WHILE SOME MAY APPLAUD THE TESLA'S MY OPINION IS NOW A BIT DIFFERENT!

[PatriotX]

No spare in the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

None in the prior GC either.

No spare in the X5.

None of them had more than 400-mile range full, either.

 

[deadin]

One hundred grand and no spare???

Not quite 100 Grand, but the Chevy SSR (2003-2006) didn't have a spare either. (And, if I remember right, had 2 different sizes of tires, front to back)

 

[Old cop]

I’ll keep driving my Toyota Avalon. They run forever w/very few problems and are pretty reasonably priced.

 

[Ματθιας]

No spare in the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

None in the prior GC either.

No spare in the X5.

None of them had more than 400-mile range full, either.

Even if they don't have a 400 mile range, they can at least fuel up at a gas station or carry extra fuel in cans.

 

[Onomea]

I find the visceral dislike for Teslas kind of strange. But, then again, different people realky dislike different cars. (With me, it was a ne'er do well Daewoo Laganza I got saddled with one summer in Hawaii. The car from hell!)

Tesla's a new technology, new design, etc., so of course there are a lot of things to work out. But, recall that just about everyone was saying just a few years ago that Tesla was gonna crash and burn because it was impossible for a new entrant to make it. I think I read just a couple of months ago that nowadays Tesla 3 is one of the most popular cars available at its price point.

As for me, I think they are intriguing, but am not ready buy one. I do wish Elon Musk and Tesla well as I think having a successful industry iconoclast around is entertaining, as well as good for the economy.

This is pretty funny, I think, whether one is a fan or a detractor of Tesla: On YouTube, "Tesla - Pretend to Save the Environment While Looking Rich"

(Removed the link because I came across an instance of a banned word.)

 

[LCC]

My son has a Tesla S, charging station at home with a full solar panel display up on the roof. Absurdly quick zero to sixty, problem free for two years. Pre pandemic he could legally use the outside commuter lane as a sole vehicle occupant during his work/home commutes, saving him a lot of time and frustration, invaluable for for someone working 60 hour work weeks.
Electric cars and trucks are inveitable, as is the gradual phaseout of gas vehicles. One overlooked reason is petroleum is vital in making the chemicals, plastics and other synthetic products we rely on daily.
And regardless of the present cost of gas, or perceived petroleum reserves still in the ground, it is not an endless supply, and future generations are going to need it for something other than blowing out our exhaust pipes.

 

[pistolpete10]

Even my cheap CR-V and Ram work truck have spares. AND, even better, I don't have to plug them in......................Both together didn't cost 100 grand. I'll buy an electric car when there is nothing left but electric, MAYBE.

 

[ladder13]

500,000 charging stations coming, I hear.

 

[JJEH]

500,000 charging stations coming, I hear.

Electrify America has the biggest network and I'm sure they'll keep consistently adding more.

 

[Ματθιας]

How long does it take to charge vs fueling up and driving off?

 

[JJEH]

How long does it take to charge vs fueling up and driving off?

That's what we have to wait on, he said something like 5min for the top model with the fast charging mode.

Problem is (one reason why I'll pull out from the order) that the affordable base model will have nothing. The big wheels will be only available for the higher, more expensive trim levels, so as the solar roof and fast charge option. I'm sure there's more.

I've seen his SEC filing and the trims go up to $60K+ which is insane for a mid size SUV in my opinion.

 

[Farmer17]

I would never own a vehicle with no spare, I've changed a LOT of flat tires over the decades. The only thing worse than changing a tire in the rain and mud is not being able to change the flat and not having cell service. My wife was wanting a new Infinity SUV in 2018 but it didn't include a spare and I checked the tire prices of the factory tires and they were triple the cost of a normal tire. We instead bought a used 2017 Infinity SUV that had normal tires and we were both happy. Checking Gas Buddy, gasoline is currently as low as $1.49 in Oklahoma City and with horizontal drilling and fracking we should have 100-150 years of cheap gasoline.

 

[PatriotX]

Even if they don't have a 400 mile range, they can at least fuel up at a gas station or carry extra fuel in cans.

At 12mpg, my Grand Cherokee does a lot of that.

A lot.

 

[Lou_the_welder]

My Camaro has no spare and the tires are $300 each(not including the rims).

I was just telling my brother, that my next vehicle is probably going to be electric. . California is pushing it that way it seems.

The Camaro did come with a nifty air pump/sealant kit! That I've actually helped 3 stranded cars with. [emoji41]

 

[paplinker]

Curious how electric cars are fairing during extreme weather conditions?

Between 105 degree Nevada days and -10 Michigan nights are the batteries efficiently holding up?

 

[NYlakesider]

Saw a few comments here about no spare tire and the prices of cars. Have had 4 Vettes with no spares and the prices on two of the cars were close to the cost listed on here.

The only problems I have had with "RunFlats" is they ride harsher and they do not get as much traction and they do not last as long. Of course they are much more expensive than conventional tires but are speed rated to insane speeds!

I have had a couple flats with those tires. About the only way you know you have a flat is the light on the instrument panel lights up and the gauge will tell you what your tire pressure is for that tire. No change in the driving experience!

Fifty miles possibly but I did a heck of a lot more on a Run Flat and at highway speeds. Not recommended I might add but I know a lot of Vette people and many have done it.

Now does tha fancy voltage car have run flats or is that just another in that fancy cars something they should have done differently?

 

[ameridaddy]

A....

The next question that is sure to arise is how long it will be until the loss of federal, state, and local tax dollars usually collected on fossil fuels sold for vehicular usage results in newly created federal, state, and local taxes on electric vehicles. Assuming the average private automobile is driven 10,000 miles per year and delivers 25 miles per gallon of gasoline, there will be 400 gallons less gasoline sold and $100 to $200 less fuel taxes collected for each average electric vehicle in use; I do not expect our government entities to ignore those revenue losses for very long.

.

Some states are considering, maybe already have, charging a usage fee for EVs that pay no gas tax. I've always felt that the gas tax which ostensibly pays for roads should be abolished altogether. It is a deceptive tax, because in our state it is paid by the gasoline distributor, no longer posted on the gas pump, and therefore hidden from the actual payer of the tax, the person filling his car or truck.

If I were King For A Month, I'd change that. In Virginia, we have a mandatory annual vehicle safety inspection, and the vehicle mileage is recorded at that time.

What wears out and breaks up roads? Weight and mileage.
It would be easy enough to assign a rate per mile based on vehicle weight, and bill the vehicle owner for a tax calculated on those two things, a true user fee based on how much one uses and abuses the item being paid for - roads.
And by actually writing the check, we'd have a wonderful transparency about how much we pay for roads, good or bad.

 

[Mistered]

he said something like 5min for the top model with the fast charging mode.

This may be with a 50 amp service.

You ain't gonna get a 5 minute charge out of a typical, 15 amp receptacle.

 

[The Analyst]

Total new electric vehicle sales in the United States is less than 2%. This figure is for all of 2019. The demand has not met expectations, but the industry is in so deep they are not willing to give up. There are a whole host of reasons for this, not the least of which is inexpensive gasoline prices. In addition, it is widely believed that the future alternative source of energy will be natural gas and propane. Many public transportation systems already use these. Natural gas and propane are plentiful, inexpensive and produce very low emissions. For anyone who thinks that Tesla cannot fail, just remember similar statements made about DeLorean.

 

[ggibson511960]

Lots to Rant About

As an engineer who has worked a career in energy, I rarely bother to share my opinion. Politics dictate everything, followed closely by misinformation. Tesla has evolved into a pretty good urban vehicle (so have golf carts), but at ruinous cost to the taxpayer. Warren Buffet refuses to invest in Tesla despite its continuing meteoric stock price rise. Tesla's number one source of revenue is selling mileage credits to GM, Ford and Fiat Chrysler. That Ponzi scheme will end, just as the federal tax deduction for purchasing an electric car will end, when discretionary money runs out. For now, electric vehicles find their niche and continue to evolve in a political climate of government mandated consumption. The government has spent billions on battery research with incremental progress. Private industry has progressed battery storage capacity to the point that current batteries store 1/60th the amount of energy of gasoline. That 60:1 energy capacity ratio keeps battery vehicles out of much of the vehicular market, plus aviation.