EVolve NY: EV Charging Stations

[Campgottagopee]

Electric Ford F-150 Gives Instant Cred to EV Pickup Market, Unlike Tesla - ExtremeTech

Ford is one of a half-dozen players hoping to sell electric pickups by 2021-2023. Strong competition comes from GMC, Rivian, and Tesla, which this week claimed big battery gains.

www.extremetech.com

 

[Milo Maltbie]

IMO, they aren't there yet for you. You'll get killed on the back end.

I think that will change soon. Batteries will last longer and cost less, plus used batteries will have some salvage value as stationary energy storage. Even now I think the biggest obstacle is the limited on-the-road charging. When that builds out EVs will dominate. I'm hoping I can find one with a manual trans.

mm

 

[Tjf1967]

IMO, they aren't there yet for you. You'll get killed on the back end.

There is no back end if you use it until the car is dead. They better figure out how all these people going electric are going to pay for road upkeep. Right now they get most of the money at the pump.

 

[Harvey]

There's a reason there is a defeat switch for the TC on most cars.

I learned this with my first CRV that had traction control.

If my car applies the brakes when the wheels slip, I'll never get up our driveway in the mountains. The whole thing is a (hopefully) controlled slip.

Regarding EV becoming practical or not financially smart... it will continue to be driven forward by those who have other motivations for overlooking the limitations. Then one day it will make economic sense and it will be a done deal, just like any other innovation. I bet there was a time, on day one, when a horse still made more sense that an ICE. No gas stations or mechanics or whatever. Eventually it reached critical mass, and here we are.

 

[Milo Maltbie]

There is no back end if you use it until the car is dead.

There's no back end now, but there will be soon. Even a battery that is too weak to have usable range is still useful for energy storage in buildings. Peak use is really expensive in commercial buildings, and battery storage can mitigate that by moving use off the peak. Battery banks also increase the electric system's ability to use intermittent enrgy sources, like wind and solar. The value is there, you just need to scale up the program to get it.

mm

 

[Milo Maltbie]

Regarding EV becoming practical or not financially smart... it will continue to be driven forward by those who have other motivations for overlooking the limitations. Then one day it will make economic sense and it will be a done deal, just like any other innovation. I bet there was a time, on day one, when a horse still made more sense that an ICE. No gas stations or mechanics or whatever. Eventually it reached critical mass, and here we are.

I think that's exactly right. I think the first guys who built gasoline cars didn't expect a lot of practical value, they were just having fun zooming around.

mm

 

[jasonwx]

This shows that the Tesla will do well in the snow

 

[Campgottagopee]

There is no back end if you use it until the car is dead.

This is true, but that's not me. I'm more of a fan of leasing new and purchasing used. If I were to go new it would be a full-size 4x4 truck and I'd go with whatever manufacturer had the best lease at that time. Used, rusty old F250.

 

[DomB]

Electric Ford F-150 Gives Instant Cred to EV Pickup Market, Unlike Tesla - ExtremeTech

Ford is one of a half-dozen players hoping to sell electric pickups by 2021-2023. Strong competition comes from GMC, Rivian, and Tesla, which this week claimed big battery gains.

www.extremetech.com

FYI, Ford was planning to use Rivian's skateboard. However, with the recent economic downturn, I think the partnership was put on hold. I believe Ford has invested cash in Rivian and has a board seat on Rivan. The seat is held by someone with the Ford family name (family member).

 

[DomB]

Sorry - for the unitiated, the skateboard is the powertrain: Battery pack plus motors. When you look at it without the rest of the car, it looks like a giant skateboard. This would be the same as the engine and transmission and driveshaft in an ICE