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Electric Vehicles

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SuburbanTurkey said:
I think Ford is going to eat Tesla's lunch in the electric truck game. The Tesla truck reminds me of some crudely rendered vehicle in a PS1 game.
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The Maverick is damn tempting. Even besides having a standard hybrid powertrain that exceeded Ford's goal of 40mpg it's nice to see "Not stupidly huge trucks" starting to make comeback.

I actually legit do hope that trucks get pulled out of association with only bro-dude jerkass "Truck Culture" because as the crew cab design has advanced trucks are actually becoming like super-practical legit vehicles when they aren't stupidly huge and oversized.

The Maverick, Santa Cruz, Ridgeline, and Jeep Gladiator are, I'm hoping at least, ushering in a new wave of smaller trucks.

The days of the F-150, a vehicle larger than a Hummer H1, being the most popular vehicle on the roads cannot end quick enough.
 
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SuburbanTurkey said:
You're not a man unless you have 35 ft frontal blind spot.

Modern pickup truck design is absolutely bewildering to me.
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I agree, and it's why I had considerable trouble finding a decent truck in recent years. I might have bought a new truck a few years ago but sat in a couple and the position was ridiculous. I settled on a somewhat iffy 2002 Chevy Silverado, when I might have just held my breath and bought a new 2011 Ford or something if it had not felt like something out of The Road Warrior. When the Chevy was past its useful life owing to various things including a rotten frame, I had the same issue once again, and ended up earlier this year with a 2007 midsize GMC Canyon. I don't think I'll ever be buying a new truck unless the trend toward towering war machines changes.
 
By the way, up here I like a 4WD truck, not for some kind of fantasy of crawling over the rocks I'll never even see, but for driving on bad and back roads in bad weather. One of the nicest vehicles I ever had for this (despite some engine issues and rust which are extraneous) was that 1978 Ford F-150. A 4WD with a short box and a rack for longer stuff. It would go anywhere and pull just about any load, and though nominally a half-tonner, could carry a ton.

Make an electric one like that and I'd be inclined to snap it up even though it would likely be an extravagance.
 
My Model Y has arrived, and it's amazing. I love it already.

I now own two electric cars. The Model Y and a Nissan Leaf.
 
After watching a few very favorable reviews on YouTube, Karen and I are very close to putting $1,000 down on a Rivian R1T, realizing it will likely be a year or more before any even remote chance of delivery. We already have $100 down on a CyberTruck, so it will be fun having “skin in the game” as things sort themselves out. And at our age, it’s amazing how quickly the years pass.

As an aside, our Honda Clarity PHEV hit a deer a few weeks ago and is sitting in a body shop 500 miles away in Eastern NC. Good news is we have two ICE cars to use for the many months it will likely take to get repaired. Bad news? Routine $50 fill ups for our Honda Ridgeline and Ford Flex. Ouch!

https://youtu.be/bAomljRKTd8
 
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As 2021 comes to an end, electric cars have reached another milestone in Norway.

Tesla has dethroned Volkswagen as the most sold car brand this year.

On the list of the 10 most sold cars in 2021, only one is a fossil fuel car.
 
Update: we did go ahead and put a $1,000 deposit down on a Rivian R1T. Delivery not expected until second half of 2023. If the CyberTruck ships before that, or if another option becomes available, we’re still flexible, since both deposits are fully refundable. Either way, actual EV truck ownership is a ways off.

On the Clarity front, it appears repairs are complete, and all that remains is for a Honda dealer to calibrate the sensors in the new windshield. If all goes as planned, that’s about 2 months for the repair - honestly about half what we figured with the Clarity being a bit of a unicorn and the anticipated supply chain delays.

Finally, I’ve started perusing ads for used Tesla’s. Not anything we need, but we have amassed enough in EV stock, mainly Tesla, to buy one on a whim. Prices are high, but used Tesla’s seem to depreciate very slowly - or recently, appreciate! Realistically, though, it probably makes a lot more sense to continue to drive the Clarity until we take the full EV plunge.
 
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JoeMorgue said:
The Maverick is damn tempting. Even besides having a standard hybrid powertrain that exceeded Ford's goal of 40mpg it's nice to see "Not stupidly huge trucks" starting to make comeback.

I actually legit do hope that trucks get pulled out of association with only bro-dude jerkass "Truck Culture" because as the crew cab design has advanced trucks are actually becoming like super-practical legit vehicles when they aren't stupidly huge and oversized.

The Maverick, Santa Cruz, Ridgeline, and Jeep Gladiator are, I'm hoping at least, ushering in a new wave of smaller trucks.

The days of the F-150, a vehicle larger than a Hummer H1, being the most popular vehicle on the roads cannot end quick enough.
Click to expand...

The only problem I'm having buying a Maverick is actually, buying the damn thing. The delivery dates keep getting delayed.
 
I think the hybrid version of the Maverick is sold out for 2022 already. Rumor is that Ford thought most people would buy the non-hybrid version and was surprised by how well the hybrid sold.

I seriously considered the Maverick, but I want it all. I want the hybrid drive system and four-wheel drive. The Maverick is supposedly designed to support that, but 4WD is not currently offered as a hybrid yet.

If cost wasn't such an issue (and my wife wasn't so short), I would love the electric F-150. :-)
 
We've just started toying with the idea of getting a Tesla Model 3. If we did, it would likely be a red Long Range model:

51797620250_b1a68f4762_z.jpg


We have absolutely no need for one. Our 2018 Honda Clarity PHEV is about to come out of the body shop after a deer encounter, has served us well and suits our needs. But…


1. I’m 72 years old and don’t know how many years I have left to enjoy what would be basically an extravagant new toy.

2. We can easily afford it, based on our current TSLA holdings alone, if that’s what we choose to use.*

3. If history is a guide, these cars depreciate very slowly, if we decide in a couple years to go with the Rivian R1T or CyberTruck we have deposits on.

4. If ordered now, they’re predicting a March 2022 delivery date for the model I’ve spec’d.


Then again, no telling what our TSLA stock will be worth in the future if we just wait. And it might make sense to wait at least a little while to see what incentives might be forthcoming in the Build Back Better Act or other legislation - right now there’s zero incentive on a new Tesla either from the Federal Government or the State of Tennessee.

We’ve looked at used Model 3’s, but at the inflated prices they’re asking it seems to make sense to buy new.

Like I said, just started playing with the idea. But that’s how these things usually start, right?



*They say the past is prologue. Back in 2018, we had amassed 100 shares of TSLA @ around $217 a share. We had planned to buy a Model 3 if and when it hit $350/share, but when it did in late 2018, Tesla Model 3’s were still well in excess of $35,000. That’s when we sold our shares and bought our Clarity. They say you’ll never go broke taking a profit, so there’s that. And the Clarity’s been wonderful and efficient. So, no regrets. But, had we waited, our 100 shares today would have been 500 shares (after a 5 for 1 split in August, 2020). At today's price of $1,165, we would have had well over $500,000 to buy any damn car or cars we wanted, and had a lot left over! But who knew???
 
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Not surprised the CyberTruck delay.

As an update, we pulled the trigger on the Model 3. They estimated March delivery when we ordered it, but we were pleasantly surprised at the revised, sooner date range:

51800318062_e5b6b51705_z.jpg


Unfortunately, just yesterday it got pushed back to February 20 - March 20. Apparently these dates are fluid, and the range tends to shrink as the delivery date approaches. Well, good things come to those who wait!
 
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Fast Eddie B said:
Not surprised the CyberTruck delay.

As an update, we pulled the trigger on the Model 3. They estimated March delivery when we ordered it, but we were pleasantly surprised at the revised, sooner date:

[qimg]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51800318062_e5b6b51705_z.jpg[/qimg]

Unfortunately, just yesterday it got pushed back to February 20 - March 20. Apparently these dates are fluid, and the range tends to shrink as the delivery date approaches. Well, good things come to those who wait!
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Well, I waited a bit over two years for mine, but it was worth it. Best part of three years of problem-free and pure-pleasure motoring already.
 
Fast Eddie B said:
As an update, we pulled the trigger on the Model 3. They estimated March delivery when we ordered it, but we were pleasantly surprised at the revised, sooner date range.

Unfortunately, just yesterday it got pushed back to February 20 - March 20. Apparently these dates are fluid, and the range tends to shrink as the delivery date approaches. Well, good things come to those who wait!
Click to expand...

As always, there's an XKCD for that:

[qimg]https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/estimation.png[/qimg]

(Note to mods: xkcd allows hotlinking.)
 
Just specced up the same car here in the UK.

£52,090 :eek:

A rough calculation makes that comfortably more than I have spent in total buying all the cars I have ever owned in the 35 years since I passed my driving test :o
 
Ryokan said:
As 2021 comes to an end, electric cars have reached another milestone in Norway.

Tesla has dethroned Volkswagen as the most sold car brand this year.

On the list of the 10 most sold cars in 2021, only one is a fossil fuel car.
Click to expand...

Once again Scandinavian countries lead the way. If I ever decided to leave Britain, I know where I'd be heading.
 
Mrs Don placed an order today for a Fiat e500 to replace her 14 year old Skoda Fabia. Because she wanted a specific colour (Rose Gold) and particular option kits it's a factory order which should be delivered late March or early April.

It's not the car I would have chosen but it's ideal for Mrs Don. The range of "up to 200 miles" is plenty because Mrs Don averages 80 around miles a week and most journeys are less than 10 miles round trip. Two doors and two usable seats is fine, she's needed her rear seats and rear doors a handful of times in the 14 years she's had the Fabia.

If she needs a larger car or longer range, she can use mine.

Now we have 2 months to get a home charger installed to qualify for a UK government rebate.
 
Nice car, see comments above about space by the pedals. Might not be an issue if your wife doesn't have massive plates

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk
 
My wife had a gas Fiat 500 and really liked it. Her use was similar and it was a very good fit. On the highway the gas one would be lucky to get over 200 miles range, and it was not what I would call a great long distance car. But the interior is quite flexible and we have loaded it up with far more than I thought possible quite often. The back seat was even tolerable for adults for short trips. And to beat all the odds, it has been fairly reliable, knock on wood.

All that to say, I hope the e500 works as well for your family.
 
How much does running the AC or heat kill EV range? A crisp 7 degrees F this morning when I left for work.
 
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