Are Hybrid cars the future?

[Mikexike]

Not a noticeable difference but to be fair I’m only a year in. I have the LFP battery which from what I’ve seen has a pretty good degradation rate but we shall see. If it really stays at a 1-2% reduction per year I’ll be pretty happy.

What kind of climate do you deal with?

 

[thunderpimp91]

What kind of climate do you deal with?

I’m in Ohio so a little bit of everything. Not a North Dakota type of cold but we do get a few weeks of negative degrees every year. Summers are mostly in the 80-90 degree range.

 

[Flamma]

You are correct, you are paying the premium for the engineering that was spent on quality parts and design. Just look at tesla, The quality on the assembly line is not great.

But the biggest piece is the engine. Also, as far as tech goes in EVs, Tesla is ahead of Porche by all accounts. Porche is still trying to figure out how Tesla does steer by wire.

 

[Flamma]

I’m in Ohio so a little bit of everything. Not a North Dakota type of cold but we do get a few weeks of negative degrees every year. Summers are mostly in the 80-90 degree range.

That sounds a lot like NJ. I think you have it a bit colder out there.

 

[morasp]

The batteries are critical. Savvy buyers do their research and base at least part of their purchase decision on the battery type the EV uses.

 

[rags747]

Tesla sports car update, 0-60 under 1 second! Will be a collaboration with SpaceX

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/tech...r-and-it-s-a-spacex-collaboration/ar-BB1j34Mk

 

[Flamma]

I’m in Ohio so a little bit of everything. Not a North Dakota type of cold but we do get a few weeks of negative degrees every year. Summers are mostly in the 80-90 degree range.

You have a Tesla, right? Do you have to have your phone with you to charge?

 

[thunderpimp91]

You have a Tesla, right? Do you have to have your phone with you to charge?

At a public station you do as they’re all app based for payment

 

[Flamma]

At a public station you do as they’re all app based for payment

That wouldn't work for me. I can see myself driving a long distance and suddenly realizing I don't have my phone. I use my phone in two places only. At home, and at work.

Maybe some day they'll fix that. Pull up, tap your card, and plug in.

 

[rags747]

You have a Tesla, right? Do you have to have your phone with you to charge?

At a Tesla Supercharger out on the road in whatever state you are in you do not need your phone. You back into the Supercharger, once you plug in the Supercharger recognizes who the car is registered to and payment will be made via whatever credit card you have in file for payment.

The beauty of the Tesla is that you never turn it On or Off, just get in or get out and walk away. There is no key for a Tesla, approach the car and it recognizes your phone and thus your profile. It will adjust the seat, adjust the a/c or heat, tune to the music that you like etc. Now u can do all of this without a phone, Tesla gives you a plastic card the size of a credit card that will handle all of those functions that I just mentioned But you do need to have one of them with you. Tesla figures that most people have their phones with them 24/7 so they saw no need for a key. Personally I love it. It’s my wife’s car but when I drive it it recognizes my phone and everything in the car changes to suit me. That’s all I gotz!

 

[Flamma]

At a Tesla Supercharger out on the road in whatever state you are in you do not need your phone. You back into the Supercharger, once you plug in the Supercharger recognizes who the car is registered to and payment will be made via whatever credit card you have in file for payment.

The beauty of the Tesla is that you never turn it On or Off, just get in or get out and walk away. There is no key for a Tesla, approach the car and it recognizes your phone and thus your profile. It will adjust the seat, adjust the a/c or heat, tune to the music that you like etc. Now u can do all of this without a phone, Tesla gives you a plastic card the size of a credit card that will handle all of those functions that I just mentioned But you do need to have one of them with you. Tesla figures that most people have their phones with them 24/7 so they saw no need for a key. Personally I love it. It’s my wife’s car but when I drive it it recognizes my phone and everything in the car changes to suit me. That’s all I gotz!

A plastic card is perfectly fine. Because I really have no use for my phone anymore than I did back in the 80s. Except for work. I need to watch something. You know how slow time can go if you just stare at an empty roadway? What you describe does sound very cool.

 

[thunderpimp91]

That wouldn't work for me. I can see myself driving a long distance and suddenly realizing I don't have my phone. I use my phone in two places only. At home, and at work.

Maybe some day they'll fix that. Pull up, tap your card, and plug in.

Yeah Rags post is a better answer. The Tesla chargers you dont need your phone for, I just use them so infrequently that I forgot how they work lol. There are also public level 2 chargers (ChargePoint is the most common name) that are app based payment. I will use these on occasion as they’re often free or free for a certain period of time so I can charge at no cost while I’m at work, the gym, picking up groceries, etc.

Personally I can’t imagine not getting in my car without my phone as I use it as they key, to pre heat/cool the car, check the cameras, and about everything else you can imagine.

Honestly if you’re not a tech person or if you rely on public charging for anything other than long road trips an EV might not be the best car.

 

[rags747]

A plastic card is perfectly fine. Because I really have no use for my phone anymore than I did back in the 80s. Except for work. I need to watch something. You know how slow time can go if you just stare at an empty roadway? What you describe does sound very cool.

Another cool feature. Wife says she will be awhile while shopping, ok np. The Model Y has a 15” screen, I have no problem hanging out waiting while watching YouTube, Netflix etc.

 

[Flamma]

Another cool feature. Wife says she will be awhile while shopping, ok np. The Model Y has a 15” screen, I have no problem hanging out waiting while watching YouTube, Netflix etc.

That's great. But for me, I couldn't see buying any EV that wasn't a Tesla, due to how well they are organized. If I don't buy the V8 Jaguar, it might be a Tesla. The road trip problem that people talk most about I don't see as a problem.

I've mainly been against EVs, but maybe a bit misguided. I saw someone do a 10% rule. Go down to 10%, charge for 15 minutes, and move on. This is obviously a Tesla. So two hours driving and 15 minutes charging. I thought to myself, If I am driving for 4 hours in my gas vehicle, I'm going to take at least a half hour rest. If not more. So I don't see too much of an issue with long trips if the infrastructure is there.

 

[thunderpimp91]

So about a month ago my company invested in getting some of the Ford Maverick hybrids. I've driven it about 1000 miles now and have to say I'm pretty impressed. It has some small things that annoy me, but the actual engine and performance of the vehicle really surpassed my expectations for a compact pickup. Acceleration is decent, it gets around 40mpg, and can be bought for under $30K. I think this is the space where EVs are really going to struggle to compete for a while still.

 

[Flamma]

So about a month ago my company invested in getting some of the Ford Maverick hybrids. I've driven it about 1000 miles now and have to say I'm pretty impressed. It has some small things that annoy me, but the actual engine and performance of the vehicle really surpassed my expectations for a compact pickup. Acceleration is decent, it gets around 40mpg, and can be bought for under $30K. I think this is the space where EVs are really going to struggle to compete for a while still.

Especially NJ. They are about to add a 250 dollar registration fee to all EVs. It goes up 10 dollars a year for 5 years making it 300 dollars. I believe that is the highest in the country. If you can avoid that and get great gas mileage with a hybrid, why not?

 

[Streifenkarl]

I hate the idea of having to buy an EV. I am living in a country the size of Montana or New Mexico and I think range is the biggest argument against them and will be for some time. I drive about 40.000km a year and just don't want to deal with the recharging process. Finding stations at my destinations, finding some along the way, having to wait for more than five minutes to "fill up" the car.

Mobility as far as I go has to be completely flexible. Anywhere, anytime. Now if all roads had wires in them to constantly charge your car by induction then I'm in. Or create a system where you just replace the battery or something. But all this is not realistic.

I will continue to drive my straight six 3.0l diesel for quite some time and may even replace it with another one next year. It's just a beautiful engine. EV is just not my cup of tea.

 

[The Fonz]

What about Toyota's Water-Powered Engine?

 

[SlammedZero]

What about Toyota's Water-Powered Engine?

The main issue right now is infrastructure. For starters (and I could be wrong, so don't quote me), I believe all of the stations only exist in and around California. I do believe that is the only state Toyota offers that car for sale. Even then, I've read of station refill issues. Once you can find a hydrogen refill station, I've heard of people showing up and the station is completely out of hydrogen. Now you're tasked with having to go find the next one. Also, there are two kinds of pumps, and not every station has both. If you have over a half tank of hydrogen, you need a high pressure pump to fill your vehicle. Not all stations have that. It's also expensive. I've read of $100 - $200 fill-ups. So now you're driving a vehicle that has limited fueling stations, is expensive to fill, the station you find might not have the right pump, or they may not even have the fuel.

With all of that said, I heard Toyota is trying to work with state(s) on the infrastructure. They're also offering a $15k hydrogen fuel card with a purchase of their car, the Toyota Mirai. If we can get all the kinks worked out, it's a fantastic concept. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe and the byproduct of running a vehicle with it is water vapor. Not much to dislike there.

 

[gtb1943]

The main issue right now is infrastructure. For starters (and I could be wrong, so don't quote me), I believe all of the stations only exist in and around California. I do believe that is the only state Toyota offers that car for sale. Even then, I've read of station refill issues. Once you can find a hydrogen refill station, I've heard of people showing up and the station is completely out of hydrogen. Now you're tasked with having to go find the next one. Also, there are two kinds of pumps, and not every station has both. If you have over a half tank of hydrogen, you need a high pressure pump to fill your vehicle. Not all stations have that. It's also expensive. I've read of $100 - $200 fill-ups. So now you're driving a vehicle that has limited fueling stations, is expensive to fill, the station you find might not have the right pump, or they may not even have the fuel.

With all of that said, I heard Toyota is trying to work with state(s) on the infrastructure. They're also offering a $15k hydrogen fuel card with a purchase of their car, the Toyota Mirai. If we can get all the kinks worked out, it's a fantastic concept. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe and the byproduct of running a vehicle with it is water vapor. Not much to dislike there.

THIS sounds interesting. Hindenburg jokes aside.