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Giving electric cars extremely long range. It would be much more sensible to make substantially cheaper electric cars that have ~75 mi of range, and combine tha

Giving electric cars extremely long range. It would be much more sensible to make substantially cheaper electric cars that have ~75 mi of range, and combine that with a program that gives free rental credits for any hybrid/PZEV car to owners of that car. Then you can have a cheap eletric car but get access to fuel-based cars when you go on a trip.

giantg2 6y ago
Do you have any sort of estimates on how much cheaper? I can't wait for a basic electric work truck that's affordable. But I also need the longer range or faster charge (super caps) for trips (they happen pretty often). It feels like it's taking forever for the tech to meaningfully advance. I know it's not the complete picture, but it seems like there's a lot of focus on the tech and luxury more than basic functionality. I'll be 80 by the time I find one I really want.
- ErikVandeWater 6y ago
  Around 30 percent of the cost of an electric car is the battery: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-16/electric-cars-are-about-to-be-as-cheap-as-gas-powered-models#:~:text=The%20battery%20pack%20is%20the,the%20total%20cost%20to%20consumers https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-16/electric-.... But having free rental as an option could make the car cheaper in other ways. For example, if it's free to rent a car, people would opt for 2WD instead of AWD in many cases since they can rent a truly capable AWD car when they want to go up to the mountains. AWD is substantially more expensive and requires much more maintenance than 2WD.
  - giantg2 6y ago
    I get that AWD or 4x4 is more expensive, even for ICE vehicles. Even the 2WD is expensive for EVs. I grew up driving a RWD car in the mountains (out east... I get it's a bit different) and never had any real problems. I bought a truck and went with RWD and it does fine too (although I rarely go through snowy mountains anymore). So if we're cutting the battery in half, we save about 15% - going from about $35k to $30k using the Model 3 as an example. This is still expensive for me - my truck suits me better and was close to $10k lower. This is mostly because I don't want all the tech that's in it. I would rather have switches, sliders, and buttons like my old 80s caprice (the buttons in the work truck are fine too) instead of a giant screen. The cabin space and use of a bed is nice as well since I am on the larger side, do a lot of work myself, and tow a trailer at times.

giantg2 6y ago

Do you have any sort of estimates on how much cheaper? I can't wait for a basic electric work truck that's affordable. But I also need the longer range or faster charge (super caps) for trips (they happen pretty often). It feels like it's taking forever for the tech to meaningfully advance. I know it's not the complete picture, but it seems like there's a lot of focus on the tech and luxury more than basic functionality. I'll be 80 by the time I find one I really want.

ErikVandeWater 6y ago
Around 30 percent of the cost of an electric car is the battery: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-16/electric-cars-are-about-to-be-as-cheap-as-gas-powered-models#:~:text=The%20battery%20pack%20is%20the,the%20total%20cost%20to%20consumers https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-16/electric-.... But having free rental as an option could make the car cheaper in other ways. For example, if it's free to rent a car, people would opt for 2WD instead of AWD in many cases since they can rent a truly capable AWD car when they want to go up to the mountains. AWD is substantially more expensive and requires much more maintenance than 2WD.
- giantg2 6y ago
  I get that AWD or 4x4 is more expensive, even for ICE vehicles. Even the 2WD is expensive for EVs. I grew up driving a RWD car in the mountains (out east... I get it's a bit different) and never had any real problems. I bought a truck and went with RWD and it does fine too (although I rarely go through snowy mountains anymore). So if we're cutting the battery in half, we save about 15% - going from about $35k to $30k using the Model 3 as an example. This is still expensive for me - my truck suits me better and was close to $10k lower. This is mostly because I don't want all the tech that's in it. I would rather have switches, sliders, and buttons like my old 80s caprice (the buttons in the work truck are fine too) instead of a giant screen. The cabin space and use of a bed is nice as well since I am on the larger side, do a lot of work myself, and tow a trailer at times.