Everything I’ve read about the swap is kind of on the negative side. I mean, propane tanks is one thing. The primary component to your car is a different beast entirely. There is no warranty or guarantee that the swapped battery hasn’t been damaged in some sort of accident or something. No guarantee that it will hold a charge for any given period of time. I think it is a good idea in concept but probably fails in practice due to people being people.
Also, Aren’t those batteries heavy? How are they easily replaced?
I would agree with that. What I’ve thought is a good solution to this type of issue would be the use of rail to transport vehicles long distances. Kind of a train ferry as it were. My folks drove their Tesla about 1200 miles each way snow birding this year. They very much enjoyed the extended travel experience and look forward to doing it again next year. Everybody’s different 
I’ve also never advocated for mandating EVs across the board.
I’ve read about these issues too. I’m guessing that they could make it work somehow though.
Have the car track the charge in the battery so there is documentation of a faulty battery.
Fuel stations market it in such a way that you’re buying a battery that is 92% changed or so. But charge them fully. As long as the customer gets at least 92% then they have no recourse because that’s all they bought & they got the extra for free. Now you only have issues with batteries holding less than 92%.
That’s just off the top of my head.
It seems less fraught with problems than seriously expecting customers to wait 40+ minutes for a charge at any rate.
No clue what the potential is to drop the 40 minute timeframe while keeping the range. That would be an even better option, but the tech may be quite a ways off.
I’d like to hear more about their journey: How often (mileage) did they stop, and how easy was it to find charging stations? Etc.
I watched this youtube video, which is pretty interesting:
Doesn’t matter what you or I advocate. It seems that no company will be selling (or will be allowed to sell) ICE cars within the next 15 years.
Volvo
Volvo XC40 Recharge. Volvo
The Swedish automaker will make only electric cars by 2030.
EV maker NIO in China is the largest car company still pursuing the battery swap model, or BaaS to use “as a Service” business lingo. The idea is car owner doesn’t worry about the long term health of the battery module as the car company owns it. Tesla considered this model but decided against it. Some downsides are the battery can’t double as a structural element (or at least as well as a built-in does), the car driver also depends on the swap station to have inventory. Some upsides are easier fixes for battery problems, not tied to current battery tech if there are significant advances during vehicle life.
And yes, today’s batteries are still heavy. Check the curb weights on EVs vs comparably sized ICE vehicles.
I have friends who did something similar in their Tesla. Seattle to Cincinnati and back in a grand loop hitting the majority of states west of the Appalachians.
I think it largely depends on how you want the road trip to go. If you’re meandering and you have all the time in the world and half the fun is getting there then that’s great.
My mom & I did a road trip like that when I moved one time. Could have reached our destination in 3 days / 2,000 miles. Instead we took 10 days / 3,500 miles, stopping to see people and sites along the way.
If you’re willing to plan around Tesla’s supercharging stations and your goal is not to maximize your miles per day then it’s probably fine. Judging by my friends’ Facebook posts it seems like they had a great time, as did my mom & I.
But I’d like to have the option to make good time.
There will be three ways to check for defective batteries - the battery station will check it has a charge before putting it in your car, your car will check the swapped-in battery before driving off and there will be road-side assistance or tow-trucks available for batteries that fail mid-trip. I imagine all of these will improve over time.
I’ll ask my dad for the details again. I was honestly only half paying attention. He talks about Teslas a lot*. I do know that finding chargers was never an issue. There were two Superchargers that had issues but there were plenty of other open stalls at the same location. And there was one planned stop that he bypassed for a reason I can’t recall off hand (all the stalls might have been in use) and they just drove an extra 60 miles or so to the next Supercharger location. He let the car software plan all of the stops and also plotted the route via abetterrouteplanner.com (I think).
*People talk about the cult of Tesla and it certainly does exist. My dad isn’t a full on acolyte but he is really into EVs. I can guarantee that he’s seen the video you shared. I like my vehicle but it isn’t a lifestyle to me.
There are some guardrails that would be in place. I just have a hard time personally separating a battery from my battery. It seems to me that I want to own the most expensive and primary part of my vehicle. I also want to know how well that component has been maintained, age, etc. Most of time I’m charging at home so if I happen to get a bad swap, I have to make an extra trip and swap out a crappy battery for a maybe good one if there is a problem. It just feels sketchy to me.
I’m hoping it will end up being something like when I get my 5 gallon refills of Nicolet water. I pay the deposit for the first bottle but every time I come into the supermarket for more water, I give them the empty and take home the full one and won’t get charged the deposit again. I trust that brand of water so I’ll look for supermarkets supplying it.
With electric car batteries, the battery station may advertise “We stock Nicolet Batteries” and if I’ve had good experience with their batteries, I’ll swap my battery there (although I would have to make sure they would accept the empty battery that I have).
Girl, you have got to learn to fly.
I know how to fly, but they’re in an extremely Covidy area so I prefer to avoid public transit.
I’ve done the drive three times now, all post-March 2020.
That said, I’d like to preserve the option to drive post-pandemic.
Also, flying is a major PITA too.
Option 1: leave the house 2.25 hours prior to flight time, park, check in, etc. Fly to major city: 1.75 hours. Make way to rental car terminal and rent car: 1 hour. Drive to in-laws home: 2 hours.
Door-to-door is 7 hours of which roughly 2.5 is driving. That’s IF there are no flight delays, of course. So on average maybe closer to 8 hours. Cost: $700.
Option 2: leave the house 2.25 hours prior to flight time, park, check in, etc. Fly to major city: 1.75 hours. Wait for connection: 2 hours on average. Fly to small town: 0.5 hours. Make way to rental car terminal and rent car: 0.5 hours. Drive to in-laws home: 0.25 hours.
Door-to-door is 7.25 hours, of which roughly 0.75 is driving. That’s if both planes are on time, so on average maybe more like 8.5-9 hours. Cost: $850.
Option 3: drive to in-laws
Door-to-door is 15 hours or less with not much variation. Cost: $230.
Further advantages of Option 3: I can take as much stuff as I want (particularly useful when I brought a full Thanksgiving dinner), leave home when I want, find the food options I want, have almost no exposure to Covid, bring other people (such as hubby) for zero incremental cost, stop and visit people or places on the way there or back, listen to whatever I want on the radio and belt it out at top volume without getting too many dirty looks, change my plans on a whim with zero penalties, and probably more that I’m not thinking of. Plus I like road trips.
So yeah… it’s faster to fly. But there’s a LOT of advantages of not flying. Especially during a pandemic when you’re going to a particularly bad area.
I found the part about saving a whopping $20 on a 1000-mile trip quite illuminating. (So, after 50,000 miles and I will have saved $1000? For a car that cost $5000 more than I wanted to spend?)
I assume that is because the charging stations actually charge you A LOT for the electricity, relative to home?
And that Tesla’s on-board info is way more updated than the Ford’s “Mustang.”
And, that the Tesla is 15% too optimistic about its miles left, while the Ford was more realistic. (My wife’s hybrid is the same: 430 miles left at fill-up, but can’t get to 380 before it is on “E”.)
But, yeah I’d definitely be looking for a charging station with 100 miles left in the middle of nowhere. Not like the Tesla in that video, which ran down to 1 mile (was that accurate??) on the first leg.
was thinking of EVs while on a 670 mile drive this summer. one day, 10 hrs. stops were efficient. needed the car at the destination site. 3 people traveling. side trips meant we would have less time around family and friends at the destination.
if we had to do 2 x 1 hr stops to recharge AND deal with navigating around Chicago? That would suck badly. but for around town, whatever is more efficient and better for the world then great. but big trips, yikes (for now).
I can’t make up stuff this good.
Chevrolet is now telling people to park their Chevy Bolts in open areas and not within 50 feet of other cars..
so that if there is a spontaneous fire, not too much other stuff can catch on fire.
https://www.yahoo.com/autos/gm-tells-bolt-ev-owners-234000163.html
Holy crap!!! That’s… insane.
So say its 34 degrees outside and windy and rainy. How long is it going to take to charge the vehicle if you have the heat going while it’s charging? If you don’t?
And where are people supposed to charge them if not in their garages???
I thought the whole idea was that you leave it plugged in overnight (in your garage) and it was fully charged by morning. None of that is possible now. Not leaving it plugged in, not leaving it in your garage…
Social distancing?
Chevy Bolts are also urged to wear masks in crowded parking lots.
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