Any GTAM'ers own an electric vehicle? | Page 82 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Any GTAM'ers own an electric vehicle?

GreyGhost said:
I am not sure what interlock EV's have though, they may not appreciate you driving while they are plugged in.
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On the Volt you can't even shift out of park when it's plugged in. Have never tried plugging in while it's already in gear but knowing what I know about how the Volt works I highly doubt it would charge.

mxs said:
LOL ... if you don't plan on passing anyone and stick yourself behind a trailer, I am sure you could get away with ridiculously low HP.
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Drafting does dramatically increase range. I got around 75KM on the 401 once drafting a bus that was clipping along at 120KPH, and this is on a Gen1 Volt rated for 55KM in "ideal" conditions that would struggle to yield 55KM at 100KPH otherwise. Around town with efficient driving at lower speeds I can get 75KM any day of the week (in the summer at least) despite the rated range, but high speed driving uses drastically more power.
 
Undersizing the generator results in charge-management challenges illustrated by said BMW i3 rex.

The i3 rex was meant to be an electric car first with the combustion engine and generator strictly as an emergency backup. California regulators in their infinite wisdom defined in legislation how such a vehicle was supposed to operate and defined maximum limits on how far the car could go on combustion-engine power as opposed to electric power (hence the tiny fuel tank) in order to qualify as a zero emissions vehicle and to qualify for driving in high-occupancy-vehicle lanes. When is the last time government dictum resulted in an optimum outcome?? (In fairness, those rules were written before we really knew how people would use these vehicles in the real world). The other side effect of the government mandate was that the combustion engine can't start until the battery is really low ... but then the problem is that the combustion engine is too small to provide enough power for the car to get out of its own way. European models have other charging strategies that the driver can select in order to ensure that there is enough electric power on tap for the car to get up a hill in the Alps without going into limp mode. (There is a hack for the North American models to implement this)

The Volt doesn't have this problem, because the combustion engine has enough power to drive normally at highway speed and on hills without issue even if the battery is discharged. It might accelerate a little slower but it's still enough to keep up with traffic. i3 rex can't ...

Undersizing an engine doesn't necessarily make it any more efficient, anyhow. I'm pretty sure GM did their homework when they picked that engine for that car. The newest Toyota Prius has an engine that's a little bigger than the original one had (1.8 vs 1.5) because they could make it more efficient. That's not an excuse for oversizing the engine, it is an argument for right-sizing it.
 
Brian P said:
The Volt doesn't have this problem, because the combustion engine has enough power to drive normally at highway speed and on hills without issue even if the battery is discharged. It might accelerate a little slower but it's still enough to keep up with traffic. i3 rex can't
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When the battery on the Volt is "dead", it's really not (remember that 30% longevity buffer that the car never gets to use), BUT under heavy load demands the car will let you dip into that reserve a little, but then the engine runs at a higher RPM afterwards for a slightly extended period to recover that buffer. Merging hard on the 401 with the battery depleted is a great example where the engine alone doesn't have enough output to rocket the car up to speed like normal, so the reserve is dipped into a little.

However, after a long sustained heavy load (IE a sustained mountain grade) even this buffer will eventually come to an end and the Volt does have a "Reduced propulsion power" mode that it will fall into, but even then it will still perform enough to be safe, but you won't have the oomph to accelerate like a rocket around a truck on a grade, for example...but you can still drive until the engine/generator catches up.

The above scenario is why the Volt also has a "Mountain Mode" - when selected the car operates in a different mode where an additional extra buffer yet (on top of the secret 30$) is kept on the battery over and above things, and then this additional buffer basically completely removes any chances of the car dropping into reduced propulsion mode.
 
mxs said:
Enough said ... about the i3 generator setup.
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The guy conveniently forgot to review the anemic performance on the i3 when running on the REX.

Here's a video that gets to that part. Skip to about the 20 minute mark when it switches to the REX.

[video=youtube;BVfPVG69Vv0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVfPVG69Vv0[/video]
 
Yep, that looked pretty bad. it's basically equivalent to limp mode, to get you to a fast charger or home ... LOL

What was killing me more though was, right before the 20' mark he was talking about the deals you can get in US ... and that is true. The negatives all can be forgotten if someone offers you almost a new on for half of money we are asked to pay up here. And I suppose that goes for all EV's ... everywhere I look up here, it's waiting list and ridiculous used price list ... basically the negotiating power is completely taken away from you as a buyer. And that is a tough pill to swallow for me who is used to negotiate hard for cars, whether new or used. It just feels really awkward to be discussing Bolt with a dealer and price is not even on the table .... I guess the manufacturers know what they are doing with the small runs. I really have hard time paying full MSRP for a car ...
 
It'll be another 5-8 years I'm going to guess before EV's start to become mainstream enough (and common enough in dealers showrooms) that there will be negotiation power.

For our second Volt I'm really looking towards Quebec. Given the ridiculous price of gas out there EV's have had a higher uptake than the rest of the country and are far more plentiful (and therefore lower prices and probably more negotiation power I suspect) vs here.
 
Not an option with my French ... It would be like buying a car in a bag .... LOL
 
PrivatePilot said:
Your argument is akin to telling early cellphone users in the 1990’s that they shouldn’t use the technology out there, no matter how awesome and convenient it is, because mass adoption won’t occur until the 2000’s.

Why would you NOT use a technology that exists just because others don’t? Especially when it’s better, faster, and can save you a lot of money?

By the way, my irony meter just blew up once again - what’s your Tesla Model 3 reservation number again, as per your signature?
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I can't believe we're at 82 pages and you guys are still arguing....obviously neither will relent so what's the point? LoL
 
mimico_polak said:
I can't believe we're at 82 pages and you guys are still arguing....obviously neither will relent so what's the point? LoL
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I don't deal well with irony. Guy continually bashes EV's and posts silly arguments for doing so, all whilst waiting for the Tesla he has on order to be delivered.

Perhaps it's masochism, instead.
 
PrivatePilot said:
I don't deal well with irony. Guy continually bashes EV's and posts silly arguments for doing so, all whilst waiting for the Tesla he has on order to be delivered.

Perhaps it's masochism, instead.
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Don't get me wrong I enjoy watching this beating your heads against the wall just as anyone....just shocked you guys even bother. LoL
 
I persist because it makes so much sense for now

Go hybrid or even conventional.

You can get an excellent civic for 20g or spend 40k+ for a volt to get 70km range?


Please give your head a shake.


There is a reason electric cars currently make less than 1% of the market.
 
Every...single...time...you...post. Irony.

“My other car is a reservation Tesla Model 3”
 
SunnY S said:
https://www.therecord.com/news-stor...et-2020-electric-vehicle-target-analysts-say/

interesting read ^^

basically, electric car adoption won't be realized till 2030 and beyond.
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That's not what that article says.

It says that the 2020 target of 5% of the market won't be met (and I'd agree, there's practically no chance of that happening) and "the road to serious acceptance" is 2030 or beyond. And, the government's target of getting public charging stations built is behind schedule (no kidding).

It does NOT say that you shouldn't buy an electric vehicle!

If you happen to have usage patterns for which an EV will fit ... today ... go ahead and do it!

FWIW if Tesla manages to build the 500,000 Model 3 cars per year that they want to build, that's about 2.9% of the North American market for light-duty vehicles (around 17 million per year). It is of course open to question when they will reach that production rate (2020 is plausible) and if demand for the car is sustained beyond the initial pent-up demand (I have my doubts).

My own somewhat-educated opinion (being involved in the auto industry means I have some idea of what's coming down the pike) is that EV market share will continue increasing rapidly from its current low level. The US government situation will slow adoption some, but better and more affordable products are coming in the 2019 - 2021 timeframe. GM, VW, M-B, BMW all have known upcoming EVs on dedicated EV vehicle platforms. Early 2020s is when things start getting serious. I think by 2030, range anxiety will be for the most part a thing of the past (unless you are travelling to extremely remote areas, Alaska, Yukon, etc) and EVs will be the default choice for commuter vehicles. Buses will be mostly EV (they're already on the market).

From the current 0.7% market share, if we assume 30% increase per year for the next 12 years, that ends up at 16% ... that's probably conservative. That same rate of increase would mean 2020 market share around 1.5% .. plausible.
 
At about 4000kms thus far, I've traveled about 500 using gas and about 3500 using the battery. On the old FJ, at (a generous, IMO) 14L/100KMs, it would have cost me $700 using premium at 1.25/L (again, generous ... but i usually filled up at costco when possible). I calculated a Volt cost of around $80 combined for electricity and gas. I only charge at off peak times, and assuming a price per litre of $1.15.

Savings of roughly $620 over 2.5 months of ownership. I don't understand why people who drive mostly in the city wouldn't consider an EV before 2030?? Seems like an easy decision to me. I love the Volt so far!

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HDRod said:
Savings of roughly $620 over 2.5 months of ownership. I don't understand why people who drive mostly in the city wouldn't consider an EV before 2030?? Seems like an easy decision to me. I love the Volt so far!
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People just don't understand the savings. There's still an absolutely massive misconception amongst people (particularly in Ontario where ranting about our electricity costs is now part of our DNA) that an electric car costs more to operate vs a gas car.

If the automakers really wanted to build the market they would just need to put a simple calculator thing on their websites that did an operational cost comparison between what they drive now, and an EV, based on the actual real-world gas/electricity figures for where they live. When someone suddenly sees what they could save their eyes would open.

When I upgraded my pool pump 2 years ago from a fixed speed to a variable speed pump the display at the pool store had exactly that - a comparison computer where you input the details on your pool as well as the number of hours you ran your pool pump at, and the difference in costs between that and what the new variable speed pump (set at a lower RPM and programmed to run effeciently) would be. Suffice to say the pay off (where the pump COMPLETELY paid for itself in electricity savings alone) was about 3-4 years for most people vs an old fashioned single speed pump. I ended up finding one used and it paid for itself in electricity savings in just a little over the first season I owned it. Old pump used 1650watts whenever it was turned on, roughly 12 hours a day. New pump draws 75w on it's lowest speed setting and I run it for about 20 hours a day instead, but it actually works better that way as the water is always moving every so slightly.
 
PrivatePilot said:
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When I upgraded my pool pump 2 years ago from a fixed speed to a variable speed pump the display at the pool store had exactly that - a comparison computer where you input the details on your pool as well as the number of hours you ran your pool pump at, and the difference in costs between that and what the new variable speed pump (set at a lower RPM and programmed to run effeciently) would be. Suffice to say the pay off (where the pump COMPLETELY paid for itself in electricity savings alone) was about 3-4 years for most people vs an old fashioned single speed pump. I ended up finding one used and it paid for itself in electricity savings in just a little over the first season I owned it. Old pump used 1650watts whenever it was turned on, roughly 12 hours a day. New pump draws 75w on it's lowest speed setting and I run it for about 20 hours a day instead, but it actually works better that way as the water is always moving every so slightly.
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wait till you discover led lighting...
 
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