This is Ruining Electric Cars [Auto Focus Youtube]

[MichaelCA]

honestly, how the hell am i supposed to recommend a non tesla EV vehicle to any of the older generation people?

I tried to charge three times outside personally, EA charger stalls selective dont work, a non exist EA charger location obtained from the ford nav unit (my fault i guess??) and finally a chargepoint where one of the plugs dont work and the other charges at slow speeds.

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[greenne]

honestly, how the hell am i supposed to recommend a non tesla EV vehicle to any of the older generation people?

I tried to charge three times outside personally, EA charger stalls selective dont work, a non exist EA charger location obtained from the ford nav unit (my fault i guess??) and finally a chargepoint where one of the plugs dont work and the other charges at slow speeds.

It depends onwhat the vehicle is going to be used for. I've had my truck 3 months..2100mi. ONly used DCFC 3x for around 15min total to make sure it worked. The vehicle is used for commuting and around town use. We use my wife's minivan to take road trips because it has more space for our 3 greyhounds.

Could I recommend a "non tesla" EV to someone with a use case like mine? Absolutely. In fact, the EV (even non tesla) is a heck lot more convenient as I don't have to stop by the gas station every so often.

Would I recommend for long distance travel? Probably not. But there are many people who never travel anywhere and when they do its by plane.

All that said, do I think charging has to, needs to be improved for widespread EV adoption. YES.

FWIW..I set up the EVGo autocharge+ and both times I used it to test it out (2x different chargers) it worked flawlessly.

 

[MichaelCA]

It depends onwhat the vehicle is going to be used for. I've had my truck 3 months..2100mi. ONly used DCFC 3x for around 15min total to make sure it worked. The vehicle is used for commuting and around town use. We use my wife's minivan to take road trips because it has more space for our 3 greyhounds.

Could I recommend a "non tesla" EV to someone with a use case like mine? Absolutely. In fact, the EV (even non tesla) is a heck lot more convenient as I don't have to stop by the gas station every so often.

Would I recommend for long distance travel? Probably not. But there are many people who never travel anywhere and when they do its by plane.

All that said, do I think charging has to, needs to be improved for widespread EV adoption. YES.

FWIW..I set up the EVGo autocharge+ and both times I used it to test it out (2x different chargers) it worked flawlessly.

you're right, majority of drive can be accomdated by level 2. But the rare cases where they we may need it, it feels like gambling to find a good working charger. I'm glad your chargers work. I haven't tried EvGO, theyre a bit sparse from where I tend to travel.

 

[Tony Burgh]

How to recommend BEV’s? Don’t.
I also don’t watch random YouTube stuff.

 

[wighty]

We are repeating history with ICE before gas stations became ubiquitous. I agree, it is an issue. Will it improve? I think there's no question that it will.

 

[BzzzzztZapPow]

I also remember when ethanol was added to gasoline. Not all cars were so happy with the change. I don't recall fixing the problems by going back to horse and buggy.

 

[Replika]

There was a Business Insider article a while back about a brother and sister who rented a Tesla Model 3 for a snowy cross-country trip. It took them 6 charge stops to cover 1400 miles. The horror! (and yes, that is too many stops - no question)

But they were able to rent an EV with no prior experience and drive 1400 miles! Can anyone imagine setting off from the rental counter and making it that far in a CCS vehicle, never having driven an EV before?

Electric cars have to be more like Teslas, idiot-proof. All of the required EV knowledge, charge apps, and navigation should be consolidated into a single piece of software that explains and facilitates the experience. As a long-time EV driver, I just want to relax with my family and enjoy my trip, not think about all of that geeky stuff.

Until someone figures out how to make a buck off of charging it's probably in the manufacturer's interest to take the holistic approach. Sell the car and a way to take it anywhere.

 

[Tony Burgh]

There was a Business Insider article a while back about a brother and sister who rented a Tesla Model 3 for a snowy cross-country trip. It took them 6 charge stops to cover 1400 miles. The horror! (and yes, that is too many stops - no question)

But they were able to rent an EV with no prior experience and drive 1400 miles! Can anyone imagine setting off from the rental counter and making it that far in a CCS vehicle, never having driven an EV before?

Electric cars have to be more like Teslas, idiot-proof. All of the required EV knowledge, charge apps, and navigation should be consolidated into a single piece of software that explains and facilitates the experience. As a long-time EV driver, I just want to relax with my family and enjoy my trip, not think about all of that geeky stuff.

Until someone figures out how to make a buck off of charging it's probably in the manufacturer's interest to take the holistic approach. Sell the car and a way to take it anywhere.

Idiot proof is one thing. But the morons will wreck it every time.

 

[Monkey]

It's improving all the time... The thought of driving a non-Tesla EV cross-country just a few years ago was completely laughable. Now it's not a big deal. Finding chargers isn't really a problem if you stay along main highways and don't stray too far from civilization. The trick at the moment is finding chargers that are working properly. That still seems to be Tesla's primary advantage. I've encountered broken or down Tesla chargers here and there, but the car usually notifies (not always) that the charger is out of commission. But it's not usually that big of a deal as I try to leave myself enough charge to get to the next one if I can.

EA chargers are a different story. It's rare to find one working properly and not severely throttled-back for some unknown reason. EA customer support never knows either... They try to offer possible reasons like "cold weather" or something else that doesn't fit the situation, they're just spitballing hoping that you'll accept it carry on. I used some of my free kWh to top off my Lightning the other day at the 150kW EA close to home. It all worked without a hitch and at good charge speeds, so there is hope...

 

[Kev12345]

How to recommend BEV’s? Don’t.
I also don’t watch random YouTube stuff.

 

[Tony Burgh]

Recognition by my peers is appreciated

 

[MM in SouthTX]

It's improving all the time... The thought of driving a non-Tesla EV cross-country just a few years ago was completely laughable. Now it's not a big deal. Finding chargers isn't really a problem if you stay along main highways and don't stray too far from civilization. The trick at the moment is finding chargers that are working properly. That still seems to be Tesla's primary advantage. I've encountered broken or down Tesla chargers here and there, but the car usually notifies (not always) that the charger is out of commission. But it's not usually that big of a deal as I try to leave myself enough charge to get to the next one if I can.

EA chargers are a different story. It's rare to find one working properly and not severely throttled-back for some unknown reason. EA customer support never knows either... They try to offer possible reasons like "cold weather" or something else that doesn't fit the situation, they're just spitballing hoping that you'll accept it carry on. I used some of my free kWh to top off my Lightning the other day at the 150kW EA close to home. It all worked without a hitch and at good charge speeds, so there is hope...

I think you must be thinking only of high population density areas. Let me give you a personal example of how driving cross-country in a non-Tesla is a big deal...even a non-starter.

I used to drive my family to Telluride to go skiing from Corpus Christi. In my Expedition, it took about 17 hours driving time, and maybe an hour total fueling and eating. We are road warriors, with a Point A to Point B in the least amount of time mindset.

In my ER Lightning, ABRP estimates a 27 hour trip. That's before I get on PlugShare and look at the recent posts on all the stations to see if they are even working. Ten extra hours. Two thirds longer than the 18 hours (with stops) we are used to. I can't even take my truck to Austin or Houston without charging. (ER battery, at speed limit of 75mph and 1.6k mi/kWh)

The lack of charging infrastructure is a HUGE issue.

 

[neririn]

honestly, how the hell am i supposed to recommend a non tesla EV vehicle to any of the older generation people?

I would a start by watching videos produced by non-tesla fan boys. And start watching reality. Teslas firm grip on the EV market, and only chance at world domination is placed squarely in the hands of propaganda masters like this dude.

I know several tesla owners. They have their own set of 'proprietary' charging issues, and long travel sucks just as bad for them.

Also realize EV's aren't a good fit for many people, and likely never will be for some.

My older generation mother who lives is Wyoming for example.

It currently is a horrible idea for her to get an EV and probably will still be a horrible idea long after she's gone.

EV's aren't saving the planet, not with how horrible we are at recycling them, not even to mention the fact that the vast majority of power around the would is still generated by coal or many other 'world ending' fuels.

EV's are a novelty and are a long way from the death knell for ICE vehicles.

Why do I chose EV and specifically the Lightning? Well, I am tall and I am fat. I don't fit comfortably in any ICE vehicle that currently has affordable fuel options.

So I drive an EV 99% of the time and rent an ICE when I need to go further than 200 miles from home. And that is all the recommendation I need.

 

[T i h o r]

MKBHD just posted his thoughts on what's Ruining Electric Cars.

I'd have to say I agree and this is absolutely an issue, but it's also why it's imperative that you need to factor in an EV charger at home as part of your EV purchase.

I think EV's are still in the early adopter stage, and so you'll need to be cognizant of that, or deal with the stress of the lackluster charging infrastructure.

Thoughts?

 

[LightningShow]

I always recommend Tesla first for someone who wants an EV as their only car. I will recommend, with caveats, CCS vehicles but make it clear the SC network is head and shoulders above the CCS network.

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