Which Car to Buy???

[Koolau]

Most EV chargers I have seen are not drive thru so I wonder how things work if there is a line. During an evacuation gas stations have a clear line so there should be very little if any chance of people cutting in. Seems like it could be a big issue for EV chargers though.

Son said "lines" at EV chargers are well managed and no big deal - other than the wait. BUT I could imagine EVs backed up to the Interstate when every EV in TX or AL was trying to leave the coast.

 

[Andre1969]

Or when the enemy bombs our electrical power generation. Very common in war.

Gas would still be available via tiny portable generator can run gas pumps that can fill the generators and cars.

I seriously would not want an EV if I ever had to evacuate, like folks do in Southern states from hurricanes.

When the apocalypse comes and machines take over, I'd say the '76 LeMans is a good choice

 

[Midpack]

Or when the enemy bombs our electrical power generation. Very common in war.

Gas would still be available via tiny portable generator can run gas pumps that can fill the generators and cars.

I seriously would not want an EV if I ever had to evacuate, like folks do in Southern states from hurricanes.

Yep. Whether you own an ICE or an EV would be the only difference to any of us if an "enemy bombed our electrical power generation."

 

[Out of Steam]

I'm in SE.Fla, and as a retiree I do have the luxury of leaving "days" in advance.

One of my brothers-in-law is in coastal North Carolina and takes off for New England at the first forecast of a hurricane. It's he and his wife's annual visit to family there.

 

[Sunset]

.....

The hybrid is out because we just don't drive his car enough for the gas savings to make a difference. We've spent exactly $103 year to date and just filled up last week, so are on track to spending maybe $150/year. He only has 6,800 miles on the 6 year old car ....

At such little mileage, any vehicle is fine.
I drive my car ~5K per year, including 2 long trips each year.
I could buy an 8 cylinder pickup and still not feel the gas expenditure was too much...

 

[Out of Steam]

At such little mileage, any vehicle is fine.
I drive my car ~5K per year, including 2 long trips each year.
I could buy an 8 cylinder pickup and still not feel the gas expenditure was too much...

I've gone from 28K miles a year to 11-12K on my car in the four years since retiring. Since mine is the higher-consuming vehicle and still gets 27 mpg or so, and my wife's was driven only about 13K last year, the price of gasoline has little effect on our lives.

 

[Koolau]

When the apocalypse comes and machines take over, I'd say the '76 LeMans is a good choice

Wasn't that a feature in "War of the Worlds" with Tom Cruise? None of the cars would function, but his old rebuild didn't have electronics that the aliens could wipe out with an EMP.

 

[Romer]

If we are talking apocalypse, A good solar/Battery home system will take care of you when there are no gas stations

Heck, I drive a 200 series Land Cruiser which gets 13 MPG. That will go anywhere in the apocalypse. I have two gas tanks and a carrier that holds 3 5Gallon gas cans

I am looking to an EV for my wifes next car. (2024/25) Also possibly mine (2026/27), but could be a Plug in. The Rivian SUV has all the capabilities I need to go offroad and tow with the exception of range. That should work itself out with their or other vehicles in a few years as battery technology improves and more manufacturers like Toyota build EV vehicles.

Both daughters have EVs. One (Ionic5)charges it slowly using 110V over night, the other has a Tesla with a 220V charger. They just went on a long trip from Colorado to Iowa and said charging took about as long as a fill up with a potty break and baby diaper change. They said the charging was done before they were.

Both daughters love their EVs. They also have Land Cruisers for off-roading trips. We all are hoping in the future there is something like the Land Cruiser with long range in an EV

 

[Koolau]

If we are talking apocalypse, A good solar/Battery home system will take care of you when there are no gas stations

Heck, I drive a 200 series Land Cruiser which gets 13 MPG. That will go anywhere in the apocalypse. I have two gas tanks and a carrier that holds 3 5Gallon gas cans

That looks pretty cool. A righteous bug-out vehicle.

 

[Ready]

We have two Teslas and have been ICE free for almost five years now. We could never go back to driving an ICE vehicle after experiencing the benefits of driving an EV. In four years I’ve never needed to do any maintenance on the vehicles - not even routine stuff.

I think we might have done one trip in the past four years where it was long enough that we decided to rent an ICE vehicle. But the main reason was just to keep all of the miles off the Teslas more so than to avoid the charging stops.

I’m not a fan of hybrids. You are buying a car with both an EV and ICE system in them, which means twice as many things that could go wrong. You still need to do oil and filter changes and still need to go to the gas station. It just doesn’t seem like much benefit.

 

[Montecfo]

I would not want to go to two EVs, as you never know when you might need that extended range without having to rely on charging stations.

Agreed. Some energy diversity is a good thing especially with challenged grids in the west.

 

[Andre1969]

Wasn't that a feature in "War of the Worlds" with Tom Cruise? None of the cars would function, but his old rebuild didn't have electronics that the aliens could wipe out with an EMP.

Yeah, I seem to recall that. Something similar happened in the 1953 version as well, where once the Martians started firing their rays, it would short out all communications in the area. But it had no effect on any of the cars/trucks etc. Of course, things like electronic ignition, computer controls, and such, were still a long ways off.

Of course, that was Hollywood, but I seem to recall reading that an EMP wouldn't automatically disable all modern-type cars. And apparently, older, simpler cars aren't as immune as we may think. I think it has something to do with low voltage components in general, and longer wiring runs.

So I guess something like the point/condensor, ignition coil, ballast resistor, etc could still get fried in an older car?

 

[Koolau]

Yeah, I seem to recall that. Something similar happened in the 1953 version as well, where once the Martians started firing their rays, it would short out all communications in the area. But it had no effect on any of the cars/trucks etc. Of course, things like electronic ignition, computer controls, and such, were still a long ways off.

Of course, that was Hollywood, but I seem to recall reading that an EMP wouldn't automatically disable all modern-type cars. And apparently, older, simpler cars aren't as immune as we may think. I think it has something to do with low voltage components in general, and longer wiring runs.

So I guess something like the point/condensor, ignition coil, ballast resistor, etc could still get fried in an older car?

Next time you see me cover my car outside, it just might be a Faraday "blanket."

 

[TrvlBug]

Well, DH has decided to wait a while and maybe get a new car when the 2024s come out...grrrrr. I really liked the Tesla so was hoping that would be his choice.

 

[ls99]

^^^^ You just can't rush these things.

 

[TrvlBug]

He's just now decided that we will go with a 2024, the BMW or Tesla . BMW over the Lexus because the '24s will have the same infotainment system as mine, the idrive 8 vs. the idrive 7 that's in the current model.

We will have the Tesla with HW4.0 for the overnighter test drive so I'll have to call them to see when that will be available.

Tesla has the advantage as energy will be free once our solar system with battery backup is installed, hopefully soon...we are in the permitting process on that.

 

[ncbill]

He's just now decided that we will go with a 2024, the BMW or Tesla . BMW over the Lexus because the '24s will have the same infotainment system as mine, the idrive 8 vs. the idrive 7 that's in the current model.

We will have the Tesla with HW4.0 for the overnighter test drive so I'll have to call them to see when that will be available.

Tesla has the advantage as energy will be free once our solar system with battery backup is installed, hopefully soon...we are in the permitting process on that.

There's a guy on youtube up on a mountainside in Canada who oversized his (ground-mounted panels) solar system to run a Tesla plus cut his homestead's need to run a diesel generator, burning around 100 gallons diesel for only one month a year.

 

[Koolau]

There's a guy on youtube up on a mountainside in Canada who oversized his (ground-mounted panels) solar system to run a Tesla plus cut his homestead's need to run a diesel generator, burning around 100 gallons diesel for only one month a year.

Do you have a web address? I'd especially be interested in how his system is integrated and how his excess is stored, etc. I think this is eventually the best way to reduce FF use. Everyone who can has his/her own panels and batteries. Huge, centralized solar/wind farms probably have their place (since half the people don't have the ability to put up panel) but decentralized systems are able to operate independent of the grid.

 

[TrvlBug]

There's a guy on youtube up on a mountainside in Canada who oversized his (ground-mounted panels) solar system to run a Tesla plus cut his homestead's need to run a diesel generator, burning around 100 gallons diesel for only one month a year.

We've oversized our system to 150%+ of projected use. We'll be able to run the whole house including A/C during multi-day outages. Long overdue. I wish solar had been on our radar when we installed A/C 1.5 years ago and had to replace both gas furnaces. Our PG&E bill would be $15/month instead of the $300+ we'll still be paying during the coldest winter months .

 

[Lron58]

go hybrid

I will be buying a new truck next week, Ford F150 to replace my 2014 ICE. I will definitely be going with a hybrid but in no way will go with a PHEV. As everyone says, the electric grid is not made for what the government is trying to push.

 

[GoodbyeYellow]

We are replacing two older BMWs with one Tesla Model Y. Over the past 5 years, we have used both cars simultaneously only about 3 times. We will keep one for a while to make sure the MY is fine and in case it needs early warranty work.

After driving the MY I really don't want to drive ICE any more. Because the Y is still on order I have to, for a while. Until I drove the Y I really loved my cars, enjoyed driving each of them (an SUV and a convertible, so very different cars). Something really changed in my brain, but from what I read it is not unusual.

You mentioned feeling claustrophobic in the BMW. Their sedans are in general smaller-feeling on the inside than their large bodies would indicate. Must be a carryover of their "driving machine" days when cars were smaller and so interiors were tight. I don't know but I've always felt stymied by this difference. I sat in a friends 540 last year and kept looking around for "where's the rest of the space".

We ordered the Y with a white interior which, although we haven't sat in one yet, I understand is very spacious feeling and I can believe it.