51–60 of 80 posts
We own a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid (PHEV) Cost after 7500 tax credit was comparable (slightly higher) than gas only variants with dealer discounts. Winter mpg(e) was fairly unimpressive, about 24mpg(e) combined. Chrysler programmed (?) the car to run heavy on the gas engine when temperatures drop. There are no settings or overrides like the Volt (my only other PHEV experience) As it is warming up mpge is climbing…
Just a reminder-- there were 1.15M light vehicle sales in the US last month[0]. The total for all of these EV cars put together is a drop in the bucket.. 12000/1.15M = 1%. So if big auto has a problem, they have a lot of time to figure it out. 0. http://www.wsj.com/mdc/public/page/2_3022-autosales.html Edit: Corrected.. thanks to sremani for pointing out the error.
I'm coming at this from another domain, measuring IPv6 uptake. I've been doing this for over 10 years now. The initial demand curve, was severely depressing. It was painful to watch technology sitting at 1% growth. The thing is, that in a logistic supply curve, the moment of change when something where the best-fit is linear, and it goes into its exponential phase, its completely unpredictable. You can stab at it, bu…
I mean, if Tesla were facing as few physical limitations (literally can't build cars fast enough) as IPV6 uptake, they'd have sold millions of cars by now.
Here's the US January car sales data for all marques, not just electrics.[1] Tesla is in 27th place, below Lincoln and ahead of Volvo. [1] http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2018/02/u-s-auto-sales-brand-ra...
The only people I know who have an electric car own or have pre-ordered Teslas. They are all status symbols. I don’t know anyone who needs an electric car. Maybe the problem is just as much lack of demand as it is lack of big auto commitment?
I think 400,000 model 3 reservation holders paying $1,000 site unseen for a car they may not get for years demonstrates some demand.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Most cars beyond the bare-bones econoboxes aren’t about needs . Nobody needs an electric car, but they can be really nice to own in various ways.
I agree. If you're buying anything more expensive than the $13k Nissan Versa, you're buying features you don't need . So saying people don't need an electric car so there's no point in buying them is kind of a silly statement.
We own a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid (PHEV) Cost after 7500 tax credit was comparable (slightly higher) than gas only variants with dealer discounts. Winter mpg(e) was fairly unimpressive, about 24mpg(e) combined. Chrysler programmed (?) the car to run heavy on the gas engine when temperatures drop. There are no settings or overrides like the Volt (my only other PHEV experience) As it is warming up mpge is climbing…
I'm certain the reason they don't is that it would either have a sub-100 mile range (like the actually existing Nissan NV200e electric van), or it would have a 10 000 lbs curb weight and cost well north of $200k.
I mean, at highway speeds air resistance is what you're spending your gas/electricity on fighting against.
For a Model S, measured drag coefficient and projected frontal area imply that to maintain 70 mph for one hour you're spending 10 kWh.
For a Ford Transit van, the drag coefficient doubles and the projected area increases by a whopping 5x, so you're looking at 100 kWh spent to maintain 70 mph for one hour.
This implies an electric full-size van with the range of a Model S would require at least 600 kWh of battery capacity installed, giving a battery weight alone of 7500 lbs (3500 kg)!!!
We own a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid (PHEV) Cost after 7500 tax credit was comparable (slightly higher) than gas only variants with dealer discounts. Winter mpg(e) was fairly unimpressive, about 24mpg(e) combined. Chrysler programmed (?) the car to run heavy on the gas engine when temperatures drop. There are no settings or overrides like the Volt (my only other PHEV experience) As it is warming up mpge is climbing…
> If Tesla made a van, I would have strongly considered it I'm certain the reason they don't is that it would either have a sub-100 mile range (like the actually existing Nissan NV200e electric van), or it would have a 10 000 lbs curb weight and cost well north of $200k. I mean, at highway speeds air resistance is what you're spending your gas/electricity on fighting against. For a Model S, measured drag coefficient…
A Ford Transit van is a pretty big leap for someone who wants a vehicle to cart around kids, pets and their associated gear.
The 2017 Chrysler Pacifica offers a drag coefficient of 0.30 vs. 0.24 for the Model X. Given Tesla's aggressive reduction in drag and frontal area on the Model X (with respect to other SUVs) I expect they could get away with a much more modest bump in battery capacity if minivans became the next hot ticket.
> large automakers aren’t even trying Despite the Bolt being MT car of the year in 2017, I found it very hard to get a test drive. Some local Chevy dealers pretended not to know about it, which is ludicrous: their business, and maybe their only value as middleman, is to know every vehicle in the catalog forward and backward and then to leap to get me what I ask for. When I pointed out they were sitting on MTCOY the r…
"But the CARB credits are only effective at a production rate of about 20,000 to 30,000 vehicles a year. So that’s why you’ll see, mark my words, it’s not going to be any higher than that for the Chevy Bolt. That’s on order of 25,000 units a year…"
Actual Total Bolt sales for 2017 … 23,297.
Here's the US January car sales data for all marques, not just electrics.[1] Tesla is in 27th place, below Lincoln and ahead of Volvo. [1] http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2018/02/u-s-auto-sales-brand-ra...
Why the big discrepancy between the two reports? (8500 vs 6000 for Tesla)
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> If Tesla made a van, I would have strongly considered it I'm certain the reason they don't is that it would either have a sub-100 mile range (like the actually existing Nissan NV200e electric van), or it would have a 10 000 lbs curb weight and cost well north of $200k. I mean, at highway speeds air resistance is what you're spending your gas/electricity on fighting against. For a Model S, measured drag coefficient…
I think the answer is simpler than that; minivans aren't sexy. Tesla is focused on gobbling up potential BMW and Audi buyers who have the budget for a fully loaded X5 or Q7 and aren't willing to give up the sex appeal (at least until kids 2-3 come along). A Ford Transit van is a pretty big leap for someone who wants a vehicle to cart around kids, pets and their associated gear. The 2017 Chrysler Pacifica offers a dra…
I mean, with a Q7 you can carry your three kids with just two seat rows, so you can still fit two strollers and enough luggage for a three week holiday in the trunk. With a Model X, not so much. And thanks to the fancy doors, forget about compensating with a roofbox.
It's more comparable to a BMW X4 or a Mercedes GLC Coupe. And even then, the Model X is almost 90 inches wide, same as a H1 Hummer, as opposed to 77 inches for the "bigger" Q7.