Eppie

Eppie

Audioholic Ninja
Exactly!

In Alaska, I had a VW Squareback not unlike this one in the photo. It had a flat 4-cylinder air-cooled engine over the rear wheels. See the air vents on the side, above & behind the rear wheels. Like all rear engined VWs, it had rear wheel drive. I put all weather tires on all 4 wheels. At that time, those tires were a compromise between standard & snow tires. The tires were tall & narrow, and it was somewhat under powered. Just right for driving in snow. As long as I stayed on roads where the snow wasn't deeper than the axles, I could drive anywhere. The only exception was when there had been an ice fog, where everything, including the roads, was coated with a thin layer of ice. No one drove in that!

If I remember correctly, that car was a 1968 or 69 model. I bought it used in 1973 for $800.
View attachment 59381
Reminds me of my grandfather's Cortina station wagon in Austria. :D

Before the SUVs we had a Taurus station wagon with front wheel drive. Never got stuck in the snow in that vehicle. It's all in the technique. ;)

Are most EV's 4WD?
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
No, never seen snow socks. I didn't even know about them until now. :D If conditions are really bad people use chains, but that's rare in Southern Ontario and more common up north. I can see socks working on snow and ice but the roads get salted and I wonder how they would wear on asphalt?
I guess that if the snow has stopped falling but the roads haven't been cleared, the socks would stay on but come off for clean pavement.

Sounds like a PITA, to me. OTOH, we don't have any real hills in the city, so that part of the need is less than the idiot drivers who are still driving as if it's a warm, sunny day.
 
Swerd

Swerd

Audioholic Warlord
Are most EV's 4WD?
Good question – I don't know for certain.

My Volvo C40 is AWD and has 2 electric motors, so I imagine that it may switch back & forth between 2WD & AWD. As far as I know, that is software controlled, not manually controlled. Other EVs may vary.
 
Swerd

Swerd

Audioholic Warlord
Driving out east we saw a number of charging stations along the highway but typically at the large multi-bay gas stations, not the small independent stations. The EV owners I know use an app which shows known charging station locations and they plan their routes accordingly. Like mentioned above, stations are being added to retail parking lots as well, like our local MEC (Mountain Equipment Co-op).

Had an interesting chat with an EV owner on the way back from out east. He complained that every company required you to use their own card to access their charging station. You couldn't use a credit card like at a gas pump, so he needed multiple cards. Also, they bill by the amount of time, not the electricity used! That baffled me, as electricity is normally charged by the kilowatt hour. He said that Tesla owners paid less for hydro because their cars charge faster. A slow charging vehicle will cost you more for the same amount of electricity. How do the stations in the U.S. work?
I didn't know that on-the-road chargers bill by time, not kWh. That may vary with the age of a charging device. I'll have to remember that.

I haven't taken any road trips yet, so I'm still early on the learning curve for this. So far, I've charged up only at home, and paid by the kWh on my monthly electricity bill. When I picked up the car, the salesman showed me two apps he had on his phone from on-the-road EV charging companies. Once you register with them, they allow charging without using a card. But there must be chargers out there that may not recognize the app on your phone.

So far, I've looked into what brands of chargers are more common on the US east coast. I've now got a ChargePoint app on my phone. ChargePoint & EVGo cooperate with each other, a shared network. Those 2 seem to be well represented on the US east coast. Apparently, other networks, such as PlugShare, are more common in the US mid west. At present, where you live and travel plays a big part in all this.

When I registered with ChargePoint, I gave them a credit card number, so when/if the charger recognizes my phone, I can charge without paying directly. That app also includes a map function that shows where ChargePoint or EVGo charging stations are along my route. And it also allows me to control my home charger (also sold by ChargePoint) remotely from my phone.

My car also has an onboard GPS map system, developed by Google, which functions both as a navigation system and monitors my battery charge status. On a road trip, if I tell it my destination, it tells me when to charge up, and where I can do it. Unlike the ChargePoint app, I think it identifies all brands of chargers known to Google. And yes, the EV has a phone app from Volvo too, allowing charger control, GPS map functions, among some other non-charger features. (I remember when I spent 2 weeks as a tourist in the UK, the British say "Sat Nav" instead of GPS map navigation. I like saying that, but in the US it confuses people.)

So, there is some duplication between the EV's software and the ChargePoint app. I might need another charger app, but I'll wait until I've done at least one road trip before I choose again.

FWIW, I found this article:
Ten Best EV Charging Station Apps
https://theninehertz.com/blog/top-apps/ev-charging-station-apps-for-android-ios
 
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j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
The dual and triple motor models are. The single motor models are usually 2wd.
By definition, single motor cars would be 2wd, usually RWD. It seems there exist some companies developing drivetrains for AWD single motor, but I haven't seen a production car using one.
 
GO-NAD!

GO-NAD!

Audioholic Spartan
I have heard some bad things about Tesla build quality, but if these people survived a plunge like this, the design must have some serious thought behind it- the complaints I hear were generally about the body panel fit and some involved reliability.

Thought this was interesting.

I posted this before, but here it is again.

Consumer Reports rates the Model 3 as "Good" (average), while Models S and Y are rated "Worse" (the lowest rating). The most prominent problem areas are: climate system, paint/trim, body integrity, body hardware and in-car electronics.

The highest rated electric vehicle is the Kia Nero Electric.
 
Alex2507

Alex2507

Audioholic Slumlord
Is anybody else having to re-teach their wives to drive in one of these fancy electric cars?

Asking for a friend. :D
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
Is anybody else having to re-teach their wives to drive in one of these fancy electric cars?

Asking for a friend. :D
With 100% TQ on demand at any time, yes I think there will be an adjustment period for the average driver.
 
Mikado463

Mikado463

Audioholic Spartan
Is anybody else having to re-teach their wives to drive in one of these fancy electric cars?

Asking for a friend. :D
just take her to the nearest carting track, she'll catch on ........ ;)
 
Swerd

Swerd

Audioholic Warlord
Is anybody else having to re-teach their wives to drive in one of these fancy electric cars?

Asking for a friend. :D
just take her to the nearest carting track, she'll catch on ........ ;)
When smart phones first became widespread, we all saw – or personally experienced – how distracting texting while driving could be. People were genuinely surprised – or vigorously denied – that their eyes & minds were on their phones for such a long time, instead of on the road.

It's more like that. No experience on a track can make you want to unlearn bad habits. It's not enough to have huge rear view mirrors on your car. You have to actually use them as you drive.

To be more specific, our garage door is narrow enough to make us fold the rear view mirrors on each side of the car, before we enter the garage. Its not absolutely required, but it makes the car narrower by a few critical inches. When you back out, you have remember to unfold them once out of the garage.

Normally, these mirrors fold automatically when you shut the car off, and automatically open when you start up later. If you fold them before shutting off the car, it requires a direct command from the driver. When you start up later, the mirrors remain folded until you open them up. Several times, my wife has happily driven off with the mirrors folded. She claims she remembered to open them within a few blocks of home, but she did that while rolling instead of while stopped. Which brings us back to my comparison with driving while texting.
 
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Trell

Trell

Audioholic Spartan
When smart phones first became widespread, we all saw – or personally experienced – how distracting texting while driving could be. People were genuinely surprised – or vigorously denied – that their eyes & minds were on their phones for such a long time, instead of on the road.
On more than one occasion when crossing a street I've been almost run over by a car with the driver texting.
 
cpp

cpp

Audioholic Ninja
Today the NTSB has raised some concerns on the issue with EV's in a crash with non-EVs. Of note : a Ford’s F-150 Lightning EV pickup is 2,000 to 3,000 pounds (900 to 1,350 kilograms) heavier than the same model’s combustion version. The Mustang Mach E electric SUV and the Volvo XC40 EV, and are roughly 33% heavier than their gasoline counterparts. An electric GMC Hummer weighs about 9,000 pounds (4,000 kilograms), with a battery pack that alone is 2,900 pounds (1,300 kilograms) — roughly the entire weight of a typical Honda Civic. Just found it interesting, the weights of the these EV vehicles.
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
Today the NTSB has raised some concerns on the issue with EV's in a crash with non-EVs. Of note : a Ford’s F-150 Lightning EV pickup is 2,000 to 3,000 pounds (900 to 1,350 kilograms) heavier than the same model’s combustion version. The Mustang Mach E electric SUV and the Volvo XC40 EV, and are roughly 33% heavier than their gasoline counterparts. An electric GMC Hummer weighs about 9,000 pounds (4,000 kilograms), with a battery pack that alone is 2,900 pounds (1,300 kilograms) — roughly the entire weight of a typical Honda Civic. Just found it interesting, the weights of the these EV vehicles.
This isn't exactly new data, we know these cars are heavier and that comes with a big penalty if you get in an accident. They are also extremely more expensive to have bodywork done on. Teslas have to go to specialized shops since they are almost all aluminum. In a typical accident, you will survive but the car will be a total loss due to the cost of repair and whatever you hit will sustain more damage. Though there is less to fail mechanically, those failures will cost you a lot more.

There are for sure tradeoffs, but if the current atmospheric event hitting Ca. isn't yet another example of climate change that we need to fix, I don't know what is.
 
Mikado463

Mikado463

Audioholic Spartan
This isn't exactly new data, we know these cars are heavier and that comes with a big penalty if you get in an accident.
not to mention the increased damage done to the roads they operate over. So with EV's not generating any revenue in the form of 'per gallon gas tax' states had better come up with a definitive resolution !
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
not to mention the increased damage done to the roads they operate over. So with EV's not generating any revenue in the form of 'per gallon gas tax' states had better come up with a definitive resolution !
Once gas tax revenue starts to drop off, and that will be a while, they'll come up with another way. That's starting to show up here as pay per use Express lanes already.
 
cpp

cpp

Audioholic Ninja
Once gas tax revenue starts to drop off, and that will be a while, they'll come up with another way. That's starting to show up here as pay per use Express lanes already.
gas prices dropping because of EV's will not be in our lifetime, maybe in a smaller state. There will be too many gas cars and trucks on the road, not to mention construction vehicles and tractor trailers moving freight and a lot of used gas cars and trucks for sell to those that cannot afford or will not purchase a EV that doesn't fit their needs and their budget.

And regarding the HOT lanes and EVs Like in GA, You do NOT qualify for the lane access just by owning an EV. You need to get a special “alternative fuel vehicle” (AFV) license plate for your car and around areas like Atlanta that's a $35 plate. And then GA has an annual EV road use fee, $213.69 a year. A state will get their missing fuel money either by special taxes or special road fees.
In Fla its a $5 decal, but we make up any lost revenue with our tourist taxes, including hotel taxes by the counties.
 
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GO-NAD!

GO-NAD!

Audioholic Spartan
Today the NTSB has raised some concerns on the issue with EV's in a crash with non-EVs. Of note : a Ford’s F-150 Lightning EV pickup is 2,000 to 3,000 pounds (900 to 1,350 kilograms) heavier than the same model’s combustion version. The Mustang Mach E electric SUV and the Volvo XC40 EV, and are roughly 33% heavier than their gasoline counterparts. An electric GMC Hummer weighs about 9,000 pounds (4,000 kilograms), with a battery pack that alone is 2,900 pounds (1,300 kilograms) — roughly the entire weight of a typical Honda Civic. Just found it interesting, the weights of the these EV vehicles.
This isn't exactly new data, we know these cars are heavier and that comes with a big penalty if you get in an accident. They are also extremely more expensive to have bodywork done on. Teslas have to go to specialized shops since they are almost all aluminum. In a typical accident, you will survive but the car will be a total loss due to the cost of repair and whatever you hit will sustain more damage. Though there is less to fail mechanically, those failures will cost you a lot more.

There are for sure tradeoffs, but if the current atmospheric event hitting Ca. isn't yet another example of climate change that we need to fix, I don't know what is.
It seems that automakers and many drivers want their cake and eat it, too. No emissions? We can make 'em as big and heavy as we want - guilt free! Except, when you build a pick-up or SUV using enough resources to build 2 or 3 smaller vehicles, you still haven't gotten the message. You're still wasting resources and energy. Pile on the safety concerns and, well...SMH.
Electric Vehicles Are Bringing Out the Worst in Us - The Atlantic
 
Trell

Trell

Audioholic Spartan
It seems that automakers and many drivers want their cake and eat it, too. No emissions? We can make 'em as big and heavy as we want - guilt free! Except, when you build a pick-up or SUV using enough resources to build 2 or 3 smaller vehicles, you still haven't gotten the message. You're still wasting resources and energy. Pile on the safety concerns and, well...SMH.
Electric Vehicles Are Bringing Out the Worst in Us - The Atlantic
I don’t even own a car and use public transportation. :)
 

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