$5 a gallon ? Ok... school me on plug in hybrids like the Volt ?

[graylocks]

vision63 wrote:
Tons of charging stations in SoCal. I don't know what's up with the Bay Area.

is it really that bad? i'm considering moving back to the East Bay for a year on a trial basis. Halfway thinking it could be difficult to find a place to rent where I can charge. Might bring my Honda Element instead of the Volt and put some kind of protection around its catalytic converter.

[jdc]

Markintosh wrote:
[quote=jdc]

My wifes car, a really nice used 2016 Volvo S60, was $17K, and gets 30-40. Thats about 1/3 the cost of budget EVs.

My first BoltEV was $16.5k used. The second one, new was $20.5k. So I am going to disagree with that statement. There are going to be a lot more options out there in the next year or two.
Sadly, my wife would never drive a Bolt. Its no S60. =) And of course, cost on them is wild $$$ now.

When we bought her car, she had a 1 minute drive to work. Although we are now 20 miles from her office, shes pretty much all WFH now, last time she actually went in was early Jan.

maybe when all the car $$$ BS finally figures itself out we will look again...

[bfd]

The schooling kind of depends on what you want to be schooled on… Volts, like Honda Clarity, Prius Prime, and Hyundai Ioniq (among others) are not all built the same. Volt and Clarity both run on electricity. When the battery runs out, the engine engages to power a generator that powers the motors that drive their wheels. Prius and Ioniq run a gas engine to drive the wheels once the batteries are depleted. Different systems. There is some gas engine drive for both Volt and Clarity, but it's limited to fairly high speeds because of the way their transmissions work. Volt and Clarity have larger batteries and bigger motors. So they feel more like a BEV for acceleration, though the other cars aren't that far behind. All of the them will save you gasoline, but the Volt and Clarity (if you can find them anywhere) will probably save you more because their EV range is greater, and the cost to recharge the batteries in most areas is still manageable. Good luck - not the greatest time in recent history to be in the market for any kind of vehicle.

[macphanatic]

mikebw wrote:
[quote=jdc]
[quote=graylocks]
[quote=ztirffritz]
I wouldn’t buy a Volt at this point. It’s time to go full EV. The Volt is a great transition vehicle but the transition is over.

Not for everyone. You refuse to acknowledge that whenever the subject come up. Good for you that at this moment in time for your life needs and where you live a full EV works. you ain't all of us.
Thats true... but if the cost wasn't silly stupid, it *could* work for 80%? more? of the USA.

My family could easily get by with EV -- something like the new Hyundia/kia or a leaf or mach e. Maybe one tesla with extended range for the few times a year we take a 400 mile trip to family.

But all so much $$$$$.
Up front $$, maybe. Depends on what you are comparing, don't forget about tax the very real tax incentives and rebates out there.
Key issue is that most people in this country can't afford to buy an EV, let alone one that meets their needs. Then look at where they live. Apartment and townhome complexes aren't set up for charging. What about people that live in cities that don't have off street parking. All of the costs add up. Poor and low income people are getting screwed by the increased fuel costs.

[Paul F.]

macphanatic wrote:
Key issue is that most people in this country can't afford to buy an EV, let alone one that meets their needs. Then look at where they live. Apartment and townhome complexes aren't set up for charging. What about people that live in cities that don't have off street parking. All of the costs add up. Poor and low income people are getting screwed by the increased fuel costs.

Given that the average price of new cars sold in the U.S. in 2021 was $43,000, more people than you seem to think CAN afford EV's, since they start below that number. The ones that can't, will in five years as this generation of EV's is sold used.
Impediments to charging are totally legitimate issues - those are changing, but, won't have changed enough for decades.

[mikebw]

Paul F. wrote:
[quote=macphanatic]
Key issue is that most people in this country can't afford to buy an EV, let alone one that meets their needs. Then look at where they live. Apartment and townhome complexes aren't set up for charging. What about people that live in cities that don't have off street parking. All of the costs add up. Poor and low income people are getting screwed by the increased fuel costs.

Given that the average price of new cars sold in the U.S. in 2021 was $43,000, more people than you seem to think CAN afford EV's, since they start below that number. The ones that can't, will in five years as this generation of EV's is sold used.
Impediments to charging are totally legitimate issues - those are changing, but, won't have changed enough for decades.
Indeed. We got our new 2019 Leaf Plus S for under $30K. I also totally agree that an EV is not the best choice for everyone, but the opposite is also true.

[macphanatic]

Paul F. wrote:
[quote=macphanatic]
Key issue is that most people in this country can't afford to buy an EV, let alone one that meets their needs. Then look at where they live. Apartment and townhome complexes aren't set up for charging. What about people that live in cities that don't have off street parking. All of the costs add up. Poor and low income people are getting screwed by the increased fuel costs.

Given that the average price of new cars sold in the U.S. in 2021 was $43,000, more people than you seem to think CAN afford EV's, since they start below that number. The ones that can't, will in five years as this generation of EV's is sold used.
Impediments to charging are totally legitimate issues - those are changing, but, won't have changed enough for decades.
Average price may be $43k. There are a lot of people who spent a fraction of that on their vehicle purchase. What decent EV can be purchased used in the $15k range that holds 2 car seats?