wife and I took our test drive we were giggling like school kids. She kept telling me "do it again! Do it again!" as I hit the go pedal and pin us both back in the seat. After a bit over a year and 25K miles it still isn't getting old. If anything I like it even more.

 

The biggest complaints I have with our Tesla Model 3 are all related to the use of the touchscreen for applications where traditional buttons/dials/switches would result in less distraction for the driver.

Examples: Controlling the air conditioning, setting a wiper speed manually (or turning them off when the automatic wipers just start doing their thing for no apparent reason), opening the glovebox, locking and unlocking the doors (apparently a long press of the door open button will do this, but it's never worked for me), etc.

 

Good to hear it from a guy who understands.
I have taken a few of the Tesla test drives and enjoyed them but want to try one for longer.

 

Ah yes, I forgot about that lackluster model. I live in SoCal and have yet to see one in the wild, that should say something as to its viability. Business insider was none too impressed with it during their real world test drive. But alas it’s a Toyota so it’ll probably work just fine for its lifetime, even if it’s a few measures behind the rest of the orchestra.

https://www.businessinsider.com/toyota-bz4x-electric-car-road-trip-charging-time-range-2023-4

 

Provided the wheels don't fall off...