131–140 of 247 posts
A few months back I had to go to Palm Beach for work. It was right when Miami was flooding. That's over two hours away. But, the Port Everglades, which is where the tankers unload, was flooded too, and even up in Palm Beach there was no gas. I drove in there with low fuel, thinking it wouldn't be an issue since I was so far north. But, then couldn't find gas at all the next day, and driving around and seeing tons of…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> But, with electric, you are not only looking for a working charger, but one that isn't in use. Or like, a 120v plug anywhere at someone who has electricity? That's a lot more ubiquitous than a gas station.
Yes, but as the commenter pointed out, it would take a significant amount of time. > I'm not joking. If I plugged in the cable I carry in the back of my car, it would have taken 8-12 hours to charge up to the full 18 miles I get on my car.
The payment thing just boggles my mind. I've been paying at card readers at a gas pump for 20 years now and exactly once did it not work. It's the one thing that has been completely solved in industry, and it doesn't work with EVs.
FWIW, I think the card industry itself is having to rethink a lot of stuff for EVs. Petrol pumps with card readers are their own little universe of rules and compliance standards within the credit card industry (the formal term is 'Automated Fuel Dispenser'). It's far enough afield that you're looking at specialized software and vendors, in part because a lot of them support fleet cards, which range from "95% normal…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Gasoline would suck just as bad without an extensive distribution network. This isn’t a technology problem. It’s a horse before the feed lot problem.
Except Tesla figured out the feed and nobody else has. It's also a difficult investment for businesses (gas stations) because with ev adoption, everybody with 120v and a <60 mile daily commute is likely to charge at home 75% of the time
You charge at home for 80-90% of the time or even more. Practically all day to day driving is extremely cheap, especially with market rate power and some home automation. I've got a pretty expensive setup (rented apartment + 3rd party charger) and it costs me 5,70€ to charge my car from 0-100%. I can buy about 3 liters of gasoline or diesel with that...
So when we as a family go on road trips or visit family, I can't even remember the last time I checked the price on a public charger. I've yet to break "half a tank of gas" -levels on a single trip.
IMHO the state of the charging network is a major disincentive against buying any CCS equipped EV in the US. Fortunately over the next couple of years every company is switching to NACS and will in theory be able to use Tesla's charging network. This is not great news for the cars bought this year or next though, it would be like buying Betamax.
You'll be able to use CCS cars can use a passive adapter. And maybe some manufacturers will also offer retrofits.
The EV infrastructure situation in North America is stupid and will take a few years yet to shake out. The failure to standardize has been a stupid waste of time and money for everyone.
A few months back I had to go to Palm Beach for work. It was right when Miami was flooding. That's over two hours away. But, the Port Everglades, which is where the tankers unload, was flooded too, and even up in Palm Beach there was no gas. I drove in there with low fuel, thinking it wouldn't be an issue since I was so far north. But, then couldn't find gas at all the next day, and driving around and seeing tons of…
The payment thing just boggles my mind. I've been paying at card readers at a gas pump for 20 years now and exactly once did it not work. It's the one thing that has been completely solved in industry, and it doesn't work with EVs.
What I don’t understand is why car dealerships haven’t jumped at this opportunity by giving up some parking spots for charging stations. They already have a lounge areas, have displayed cars for folks to consider, and many have some kind of snack bar. Add a cut of the charging fee and you a consistent revenue stream.
There are some economics that could lead to the conclusion that dealers definitely don't want evs (fewer high margin services on average, except maybe tires for customers that heavy regen, and ultimately fewer new car sales because they fail less)
The payment thing just boggles my mind. I've been paying at card readers at a gas pump for 20 years now and exactly once did it not work. It's the one thing that has been completely solved in industry, and it doesn't work with EVs.
The payment thing just boggles my mind. I've been paying at card readers at a gas pump for 20 years now and exactly once did it not work. It's the one thing that has been completely solved in industry, and it doesn't work with EVs.
It is solved by Tesla... You just drive up to a supercharger and plug in. No apps nothing.