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Madurai posted:I've begun to sound a little like a sales rep, too--even when I'm not wearing my Tesla shirt. It's easy to do. I'd own a Tesla S tonight, except for that price tag thing. I have a 110 mile round trip commute each day, so there is no other EV on the map (especially here in the heat of Phoenix), but the Tesla is simply out of reach for me. Oh well. Glad to see some of them on the road occasionally, they are gorgeous.
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| # ? May 14, 2013 02:10 |
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| # ? May 22, 2013 16:03 |
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The Locator posted:I'd own a Tesla S tonight, except for that price tag thing. I have a 110 mile round trip commute each day, so there is no other EV on the map (especially here in the heat of Phoenix), but the Tesla is simply out of reach for me. Oh well. Glad to see some of them on the road occasionally, they are gorgeous. You could always get a plug in hybrid.
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| # ? May 14, 2013 02:16 |
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Suqit posted:You could always get a plug in hybrid. Part of the perk of an EV in AZ is you get a HOV plate - but only pure electrics qualify for it. PHEVs don't. I'd say the exception is the Karma, but then today I saw a blue plate on a ~25 year old Corolla, so clearly there's not much stopping people from putting them on cars illegally.
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| # ? May 14, 2013 03:47 |
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Suqit posted:You could always get a plug in hybrid. Economically it doesn't make any sense at all. I get 40mpg in my Fiesta commuting, and it's only a $15k car. I ran the numbers on all sorts of hybrids when I got the Fiesta. I'd buy an S because it's sexy as hell, not because it makes economic sense. There are no plug in hybrids that meet the sexy as hell criteria to overcome the economics.  IOwnCalculus posted:Part of the perk of an EV in AZ is you get a HOV plate - but only pure electrics qualify for it. PHEVs don't. That perk would be nice on some days, but most days the HOV lane is just about as slow as the others. There are a number of plates out there from the days of the 'alternative fuel' vehicle fiasco (where people were taking a $5k tax credit to put LNG into their Excursions and then driving them in the HOV lane on regular gas), and those are still legal until the vehicles eventually die. I don't doubt that there are some illegally plated cars though as well. The Locator fucked around with this message at May 14, 2013 around 04:04 |
| # ? May 14, 2013 03:59 |
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eeenmachine posted:I thought I'd venture into AI today and see if there was any electric discussion and was happy to see a dedicated thread! I've been driving pure electrics for about 3 years and around 40k miles or so. I own a 2010 Tesla Roadster 2.5, a 2012 Nissan Leaf and a 2012 Tesla Model S 85kw. Let me know if you have any questions about my experiences! You should take some pictures of the EV family. I see Model S' all the time here in Seattle but can't get enough. I plan on buying one in a few years when the range is good enough to take me to the mountains and back in the winter time without any anxiety.
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| # ? May 14, 2013 04:55 |
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Apparently, an auto dealership lobby group in North Carolina is trying to push through a Texas-style ban on direct factory sales, specifically aimed at preventing Tesla from doing business.
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| # ? May 14, 2013 16:53 |
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The Locator posted:Economically it doesn't make any sense at all. I get 40mpg in my Fiesta commuting, and it's only a $15k car. I ran the numbers on all sorts of hybrids when I got the Fiesta. For me, the economics work out on the cheap EVs because the lease payment on a Leaf (or the Fiat 500e, in CA at least) is almost exactly what I spend in gas commuting in the Ranger. I end up spending a bit more total after accounting for more expensive insurance and the increase in electric bill, but I'd say it's worth it to not be driving a 15-year-old Ranger. Normally I'd be anti-lease but it's not like the gas is worth anything after I burn it either. My whole concern is range longevity - the Leaf has those very significant battery lifespan issues here in AZ and even though they now have defined the warranty as effectively at least 75% capacity, that could mean that by the end of my lease I'm having to ignore the HOV lane and putter along at slow speeds to make it home. The Locator posted:There are a number of plates out there from the days of the 'alternative fuel' vehicle fiasco (where people were taking a $5k tax credit to put LNG into their Excursions and then driving them in the HOV lane on regular gas), and those are still legal until the vehicles eventually die. I don't doubt that there are some illegally plated cars though as well. Yeah but there's no way that Corolla was sold under that debacle - I remember that, it started a couple years after we got our '97 Suburban and I think my parents seriously considered replacing it with a new one under the program and either breaking even or coming out ahead. The Corolla with blue plates was, at newest, a '92.
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| # ? May 14, 2013 17:05 |
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Ethereal posted:You should take some pictures of the EV family. I see Model S' all the time here in Seattle but can't get enough. I plan on buying one in a few years when the range is good enough to take me to the mountains and back in the winter time without any anxiety. Don't have any of them all together but here are the sexy ones:   My Roadster is the front black one (has black wheels now).
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| # ? May 14, 2013 17:25 |
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IOwnCalculus posted:For me, the economics work out on the cheap EVs because the lease payment on a Leaf (or the Fiat 500e, in CA at least) is almost exactly what I spend in gas commuting in the Ranger. I end up spending a bit more total after accounting for more expensive insurance and the increase in electric bill, but I'd say it's worth it to not be driving a 15-year-old Ranger. Normally I'd be anti-lease but it's not like the gas is worth anything after I burn it either. My whole concern is range longevity - the Leaf has those very significant battery lifespan issues here in AZ and even though they now have defined the warranty as effectively at least 75% capacity, that could mean that by the end of my lease I'm having to ignore the HOV lane and putter along at slow speeds to make it home. I drive far too many miles for a lease to work. I put 29k on the Fiesta in the first year, and it spent over five weeks oof that year in the body shop. There just isn't a lease for people like me who drive this many miles. quote:Yeah but there's no way that Corolla was sold under that debacle - I remember that, it started a couple years after we got our '97 Suburban and I think my parents seriously considered replacing it with a new one under the program and either breaking even or coming out ahead. The Corolla with blue plates was, at newest, a '92. Part of what made that fiasco such a disaster was that it had some sort of provision for retrofitting older cars. People abused the hell out of it.
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| # ? May 14, 2013 17:35 |
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Now we know where all that Tiny Tower money went. On topic: would Leaf battery longevity be an issue in the snowbelt? I know I'd lose range simply due to the cold winter but would I see a decrease in battery life like you guys are talking about in AZ?
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| # ? May 14, 2013 17:46 |
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Well, I wound up Leasing the Leaf SV last night. Not a bad drive. I'm keeping my ICE junker for longer excursions, which aren't that many. Signing up for a ChargePoint card to take advantage of all the stations here in Western Washington. Somewhat excited.
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| # ? May 14, 2013 17:48 |
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Thwomp posted:On topic: would Leaf battery longevity be an issue in the snowbelt? I know I'd lose range simply due to the cold winter but would I see a decrease in battery life like you guys are talking about in AZ? Here's the fifth and final (so far?) part: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/glob...article4406559/ Note the title of part 4 (list of previous episodes near the top of the article) is "Spring sees a budding improvement in range" - he talks about the rather severely limited range he was seeing during winter; pay attention to his description of his driving style, typical daily distance travelled, etc. - he's not exactly an average driver. EDIT: it's 2013! No longer 2012! 
ExecuDork fucked around with this message at May 15, 2013 around 21:32 |
| # ? May 15, 2013 21:26 |
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| # ? May 22, 2013 16:03 |
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Now that the Model S has appeared in the Gran Turismo 6 trailer, I may be obligated to buy the game. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZM-8_N8gcaw
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| # ? May 16, 2013 03:07 |
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