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Has anyone willingly returned to the ICE-age?
- Thread starter Sunlight
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- Electric Vehicles
One of my favorite things about EVs is the quiet and I hope EVs survive and thrive (and become more affordable for all) because I would love nothing more than to never drive an ICE vehicle again. Sure, many of them are much cleaner than they used to be but I just absolutely love the EV driving experience. I also love the idea that if we can make the energy production grid cleaner, your EV becomes instantly cleaner. It just makes so much sense to me. This comes from the girl who used to drive a turbo charged vette when she was a kid, a supercharged thunderbird later on, but eventually realized what was really important to her, moving to hybrid vehicles and finally finding that magical balance with the EV.
Went and test drove an R/T Charger and couldn't wait to be done. The power was nothing like my electric smart... yes my smart car LOL. I mentioned it and talked about with the guy and definitely rustled his jimmies, but it was true though, which was funny and pretty surprising.
So no, i will not willingly return to the "ice age" being that my little smart car feels better to drive than the top of the line charger. And its MPG was not attractive.
Electric 4EVERRRRRR :smile:
So no, i will not willingly return to the "ice age" being that my little smart car feels better to drive than the top of the line charger. And its MPG was not attractive.
Electric 4EVERRRRRR :smile:
igotzzoom
Active Member
I'm hopefully on my last ICE car. I'm only one month away from having it paid off. Although I'm as impatient as everyone else for the Gen-III model, if it does end up being 2017 or 2018 when it comes out, that will actually work out well for me, as it will give me 2-3 payment-free years, which is a relief.
The only other type of car I could see myself buying/driving in the interim is a diesel. The combination of efficiency and everyday usable power/torque in the newer models is pretty compelling, as far as ICEs go, but the thought/idea of a long-range EV is far more appealing.
The only other type of car I could see myself buying/driving in the interim is a diesel. The combination of efficiency and everyday usable power/torque in the newer models is pretty compelling, as far as ICEs go, but the thought/idea of a long-range EV is far more appealing.
swaltner
Active Member
Setup an automatic transfer from your checking to savings (or mod your direct deposit) to put what you were paying on a car payment into savings over the next several years. Get to where you have a BIG down payment or even pay cash for that GenIII when it gets released!
igotzzoom
Active Member
Setup an automatic transfer from your checking to savings (or mod your direct deposit) to put what you were paying on a car payment into savings over the next several years. Get to where you have a BIG down payment or even pay cash for that GenIII when it gets released!
If it's $45k-ish or so, I'm not overly concerned about being able to afford it. I'll probably put some money aside, but probably also step up contributions to my 401(k) and IRA.
My Tesla is a great daily driver, but I would not ditch my ICE cars. I simply love cars, all kinds of cars, so long as they are absolutely awesome and interesting. The exhaust note on my Porsche is a thing of beauty. Getting my Lightning sideways is stupid fun. Cruising on my Vrod is exhilarating and my Saleen, is well, OK that one is kinda stupid but I have had it for 20 years so leave me alone. The sound it makes shakes the garage, so that's kinda cool. I don't see why it has to be an either or thing. I'm not out to make a statement with the Tesla, it was simply the most interesting car that suited my needs at the time I bought it. And it is gorgeous, fast and technologically advanced (though the new S-Class does kick it's ass in many ways in that regard). I love the car, the styling, the tech and the concept, but that doesn't mean that I ignore the fact that other people make awesome cars too.
igotzzoom
Active Member
I hear ya. I'm not fanatically anti-ICE. It's just that I see the strategic benefits of large-scale electrification. Namely, that we could have much greater fuel diversity. After all, electricity has to be made from something, whether it's solar, nat gas, hydro, wind, or, as unpopular as it may be on this forum, coal. Compared to the current scenario where 95+% of our transportation is petro-powered.
plaeuschler
Member
Was on a winding mountain road last weekend and had a tuned Mitsubishi EVO 7 in front of me on the way up. Oh my god was this thing slow compared to my MS. Incredible how quickly they lose power from 1000m above sea Level and up. No way will I ever go back to ICE!
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igotzzoom
Active Member
Actually, on that note, curious how prolonged uphill grades or aggressive mountain driving affect range.
plaeuschler
Member
Two weeks ago I drove quite aggressively and somewhat over the speed limit from Flums village (456m) to their ski resort (1400m). Floored it after every corner (there are quite a number) and had a huge grin every time. Real distance is 10km. It took 45km of range on the way up. But going down gave me around 15km back. So the net range used was around 30km instead of 20km.
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We will likely remain a split EV/ICE family for a while longer. Our Model S replaced my 10-year old car last year. My wife's van is also coming up on 10-years old, but I think we will stick with an ICE for its replacement vehicle. The main reasons are:
1. We still need a vehicle for long trips.
2. We still want a vehicle with room for 5+.
3. We would need a significant electrical upgrade for two EV chargers in the garage.
Here are my more detailed thoughts on my reasons above:
1. The main road trip we take on a regular basis is from Chicago to Omaha and back. There are currently no Superchargers between the two, and the current Supercharger plan shows no possibility to make this trip completely on Superchargers until sometime in 2015 at the earliest. Also, it's my view that you really need an 85 kWh battery to comfortably make the long trips, and at current pricing, I am not willing to spend that kind of money... on any car.
2. I know that the Model S can be configured to fit more than 5 people; however, it is only useful if two of your 5+ passengers are children in a specific weight/height range. This is why I didn't configure our existing Model S with the rear-facing seats (plus we had our ICE vehicle for this purpose when needed). I know that the Model X will work for 5+ (assuming the optional 3rd row); however, the Model X will likely still have the Supercharger and 85 kWh cost issues discussed in #1.
3. I have a detached garage, so my ~100' wiring is underground between the main panel (in the house) and the garage. I was very lucky when installing my existing NEMA 14-50 that the underground conduit was large enough to handle the increased wire size. However, it would not have been large enough to fit wiring for the HPWC or two NEMA 14-50s. Therefore, if we get a second EV, we would need to replace the underground conduit (or add another line of conduit), plus we would need new conduit in the finished walls on both the house-side and garage-side. I assume we may also have to worry about the total house load if we use both NEMA 14-50s at the same time. We have 200A service, but I expect at some point there could be problems (possibility of drawing 80A for the cars, using two air conditioning units, and a double-oven... plus normal everyday house load stuff). Anyway, I imagine the costs of electrical upgrades could be much more than they were for one Model S.
1. We still need a vehicle for long trips.
2. We still want a vehicle with room for 5+.
3. We would need a significant electrical upgrade for two EV chargers in the garage.
Here are my more detailed thoughts on my reasons above:
1. The main road trip we take on a regular basis is from Chicago to Omaha and back. There are currently no Superchargers between the two, and the current Supercharger plan shows no possibility to make this trip completely on Superchargers until sometime in 2015 at the earliest. Also, it's my view that you really need an 85 kWh battery to comfortably make the long trips, and at current pricing, I am not willing to spend that kind of money... on any car.
2. I know that the Model S can be configured to fit more than 5 people; however, it is only useful if two of your 5+ passengers are children in a specific weight/height range. This is why I didn't configure our existing Model S with the rear-facing seats (plus we had our ICE vehicle for this purpose when needed). I know that the Model X will work for 5+ (assuming the optional 3rd row); however, the Model X will likely still have the Supercharger and 85 kWh cost issues discussed in #1.
3. I have a detached garage, so my ~100' wiring is underground between the main panel (in the house) and the garage. I was very lucky when installing my existing NEMA 14-50 that the underground conduit was large enough to handle the increased wire size. However, it would not have been large enough to fit wiring for the HPWC or two NEMA 14-50s. Therefore, if we get a second EV, we would need to replace the underground conduit (or add another line of conduit), plus we would need new conduit in the finished walls on both the house-side and garage-side. I assume we may also have to worry about the total house load if we use both NEMA 14-50s at the same time. We have 200A service, but I expect at some point there could be problems (possibility of drawing 80A for the cars, using two air conditioning units, and a double-oven... plus normal everyday house load stuff). Anyway, I imagine the costs of electrical upgrades could be much more than they were for one Model S.
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I am lucky to be on the East Coast where there have been SC's on the routes that I take (and campgrounds/Nissan dealers, etc at the endpoints). After 32k miles and 1 1/2+ years I have taken my wife's ICE on exactly one road trip instead of taking my Model S and that was
because: it was in the middle of a 15" snow storm, I had never supercharged before, had about 5 minutes notice that my wife's flight was canceled and no time to plan things out.
We are getting a second Model S in a few months [*^%$$ factory shutdown]. A single NEMA 14-50 should do us well. My wife gets home earlier and can get the first round of charging in.
bollar
Disgruntled Member
For reasons I don't understand, my neighbor across my back bought and moved on from a P85+ within about two months. I thought he was all in -- he had the electrician out to put in the HPWC and everything. In the meantime, he was the only neighbor who petitioned against my solar PV permit, so our relationship has been a bit ICEy since. My better half says he drove the Tesla (and the Porsche that replaced it) like he "was driving a cat to burial," so maybe it just scared him too much.
When the X gets here I'll donate my 2007 RDX to the local public radio station. Then my dilemma will be which Tesla to drive on any given day, since I can't imagine giving up my Sig Red S, which will eventually be a collector's car. I installed two 14-50 circuits in the garage even before the S arrived, anticipating the future.
I went the 14-50 left / HPWC right approach.
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A plugged in Tesla is a happy Tesla. The incremental cost of the additional 14-50 was trivial in the grand scheme of things, and the convenience factor was/is high.
Also, there's the "crap the HPWC is having issues" backup that the 14-50 offers. I've made use of that backup twice so far.
A related question: Why do you have more than one pair of socks? Can't you just wash them every day?
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This too. Or any other EV that can use a 14-50R.
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