Featured PHEV Era needs to immediately end

The first step is the buyer to do a requirements analysis with mandatory and optional. Then do a market survey to compare and contrast the possible vehicles. Our experience:

• 2014 BMW i3-REx - the car fully meets our long distance and local requirements and was critical to understanding the important features of an EV.
• 2017 Prius Prime - the car fully met our long distance requirements but was marginal around town. It also confirmed that fast DC charging is critical for long range EV travel.
• 2019 Std Rng Plus Model 3 - bought in part by trading in the Prius Prime and retaining the BMW i3-REx as backup.

It is hubris to eliminate PHEV as a possible solution. They have value as a transition and teaching vehicle. In some cases, people may stall or even revert to ICE. Since a PHEV is their purchase, I can share my experience but there are cases where a PHEV makes sense.

Bob Wilson

 

HaHa - there is no way that every car buyer tomorrow will be able to acquire an EV even if there were facilities for charging.

Which there aren't in most places - there are still villages on our planet where they don't have electricity!!!! He needs to get real.

But the biggest issue would be - battery supply. EVs use huge batteries compared with PHEVs - which are huge compared with Hybrids.

End of story - come back in 10 years.

 

Executive summary:



Seemed like a very long-winded way of recognizing that people want solo carpool lane access and substantial financial relief from the price of cars via tax incentives, and that everything else (including energy source) is secondary.

 

Seems an odd strategy to eliminate one option from a consumers choice.

He makes some good points but fails to realize everyone doesn't think like himself or share his particular driving situation

I think PHEV's will take care of themselves. Subsidiaries eventually run out and the consumer will eliminate or extend PHEV manufacturing based on their marketplace choice.

Don't think consumers need him to tell them which - they are smart enough to decide on their own
if the PHEV makes sense for them.

 

click bait

 

I commented on his dumb rant.

Every year I've owned my Prime I've taken at least 10 trip-legs that couldn't have been done in a long-range EV. This year, that's only been two trip-legs so far because of the pandemic, but that still means if I had bought, say, a Model 3 long range I'd have had over 30 trips so far I'd have been unable to do.

That's unacceptable. Until EVs are capable of meeting 100% of my needs - as my Prius Prime is - then I won't be buying one. It would be ideal if they met my needs at a similar price to what I paid for my Prime Advanced, which was $23.4k out-the-door after tax credits. They also have to do it without the intense pain of the boredom of waiting for a car to charge. I'll tolerate 10 minutes, but 8 minutes would be better.

 

Must be a chaz buzzword fanatic.

How do you "defund big oil"?

 

That may be true, but most places have electricity, and where there is electricity there is typically an outlet. Yes there are many places that don't have multiple stall quick Chargers but we service the majority - before reaching the outer Fringe of habitability.
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IMHO phev's make sense for the next century for certain drivers. For example there is a fairly large lack of choice among bev crossovers and sports cars. If you want to tow fairly long distance or go off road having the option to switch to a liquid fuel. Friend needed a better vehicle to tow. He went in to get a tacoma but ended up with a tundra. He said its going to be the last guzzler he buys. Put a slightly modified rav4 prime drivetrain into a small pick up and it would cover most or all of his daily miles, but still work well when towing.

 

The author has some logic behind some of his positions.
However, I believe he is too far separated from people that don't think like him. PHEVs are a great 'gateway drug' to BEVs.
They allow people to get, if they want, most of the benefits of electric driving.
PHEVs also allow people to live with a car that they fuel at home (in many cases) and to get used to the concept of plugging in.

IMO, the transition to sustainable transportation would go slower without PHEVs.

 

Until thoroughly conditioned, the PHEV eliminates the "Oh $hit!" moment when one forgets to plug in the night before.

 

Not sure about that - here, we're relatively civilised. There are enough chargers for the meagre few EVs around - and PHEVs. Start selling EVs at the rate they sell ICE/Hybrid/PHEV cars - and there'd be a line up for a week to charge.

Friend in UK with a PHEV, says that when touring (for work), he often finds the chargers on-route are either not working (seems a common problem there); or with a line-up - he comments that he's glad it's not an EV.

 

so very true !!
by the same token .... when the the electricity goes out, the gas pumps don't work either

Some of the Amish communities that we toured south of Nashville don't use any electricity. But they don't mind using little gas enginess to run their well pumps or wood lathes. It's all about preferences.
As for plugins, it's ironic the OP thinks it's time to get rid of PHEV's .... yet it'll be challenging for years to come - just to get many drivers to consider owning a hybrid.
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CleanTechnica is not an independent news source. They are extremely pro-Tesla to a point it's basically propaganda.

Now that we're seeing the introduction of compelling PHEVs that are can be reasonably cross-shopped with a Tesla (Escape PHEV, RaV4 Prime), there's a concerted push to fight PHEVs. Simple as that.

 

That is a great tinfoil hat story
CleanTechnica is biased towards Tesla. However, I would argue they are independent and would be biased towards any company with Tesla's Mission Statement and track record.

I don't dismiss the article out-of-hand. I read it, and it raises some interesting points. As I stated earlier, I disagree with the conclusion..
But likewise, I disagree with it based on the argument, not some imaginary goal of the blog.

 

Lucas, prince of darkness.

 

Pretty biased and ultimately useless article IMO.

Perhaps a better argument would be whether PHEVS should get government incentives/ other green car perks.

I live in a condo where cost and bureaucracy make installing a charging station prohibitive. I can still charge at work and a couple of places near my condo. For people like me, a PHEV is the only electric way to go. Most of the time, I can charge... Often I can't and that's where the ICE kicks in

I doubt infrastructure will be there anytime soon for everyone to have a BEV.