Any GTAM'ers own an electric vehicle? | Page 60 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Any GTAM'ers own an electric vehicle?

I took a regular walk to the corner to see the outcome of another crash. I live near one of the more crash prone intersections in TO.

Had a chat with one of the fire fighters there doing clean up and discussed the risks of electrical explosions. He indicated they have no set procedure for dealing with EV's. The jaws of life could be jaws of death. I'm sure there is a procedure but he wasn't aware of it other than a main disconnect supposedly in the trunk (Possibly under all the household junk and groceries)

There is training for first responders - you can read about it here:

http://www.oafc.on.ca/system/files/...ybrid Electric Vehicles FINAL August 2015.pdf

If that officer in particular didn't receive it something failed along the chain somewhere.

Regardless, most EV's (including the Volt) do have automatic crash systems that disabled the high voltage systems as close to the battery as possible, and under the hood on many (most?) EV's there are emergency response diagrams that tell first responders how to safely cut the HV wires and such if possible/needed, where they are routed, etc. It's certainly an issue that has been thought of.

Employers resisting paying for electrical usage at work:

My accountant figures they lose an hour per day per employee due to employee net surfing so the hydro costs just become another perk like free coffee and internet. That is if the usage is minimal but if we all go EV and the employer has to put in megabucks of wiring and upgrades it's a new ball game.

Re the condo lady getting her circuit disconnected:

I don't know if the board was being narrow minded or forward thinking. If she had approached the board and they agreed to allow her to plug in it could have been treated as a one off experiment to study future considerations. An unfavourable result could have been covered to minimize costs to everyone if things didn't work out.

If they allow Mrs. Jones to plug in how do they say no to Mr. Smith and a few hundred others.

Places better start to be more forward thinking, ESPECIALLY apartment buildings/condos. EV's are the way of the future, to deny that is to be in the horse and buggy crowd discounting the "new fangled automobile" as a fad that'll never catch on.

Places where people live are going to have to get up to speed eventually - failure to do so will result in people just living elsewhere which will result in vacancies, and eventually it's a foregone conclusion that when EV's reach a critical mass, if building owners don't take actions on their own to provide charging infrastructure the government will mandate it.

The forward thinking owners are already thinking about it. Places like that condo with their heads stuck in their own butts are going to eventually be told instead of asked, or they're going to miss out on quality tennants because they'll just go elsewhere when they're told that EV charging is prohibited. It's already happening. It will only get more common.

The block heater, even if on its own 15 amp breaker and drawing 4-5 amps still leads back to a panel and building transformer that has to carry the load. One vehicle drawing an extra 6-7 amps wouldn't cause much of a problem but some garages here have over 400 cars. That could put an extra 200 Kw load on the building transformer and the general hydro network. At what point does the straw break the camels back?

Also the block heaters only get used in the winter but Ev's use power all year. Some load capacities are seasonally shared because one doesn't tend to run electric snow melting and electric outdoor pool heat at the same time.[/QUOTE]

Although those are pretty forward-looking numbers they are certainly not unattainable with proper forethought at the time of construction or renovations. The reality is is that 20 years from now probably between 50-75% of people are going to expect an EV charger at their parking spot in condominiums or apartments. Even ICE vehicles that me be around still (such as those with large ICE pick up trucks for pulling/towing) will still probably want them as I strongly suspect as time goes on even those will have an EV portion of propulsion like the Volt does now - EV for grocery getter duty ( which face it, is 98% of a typical pick-up trucks life) and ICE for towing/range extension

Times are changing. Sticking ones head in the sand as a building owner will just end up costing them more in the long run.
 
Re emergency responders - the cars are also designed with this in mind. The high voltage cables are routed outside the passenger compartment, generally under the floor, not through door or roof pillars, and on all electric or hybrid cars they are bright orange. In most crash situations, even those involving ripping open roof or doors, they wouldn't have to touch them. There is automatic circuit protection. Most of the time it will be sufficient to simply not touch any bright orange wires.

Side curtain airbags that haven't popped are a bigger hazard.

Emergency responders need training on newer vehicle technology, and it's available.

Another totally non EV tech that they need training on are the new vehicles with reinforced door structures in response to the new low offset frontal crash tests. I deal with this on the mfg side. Those hot-stamped panels can't be mechanically cut or trimmed afterward - they are laser cut. Can't cut through except with a high power laser. That'll be tough in a crash.
 
I don't but I wish. I'd order a tesla model 3 if I have the cash. Govt rebate free electricity in some areas sounds enticing.

I took this pic in Grimsby at Casablanca motel 6 superchargers only 1 car.

TeslaSC.jpg
 

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The number one thing that Tesla got right is that the average person is resistant to the concept of an EV because they can't take a road trip because there's nowhere to charge them - therefore, they need to build out the charging infrastructure so that this argument no longer holds validity. So ... the charging stations come first, then the mass-market vehicle.

The other manufacturers STILL don't get this. They consider charging stations to be somebody else's problem and they are for someone else to build. Wrong. Chicken or egg. Independent organizations don't want to build charging stations that they can't make money on because there's no cars to charge up and therefore people don't buy the cars. Tesla gets this. The vehicles and the charging stations are a system that work together and they have to be built together, preferably with the charging infrastructure a little ahead of time so that people aren't as resistant to buying the cars later.
 
I checked with another source today and was told the fire fighters should have all the data available on a laptop in one of the trucks.

I'm not sure where the disconnect is but the minivan that was in the collision was being used as a work vehicle by a landscaper. The back was full of wheelbarrows, leaf blowers, mowers, rakes and two five gallon Gerry cans full of gas. If the shut off was under that mess it could be a while before it got accessed.
 
$20/week adds up ... I'm still running on the same tank of gas I filled up back in January with. I'm at half a tank now but damn, I could almost go a full year on the same tank.

Totally does, but now I put that money into the bike....:p
 
The number one thing that Tesla got right is that the average person is resistant to the concept of an EV because they can't take a road trip because there's nowhere to charge them - therefore, they need to build out the charging infrastructure so that this argument no longer holds validity. So ... the charging stations come first, then the mass-market vehicle.

Hmm not sure if even when the charging infrastructure is in place it will sway people to EV's. Speed and convenience will rule it out.
You can fill up with gas in less then 5 mins and hit the road again. How long does recharging take? 30 to 60 min's? Who wants to wait that length of time every few hours? Not me.
 
Re charging at work:
We moved into our new location in Nov. There are presently no chargers, however, the wiring was all predone to accomodate 20 chargers in the future. That only amounts to about 10% of the workforce, but from the sound of it, we are ahead of most workplaces.

sent from my Purple LGG4 on the GTAM app
 
I would suggest that you do an analysis of your own driving patterns. I have, and it has been explained earlier in this thread, but I will explain again.

I am a high mileage driver in which every day is different because of the nature of my job. 40,000 km per year for work, average 160 km per day but with high variability. Exceeding 300 km per day only happens once or twice per month (although it has been more lately). A Bolt would get the job done by recharging at home overnight every day except those where I exceed its daily range - once or twice per month. The rest of the time the car would NEVER be going to a filling station - as opposed to having to fill my present gasoline fueled vehicle every 3 or 4 days. On trips where I have to do the Toronto-Windsor run (or beyond), it's pretty normal that I want to take a break from driving every so often. A half hour break for a sandwich and a coffee while the car quick-charges wouldn't be a big issue.

The obstacle is that there are no public access SAE Combo Level 3 quick-charging stations yet in Ontario outside of Toronto, which doesn't do me any good, I need one somewhere between London and Windsor. If they put SAE Combo Level 3 quick-charging stations at all of the OnRoute service centers on 400 and 401, I could make it work. They're talking about doing that ... so far it's just talk. There are public access Level 2 chargers ... but charging for 9 hours ain't gonna work.

I could do my job using a Tesla. There are enough supercharging stations to make it work, including in the Toronto-Windsor corridor. The only problem with *that* is that I don't have $120,000 to spend on a car that I'm going to put 40,000 km a year on and depreciate it to nil in 5 years.

I'm quite sure that in 10 years, this will be a non-issue. Maybe less.
 
Tesla model 3 is 35k usd about 44 cad and there's 8k govt rebate. Can you wait 2 years to get the car?
 
In the meantime you can lease the volt. In 2 years there'll be a lot more superchargers then you'll be glad you have a tesla.
 
In the meantime you can lease the volt. In 2 years there'll be a lot more superchargers then you'll be glad you have a tesla.
Lease a Bolt that he puts 40k a year on? Don't think that would be a viable option

sent from my Purple LGG4 on the GTAM app
 
The obstacle is that there are no public access SAE Combo Level 3 quick-charging stations yet in Ontario outside of Toronto, which doesn't do me any good, I need one somewhere between London and Windsor.

Not sure where you were looking, but I just checked plugshare and it seems like there's no shortage of CSS availability in the Toronto/Windsor corridor.

ccschargers.jpg


There's a convenient middle of the trip one in London (great place to stop for that rest) for $2/session at a Volkswagen dealership.
 
I thought there is high mileage lease option maybe only in the states. Mind you they're not cheap for obvious reason When you return the car it worth less.
 
Lease a Bolt that he puts 40k a year on? Don't think that would be a viable option

sent from my Purple LGG4 on the GTAM app

He said Volt ... but anyways, high miler (with a lot of hwy miles probably) leasing an EV is not a great idea in my opinion.
 
Not sure where you were looking, but I just checked plugshare and it seems like there's no shortage of CSS availability in the Toronto/Windsor corridor.

There's a convenient middle of the trip one in London (great place to stop for that rest) for $2/session at a Volkswagen dealership.

I think he might reliable number of stalls, preferably more than one place. It is quite different to plan a weekend ride out vs. business run during a week for a certain job etc.
 
He said Volt ... but anyways, high miler (with a lot of hwy miles probably) leasing an EV is not a great idea in my opinion.
My bad. Using 1 eye atm.

sent from my Purple LGG4 on the GTAM app
 
My bad. Using 1 eye atm.

sent from my Purple LGG4 on the GTAM app

And GM's bad. Do you know how many times Volt/Bolt will be confused by people of the coming few years? They should have called the Bolt the Supersonic (as it is Sonic based).
 
The Leavens VW one is 24 kW ... that will take a couple hours to recharge a real EV (and an e-Golf doesn't count)

The Chatham-Kent one has a lot of complaints in the comments section.

A lot of them say DC fast charging but they don't say how many kW it is. Bolt max charging rate is 50 kW and I'd consider that a bare minimum; if it doesn't do at least that then it's not viable for a long trip ...
 

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