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I wish they wouldn't call hybrids and "electrified" (whatever that means) vehicles "electric vehicles," which at least in my mind, refers to fully battery-power

by mtgx 9y ago

I wish they wouldn't call hybrids and "electrified" (whatever that means) vehicles "electric vehicles," which at least in my mind, refers to fully battery-powered cars. I think it's quite established that this is what the term means. The other cars can have their own names. They don't have to call hybrids electric cars, nor do they (like Toyota) need to call their hydrogen-powered cars electric cars, either. They're only doing this to be misleading, create confusion, and make it look like they're more ahead in the EV revolution than they really are. However, if they continue to be misleading like this, then we and the media need to start using more specific names for battery-powered electric cars (BEVs, I guess), to make it hard for these car makers to abuse the term by using it to refer to something else. But even BEVs probably wouldn't work, because they'll then say "well, our gas-powered car has a battery in it, and it has electricity, so I guess we'll call it a BEV, too. Look here, we now sell 300,000 BEVs a year! Take that Tesla!".

cryptoz 9y ago
I agree. > "electrified" (whatever that means) Turns out it means, "burns gas" sometimes. Weird.
BoorishBears 9y ago
If your car can make your daily commute without ever turning on it's gas engine, so you end up going thousands of miles without using gas, is there really an issue? I have seen some cars abuse the term PHEV. To me a car that gets a best case of 13 mi of EV-only range isn't really helping things (cough Volvo cough). But in general PHEVs are pretty much EVs with range extenders at this point. You could take out their engines and sell them as EVs if charging infrastructure was where it should be. We're seeing numbers that earlier BEVs came with in PHEVs
- jlv2 9y ago
  Actually, yes. That PHEV (i3+REX, Volt, PIP, etc) has far more mechanical complexity and parts that can break. A pure BEV ends up being cheaper to maintain (because there's less to maintain). (Disclaimer: I've put over 40K miles combined on my 2013 LEAF and 2017 Model S).
  - BoorishBears 9y ago
    That's not the whole equation. A Volt is a Chevy Cruze with a Voltec powertrain. If a Volt gets in an accident, for the most part any old auto body shop can fix it as easily as any GM car. Teslas have been totaled over routine fender benders because of complicated body work. A Leaf is a BEV based on Nissan's B platform and is closer to the Volt in repairability. There are Volts and i3s doing hundreds of thousands of miles without issue. The ICEs aren't hardly being pushed in PHEVs since they only need to turn on in nearly optimal performance conditions, and the technology there has been done to death, so they tend to be bulletproof. EVs in general have lower maintenance costs because things like regen saves on brakes, and PHEVs inherit those lowered costs as well. Overall maintainance costs end up being a complicated multi-faceted subject that's a little more nuanced than "more parts = more expensive".

by mtgx 9y ago

cryptoz 9y ago

I agree. > "electrified" (whatever that means) Turns out it means, "burns gas" sometimes. Weird.

BoorishBears 9y ago

If your car can make your daily commute without ever turning on it's gas engine, so you end up going thousands of miles without using gas, is there really an issue? I have seen some cars abuse the term PHEV. To me a car that gets a best case of 13 mi of EV-only range isn't really helping things (cough Volvo cough). But in general PHEVs are pretty much EVs with range extenders at this point. You could take out their engines and sell them as EVs if charging infrastructure was where it should be. We're seeing numbers that earlier BEVs came with in PHEVs

jlv2 9y ago
Actually, yes. That PHEV (i3+REX, Volt, PIP, etc) has far more mechanical complexity and parts that can break. A pure BEV ends up being cheaper to maintain (because there's less to maintain). (Disclaimer: I've put over 40K miles combined on my 2013 LEAF and 2017 Model S).
- BoorishBears 9y ago
  That's not the whole equation. A Volt is a Chevy Cruze with a Voltec powertrain. If a Volt gets in an accident, for the most part any old auto body shop can fix it as easily as any GM car. Teslas have been totaled over routine fender benders because of complicated body work. A Leaf is a BEV based on Nissan's B platform and is closer to the Volt in repairability. There are Volts and i3s doing hundreds of thousands of miles without issue. The ICEs aren't hardly being pushed in PHEVs since they only need to turn on in nearly optimal performance conditions, and the technology there has been done to death, so they tend to be bulletproof. EVs in general have lower maintenance costs because things like regen saves on brakes, and PHEVs inherit those lowered costs as well. Overall maintainance costs end up being a complicated multi-faceted subject that's a little more nuanced than "more parts = more expensive".