WILL THEY REALYY PREVAIL?

In my opinion, most of us have two cars, with one being favored for longer drives.  The short distance car could easily be an electric, but only if it is really quite a bit less expensive to operate, costs no more to purchase, and is as safe and dependable as whatever it replaces.  So far I haven't seen such an electric.  One of our cars is a hybrid, and I really like it.

The short answer is, "Yes,"  but it must be qualified. It's generally agreed apon that EVs MAY NOT  be the total solution. It's very likely that 100 years from now "human mobility"  will be provided by autonomous transportation pods powered by multiple sources, such as electric, hydrogen and possibly gasoline in certain obscure situations.

Whether you choose to accept/embrace this, label it all as "bunk"  (for lack of a better term 😏) or have other ideas..... vehicle manufacturing, investments, R&D, etc.. are collectively moving in this direction. There is simply no denying this fact. 

I'm with Chris. There's a perception about electric cars that they are limited in range and largely untested. But, most electric models currently available have a range of around 300 miles, and electrics have fewer moving parts than ICEs. So, repairs should be a bit less frequent. Furthermore, if you frequently drive more than three hundred miles, an electric car may not be for you. But, in truth, most of our driving is in short trips well under three hundred miles. "Range anxiety" seems to be a thing of the past.

Most of the arguments I hear about electrics are straw men, not enough charging stations, what if you get stuck in traffic, what about snowstorms, etc. All these things have occurred while there are electric cars on the road, and I have yet to see one stranded by the side of the road and out of power. The nation just suffered an unusually brutal December with snow storms nearly everywhere. Where were the hundreds of electric cars sitting immobile on the roads? The infrastructure is growing as the market grows, and things seem to be on track. I may never buy an electric car, but I'm glad they are available for those who want one.  

No interest in an electric car until I saw pics of the 2024 Charger Daytona.  Went from a 2017 Subaru Forester Turbo to a 2020 Explorer st now in a 2022  Forester Wilderness and depending on a lot of things a 2025 Charger in my future.  I'm willing to try electric but in the future when there may be more charging stations up here in the land of ice & snow & salt.  My concern is that you have to stay long enough to charge at your destination.

No other new car looks half as good.

Gentleman - I enjoy reading your posts every morning - Thank You - Every once in awhile you hit a topic where I just can not help but reply.   The subjects of snow storms, range, charging stations are all somewhat valid but probably will be solved.  The 2024 Charger is a terrific looking car but  as an owner of an SRT challenger I would never want my engine sounds piped through my stereo. Also nobody has mentioned cost , currently Ram pickups run  up to $100,000 in Canada and the new Ram electric will exceed that by a wide margin. So are you really saving money with electrics, how much gas can you buy for $30,000 ? The one issue nobody really catches is time,  what is you do while waiting in the Walmart parking lot for charging whether it be  2 hrs or 6 hrs  ? And further just where is the main source of power for the hydro stations come from, solar, wind, I personally doubt it. I think natural gas,  I passed a gentleman at McDonalds in London sitting while charging, just what is it they expect you to do with all the waiting time, some of us do not have much left on earth to be wasting it in a Tesla or ?  YouTube is full of videos regarding battery replacement cost which currently cost more then most small ICE cars . Anyway Thanks again for the posts.

@jkuvakas John: I agree with all that you said.  Myself, I would not be looking for Electric car, even though some are lookers, I will stick with my ICE.

@mick  You bring up several points: Please allow me my "2 cents."

1) Several "ICE"  high-end pickup trucks can approach or exceed $100,000.00 withOUT  rebate incentives and you save ZERO money on gasoline.

2) Most (c.75%) people (working, retired, etc...) RARELY drive more than 300 miles a week. The idea that someone would have to wait even 15 minutes (while shopping) to charge their vehicle is a moot point. Theoretically, charging would take place at your home ANYTIME your vehicle is parked. Therefore, virtually anytime you leave your house, you're doing so on a full charge and will subsequently not need to stop for a "re-charge." 

2b) The cost of charging at home, even with 3-hour "fast chargers"  (installation cost of c.$4,000 without rebates) is (on average) less than $45.00 a month.

3) Regardless of how electricity is manufactured (pollutants escaping into the atmosphere, etc, etc...) it's "overlooked"  because the far greater percentage of "contamination"  is generated by the tens of millions of daily driven "ICE"  vehicles.

4) Battery replacement costs are high, but EV vehicles are engineered to NOT EVER NEED replacements. Battery degradation does occur but the idea that after, say 12-15 years, one would need to "replace their B-packs"  is simply not valid. EV batteries can generally last (before they become seriously compromised) up to c.110,000 miles. For most drivers (not all) this would be adequate/acceptable.  

My two cents.  I think the EV's are the latest thing that is being presented as the "the next best thing".  But I don't see them ever becoming a "must car" to have...at least in my lifetime.  They are expensive and with needing to be recharged, it becomes a new headache and concern for drivers.  For the government to put forth the billions and billions of dollars it will take to assure charging stations just about everywhere, is another major problem.  Considering we've had "cell-phones" for over a quarter century now, and they need to be charged (usually daily), I've wondered often why technology hasn't advanced to a point where a cell-phone can hold a charge for weeks or months, I don't see electric cars being viable.  I think for them to make sense, a battery that holds a charge for a year or longer, and then need replacing would be a more logical situation.  

Unfortuately, we are not the ones who decide what is staying and what is not....strange how it may sound.

When our beloved governments are deciding that gas will be $10.- per liter, we will start thinking about other ways of transport.

At that moment, an ICE-car will be only for the really die-hards, who may drive them say a few hundred miles per year.

Other means will become available over time....

When our race has long gone, "people" will say "what on earth were they doing on those long stretches of tarmac".....when Star-Trek-transporation will be quite normal.

Posted by: @joop

Unfortuately, we are not the ones who decide what is staying and what is not....strange how it may sound.

When our beloved governments are deciding that gas will be $10.- per liter, we will start thinking about other ways of transport.

At that moment, an ICE-car will be only for the really die-hards, who may drive them say a few hundred miles per year.

Other means will become available over time....

When our race has long gone, "people" will say "what on earth were they doing on those long stretches of tarmac".....when Star-Trek-transporation will be quite normal.

 

Correct: ICE vehicles are essentially a 19th century invention, "we"  (the world) can do better.

Posted by: @georgeschire

My two cents.  I think the EV's are the latest thing that is being presented as the "the next best thing".  But I don't see them ever becoming a "must car" to have...at least in my lifetime.  They are expensive and with needing to be recharged, it becomes a new headache and concern for drivers.  For the government to put forth the billions and billions of dollars it will take to assure charging stations just about everywhere, is another major problem.  Considering we've had "cell-phones" for over a quarter century now, and they need to be charged (usually daily), I've wondered often why technology hasn't advanced to a point where a cell-phone can hold a charge for weeks or months, I don't see electric cars being viable.  I think for them to make sense, a battery that holds a charge for a year or longer, and then need replacing would be a more logical situation.  

George, the proper analogy regarding battery charging would be to view your EV not unlike you view your cordless electric shaver.  When not in use, your shaver is charging. I doubt you ever waited around (even for 5 minutes) for your shaver to charge so that you could groom yourself.

That's exactly how one must view EVs. 

Consider the time EVs are parked (idol) at one's residence....idol time equals "charging time."  Touchless, floor/ground chargers will become more prominent but considering "plug-ins"  require just seconds to operate (like your shaver) I'm not certain "touchless"  stations will ever be in high demand, at least initially.

Posted by: @chris

Posted by: @georgeschire

My two cents.  I think the EV's are the latest thing that is being presented as the "the next best thing".  But I don't see them ever becoming a "must car" to have...at least in my lifetime.  They are expensive and with needing to be recharged, it becomes a new headache and concern for drivers.  For the government to put forth the billions and billions of dollars it will take to assure charging stations just about everywhere, is another major problem.  Considering we've had "cell-phones" for over a quarter century now, and they need to be charged (usually daily), I've wondered often why technology hasn't advanced to a point where a cell-phone can hold a charge for weeks or months, I don't see electric cars being viable.  I think for them to make sense, a battery that holds a charge for a year or longer, and then need replacing would be a more logical situation.  

George, the proper analogy regarding battery charging would be to view your EV not unlike you view your cordless electric shaver.  When not in use, your shaver is charging. I doubt you ever waited around (even for 5 minutes) for your shaver to charge so that you could groom yourself.

That's exactly how one must view EVs. 

Consider the time EVs are parked (idol) at one's residence....idol time equals "charging time."  Touchless, floor/ground chargers will become more prominent but considering "plug-ins"  require just seconds to operate (like your shaver) I'm not certain "touchless"  stations will ever be in high demand, at least initially.

Your points are all taken.  Thank you.  

You have to drive an EV to believe in it. Otherwise, my time explaining is just wasted... I thought, I am going to miss the roaring engine, I don't. In fact, the noises the car makes, resemble more a jet engine, very pleasing with fast acceleration. Love the regenerative breaking, you drive almost without hitting the brake pedal.

We did a family trip to Canada; supercharging was not a bad experience. When the battery is down to 20%, charging speed goes up to 1000miles/hour. The car is connected to internet, so 15-30 min of charging time flies, watch a move or browse internet or play a game; when you combine it with dining or coffee stop, it is not a big deal at all. At supercharger bays Tesla's come and leave every 5-10 min, all park backwards as the charging ports are in the back, it is fun to watch... Welcome to the future!

The gas cars will exist forever, especially in cold climates and counties with bad infrastructure, but majority cars will be hybrids as they combine the best of the two worlds, and they are cheaper and even greener (than electric) technology.

Love my Tesla Y!

Hate the company's/Musk's narrative and recent (yesterday) Tesla's smack in the face of all recent buyers (by lowering the price by 20% [13% in my case]).

Nice insight, thanks Chav.