General Motors Is Going All Electric

Smart. Elon should feel very proud.

I recently bought an inexpensive electric (Ford Focus Electric 2017), and I can't imagine going back.

No gas stations, no oil changes, no transmission failures, no engine breakdowns, no timing belt, no transaxles, overall less costs even energy wise.

Also it's got amazing pickup and can beat guzzlers off the line (I've edged out Mustangs, but I haven't gone head to head with a Porsche).

So I have to charge every day - great, same with my iPhone (which, amusingly, is increasingly more important than my car - I can always hire a Lyft/Uber with my phone).

I think the electric revolution is like the SSD one - 10 years ago it was "unreliable" but today no one goes spinning rust unless they have absolute need to.

I'm impressed that the American car companies have embraced electric technology so quickly.

I'm also disappointed that the Japanese companies are falling behind. The Prius was a very innovative car when it was first released 20 years ago (that's right, the first Prius was a 1997 model!), but it is falling behind. The Nissan Leaf is just not competitive anymore, and I see no sign of a newer version of it with better range.

However, these new electric cars are mostly of interest to homeowners. People who park on the street have no realistic way to charge their cars at their homes, and all but the newest luxury apartments lack charging stations. Relying on public charging infrastructure is not realistic, and relying on charging at work is unwise -- it will limit your next job opportunity to companies that also have charging stations, unless you are willing to replace your car. Even relying on charging at an apartment is unwise, because it will limit where you can move to.

So, I guess electric car ownership is effectively another perk of home ownership.

I don't see how this can work in anything but a commuter-centric car. Want to drive from LA to SF or from Austin to Tulsa? Too bad. Want to drive an electric, loaded pickup from Austin to Dallas? Also not going to happen.

Unless they make some significant technological strides, nations larger than Norway are going to take a serious economic hit.

I just got a 2014 C-max energi (plug in). The battery indicators are pretty unreliable, I would be scared of running out prematurely if I was driving an all electric, because when I turn it on after a charge, it says I can go 22 miles on battery only, but it usually runs out in about 15 miles, and if I have the opportunity to drive at highway speeds, it does even worse. I wouldn't be comfortable driving anywhere in an electric unless I had a safety factor of 2.5x the expected mileage, since running out of battery is going to be way less convenient than running out of gas.