I guess the Europeans are too stupid to make use of the subsidy -
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/11/electric-car-sales-europe-barriers-ev-adoption/
Beyond the subsidies, many countries in Europe are restricting the types of vehicles you can use in large cities. Madrid is particularly restrictive. If you want to drive in center city there, you need an EV soon
For people who mostly use a car for road trips, maybe you need to get it that low. For the vast majority of us who mostly commute and buy groceries and visit local friends, “never need to think about fueling the car, EXCEPT on road trips” will more than make up for that.
Like having the mediocre camera on the phone meant almost everyone stopped carrying cameras. (I still have a camera, I’m the outlier on that one. But i know I’m in a small minority.)
I still miss that about my plug in hybrid. Just plug in when i garage the car and never worry, because i start every day with a “full tank”.
When I bought my PHEV, I was given the option to apply it at POS, and I did because I didn’t want to put too much down. I’m not sure how all of this will work come tax time next year, I assume I’ll get something from the dealership for my taxes.
Which reminds me! I did end up buying a PHEV. Looked at the Ford Escape and the RAV4. They had very similar MSRP’s, the RAV4 was a little pricier though. They weren’t totally comparable trims, the RAV4 is AWD and has a moon roof, but all the things I demanded in a car were in both (ACC, leather interior, app remote start, etc).
Toyota no longer qualifies for the tax credit, and I preferred the way the Ford drove (I have leased 2 Edges before this and the body of the Escape is much more pleasing to me now than it was a few years ago, it was so ugly to me before, kind of looked like a scrunched up SUV). So I did go with that one, and I’m loving it. Haven’t had to use any gas yet.
Either them or Ford. Tesla asked me to submit some info in the app and then they messaged me a copy of the form.
I didn’t get any such paperwork for my heat pump. My accountant said just save a copy of the receipt.
Pretty good article, no paywall at the link below.
I think there are many companies now that will eat Tesla’s lunch if they are not careful.
So it’s amazing how quickly others are catching up. Ford, VW, Kia, BMW all have cars with range and charging specs on par with Tesla, Chevy will once the Bolt can charge quickly and the Bolt is pretty freaking cheap.
Tesla really screwed up when they moved to solely vision-based sensors, I think. Ford and Chevy (maybe others?) have gone a slightly different direction on self-driving. They carefully mapped out highways and have enabled hands-free driving there. I can’t take my hands off the wheel in my Tesla, and that’s true even if I had bought Autopilot. I don’t know if Tesla will be able to fix it without either adding back some sensors and/or adding a camera at the front of the car’s bumper or thereabouts.
That said, the legacy folks still have a ways to go on the tech side. Farley at Ford admitted as much - they source parts from like a hundred suppliers, and they aren’t really designed to work together, so Ford has to cobble everything together and try to make it work, whereas Tesla built everything ground up to share data across systems. It’ll take a couple more years to close the gap.
If Tesla can’t innovate like they did a decade ago they’re in trouble. The new ‘Highland’ Model 3 isn’t exactly what I’d call groundbreaking. It’s a few percent more efficient, adds a screen in the back, etc, but I find it more like a mid-cycle refresh but it’s being pitched as an all-new car.
Musk has been indicating for some years that Tesla is just as much an energy company as an automotive company -
CEO Musk said: “I think long term, Tesla Energy will be roughly the same size as Tesla Automotive.
“How big is the energy sector? Bigger than automotive.”
Given their huge head start in fast charging network and home charging power walls, I think they’re going to be OK.
Range numbers are BS. One shouldn’t have to decrease the numbers by 20% to reflect reality. I’d rather see a disinterested third party run tests for us (EPA has its own self-interested biases).
Edmunds does this. I think they test it under ideal temperature conditions, so YMMV during weather extremes
What about simple real-world, and not extremely bad or extremely ideal situations?
I’d also like to know where that lost energy (potential and/or kinetic) goes if not to my wheels? I mean, for an ICE vehicle, yeah, it goes right out the exhaust (kinetic), or evaporates into the air (potential).
What’s the current outlook (no pun intended)? Grid scale batteries and panels feels like a space where there will be loads of competition, and I don’t know much about that business. Residential, I don’t know how many roofs Tesla is selling but the prices are eye-watering.
I know from personal experience that the Prius gets 20% decrease during winter months (in the colder states). I assume ICE cars get some dropoff in MPG too.
I should add, judging by the number of people at service areas, that most road trips are done during the warmer months. So, having a super long range in cold weather is rarely needed.
Pretty much heat and noise. I know they had thermo when you were at uni.
I think that’s pretty hard. ‘Real world’ means a lot of things to a lot of people. Real world temps in Nebraska are quite different than those in Florida, and that affects range. Are we driving the speed limit in the real world, or 5mph over? 10mph? This matters a LOT as aero drag goes up with the square of speed. All highway, or mixed driving? There are loads of articles out there but it’s hard to just give one number.
Lots lost due to drag (see above, especially at higher speeds), plus heat gets created by the motors, HVAC draws some power, lighting, and then things like audio/video and other accessories drain a minor amount. Plus some heat goes to braking, the regen does most of the work but the pads scrub off the last bit.
Yeah, but I didn’t take it!
So, asking of those who did take it.
I can envision a specific course within a specific range of temperatures at a specific time of day, a circuit so wind doesn’t affect, etc. A little uphill and downhill, not crazy, mind you, would be nice. What is important, though, is that mfr’s can’t game the course. And, any conclusion would be more of a relative thing (Car A vs Car B) than an absolute amount.
One test with AC on and one without.
Lots of people have done similar testing. I doubt the EPA drops lab testing. I wish they would at least give city and highway range numbers.