My design:
Reminds me of a miniature first generation Scout or Bronco.
Martin
Reminds me of a miniature first generation Scout or Bronco.
Martin
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Bezos backed $20k Slate EV truck with 150-240 mile range
- Thread starter TonyJZX
- Start date
Tuff sell in US market, we dont much care of EVs.
Holly Cow, great marketing speech, 26,000 units. They're taking over the world. LOL
That's about 10% being hybrid at Ford. Overall in the US market, IIRC, the hybrid/EV has about a 10% penetration while the rest of the world is about 20%. So I think it's fair to say the US doesn't really care for EVs. I personally only know one person that owns an EV. In fact GM has stated that the factory that was going to make EVs is going to produce ICE vehicles for the foreseeable future.
GeorgeWalk
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I have an EV and a Maverick Hybrid. There are a lot of people in the US that like EVs. I know a lot of people that have EVs.
wadude
Senior Member
There are many angles to the subject of electric vs oil burning vehicles. I’m beginning to look into replacing my vehicle and researching the pros and cons of it all and stumbled across this article, which may be interesting for others trying to make a choice between EV, Hybrid or Gas powered vehicles.
earth.org
The Environmental Impact of Battery Production for EVs
While the principle of lower emissions behind electric vehicles is commendable, the environmental impact of battery production is still up for debate.
earth.org
tmtomh
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I personally can walk around my neighborhood and see at least one EV parked on every block. And I literally cannot remember the last time I went out for a walk in my neighborhood and did not see multiple EVs driving down the street or waiting at lights along my walk.
10% is of course half of 20%. Gas is a lot more expensive in Europe. So some of it is cultural - there's a reactionary streak in US culture that rejects EVs as "woke". But there are also simply different economic incentives and different levels of charging infrastructure available, especially since in most of Europe your average distance from a major urban center is less than in large swaths of the US.
At any rate, I predict this Slate vehicle will be kind of hot garbage, mainly because of the short range and the corner-cutting, but also because I suspect that the DIY/print your own aspect will not be nearly as fun or seamless as claimed. And for all the folks saying how much they love it, given its design philosophy, if you're over 50 and have a typical middle-age or senior back, then good luck with the seats.
The $7500 tax rebate for EVs stops after Sept 30 2025 in the US. As that day approaches supplies and choices for model, color features may become tight. EVs make sense if one takes few long trips over 300 miles. Even a very quiet 200 round trip mile commute can be handled at home every day at ~6 or less hours charge at a very low cost compared to gasoline. So very good for a home owner and maintenance is just cleaning, tires and brakes. Several hybrids get around 45-50 mph. Test drive an EV now rather than the last minute and get a feel for the experience and compare a couple of models.There are many angles to the subject of electric vs oil burning vehicles. I’m beginning to look into replacing my vehicle and researching the pros and cons of it all and stumbled across this article, which may be interesting for others trying to make a choice between EV, Hybrid or Gas powered vehicles.
The Environmental Impact of Battery Production for EVs
While the principle of lower emissions behind electric vehicles is commendable, the environmental impact of battery production is still up for debate.
wadude
Senior Member
A hybrid seems like a useful compromise for my situation. Lots of local trips combined with semi frequent longer journeys.
Plug in hybrids get the rebate https://www.caranddriver.com/rankings/best-plug-in-hybrids
Same for my neighborhood here in California. At least 10% of the cars are EVs and probably 50% of the new cars are.
I was unable to take advantage of the $7,500 tax credit since I didn't buy American or lease my EV which were requirements at the time. Still, no regrets. I love it and was able to drive it from the SF Bay Area to Arkansas last summer with no issues. On paper it has a slightly better than 300 mile range, but if you want to keep your car you don't really want to charge to 100% and drain to 0%, so the real range is more like 200 miles... which works out to a bio-break and leg stretch every three hours.
My EV summer road trip.
How much charge was left by the time you got to Phoenix?
Great road trip, I would love to do that journey.
Yea, on my Harley
Better in one of those giant RVs with the underslung Mercedes SL. Never did like riding pillion.Yea, on my Harley
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EVs are crazily popular around here (NH/VT "Upper Valley") for a variety of reasons, even though I'd opine that this is a tough environment for battery power (very hilly terrain and very cold winters).
My wife was a pretty early hybrid adopter (so to speak), having bought a 2006 (IIRC, late 2005 purchase) Ford Escape hybrid "SUV" with "4WD" (Ford's term; it was an AWD model). We're talkin' NiMH batteries! At any rate, she loved it and it served us very well until claimed by rust in 2016. It was delightfully trouble free (apart from a couple of firmware glitches that, fortunately, never stranded us anywhere). The regenerative brakes lasted forever to a good approximation. Low rolling resistance tires, likewise (I believe the car had three sets of tires over its long lifetime). The ONLY non-routine maintenance the vehicle ever had was a burst brake line (rust), very late in its life.
Photos taken on the Escape's Last Day (July 2016 -- 246,616 miles (just shy of 397,000 km)
By 2016, Ford had abandoned that marketplace (SUV hybrids)...
Here's the thing about hybrids: from my perspective (and, again, we did really like the one we had!) they're the worst of both worlds due to their functional complexity. See, e.g, my comment about firmware glitches above. Two powerplants. Two cooling systems (edit: actually three, as there was forced-air cooling for the batteries, as well). Some sort of mission-critical intelligence metering the contribution of both powerplants to driving in real time. PLUS all of the routine maintenance of a pure-play I/C engine vehicle.
... but, yeah, no range anxiety. And range anxiety is the big minus to pure-play EVs from my perspective.
My wife was a pretty early hybrid adopter (so to speak), having bought a 2006 (IIRC, late 2005 purchase) Ford Escape hybrid "SUV" with "4WD" (Ford's term; it was an AWD model). We're talkin' NiMH batteries! At any rate, she loved it and it served us very well until claimed by rust in 2016. It was delightfully trouble free (apart from a couple of firmware glitches that, fortunately, never stranded us anywhere). The regenerative brakes lasted forever to a good approximation. Low rolling resistance tires, likewise (I believe the car had three sets of tires over its long lifetime). The ONLY non-routine maintenance the vehicle ever had was a burst brake line (rust), very late in its life.
Photos taken on the Escape's Last Day (July 2016 -- 246,616 miles (just shy of 397,000 km)
By 2016, Ford had abandoned that marketplace (SUV hybrids)...
Here's the thing about hybrids: from my perspective (and, again, we did really like the one we had!) they're the worst of both worlds due to their functional complexity. See, e.g, my comment about firmware glitches above. Two powerplants. Two cooling systems (edit: actually three, as there was forced-air cooling for the batteries, as well). Some sort of mission-critical intelligence metering the contribution of both powerplants to driving in real time. PLUS all of the routine maintenance of a pure-play I/C engine vehicle.
... but, yeah, no range anxiety. And range anxiety is the big minus to pure-play EVs from my perspective.
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I should have noted (of course) that, nowadays, Ford is back into hybrids with a vengeance.
When it comes to hybrids, though... Prius is still the Tesla (so to speak)!
When it comes to hybrids, though... Prius is still the Tesla (so to speak)!
Well Toyota patented a simple hybrid system which does away with the need for either clutch or multi-ratio gearbox so is lighter and simpler than other hybrids.When it comes to hybrids, though... Prius is still the Tesla (so to speak)!
We have run at least one since 2005 - and that original is still in daily use by my daughter still with the original traction battery (the 12V lead-acid lasts about 6 or 7 years as usual though).
The E-CVT seems odd because one isn't used to continuously variable gearing, it is technically superior but feels like a slipping clutch.
Personally an EV suits my needs best now we have a reasonable charging infrastructure in the UK, so the Toyota gets less use.
wadude
Senior Member
Looking into Toyota Cross hybrid...
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