Why Americans don't buy Electric Vehicles

Is that a viking longship on the top of your Prius?

 

And even when Europeans do choose to drive small cars etc., it's probably not 100% for noble cultural reasons. Mostly it's because the State imposes predatory taxes on the automobile users (up to 100%) to prop up the increasingly insolvent welfare state. To use a parable, those kids eat Brussels sprouts and spinach for lunch not because they are so health-conscious, but because if they asked for a burger or mac'n'cheese a big bully would come and take half of their lunch money away.

 

I think you are correct, sadly. I just went looking and the closest thing i could find to what I’m talking about is a John Deere Gator, and they don’t make them electrically-powered yet. They’ve got a large gas powered unit that pretty much fits the bill for about $13k.

I notice there is a fancier version of it (air conditioning!) for $22k.

 

No it's a Grumman 17-ft aluminum canoe but yes it is a antique almost.
I usually use a fishing kayak these days, which I learned about from a guy here on PriusChat who stuffs the kayak in the back of his Prius (with the liftback open a little bit). .

PS- I appreciate all your input above...thank you for relating your experience. I'd say the orig PiP is my fav plug-in so far, which I would not completely rule out buying a used one if it showed up on my driveway or something.

 

The Mahindra Roxxor, a redo of an old Wrangler, is $16k. Like the Gator, it ain't street legal.

I saw Sparks listed for $10k at a large Baltimore dealer. So a tiny pick up for that much is possible. An EV will always cost more than a plain ICE due to the required material difference, and dealers will want more profit as their business will shift away from service.

 

I saw that Mahindra up close at the Detroit auto show back in January. Not bad.

Ah, it’s all pie in the sky to me. I just keep trying to think of a way to get into an EV ahead of the bell curve, but I just don’t think I can afford to.

 

I bought my Spark EV used and couldn't be happier.

 

Used i3 ~$15k.
1st gen Leafs and eFiats are dirt cheap (and crap, though).

 

The longer range i3 would work for me, and I'll look into a used one. Replacing odd sized tires is a con though.

 

I am hopeful the plug-in Prius will evolve to get the following: 1. A much longer electric range, ideally at least 50 mi, which should help mop some orphaned Volt enthusiasts, 2. An AWD option, like the non-Prime Prius did, 3. Less mean face (the 2020 model is already moving in this direction), and 4. Few more color colors, that are not black, white or gray.

Regarding the input ... the best help we, drivers, can give the non-Tesla car companies in their quest to produce the automotive equivalent of the Boeing 707 is to ignore any half-baked compliance dreck. Then they'd have the Darwinian choice: come up with something viable and fast, or to go extinct at the first signs of the next market slowdown.

 

For 50 miles you already have Clarity. For Prime, instead of doubling the range (and doubling the battery size, thus further reducing the cargo space) I'd rather have the ability to supercharge and get its 30 or so EV miles in, say, 10...20 minutes.

 

Not a good idea since a majority of L3 Chargers are not free and would cost much more than gas to drive the same distance.

 

I think no-one really "has" the Clarity. It may have a good powertrain and tax credits on its side, but the car is GRAU (generally recognizes as ugly) and it is completely oblivious of the US drivers aspirations as far as the body shape and practicality ... put the same powertrain into the HRV, add AWD, price it reasonably ,and watch it beat all non-Tesla plugs.

 

…put it into the Accord,* leave AWD out, price it even more reasonably and watch it do all that and take on T as well.

*And bring back the Accord Wagon, dangit!

I swear, the Clarity and the Prius bodies are plausible deniability rendered in sheetmetal. “Well if nobody likes it we’ll blame it on the styling"

 

it is obvious that no manufacturer really wants to sell alt fuel vehicles, except vdumb and their cheating diesels, but that ship has sailed

 

Putting it into the Accord is better than leaving it in the Clarity, but I very humbly disagree with the rest of your proposal. The Accord is low, so it would be harder for it to accommodate a larger battery - and to make it more attractive to the American public, who loves taller vehicles. The AWD option in EV's is much simpler and cheaper than in ICE, yet it gives an important boost to safety, practicability and - yes! - instant acceleration. The way things are now, the US consumers would rather pay a higher price for something they really want instead of grabbing a bargain for something they don't quite like.

 

if they put it into a crv, they'd lose so much money, it might bankrupt them

 

And a guess at the price point on a pack that can handle that kind of charge/discharge scheduling?

How does Tesla do it? and for only 40K

 

My interpretation is Japan feels hybrids are good for their country's situation, USA manufacurers might like to see plug-in mandates in part to help them compete since Japan is not fighting to put a whole lot of wonderful plug-in cars into the plug-in space, also US autos want to make SUV's but get a credit offsets for plug-ins, and also they never liked Big Oil so they are happy to pursue alternates.

Auto industry in USA was always saddled with the characteristic of many employees with pension and benefits needs, so they are always behind the cost 8-ball. Oil industry characrtieristic is vey few employees (relative to auto industry) so that gives an advantage there that in part explains the autos attitudes, assuming the rivalry/animosity is still there like it used to be.

 

it's all consumer driven though. do you think gm wants plug ins because they signed the cali pact?

no matter what cali mandates, consumers will still make personal choices based on available options