An Electric Car

[RSteve]

I've been reading that with new technology batteries, 100% electric cars with 300 to 350 ranges should be available by 2025. My 2017 Subaru Legacy has 42, 000 miles. I put on about 10,000 miles a year and I expect that will decline. I plan on going fully electric via a leased vehicle in 2025, if I'm still alive and able to drive. I'll be 80 and wonder if it'll feel like driving a grocery cart.

 

[Brewdude]

I've been sort of following the development of various electric car battery options, and from what I've gathered the so called solid state battery looks like a far better option than the present Lithium battery in terms of charging time, performance, lifespan, and mileage/charge. The issue right now is the cost of producing one but that should come down with mass manufacturing. However it'll need to come down to a range that most ordinary people can afford and that might be a long way off.

I've owned an '08 Ford Escape Hybrid for 11 years now and it's been a great car with minimal issues. Have ~ 108K miles on it at present. However, right now the Lithium battery is not charging like it once did and thus gives me much poorer mileage. Replacing the battery is not an option as I was recently quoted ~$12K including labor and tax. Blue Book on the car is probably $5K so that's not an option.

Since it still drives fine on gas alone I can live with the poorer mileage for the time being as I only fill my tank once/mo or less since I've retired. If and when the electric options start to become more affordable for someone like me living on a fixed SS income I'll consider it.


Cheers,

RR

 

[ftrplt]

FWIW...Count me as totally unimpressed with electric cars. The number of batteries needed is mind-bogling!! We will need to dig even more holes in the ground to extract the minerals needed to produce such numbers! At the moment, our electric grid is fragile at best. From where are we getting all this "juice" for all the electric cars? A car with a range of 300-350 miles does me no good when I'm off on a 1,300 mile (one-way) trip. Re-charging times seem a bit excessive! And what happens when I run out of juice while sitting in a traffic jam while on my journey/trip? What about battery replacement? The cost seems prohibitive; what is one to do at this point, just dump the car and buy a new one??!! Plus, what about disposing of these multi-millions of old batteries. Is recycling an option? If so, how and where? Hybrid I can understand; I may own one someday. All-electric has a long way to go as far as I'm concerned. FTRPLT

 

[Ranger107]

Brew, that is the problem with electric vehicles at present. For those who buy new every 3 to 5 years they work okay. For guys like us who keep our cars/trucks for 10 years plus having to replace batteries is just not feasible. Also at present no one builds an electric truck that will pull a 3 horse trailer for 200 plus miles which I sometimes do.

 

[Bullwinkle]

I've been reading that with new technology batteries, 100% electric cars with 300 to 350 ranges should be available by 2025. My 2017 Subaru Legacy has 42, 000 miles. I put on about 10,000 miles a year and I expect that will decline. I plan on going fully electric via a leased vehicle in 2025, if I'm still alive and able to drive. I'll be 80 and wonder if it'll feel like driving a grocery cart.

You will need deep pockets

 

[RSteve]

Keep in mind, I'll be looking at a 36 month lease when I'm 80+ years old. I'll never drive one way 300 miles. Before my Subaru, I drove a Kia Optima V-6 for almost ten years. I'm sure the Subaru will go 15 years, but I'd like to see what all electric is like in 2025.

 

[RSteve]

If Marshall Medoff has his way internal combustion engines will run on this:

The unlikely, eccentric inventor turning inedible plant life into fuel​

Watch 60 Minutes: The inventor turning plant life into biofuel - Full show on Paramount Plus

www.paramountplus.com

 

[Blackhorse]

At some point fossil fuels will be replaced. It’s inevitable. When? Ten...twenty...thirty years? Heck, I don’t know. Too many factors go into it. I’m not Harry Seldon after all. Will electric be the thing? How about fuel cell steam engines? Gerbil power? If they were powered by good intentions gone bad we’d have it made.

 

[RSteve]

At some point fossil fuels will be replaced. It’s inevitable. When? Ten...twenty...thirty years?

Much, much earlier. If you watch the Medoff segment, it's in the near future that garbage and other non-animal byproducts of food production will produce an extraordinary clean fuel, far different from ethanol.

 

[Blackhorse]

Much, much earlier. If you watch the Medoff segment, it's in the near future that garbage and other non-animal byproducts of food production will produce an extraordinary clean fuel, far different from ethanol.

Um...I’ll claim Missouri residency on that one.

 

[RSteve]

Also at present no one builds an electric truck that will pull a 3 horse trailer for 200 plus miles which I sometimes do.

Maybe tomorrow.

THE WORLD'S FIRST ALL-ELECTRIC SUPERTRUCK ​

1,000 HORSEPOWER​

AND 11,500 LB-FT OF TORQUE†​

HUMMER EV​

 

[Ranger107]

Maybe tomorrow.

THE WORLD'S FIRST ALL-ELECTRIC SUPERTRUCK ​

HUMMER EV​

Gotta go with Blackhorse on this one, however, IF and when it comes out I will consider it, but only if my Ram 1500 has passed 100k, which will probably be after I'm dead, lol.

 

[Ranger107]

Gotta go with Blackhorse on this one, however, IF and when it comes out I will consider it, but only if my Ram 1500 has passed 100k, which will probably be after I'm dead, lol.

 

[Ranger107]

Excuse the double post, apparently I'm not awake yet.

 

[Brewdude]

Ya great, but what's the sticker? $100K+ no doubt!


No Cheers,

RR

 

[RSteve]

Ya great, but what's the sticker? $100K+ no doubt! No Cheers, RR

No doubt, very expensive, but I expect that the first production run is already sold out.
I always keep in mind. In St. Paul, the Ford plant closed a few years ago. The plant was in the city, portions bordering on Mississippi River Boulevard. The physical plant was torn down and the approximately 160 acres will be residential: homes, condos, townhomes. The lots along the boulevard were sold within one day for prices ranging from $one million to 1.5 million dollars. These are just lots for homes, not multiple dwellings. Lots of people making a lot of money.
When was the last time you saw a new Ferrari or Lamborghini sitting in a showroom waiting for a buyer?

 

[Blackhorse]

They already have an electric truck that will haul 24,000 lbs. Unfortunately the batteries that power it weigh that much. Catch 22.

 

[Ranger107]

4 Percheron draft horses could pull that much weight and the only fuel they require is hay. Unfortunately they don't go very fast.

 

[Ranger107]

No doubt, very expensive, but I expect that the first production run is already sold out.
I always keep in mind. In St. Paul, the Ford plant closed a few years ago. The plant was in the city, portions bordering on Mississippi River Boulevard. The physical plant was torn down and the approximately 160 acres will be residential: homes, condos, townhomes. The lots along the boulevard were sold within one day for prices ranging from $one million to 1.5 million dollars. These are just lots for homes, not multiple dwellings. Lots of people making a lot of money.
When was the last time you saw a new Ferrari or Lamborghini sitting in a showroom waiting for a buyer?

Yepper, the first series available coming out in 2022 was $120K+ and reservations were already sold out.

 

[Ranger107]

No doubt, very expensive, but I expect that the first production run is already sold out.
I always keep in mind. In St. Paul, the Ford plant closed a few years ago. The plant was in the city, portions bordering on Mississippi River Boulevard. The physical plant was torn down and the approximately 160 acres will be residential: homes, condos, townhomes. The lots along the boulevard were sold within one day for prices ranging from $one million to 1.5 million dollars. These are just lots for homes, not multiple dwellings. Lots of people making a lot of money.
When was the last time you saw a new Ferrari or Lamborghini sitting in a showroom waiting for a buyer?

Actually I was in the Ferrari dealer in Thousand Oaks Ca 2 years ago and they had 3 on the floor for sale at $200K+. .