Featured Forbes pits EV's against .... Everything?

In my case, we gave our 2003 Prius to our house keeper in April 2016 and needed a replacement. The local Toyota dealer did not have a 2016 Level 2 ECO with TSS-P so they tried to sell me a Level 3 for the price of a used BMW i3-REx with a TSS-P equivalent. I got the BMW.

Fast forward six months and the BMW was in the shop and I had reverted to our backup Prius w/o TSS-P about the same time as the 2017 Prius Prime samples showed up in Decatur. They sold that one before I got back the next day. I sold the non-TSS-P Prius and bought a replacement in Rhode Island. So what is the point?

"Why isn't everyone already doing this??" - Opportunity, price, performance. You can't buy what isn't there. When what you want is available, find it for a fair price and act.

I can't provide an answer for "everybody," just one sample, me.

Bob Wilson

 

Unfortunately, some do conflate their personal needs with everyone, and draw the conclusion that BEVs don't work.

Part of the fallacy is that people are thinking of how they fuel up their cars now. You pump your gas, and have to sit there and man the pump while the tank is filling. Doing that for 20 minutes would suck, but when charging a car, you do not have to stay with the car.

Twenty the thirty minutes of charge at a Supercharger today will give enough juice for about 2 hours of driving. Stop for another charge, and then grab a snack, use the rest room, and stretch the legs all while the car is charging. Doing those things with a gas will still take time, because you have to waste 5 minutes babysitting the pump instead of doing those other things.

A BEV with still increase travel time, but the forced breaks will likely make a long trip less stressful. ICE cars aren't getting banned, so the faster refueling and longer range will still be there for those that need or want it.

As for required space, the only Superchargers I've seen in person were at the I95 rest stop in Delaware. They were installed away from the building at parking spaces that already existed

Which really isn't a problem. There is plenty of households that can charge, but don't have a plug in car. It might become an issue later on, but it is already being addressed in some ares with changes to laws and codes.

It is also a financial question. These aren't like the batteries in your TV remote. It is a big part of the car in terms of cost. I recall it being cheaper to buy a whole new drill than just a replacement battery.

Renault had only offered a lease on the battery of their BEVs; smart has the option in the US. It lowers the price for the car, but under cuts the resale value. While the monthly fee can give assurance in covering battery replacement, it didn't change the fact rest of the car was still an old, used one. Then many that buy used do so to avoid having a monthly fee. Renault now offers to sell the battery with the car.

Battery swapping can follow a similar model, where users pay a monthly fee to lease a battery and for access to the swap service. Which includes all the pros and cons of leasing the battery separate from the car, plus the potential of getting a battery with a lower capacity than the one you just had.
Or it will be something like what Tesla did. A flat fee to swap, and then you stop to get your actual battery swapped in on your way back. If not, you pay for the new pack, minus whatever your old pack was worth.

See, the big difference between a propane tank and a battery is that the value of the battery isn't in the energy it carries, but in everything that holds it. A scuffed up tank will hold the same amount of propane, so you don't care about the wear. A battery with some wear may not hold has much electricity as the one swapped for it, and it may not charge or discharge as fast.

Battery swapping also requires standardized packs. Assuming you get everyone to agree to a format, the standardization could hinder the adoption of improved battery technologies.

Also work place, but we have time to address such charging for all.

I think the fees on those chargers that charge now are mostly for the parking.

 

I wonder why some gas stations don't install chargers as a way of feeding their drinks, cigarettes scratch-offs and food sales. The stations I go to have huge stores with lots of goodies and many parking spaces sitting unused. Add in a source of revenue and capture more customers for your high margin stuff and you'd seem to have a sensible use of space that sits largely unused. No need to add dozens, start out with 4. Gas stations aren't generally located in places that would encourage the all day parking that prevents multiple uses of each charger in a day.

 

There, fixed it.

Bob Wilson

 

want to see more of that. hopefully that is vdubs mindset.

 

Don't see many of those where I am. In fact, never. I travel from Nova Scotia to Florida and as far west as Ohio and I've seen exactly one sign for EV changing and no chargers at any stop I made. Not saying they aren't there, just not obvious and as well placed and sign signaled as they should be. Yea, I know you can find them via an app, how safe is that?

 

In the case of Tesla, they Tesla chargers are built into the onscreen navigation. I’d say it is quite safe.

 

they need those 400' high signs along the highway like the gas stations.

 

One of our local gas stations is taking advantage of VW's program. A good gas station with a little eating area is perfect for the amount of time it takes to quick charge, although still less preferable to a fast food or real restaurant.

 

How did that gas station submit and get approval of a proposal for funding?

That isn't a simple process. Our American Lung Association here had to jump through a number of hoops. The charger locations are all along the major highway corridor.

 

that's pretty cool. what route is that? can you snap a pic? i have not seen a vdub charging station. thanks!

 

I trust VW as much as ‘clean diesel.’ They have promised an electric MicroBus for a long, long time. Even Chrysler beat them with the Pacifica.

Bob Wilson

 

I am not an employee of the company (Casey's, so more like a regional company). I have no idea what the process was.

It's not finished yet, but the one in central Nebraska is real close. You can see pictures of both on PlugShare. Look in both Lincoln and Grand Island, Nebraska for quick chargers. They aren't hard to find since there are so few in the state.

Haha, sad, but true. I too questioned the wisdom, but I think I-80 is such a heavily traveled corridor, that is how they figured out where to start first.

I hope to give the Grand Island one a try in a few weeks. Will report back as far as pricing and speed and all that.

 

Porsche (now a division of VW) is planning to have 500 of these chargers in the US by the end of 2019. They claim their taycan (the real name of the mission e) will be released in 2019 and will be able to take advantage of these. They are installing some now to test the prototypes, and be ready for the real car.

400 "Ultra-Fast" 350 kW Charging Station Network Planned By 4 Automakers For Europe
Four auto companies (VW group, BMW, Mercedes, and Ford) have cooperated to extend the CCS standard to go to 1000V, these chargers will be 800V and included in that standard, and should be able to charge 400V ccs cars too. Hopefully some of the chargers will also have chademo or tesla plugs so that the tesla cars can take advantage of these too, or maybe tesla will create a ccs adapter.

Porsche's super-fast EV chargers are now plugged into the grid

 

At a P-car dealer's lot. Are there state laws saying you can't be on a dealer's lot after certain hours. Swear I've seen such signs. Down here, Sundays lots of things close.

 

Need to put them in church parking lots.

Bob Wilson