HPWC charging at shopping center - only 25 mi per charging hour

[TexasEV]

You're describing a fairy tale in thinking your soon-to-be self driving car will go somewhere to charge itself while you're working. In the meantime, you'd really be better off with that 75.

 

[whttiger25]

Given $9,000 to upgrade to 75 battery, I can better use that $9,000 toward the $10,000 upgrade to make the car self-driving, and I can do more work while the car drives, freeing up some of my time, and the self-driving protocols will use less energy than my active driver driving styles. This will be a better value than upgrading to 75 battery for the same price, and the range will be even better, considering a self driving Tesla can drop me off and go charge itself somewhere while I'm at work or an errand, and come back to me with more battery charge level than if I was driving and parking myself. (Making me drive the same way a self driving Tesla will drive would put me to sleep, and I would not be a safer driver that way.)

First - the truly autonomous driving, where your car goes and charges itself, is very far away, more likely due to regulatory issues than anything else. Even with the 8.1 self driving upgrades coming, you won't yet technically be able to "free up your time" while driving, if this means looking away from the road.

I agree with the previous poster - just get the 75 battery and make your life easier. You shouldn't have to stop at - and pay for - chadmo charging. Is the money you are paying for non-supercharging top-ups incorporated into your longer term cost analysis?

 

[scottm]

I'm sorry, but unless that back of the car will show remaining range your reasoning is completely bogus.

Bingo! Totally agree. Battery capacity of a known vehicle type means nothing.
Just "being" a model S60 does not mean it needs to charge more than a S90 does.

Car not only needs to show rated miles remaining... I'll go a little further... a second display needs to show RCNTND (required charge needed to next destination) (I just made that up). Obviously, the second sign is on-your-honor system.

Without both, you cannot determine who "needs more charge".

All other factors are equal... If there's an empty spot at a charge place, then your car just by virtue of being there needs to charge more than any other car ... by definition. Short story: take the spot.

Really, what I wish was that all charge ports of all cars would unlock when target SOC is reached, or 100%, whichever is first. That way, somebody else could unplug your car and plug theirs in. At IKEA, there are 6 stalls in an eco-friendly zone of BEV and Hybrid and low emission... whatever labels they put on them.. And there are 2 charger/cables capable of reaching all 6 stalls. Any BEV could use any spot and if a plugged in BEV had reached its limit then the cable could be taken to a different stall. I know I would be TOTALLY OK with another BEV driver taking the cable from my car to move it to their car.

I would have also already gotten a notification that my charge was complete and I should already be on the way to move my car if I hadn't finished my business at that location.

That's the way this should work... having locked ports remain locked after a charge is non-sense.

 

[whttiger25]

Bingo! Totally agree. Battery capacity of a known vehicle type means nothing. SOC does.

But I'll go a little further... not only does SOC need to be displayed on the vehicle, but a second display that says RCNTND (required charge needed to next destination) (I just made that up). Obviously, the second sign is on-your-honor system.

Without both, you cannot determine who "needs more charge".

Agreed...it's just better in general to continue to encourage and support more EV infrastructure development.

 

[DarkMatter]

You're still in the ownership period where you are learning range limits. As that passes you'll need the comfort of unnecessary opportunity charging less. It's a normal part of the learning curve.

 

[Tomasz]

Really, what I wish was that all charge ports of all cars would unlock when target SOC is reached, or 100%, whichever is first.

Both my Leaf and i3 have exactly that functionality - the charge port locks the plug in during charging, but unlocks when charging is complete.