4 ms·

why are we counting hybrids? I'd really like an all electric car, but right I literally only have 2 options right now because i have a long commute. Tesla or Bo

why are we counting hybrids? I'd really like an all electric car, but right I literally only have 2 options right now because i have a long commute. Tesla or Bolt. Nothing else has long enough range for me to get to work and back with any kind of leeway if I need to run to the store or something after work. It's incredibly frustrating that there aren't more competitors making serious cars that aren't just compliance efforts. 80 miles of range is just silly.

semi-extrinsic 9y ago
What's the problem with decent plug-in hybrids? For most people, 50 miles of pure electric range (Chevy Volt, Hyundai Ioniq, Honda Clarity) is more than enough for daily driving, and if you run out of electricity once or twice a month, you just run on petrol.
- greglindahl 9y ago
  The only problem with hybrids is that everyone's predictions of their popularity appears to be wrong. If you'd like a head-to-head comparison: note that Chevy's Volt has become unpopular as Bolt as become popular.
kevin_thibedeau 9y ago
Electric cars still suck in the winter. Air resistance, electric heating, and poor cold weather performance of LiIon batteries deplete the usable range. At the very least manufacturers need to provide auxiliary fossil fuel heating systems that aren't a hazard like current kerosene heater hacks. There is also the problem that pure electrics are largely off limits to the rentier population with no access to a plug where they park their car.
- djrogers 9y ago
  > rentier I don’t think that word means what you think it means... [1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rentier https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rentier
  - vk23 9y ago
    "rentier" is actually the german word for reindeer. The sentence reads rather funny if you are german.
- nil_is_me 9y ago
  That's hogwash. I can pre-heat my Tesla from my iPhone, with it's heated seats and heating steering wheel, without risk of killing my family from carbon monoxide, all while it's plugged in and not drawing any power from the battery. Our family just took it on a 2000 mile road trip in sub 10 degree temps from the east coast to the midwest and back, and I have the one with the small battery, the Model X 75D. Yes the range is reduced 20-30% but it's completely predictable. An "auxiliary fossil fuel heating systems" sounds like a truly terrible idea.
- greglindahl 9y ago
  My apartment complex added a charger, after I nagged them for 3 years. The future is here, it's just not evenly distributed.
  - erik_seaberg 9y ago
    Is it reserved? A charger that may or may not be available doesn't solve range anxiety.
    - greglindahl 9y ago
      It has the chargepoint reservation system, but I'm the admin and it's easy to see that it's not contended enough for anyone to worry. If I had range anxiety I'd use the 3 nearby Tesla supercharers, or the numerous L2 chargers, including 6 that are 1 block away. As I said, the future is here, it's just unevenly distributed.
- osteele 9y ago
  > Electric cars suck in the winter It depends. When I had a 160 mi round trip commute without a charger at work, that kind of sucked in the winter, when the range dropped to around 140 mi, although not so much that I ever wanted to take the gas car instead. (Maybe if it had been a newer model, with more driving assistance features…) Now that I can charge the car at each end, it’s better in every way. Apart from the ride, it’s great never having to stop for gas.
- kalleboo 9y ago
  The Volvo electric car prototypes (that they distributed only in fleet and car-sharing use in Sweden) had a tiny 3-liter gasoline tank used only for a heater

semi-extrinsic 9y ago

What's the problem with decent plug-in hybrids? For most people, 50 miles of pure electric range (Chevy Volt, Hyundai Ioniq, Honda Clarity) is more than enough for daily driving, and if you run out of electricity once or twice a month, you just run on petrol.

greglindahl 9y ago
The only problem with hybrids is that everyone's predictions of their popularity appears to be wrong. If you'd like a head-to-head comparison: note that Chevy's Volt has become unpopular as Bolt as become popular.

kevin_thibedeau 9y ago

Electric cars still suck in the winter. Air resistance, electric heating, and poor cold weather performance of LiIon batteries deplete the usable range. At the very least manufacturers need to provide auxiliary fossil fuel heating systems that aren't a hazard like current kerosene heater hacks. There is also the problem that pure electrics are largely off limits to the rentier population with no access to a plug where they park their car.

djrogers 9y ago
> rentier I don’t think that word means what you think it means... [1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rentier https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rentier
- vk23 9y ago
  "rentier" is actually the german word for reindeer. The sentence reads rather funny if you are german.
nil_is_me 9y ago
That's hogwash. I can pre-heat my Tesla from my iPhone, with it's heated seats and heating steering wheel, without risk of killing my family from carbon monoxide, all while it's plugged in and not drawing any power from the battery. Our family just took it on a 2000 mile road trip in sub 10 degree temps from the east coast to the midwest and back, and I have the one with the small battery, the Model X 75D. Yes the range is reduced 20-30% but it's completely predictable. An "auxiliary fossil fuel heating systems" sounds like a truly terrible idea.
greglindahl 9y ago
My apartment complex added a charger, after I nagged them for 3 years. The future is here, it's just not evenly distributed.
- erik_seaberg 9y ago
  Is it reserved? A charger that may or may not be available doesn't solve range anxiety.
  - greglindahl 9y ago
    It has the chargepoint reservation system, but I'm the admin and it's easy to see that it's not contended enough for anyone to worry. If I had range anxiety I'd use the 3 nearby Tesla supercharers, or the numerous L2 chargers, including 6 that are 1 block away. As I said, the future is here, it's just unevenly distributed.
osteele 9y ago
> Electric cars suck in the winter It depends. When I had a 160 mi round trip commute without a charger at work, that kind of sucked in the winter, when the range dropped to around 140 mi, although not so much that I ever wanted to take the gas car instead. (Maybe if it had been a newer model, with more driving assistance features…) Now that I can charge the car at each end, it’s better in every way. Apart from the ride, it’s great never having to stop for gas.
kalleboo 9y ago
The Volvo electric car prototypes (that they distributed only in fleet and car-sharing use in Sweden) had a tiny 3-liter gasoline tank used only for a heater