I love my brother but he is a true save everything on the planet at all cost kind of guy. We went up to Buffalo for a family reunion and he opened his house (he has a huge house but only lives in 1/3 of it) to all us siblings for a week. We had a great time but as usual talk eventually turned to global warming and saving the planet because I drove my 96 conversion van (I drove it so we could all go places in one vehicle instead of three and enjoy each other's company) and he almost immediately started on what a waste of energy and the pollution and how dangerous it is for all those micro car people because of my behemouth and it's a waste of money vs new and whatever else he could think of. He drives a Honda CRV. I also drove it because it has four leather captians chairs, a fold down couch for napping on the drive and it is an extremely comfortable, easy vehicle on the highway just set the autopilot and let it go... The reason for this post is he whined because people like me keep him from getting a tiny electric car as he is petrified people like me who drive unnecassary vehicles will just run over vehicles like that. I tried to reason with him to no avail as in Buffalo the land of eternal winter he will not get the distance claimed on those vehicles because the battery heater will almost never shut off from September to May plus heating the passenger space every minute you are in it. Anyone have any experience in an all electric vehicle in norhtern cities? Mikey
Love the title of your thread. Sorry you had to sit through that converstaion.. But what can we do..... Brothers.......
I road in my friends Tesla, wow, what a rocket ship, we won't talk about cost, LOL (who in there right mind spends $100+k for a "green ' car)
While I personally think that we will see much more e-cars in the near future, one needs to look at all aspects of energy use. And in the Northern hemisphere you have to bring down the energy that you need to heat your house. And likewise the A/C costs/pollution in Southern states during the summer period. For whatever reason everybody is only blaming cars. With your 96 vintage you "spared" the production of vehicle in between and this "saved energy" get's you a long way, no matter the mileage.
My wife has been putting a lot of chick peas in my salad lately. The gas I emit has about as much effect on the environment as your van.
I've got no problem with electric cars. I do have a problem with self righteous people that like to stand on their soapbox and preach at me for what I choose to drive. Dont feel safe in your little golf cart? Dont drive one. It's your choice and your prerogative, but don't judge me for mine.
I have no problem with alternative fuel sources. There is no doubt that humans affect the planet and the climate - I don't know about the timelines they are telling us because they have to make us afraid of something first to foster their agendas. We keep making more and more humans, too so there is that. Cars and gas are the first to go in the crosshairs because it is easy to attack. We have spent years with CAFE standards, safety standards(27 airbags in every car) and the like so it is "easier" to go after them because we have been trained that that is what happens and accepted it so far. Also - fuel costs at $4 a gallon cut back on some driving for Americans but not as much as I thought, so the other way they go after carbon emissions will be federal tax hikes on gasoline. Probably coming our way at some point to pay for alternative sources of energy. Weird power sources have not been practical for me as I travel long distances and also have to tow things for work with some frequency - things that so far do not mesh well with electric vehicles.(and the cost thus far)
OP I think you are on the wrong website to ask this question, but I will provide my experience at the risk of ridicule once again. We are on our second Nissan Leaf here in the Poconos of Pennsylvania . It is a 2014 model that currently has 94,000 miles. We got it in trade of our 2012 Leaf in February of 2015. It had 2,000 miles on the odometer when purchased. We average 4 miles per kilowatt hour (KWH). That is over the entire life of the vehicle in all seasons uphill and downhill. The battery capacity in the 2014 is 24 KWH. So, 96 miles to a charge is possible with more or less depending on seasonal conditions and altitude changes. The Leaf charges from entirely empty to full at 32 amps in 3-4 hours while the 2102 Leaf charged at 16 amps from empty to full in 6-8 hours. The energy cost for charging at the PPL rate here is about $30 a month. We average 2100 miles a month. So, the energy cost is about 1.4 cents per mile. In contrast, our 2005 Prius averages 40 MPG with gas around $2.80 a gallon here. That means the energy cost is roughly 7 cents per mile for our known gas sipper. The total for a level two charger was about $1,000, self installed, including a dedicated 40 amp breaker and 8 gage wire and hangers to the charger. Winter driving has improved form the first generation to the second (part of our reasoning for the trade). The heater in the first generation Leaf was was not as efficient or well thought out as the second: it used a lot of power. You can program the car to preheat the cabin in garage before you leave. Between the heated wheel and seats, very little heat is needed to maintain temperature when preheated. If it sits outside all day before returning (from work) more energy is used to get up to temperature, but very little once up to temperature. I don't understand the whole golf cart comparison. Our leaf weighs in at 3500 LBS and is the same size as most import sedans. Since the battery weight is down low and spread over the car, the center of gravity and weight distribution is much better then most internal combustion engine vehicles. The handling is superior because of these factors. It has most of the features of a luxury model with additional electric vehicle luxuries. Yes we have a 4x4 Suburban for really nasty winter days or to travel long distances once in a while, but the Leaf is really the star of the show here and handles 99% of the driving. HTH - Cheryl
I would have told him it's the weenies who text while driving, the drunks and the just plain idiots that I'd be worried about. If he's worried about being 'crushed' by a 'behemoth", then he's not driving defensively.
Our goverment here in Denmark has just announced, that they are going for a ban sale of all diesel and gas cars in 2030.. After that only hybrids and electric cars will be allowed, if their law passes..
I think I would rather invest my "green savings" money into a solar panels and Tesla battery than putting it into an Electric car. Not opposed to my next car being Hybrid or Electric but don't drive near as much since I retired to Florida so not a necessity, I would probably go hybrid if I did go that route
If Calif had it their way they would ban all Buicks! While they preach to us all the above, instead of managing our forests they let them burn to the ground by the hundreds of square miles killing all the animals they swear to save at all costs over even human life. If you could calculate the pollution from those fires annually it would supersede all the fireplaces they no longer allow and..... well a huge part of sour car pollution. I am one for managing this planet. But there are those who would rather blame you and I because we breathe in perfectly good air and breathe out bad air for the animals to breathe? So much for management of life on planet earth. I guess I will have to leave Calif if I want to keep my Buicks!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^ thats why I left kalif yrs ago, they tax you unmercifully , then use the money for pet projects, and for illegals, , (who do not pay taxes) I'll stop at that, as I do not wanna get wound up over a pathetic state,
