The “Water Cooler” is a feature on Claycord.com where we ask you a question or provide a topic, and you talk about it.
The “Water Cooler” will be up Monday-Friday in the noon hour.
Today’s question:
QUESTION: Have the high gas prices made you consider purchasing an electric vehicle?
Talk about it….
NO! The Dems short sided attack on fossil fuels to justify their push of “green” energy is BS. “Green” energy will never be a substitute for fossil fuels no matter how much the Dems try to force it down our throats.
Just one more reason to vote against Dems this November and for the rest of my years on this earth.
+1
Don’t forget the PUC approved a 9% rate hike request from PG&E, cost of power keeps going up just like gas. Sustainable green energy replacement for fossil fuel is nuclear… use the excess heat to desalinize water as a by product!
Not one bit
No. I can buy a lot of gas for the price of an electric car. And electricity (when it’s available) isn’t free, either. Also, just wait until all the taxes and fees start on electric cars to makeup for lost gas tax revenue.
Right, they will get “their” money one way or another.
Electric vehicles lose range in the colder seasons. Tesla doesn’t have that problem but that doesn’t make it anymore appealing. The better question would be: “Do you have an extra $60,000 to purchase an EV?”
Nope.
No. I am banking at some point logical heads will realize there is a push to rely heavily on energy sources that dos not exist, while banning the only available mass energy source. I strongly suspect there is not a grid in this country that could support a majority of electric cars.
I did preliminary research on Tesla, as I was curious how long it takes to charge one. Purchasing a $500 connector for your home, a one hour charge would give 44 miles at best (using 11500 watts-an electric oven uses 2000-5000). At charging stations (along highways) I read it takes roughly an hour. Instead of a 5-10 minute stop to refill with gas, it takes an hour. Would need a mall parking lot to allow the number of cars that fill at all the gas stations on say I5 near Grapevine. This is all from reading, I have no actual experience with any of this.
What I neglected to add, that using standard 110V to charge at home is roughly 2-3 miles per hour charge time. Current capacity provides for roughly 260 to 400 miles, depending on model. Lowest model price is just shy of $40K. Couldn’t even drive to Bakersfield without stopping for an hour or so to charge the $40K car.
I have both gas and electric cars. There’s pros to both. To argue in favor of the electric car: If you go to a supercharger (Veranda Concord, downtown WC) it takes about 12 minutes to go from near empty to 100 miles. Cost is about $6. If you want a full charge it takes about 1 1/2 hours but that is why the superchargers are located near shopping centers. I have solar at my home. I plug the car in and set it to start charge at midnight. It takes about 2 1/2 hours to get to 80% charge which is recommended.When I get in the car in the am there is 250 miles of range.. My total electric bill at the end of the month for home and car is $9.80 (basic delivery charge). Based on a car that gets 20 miles/ gallon, 20k miles per year driven and at $5/ gallon saves me $5k/ year or $25k over 5 years. I figured ROI on solar is about 6 years and the savings on gas rationalized the higher purchase price of the car plus electric cars have far fewer moving parts and less maintenance which thus far has proven true. Theoretically the battery is supposed to last the life of the car however in a diminished capacity. I’m hoping there will be aftermarket batter9es in a few years
@Nicmo…thank you for this info…provides a bit of insight.
My wife wants one. The problem is I like driving her car sometimes. It’s a sedan with a six cylinder but goes like my old corvette. Step on the gas and it pushes you way back into the seat. The other thing is it is paid for.
Happy wife, Happy life 🙂
FYI, most electric cars have better acceleration than almost every other vehicle on the road.
Some reasons people don’t choose EV is: total range, towing capacity, or not in the market for a car at the moment.
@Xennial~
Yes, my Hubby has mentioned the better acceleration.
Agree with the reasons of not purchasing an EV.
Not a fan of tech, how it requires updates that change your settings, alters/eliminates programs, etc. No electric car in my future. In fact, I prefer a 100% analog vehicle from the 90’s.
@Addlepate
I prefer the tanks from the 70’s…..like the Mercury Marquise Brougham in which I aced my driver’s test at 16, which included parallel parking. A great big white four-door with a trunk the size of Cleveland. IMO, the 70’s had big safe cars and the absolute best music ever made.
No.
Nope a horse & buggy instead…
I had not considered it until you brought it up. I have to get something here at some point. Anyway, did you see in the news that GM and PG&E teamed up and GM will start producing electric cars that can be converted to power your house during power failures? Sounds like a technological prowess step forward until you realize that National Geographic for decades has had pictorials of rural third world people in shacks powering their TVs and lightbulbs off of free-standing car batteries. PG&E tries to make it look like innovation when in reality it is another step backwards to the 3rd world.
Hell no! The electric cars as they are now will become paperweights in your garage 10 years from now when they die. Not to mention all of the additional funds you spent on putting a charger in your home.
Everything has to be done in moderation. Water, solar, wind, etc needs to be coupled with gas and oil not totally phased out. Government is touting that there is climate change-well anyone with some common sense will see if the is changing that much those resources are going to change also? no?
We need to curtail all of the greenies, socialists and Biden puppet masters, along with gruesome Newsom if we want to exist without turning into Russia? Biden and his crew are in bed with China and Russia it appears. Biden’s son is more of a crook than Trump’s family ever was. Anyone who gets into politics becomes tainted. So Sad.
+1 to Sam
not yet… prices will come down later…. probably can’t buy one now if you wanted to anyway
No.
Absolutely not.
NO. You plug into your house, your house is powered by fossil fuels. You’re not making a dent. The wind and the sun will not be able to keep up with demand. Electric cars are severely limited by several drawbacks, including: A shortage of charging stations. High electricity costs. Disappointing battery capacity that limits the distance the cars can be driven between charges.
Eh, is the range really that bad these days?
It’s rare that I drive more than even 20 miles on a daily basis. A base level bottom-tier nissan leaf would cover like 80% of my motoring. A base level tesla S would cover 95% of my motoring, range-wise.
Electric cars should be a human right! C’mon Newsom, doesn’t every working family in the state have the right to a electric car? Give one to everyone and you’ve created electric car equity in the great state of California!
No. My car is paid for and has a lot of life left in it. I can by a lot of gas for what a new EV would cost. Then there’s the sales tax and registration to consider. I’m retired, so I don’t commute to work anymore. I fill my tank maybe a couple of times a month.
Same here, we’re blessed. The problem with EV is after you travel 240 miles, you either call a gas powered tow truck, or you stick a plug in your car (power comes from anything BUT green) and wait until it recharges. Might as well go back to the horse and buggy. The problem is we forgot how to hitch a buggy…
@Noj, Even if you are driving fast it is 3+ hours of driving to get to 200 miles. After driving that long it often isn’t a problem to stop for lunch or dinner or at least stretch your legs for a short while as the car charges.
Nope
Check the NEW inventory for dealerships in the area. It’s pretty slim pickings on their lots right now (still). Out of what’s actually there, they may have a plug-in hybrid. Ford has their small SUV, the Escape, starting at over $42k. Some dealerships have nada. Volvo no longer makes traditional internal combustion engine cars, so they have inventory, but they start at $50k.
They cost more than their internal combustion engine counterparts. Then ask yourself, do you have a solar system on your house? No? Oh boy, what’s the wait time to get Tesla or whomever to put one on your roof? How much will that be? $20-40k more?
So to save a few bucks, you may be spending $60k for that limited range & long charge time plug-in. Yeah, that’s a selling point.
Good concept – would not work for me in the real world. I will keep my hybrid. I can always get regular fuel and get excellent mileage.
People fail to realize what an electric car does to their electricity bill. You’ll constantly be in tier 2 or above every month paying .36-44 cents per kilowatt. For your home and car. .44 x 80 kWh battery is around $35. One charge up. Versus gas for a similar car $75. Nice, you saved $40 on energy. But your electricity bill on your home went up another $75-100 because you hit tier 2+ in less than week. Most likely be in tier High Usage three quarters of the month. Plus the cost of a 240v charger installed. Which may or may not be a standard in the future.
Electric cars are great. I owned one. Don’t be fooled by all the hype that you’ll save in the long run. Maybe after 10 years. But in 10 years the battery will be out of warranty and most likely will lose 20-60 of its capacity.
Oh that maintenance thing. Get a good car they’ll come with 2-3 years of factory maintenance included. All you pay for is tires, brakes and energy/gas.
Great post.
Bunch of shortsighted people here. Of course everyone will be driving one in 50 years. Once the price comes down on batteries they will be cheap. For now still a bit pricy and once the battery goes out it’s done.
When does the price of batteries go down? A few years ago, you could buy a new car battery for $35-$50.00. Now they are about $150. Lithium-ion batteries are made with expensive materials, even if the price was to come down, they would still be priced in the thousands.
That’s a big NO
Nope.
My car is paid off.
I tow a trailer with my car to get away from the craziness of the Bay Area and I cannot tow with an EV.
The range of an EV isn’t that great
When you have to purchase a new battery for an EV it’s really expensive!
And as many have noted, the time, money and electric resources it takes to charge the vehicle really doesn’t make it worth the money.
The power grid is already overtaxed in California. If even half the motorists switched to electric there would be blackouts constantly.
Electric cars will be passe once transporters arrive. Beam me over, Scotty! 🤖
Beware of the Brundle-fly effect”.
Not a chance in hell.
The sound of a V8 with dual exhaust and headers is music to my ears. I don’t care how high the price of gas is, I will never go electric. I’m living the American dream and I will not give it up. Doing so, will be surrendering to the WOKE lunatics. The same WOKE lunatics that fly around in jets, burning jet fuel.
When will the president fly in an electric plane? Will Air Force One and Marine One ever be electric?
I didn’t think so.
True,..all of it!
not at all
buying electric makes people part of the problem and not the solution. Going green is going to be expensive in the long run for everyone. I’d rather walk or take a bike.
Yes. I have the cash. Been saving for a couple years.
But not buying one because of the price of gas, just love the design and quietness.
I don’t like seeing those funny waves in the sky on hot days that gasoline makes.
Tried to get on the wait list…but too many interested people in front of me. Oh well, soon. I’m patient.
No. Electric cars don’t fill everybody’s need.
No. I have a hybrid and even at high gas prices I’m okay. EV’s sound great but there really isn’t the support infrastructure for it yet.
Absolutely not. I’d rather complain about high gas prices than do anything about it.
Nope. not in the least
Was considering the transition end of year anyway, still possibly keeping both vehicles, so my answer is no.
It’s enough though to show the trends of where things are headed long term. I wouldn’t need 400-mile capability, which of course could change the price of purchase, but I did read the following: Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and General Motors (GM) today announced a breakthrough collaboration to pilot the use of GM electric vehicles (EVs) as on-demand power sources for homes in PG&E’s service area.
Have two mid 1990s vehicles with 5.7-liter (350 cu in) LT1 V8 (Corvette) engines. My heavy full size American, roughly 25 year old, cars are only 3 seconds slower than a brand new tesla.
At gas stations often asked one or two questions,
first “do I want to sell it?” . . . . NO !!!!!
Second “what kinda gas mileage do you get?”
Answer is always, DON’T KNOW, DON’T CARE !!!!!
@Original G~
We have a 1992 Jeep Laredo (her name is Beast), which is a 5-speed!
We get asked if it’s for sale or find notes on it in a parking lot to buy it.
Beast is my baby, and we maintain her well.
One day we may pass it over to our Son-in-Law.
I’m waiting for a nuclear car.
I’m sure it will be a blast! 😁
And you thought it was expensive to replace batteries?!?!
@Cowellian,
I hear that there may be soon a deal with Iran to get rid of their enriched uranium and that Russia might have problems lifting it as per the original JCPOA.
However, I have seen the reactors at EBR-1 that were intended for the nuclear powered bomber. I am guessing that a nuclear car will be a serious land yacht!
What could possibly go wrong with a reactor in the sky? Movies like The Big Bus and Supertrain were never intended to be design inspirations.
Just sayin’
I’m pretty happy with the plug in hybrid SUV that I bought six months ago.
I can charge enough overnight to get to and from work without burning any of the gas in my tank, but if I need to go further then the V6 under the hood works great. And the 390HP and 440 ft-lbs of torque make it go like a scalded cat.
Pure electric is ok around town, but the grid and the infrastructure do not exist anywhere to support everyone driving battery powered vehicles. This is a manufactured crisis of control by our overlords in DC.
Not to save money. DMV already assesses a “bonus” registration tax on non-gasoline/diesel vehicles…and newsom, weiner and their fellow coveners are salivating over the thought of additional fees. A future “excessive electricity download fee” is far from fantasy. And given the stability (cough) of California’s power grid, anyone who gives up a gas powered car…or gas range/oven…better be prepared to keep their (gasoline powered, smog exempt) generator a-hummin’
Hell No !…. and pay a sky high electric bill to charge.
No!
I can’t afford the PG&E electricity with all those service fees.
And, the sales tax, DMV tax, higher insurance, and all the other costs of a new car.
Californians pay more than any other state for just about everything and the people who benefit from it all the most are the homeless, the illegals, the addicts, and the wretched who refuse to do anything.
I purchased a 2022 Tesla and absolutely love it. PGE has an EV rate plan and lowest rate is overnight and you can schedule your Tesla to charge at a specific time. I can’t imagine going back to a gas vehicle.
Thank u @ Alyssa for your tips. I will use them.
When the prices are reasonable, more charging stations available and more miles to a charge it will be considered.
No!
No, it actually does opposite effect for me.
Considering electric for local in town/Bay Area errands. Would like to see hydrogen prices go down and available refueling stations increased. Right now hydrogen fuel is equivalent of $16.00 a gallon compared to gasoline.
No, because they just aren’t cool. They are more for the Facebook set.
Or those poor counselor guys who are being sent to violent 911calls.
That’s a hard nyet!
Let’s go Brandon.
I haven’t seen an EV that I could put a full size sheet of plywood in without having to cut it up into little itty bitty pieces. I just bought a 2022 F-350 Super Duty with the Godzilla motor. Saved up for a couple of years to make a huge down payment. It’ll be paid off in a couple of months. Got 8.5 mpg pulling a travel trailer on a trip to Idaho and down to Vegas. If I cared about the price of gas or fuel economy, I wouldn’t have bought the truck. No Leftist, looney, liberal Socialist in Sacramento or DC or that feeble-minded empty suit in the White House is going to tell me what kind of vehicle to drive. Let’s Go Brandon!!
@Fred M
+1
My first EV will be a mobility scooter when I’m too old to drive. Unless I can get one with a DOHC, 4 valve per cylinder IC engine and a 6 speed manual transmission……..
No thanks! I am quite content with $h&@! gas mileage, and will simply drive less.
Plug in car ha ha ha ha the way PG&E is working. good luck with this one people. the future electric car will be compact mainly for commuting while gas for the heavy load.
they wont be popular until they figure out how to make them cheaper and better batteries. the destroy America agenda continues. vote the knuckle heads out now ! putting the cart before the horse.
No.
The Chevron in Fremont is $6.21 for the expensive stuff and the Shell down the street is $6.19.
China accounts for half the world’s production and sales of electric cars, according to the research non-profit International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). The country accounted for 595,000 of the 1.1 million electric vehicles (EVs) produced globally last year, and purchased almost as many. They sure love to support the Commies with solar batteries, panels and electric cars and much much more, Fannie Mae too!
I have a V8 SUV and two EVs.
I’ve been leasing EVs for the last seven years. I don’t do it because I’m green, I do it because I’m cheap.
The lease prices have historically been made overly attractive to help push the technology.
The savings (cheap car + no gas + almost free solar electric) have accelerated the ROI (return on investment) for my solar panels.
Sound to good to be true, but you need to know where to look. NOT all car dealers honor the same lease deals. In Dec 2020 (pre chip shortage) South SF Nissan would lease a 160 mile range Leaf for $150/month. Local dealers declined to match it.
I see a lot of negative comments regarding EVs, but I suspect most have never really run the numbers for their usage pattern. Oh and yes, you will still need a Gas vehicle for those longer trips.
Joe
Don’t think so electric bill is high enough cost of car cost of charging station
Cost of maintenance?
It takes natural gas to make electricity at this time.
Wind and solar has its own problems.
No, I will keep my skateboard.
DEFINITELY NO!!!! NO!!! NO!!!
So is the “day of the moped” in California’s future?
Tips To Save Gas –
Check that your tires are inflated to the correct pressure.
Reduce your speed.
Avoid lots of starts & stops.
Eliminate extra weight.
Pull your head out of your arse and stop voting for democrats.
That’s the Claycord comment of the year. Well done.
Have not considered an EV and hope to never be forced to buy one.
1) Cost of vehicle
2) Cost to replace those batteries
3) Limits your ability to travel long distances without substantial down time
4) Pollution from extracting and refining rare earth minerals is staggering
5) Benefits Communist China and North Korea
6) Slave labor minerals in some cases
7) Hydrogen fuel cells will probably make them obsolete in +/- 10 years
I’ve thought about building one… comes out to about $12K for the motor, controllers, cabling, and batteries. Doable.
well its just like algebra; combine like terms. and get rid or exclude the differentials, just like division. for those of you who are not good at this kind of thing, i am not claiming to be a genus , im not but c’mon man , look, we pay what , lets just say 6 a gallon of fuel, so that MPG can be divided into kilometers or millers whatever get r dun. so we are going to [pay so much for electricity, same value, same pump same algorithm ws. i have an idea
Fully electric, no, hybrid – yes.
It’s inching me closer to wanting a Hybrid.
But I’ve always been curious about how much one’s electric bill increases by charging their car primarily at home. Anyone?
Yesterday’s Wall St. Journal, pg. A16 has article mainly regarding that insurance is pricier for EVs. Article covers a few others EV items.
I wonder if all those Tesla driving guys in California know that Elon Musk has pretty much called Joe’s Biden an idiot. And Newsom has driven Tesla out of California. Suddenly it seems somewhat hypocritical to drive a Tesla if you are a Biden/Newsom disciple.
The Good news is there is now a company in Southern California that will swap a high powered V8 into a Tesla. Now that might make a Tesla cool…….finally.