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On a road trip there is some inconvenience yes, but for the rest of your driving life there is less gasoline station trips you have to make. Say you road trip

On a road trip there is some inconvenience yes, but for the rest of your driving life there is less gasoline station trips you have to make. Say you road trip twice a year and have to waste 45 extra minutes in an EV. But in an ICE vehicle you also have to make about 30 gas station trips a year, where with an EV you just plug in at home and never do that, and no oil changes as well. So the relative total pain depends on how often/long you road trip.

cptskippy 5y ago
We have two EVs and in the last 18 months they were charged away from home a grand total of 5 times. Even if they were full 45 minute charge session and not just quick top ups to get home, that's significantly less time that people spend going to the gas station each year with one vehicle.
- trainsarebetter 5y ago
  That’s a interesting metric I never thought about it. How much time pre year spent gassing up? that’s crazy to think about.
  - cptskippy 5y ago
    Most people will say you spend less than 5 minutes at the gas station, but that's about as accurate as the "30 minutes to assemble" instructions that accompany flat pack furniture. It also doesn't take into account how you adjust your route or schedule to accommodate the frequent stops. With at home EV charging you just plug it in when you get home and unplug the next day. I "raced" a couple neighbors home one night from an outing and arrived home first. I joked with them that it was on top of "stopping for gas" and sent them a text of my car plugged in.
    - trainsarebetter 5y ago
      This. I hear people demanding at home fast chargers. It doesn’t make any sense. Most folks look at ev’s though an ICE lens. Most don’t understand that you wake up every day with a full battery. it’s a complete routine change, most don’t see it
- UncleOxidant 5y ago
  I really, really want the Aptera [1] folks to succeed. Their vehicle is so aerodynamically efficient and relatively light that you'll be able to charge overnight on 110v and get about 130 miles of range - pretty much all the range I need 99% of the time. It would be a lot of gas station time saved. (being able to charge on 110v and get an appreciable amount of range everyday would also mean less stress on the grid if lots of people were to adopt vehicles like this). [1] https://aptera.us/ https://aptera.us/ (yes, they are overplaying the "driven by the sun" part, though maybe in a very sunny climate you could get possibly 20 or 30 miles of range if you park it in the sun and for a lot of folks that's all they need most days)
  - gameswithgo 5y ago
    I would love one as well, but at 43 years of age I have seen so many weird, eco car ideas come, and none of them take off. Then Tesla came along and offered a big, powerful EV and everyone went wild. There is a lesson there.
    - UncleOxidant 5y ago
      Sure, but I think the Aptera fills a sizeable niche, though. Or possibly multiple smaller niches: 1) people who want a really efficient vehicle for whatever reason (mostly environmental reasons). 2) people who would buy it as a 2nd vehicle. 3) Renters who want an EV but only have access to 110v. ... (probably other niches I'm not thinking of at the moment). They claim to have ~15,000 pre-orders and folks on their forums are pretty much in the "Just take my money!" mode. Yes, it is only a 2 seater, but if it's a 2nd car that's not much of a limitation. And it does have a pretty surprising amount of cargo space.
      - crooked-v 5y ago
        I think you're also missing 4) people who want a car that looks and feels like it came straight out of a scifi movie.
    - sangnoir 5y ago
      > but at 43 years of age I have seen so many weird, eco car ideas come, and none of them take off I imagine you forgot about the Prius; the weird eco car that really took off.
Mikeb85 5y ago
> Say you road trip twice a year More like I have no commute and road-trip once a week...
- colinmhayes 5y ago
  EVs are not for you at this point. Luckily most people do commute, and don't take weekly road trips.
- gameswithgo 5y ago
  Right, for that kind of scenario an EV is currently not a good idea for most people.

cptskippy 5y ago

We have two EVs and in the last 18 months they were charged away from home a grand total of 5 times. Even if they were full 45 minute charge session and not just quick top ups to get home, that's significantly less time that people spend going to the gas station each year with one vehicle.

trainsarebetter 5y ago
That’s a interesting metric I never thought about it. How much time pre year spent gassing up? that’s crazy to think about.
- cptskippy 5y ago
  Most people will say you spend less than 5 minutes at the gas station, but that's about as accurate as the "30 minutes to assemble" instructions that accompany flat pack furniture. It also doesn't take into account how you adjust your route or schedule to accommodate the frequent stops. With at home EV charging you just plug it in when you get home and unplug the next day. I "raced" a couple neighbors home one night from an outing and arrived home first. I joked with them that it was on top of "stopping for gas" and sent them a text of my car plugged in.
  - trainsarebetter 5y ago
    This. I hear people demanding at home fast chargers. It doesn’t make any sense. Most folks look at ev’s though an ICE lens. Most don’t understand that you wake up every day with a full battery. it’s a complete routine change, most don’t see it
UncleOxidant 5y ago
I really, really want the Aptera [1] folks to succeed. Their vehicle is so aerodynamically efficient and relatively light that you'll be able to charge overnight on 110v and get about 130 miles of range - pretty much all the range I need 99% of the time. It would be a lot of gas station time saved. (being able to charge on 110v and get an appreciable amount of range everyday would also mean less stress on the grid if lots of people were to adopt vehicles like this). [1] https://aptera.us/ https://aptera.us/ (yes, they are overplaying the "driven by the sun" part, though maybe in a very sunny climate you could get possibly 20 or 30 miles of range if you park it in the sun and for a lot of folks that's all they need most days)
- gameswithgo 5y ago
  I would love one as well, but at 43 years of age I have seen so many weird, eco car ideas come, and none of them take off. Then Tesla came along and offered a big, powerful EV and everyone went wild. There is a lesson there.
  - UncleOxidant 5y ago
    Sure, but I think the Aptera fills a sizeable niche, though. Or possibly multiple smaller niches: 1) people who want a really efficient vehicle for whatever reason (mostly environmental reasons). 2) people who would buy it as a 2nd vehicle. 3) Renters who want an EV but only have access to 110v. ... (probably other niches I'm not thinking of at the moment). They claim to have ~15,000 pre-orders and folks on their forums are pretty much in the "Just take my money!" mode. Yes, it is only a 2 seater, but if it's a 2nd car that's not much of a limitation. And it does have a pretty surprising amount of cargo space.
    - crooked-v 5y ago
      I think you're also missing 4) people who want a car that looks and feels like it came straight out of a scifi movie.
  - sangnoir 5y ago
    > but at 43 years of age I have seen so many weird, eco car ideas come, and none of them take off I imagine you forgot about the Prius; the weird eco car that really took off.

Mikeb85 5y ago

> Say you road trip twice a year More like I have no commute and road-trip once a week...

colinmhayes 5y ago
EVs are not for you at this point. Luckily most people do commute, and don't take weekly road trips.
gameswithgo 5y ago
Right, for that kind of scenario an EV is currently not a good idea for most people.