Electric Only!

300 mile range is the sweet spot for me. I think I'd buy a pure EV if it were competitivly priced and easily available. (That leaves Tesla out!)

 

The gas card analogy is basically at the heart of what most of these proprietary "battles" that we often see in technology are about, which is brand loyalty. Back then gas companies hoped to secure repeat business by offering a gas card, knowing that people would often be in situations where using a card to buy gas was helpful or even necessary when low on cash (for you youngsters out there, back then very few people used credit cards and paid for most things with cash or check). From what I have heard a lot of people only owned one gas card, so that meant going to that one station if they were short on cash. Later gas companies starting accepting standard credit cards, which they eventually all had to do to remain competitive. Imagine if a gas company decided to be a holdout and only accept their card, they would not be in business much longer.

Same with charging stations, if and when a standard charging method becomes popular, any company that holds out will soon be at a disadvantage.

What you or anyone on here is willing to do is not the same as what the average person is willing to do. I know that from my days in the early 1980's working at store in the electronics department where we sold VCR's. At first we sold very few because people couldn't figure out how to set the clock much less program to record a show when they weren't home. Sales only took off when movie rentals started to become available and people used VCR's not for recording (too complex) but for playing movies (easy). Many years later DVR's came out, and now even my mother records TV shows because you just highlight the show you want to record and click a button.

 

I see!

Just to clarify, the ChargePoint app and station map shows ChargePoint stations as well as Blink, eVgo, SemaCharge and Tesla Superchargers. We show these stations on our maps as a convenience for drivers, however, as mentioned - you will need a separate account to use them.

Additionally, we support efforts that make it easier for EV drivers, like ROEV.
ROEV is an electric vehicle industry trade association created with the goal to enable charging network interoperability (maps, payment, etc), founded by ChargePoint, BMW, CarCharging/Blink, EVgo and Nissan! Interoperability is still in the works at ROEV, though you can stay up to date with changes and learn more about it at the ROEV website!

 

I know I'll have to show proof of this, and the next time I see the car I'll snap the picture. But there is a Chevy Bolt here in town which has the roof nearly covered in a solar panel. I'm sure it doesn't help much, but something is better than nothing I suppose. Anyone got any word on whatever happened to this? I'd bet my own Prius C that it's going to be a big $$ option. Toyota brings back the solar panel on the Plug-In Prius Prime – but now it powers the car | Electrek

 

I believe it would not meet the roof strength standards for the US.

 

I am too lazy to read through this whole thread.
But in response to the original post?

I would say....never say never.

10 years can be a lifetime, and there are a lot of wheels, electric and otherwise in spin.
While legitimate observations about convenience, an infrastructure still in it's growing pains period, and the immediate applicable utility are all probably fair to make.

Who knows how quickly things might change? Refinement and/or a breakthrough in battery technology, the continued growth of a infrastructure supporting electric vehicle charging? All these could be areas in which the game could change rapidly.

The reaction of I would not buy an electric car in less than 10 years, reminds me of a friend of mine, who after I had purchased a Prius, and I was telling him how really great it was, responded by telling me he thought "someday" hybrids would be probably be fine, but they weren't "ready" yet.
He really had nothing more to site...that was about the start and end of his argument against a Prius.

The danger in saying I would never own a Full Electric in less than 10 years, is becoming my out of touch about Prius Friend equivalent in regards to electrics, in 5,6,7, years or less.

Some people own full electric vehicles right now. And with whatever application they are using that vehicle for? It works for them today. That's not you. And maybe legitimately that's not a lot of people yet. BUT...
How far we can go...and how far we have already come should not be underestimated.

I wouldn't feign to be able to predict the future quite as clearly. But in the automotive industry, 10 years can be an eternity. And IMO, it wouldn't take too much infrastructure growth, product improvement, and/or desire for the product itself to reach a point where for a much greater number of people than today....a full electric DOES become an option they, would, could and can embrace.

 

Well said, Electric Me!

 

2026 emission mandates in china will tip the scale to EV. We should be seeing some exciting new cars that can actually be bought from 2020 - onward.

 

The panel's glass didn't meet auto safety standards; it splinters into sharp pieces. But I believe cost was the main issue. It is about a $3000 option in Japan, and it may not be available on the upper trims because of weight issues. Considering US fuel prices, most would choose to skip on the solar roof at that price.