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Electric Vehicles

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zooterkin said:
Haven't done that, but it is a good thought exercise.

We've got a driveway and power in the garage, so charging overnight would be easy., even without a charging point. The supermarkets we go to have charging points; the long journeys we make regularly are about 70 miles each way, so easily doable on a full charge.

EVs with a range of more than 250 miles are available now, so that's mainly what we're looking at. A shorter range like the LEAF might be OK, though I think we might need a bit more load capacity.
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The documentation with the e-niro suggests that 3-pin charging should only be done "in an emergency." I need to research that a bit more, but it's not currently an issue as I do have a 7kw charger at home
Eta
don't rely on granny cables
 
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Took my son to the NY Autoshow this past weekend. Other than the big Jeep installation out front, some companies bringing their racing teams, and Ford really pushing the new Bronco, it was pretty much all EVs. They even had manufacturers offering test drives on the show floor.

We have a 2021 Highlander Hybrid and couldn't tell the difference from the plugin electric version. My wife liked the F150 Lightning EV. Apparently, it's the same price as the gas-powered version and comes with a tax rebate.

EVs have certainly come a long way. I think the main barrier is still be charging stations. There just isn't enough support. I think the government should be focusing on upgrading our highways and adding EV charging the way they focused on gas service stations when first building the federal highway system. That helped push the automobile to be so central to American life (which is not a good thing over all but if you want EVs to become more prevailent, thats what needs to happen).
 
Yesterday I drove past a place where a large grocery store, a gas station, a Target, and about a half-dozen smaller stores (mostly in a strip building) share one big parking lot. Along the side of the parking lot closest to the street I was driving on, there was a line of four or five charging posts. They all had a rounded squarish or maybe slightly trapezoidish shape on top lit up in green, like a logo.

Good implementation: visually prominent placement & design makes it easy to know where they are and gets people used to seeing them and conscious of the question of where more of them will end up next.

Bad implementation: this edge of the parking lot was the farthest from any of the associated businesses, where nobody would park if they didn't need to because it's the longest walk.

Good implementation: being out on the edge like that meant being close to the sidewalk, so it would be the most convenient location for people who were going somewhere else, not one of the stores around that parking lot... including a couple of bus stops.

Bad implementation: that lit sign-like thing on top was the same color & brightness for the ones that had a car plugged in and the ones that didn't. Not only does having that there at all waste a bit of electricity that would add up to enough to keep a whole city going if it gets deployed that way nationwide, but also, if you're going to give them something that stands out & calls attention to itself for every body around like that, why wouldn't you use different colors or luminosities to convey such an obvious & crucial bit of information?
 
Tesla superchargers are easy to recognize. The car navigation system knows where they are making them easy to find.

In a pinch I can use a phone app to find a usable level 2 charger.
 
Delvo said:
Yesterday I drove past a place where a large grocery store, a gas station, a Target, and about a half-dozen smaller stores (mostly in a strip building) share one big parking lot. Along the side of the parking lot closest to the street I was driving on, there was a line of four or five charging posts.
...
Bad implementation: this edge of the parking lot was the farthest from any of the associated businesses, where nobody would park if they didn't need to because it's the longest walk.

Good implementation: being out on the edge like that meant being close to the sidewalk, so it would be the most convenient location for people who were going somewhere else...
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I can think of a couple of other possible 'good' aspects of that implementation...

- It minimizes the chance a person might plug their car in unnecessarily. I am thinking of the person who has a 90% charge, but decides "I will plug my car in anyways, just because the parking spots are closer to the store". By locating the chargers away from the stores, it helps guarantee they are used only by the people who actually need power

- It might maximize the use of the parking lot in general. People there to charge their cars may end up staying in stores longer than necessary while awaiting charging. (i.e. "I'm done getting what I need, but will stay and window-shop for the next hour while charging.) The mall probably wants to ensure the 'good' parking spots are utilized for customers that want to come and go based on their actual shopping habits.
 
Segnosaur said:
I can think of a couple of other possible 'good' aspects of that implementation...

- It minimizes the chance a person might plug their car in unnecessarily. I am thinking of the person who has a 90% charge, but decides "I will plug my car in anyways, just because the parking spots are closer to the store". By locating the chargers away from the stores, it helps guarantee they are used only by the people who actually need power

- It might maximize the use of the parking lot in general. People there to charge their cars may end up staying in stores longer than necessary while awaiting charging. (i.e. "I'm done getting what I need, but will stay and window-shop for the next hour while charging.) The mall probably wants to ensure the 'good' parking spots are utilized for customers that want to come and go based on their actual shopping habits.
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It also removes the incentive for ICE drivers to park there. If you electrify "good" spots, there will be temptation for non-EV people to park there anyway. Nobody is going to want to park at the back of the lot unless they're getting power.
 
SuburbanTurkey said:
It also removes the incentive for ICE drivers to park there. If you electrify "good" spots, there will be temptation for non-EV people to park there anyway. Nobody is going to want to park at the back of the lot unless they're getting power.
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This is a very good point. The only issue I’ve encountered in three years of EV ownership is rolling up to a row of chargers and finding ICE vehicles parked in the spots.
 
SuburbanTurkey said:
It also removes the incentive for ICE drivers to park there. If you electrify "good" spots, there will be temptation for non-EV people to park there anyway. Nobody is going to want to park at the back of the lot unless they're getting power.
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I was going to suggest that, but I wasn't sure of the legal aspects.

Are gas-powered cars subject to getting a ticket for being parked in an electric charging spot (like a person might be if they parked in a handicapped spot)? Or is that still an area where they just expect people to be on their best behavior?
 
Segnosaur said:
Are gas-powered cars subject to getting a ticket for being parked in an electric charging spot (like a person might be if they parked in a handicapped spot)?
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I’m not aware of any enforceable statutes about EV charging spots, not to say some states and/or municipalities may not have passed such. I think it would be a matter of the property owner enforcing it by towing vehicles in violation. It would make sense for Tesla or whoever to include a clause that the property owner make a good faith effort at enforcement as part of their lease.
 
I'm guessing the placement of EV spots probably has more to do with available power infrastructure than anything, but that's just speculation.
 
Fast Eddie B said:
I’m not aware of any enforceable statutes about EV charging spots, not to say some states and/or municipalities may not have passed such. I think it would be a matter of the property owner enforcing it by towing vehicles in violation. It would make sense for Tesla or whoever to include a clause that the property owner make a good faith effort at enforcement as part of their lease.
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I can imagine a few I'm-the-real-victim-here complaints along the lines of "I've been coming to this store for X years and if you're saying I shouldn't use the last parking spot because you've turned it into an electric one then that's not my problem".

Our local Tesco supermarket is now fitting electric charging points to 8 prime parking spots near the store. They've dug the cabling in but not built any above-ground stuff yet. But they have painted the electric cars only symbols in the spaces. So until they get on and fit the chargers, they're wasting weeks unintentionally training their customers to ignore the electric-only signs. This can only end well.
 
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Fast Eddie B said:
I’m not aware of any enforceable statutes about EV charging spots, not to say some states and/or municipalities may not have passed such. I think it would be a matter of the property owner enforcing it by towing vehicles in violation. It would make sense for Tesla or whoever to include a clause that the property owner make a good faith effort at enforcement as part of their lease.
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My nearest Tesla supercharger has 12 high power chargers but suffers from being in a hotel car park. When the hotel is busy, customers tend to park anywhere they like and although the hotel say to come and report problems at reception, they never actually seem to do anything.

Some of the more militant EV drivers around here keep talking about parking at the pumps at petrol stations while they go in and buy drinks and doughnuts.
 
Also like everything else we run the risk of EV being brought (further) into the culture wars the Right banning or restricting them or just otherwise ******* with them for no other reason then the pure hateful spite they do everything else for.

You laugh but those idiots who park giant internal combustion trucks blocking chargers and think it's the most hilarious thing since "Let's Go Brandon" can elect people to do the same thing on a larger scale.
 
I was told that Tesla super chargers will add a fine to the owner's account if the car finishes charging and stays plugged in.
 
malbui said:
Some of the more militant EV drivers around here keep talking about parking at the pumps at petrol stations while they go in and buy drinks and doughnuts.
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The difference is that the EV charging stations are usually a courtesy. The people who own the lots and/or businesses are making minimal (if any) money from the chargers themselves. At best, they are there for marketing.

Blocking the gas pumps at a gas station is messing with their revenue.
 
Donal said:
The difference is that the EV charging stations are usually a courtesy. The people who own the lots and/or businesses are making minimal (if any) money from the chargers themselves. At best, they are there for marketing.

Blocking the gas pumps at a gas station is messing with their revenue.
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Oh please. Gas stations make next to nothing on gas. That's why nobody just has gas pumps without a store attached to them. It's more a financial hindrance to block the lottery scratchers or the hotdog roller.
 
JoeMorgue said:
Also like everything else we run the risk of EV being brought (further) into the culture wars the Right banning or restricting them or just otherwise ******* with them for no other reason then the pure hateful spite they do everything else for.

You laugh but those idiots who park giant internal combustion trucks blocking chargers and think it's the most hilarious thing since "Let's Go Brandon" can elect people to do the same thing on a larger scale.
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Yep. I’ve heard stories of idling diesel trucks blocking multiple chargers while the owner is grabbing a meal. I would assume any enforcement must first go through the property owner. Maybe the states with anti-ICEing statutes would be different.
 
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