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dbsb3233

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For all the people disagreeing with me, what is the #1 reason people give you for why they won’t buy an ev yet? I know for me it’s the perception that range is an issue.

“They’re probably fine for around town, but I drive to my parents 700 miles away twice a year. They can’t make that trip yet.”
I’m not disagreeing that most of us recognize that charging from home is actually preferable, and we recognize that there are options to charge on trips if you do a little planning. But there are tons of people out there that still can’t wrap their heads around those concepts.
I don't think anyone is disagreeing, there's just a disconnect on which DCFC charging is being talked about. You're talking about road trip DCFC, while some of us thought you meant around-home DCFC. Both are right -- we need more road trip DCFC between cities, but for around-home we need to emphasize L2 (homes, apartments, workplaces, etc). Also L2 as overnight destinations (hotels).
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dbsb3233

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And then there are the apartment complexes ... and since those tend to be temporary homes, renters aren't likely to want to pay to have a charger installed at great expense only to have to abandon it when they move.
Apartments commonly don't have attached parking to the unit itself, so that makes charger implementation a lot easier. If there's assigned parking, they can simply shuffle the spots between those paying for a charger spot vs the ones wanting a non-charging parking spot.

Frankly, if I were an apartment complex owner with open parking lots, I wouldn't even go to the extra expense of installing payment processing chargers. I'd just take one section of the parking lot and have a bank of inexpensive 16A home chargers installed. Then make those reserved spots for those residents willing to pay a premium for them (say, $75/mo, electricity included). If cheaters sneak in, then just chain off that section of the lot and add an access control gate.

The cheaper they can make the whole thing, the more likely it is to happen, and the more chargers that will go in. And 16A is enough for most people, without the apartment complex having to spend a bigger fortune for electrical service. They could fit 10 16A chargers on a single 200A service panel. 16A would fill 100-150 miles in 12 hours overnight. Without people having to play musical chairs rotating cars in/out. That would kill it for a lot of people.
 

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I agree. Rest areas need them instead of driving off the beaten path to a charger. Why aren’t they set up in these areas?
In Ohio, one problem with having DC fast charging at rest areas, is the lack of adequate power at many of these locations. I imagine this is the case for most states.
I see your point. Why the infrastructure needs catch up. I envision solar being put on car’s roof. They can make them look like the defroster lines in the glass! This way while your car is sitting out in the sun or driving it can charge at the same time. Wouldn’t this be awesome. I usually charge at home too, it’s convenient for sure. Usually not stopped at a place long enough to charge where they are available.
 

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I don't think anyone is disagreeing, there's just a disconnect on which DCFC charging is being talked about. You're talking about road trip DCFC, while some of us thought you meant around-home DCFC. Both are right -- we need more road trip DCFC between cities, but for around-home we need to emphasize L2 (homes, apartments, workplaces, etc). Also L2 as overnight destinations (hotels).
Why I feel it’s still necessary to have a gas vehicle. It’s going to take years to completely move away from being reliant on oil. I love my MachE EV! Anywhere I park it, it certainly gets attention and well deserved. Everyone is very curious and very complimentary of the car. Well done Ford motor company.
 

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I think one important point is that while home charging will be best for most, there are always those who need some flexibility with unpredictable travel, last-minute travel, etc. Ford is also focusing on the commercial EV market given their strong branding in commercial vehicles where this may be an issue.

There will be some high-mileage drivers like salespeople, business travelers, delivery people, etc besides the casual road-trippers who need access to fast chargers. Ideally, you want to encourage those people to use EVs in the long term too even if it just a lot of intracity or regional travel. They may be more willing knowing there are enough fast chargers in their travel areas.
 


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Why I feel it’s still necessary to have a gas vehicle. It’s going to take years to completely move away from being reliant on oil. I love my MachE EV! Anywhere I park it, it certainly gets attention and well deserved. Everyone is very curious and very complimentary of the car. Well done Ford motor company.
Totally agree. I have my Acura MDX for our longer trips.
 

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Why I feel it’s still necessary to have a gas vehicle. It’s going to take years to completely move away from being reliant on oil. I love my MachE EV! Anywhere I park it, it certainly gets attention and well deserved. Everyone is very curious and very complimentary of the car. Well done Ford motor company.
Just drove our Mach E from MD to FL and back, no problem. Most of the US is already BEV accessible and the rest is being filled out quickly.
 
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dbsb3233

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Just drive out Mach E from MD to FL and back, no problem. Most of the US is already BEV accessible and the rest is being filled out quickly.
Sufficient DCFC coverage is part of it (many areas are still deserts), but so is the different types of vehicles. Probably be years yet before something big like a Suburban can make it 300+ miles in BEV form (without being prohibitively expensive, anyway). And before we have anywhere close to as many BEV models available for purchase as we have ICE and hybrid.

Slowly shifting, but ICE (and hybrid) will still fill a lot of needs for many years.
 

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Just drive out Mach E from MD to FL and back, no problem. Most of the US is already BEV accessible and the rest is being filled out quickly.
I'm doing the same trip in 10 days in my delivered-yesterday Mach-E. Any charging suggestions - charging sites to stop at or avoid - that you could make?
 

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If it's true, then it's a solid on-brand consistent method of communications.
If it's not true, then they are Tesla.
It seems there are a few people who have to inject anti-Tesla comments on a subject not even vaguely related to Tesla. As fellow EV enthusiasts, I think we should avoid slinging mud at each other and just revel in the fact that we all get to drive amazing American-made electric cars.

Seriously, it only took until post #5 for a totally unprovoked anti-Tesla comment. :confused:
 

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That would be great for us if it happens. But they'd take a hit from their current owners, and probably to their sales as the exclusive Supercharger network is a significant selling point. It would start getting a lot more crowded. They'd have to decide if the extra revenue is more than the losses.

For us, I guess it would come down to the connectors, and the pricing. They might make CCS more expensive and give Teslas an automatic discount. Although that wouldn't be entirely bad as just having Superchargers as a quick emergency bottom-up option is still a plus.
My guess is Tesla would price non-Tesla's somewhere between Tesla Supercharging and EA DC charging. I don't think Tesla is worried about car sales taking a hit - they have more customers than production capacity and I don't think they expect the two new factories coming on-line later this year to change that.

My understanding is Tesla would supply an adapter to non-Tesla owners who wanted access to the Supercharger network. This way they wouldn't need to add any additional hardware at SC sites and the adapter could identify your account so you could just plug and charge like Tesla owners do.

I think this is a great way to accelerate the transition to EV's.
 

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That would be welcome news - of course, we would be welcomed with mean stares from the Tesla owners every time we plugged in :)
Not from me! I would give you a thumbs up!

Anyone who gives a mean stare for no reason probably is not happy with their own life. Life is too short to go around frowning at random people.
 

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Clearly, all the gaps need to be filled. Fast chargers need to be as prevalent as gas stations are. Not just in urban/suburban areas, but also in rural areas
I don't see Fast Chargers ever being as numerous as gas stations, even when the auto fleet is nearly all electric. The key difference is people charge their cars at home or work, Fast Chargers are just for people traveling long distance. As long as there are enough stalls and locations to cover the country, there won't need to match gas stations in number, especially around suburban areas and in cities.
 

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For all the people disagreeing with me, what is the #1 reason people give you for why they won’t buy an ev yet? I know for me it’s the perception that range is an issue.

“They’re probably fine for around town, but I drive to my parents 700 miles away twice a year. They can’t make that trip yet.”
I’m not disagreeing that most of us recognize that charging from home is actually preferable, and we recognize that there are options to charge on trips if you do a little planning. But there are tons of people out there that still can’t wrap their heads around those concepts.
The number one reason more people don't buy EV's is because there aren't more EV's to buy. The dealership lots are full of ICE cars ready to be bought but the EV's have to be "scored". EV's are rarely stockpiled on sales lots unless it's an undesirable EV with a high price and limited range and performance. All the good ones sell just as quickly as they are built.
 

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And then there are the apartment complexes ... and since those tend to be temporary homes, renters aren't likely to want to pay to have a charger installed at great expense only to have to abandon it when they move.
The most forward thinking apartment owners are already installing chargers in their parking lots and garages because they know they can attract better tenants, keep them longer and charge higher rent. Because, yeah, there is a shortage of apartments for EV owners.

In California, all new residential construction, including apartments, must include charging infrastructure. They don't require the actual chargers but the charge locations must be pre-wired with adequate electrical capacity in order to get a building permit. This costs almost nothing at the time of construction so I think it's a smart move.
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