Quote:
Originally Posted by zer0cool
I am not an environmentalist at all, so environmental factors are not among my considerations. Really the decision comes down to driving experience and cost numbers. I probably want to test the Tesla again just to make sure it wasn't a one time psychological thing. I ll wait a little bit before doing that. We ll still have a regular car for long trips, and my daily commute is less than 50 miles, so Tesla range will be good with no issues. Both mine and my wife's company garages have multiple EV chargers so I think for at least a couple years (until EVs become more common if at all), we ll have close to 0 fuel expense on the Tesla.
Basically after the first test drive, the biggest change in perception is that I realized that the gearing system in gasoline cars is inherently inefficient and inferior to that of the EV. No amount of engineering can gap that difference. The instant acceleration in a Tesla at almost all daily driving speeds is simply not possible with any gasoline car due to the need for a multi-gear transmission (the only thing that comes close may be PDK, and only if the engine is powerful enough, and you need to have it in an aggressive mode, like sport or sport+; of course, the issue with sport or sport+ mode for me is... rev is too high). This is the reason why I feel that this may be the future of the automobile.
Of course the biggest weakness of the EV is range and charging speed, which may never be resolvable... The 2nd weakness, particularly with Tesla Model S, is the weight. Which is why it can never be a sports car, or be used on track. However in everyday driving speeds, it handles and drives really well.
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Practicaly there is no 0 fuel expense, somebody pays for that power that you consume and soon will not be free anymore. As soon as a certain number of vehicles will reach the streets, charges will show up. Even in your workplace, if I will own the company and my energy bill goes up, I will charge you.
Now, since you did your homework (somehow), do you really know what it means to sit on a battery all this period of time?
Did you ever take in consideration other things like EMF, EMR?
There are things that are not disclosed to the public, or they are hidden under the expression "the level do not exceed the guidelines". Be very careful with the guidelines that they feed you. And I am not talking from the amateur point of view.
Just as a thought...
But is your car, your money, your decision.
Not to mention, obviously you are not an environmentalist because only the uneducated one will pretend that is a green vehicle. To build that electric car we polute the environment as we will build several gas vehicles. To recycle that vehicle and that battery takes responsability and dedication, or so far humans are not able to recycle the coca-cola bottles that end up in our oceans forming huge piles of dirt and trap for animals.
Yes, the petrol cars are a shame for humanity, they weight more and consume more to transport waaay less weight (so is the electric though since that electric power is not a free and non polutant energy), but they will still be a choice from many points of view, especialy for an individual that loves freedom from power plugs, interferences, electric and M fields and of course a much much bigger level of control over the vehicle....
Not to mention driving skills and driving fun like drifting and so on will become a rarity. More like the saying "we live in an era with smartphones but dumb people".
As a note at the end, I am not a guy who hates electric cars, nor a guy that will bash you down for looking at one. It is vey good to be open, interested, willing to evolve. While I do appreciate electric cars for their enormous torque and instant speed, I am also aware of the minuses that are coming with them.
I am not a pessimist neither, I am just a well informed optimistic individual.
However, if you like the car, go for it. I am pretty sure that you will have a blast and enjoy it.
I was playing with the ideea for it, however, even financialy does not make sense for me to pay that much for an electric vehicle that needs to really run for a while to bring money back or at least cover the costs.
Secondly, people will be afraid of these vehicles, resale value will be an interesting thing to watch in the future. Plus, you never know, how many times the owner was an individual that never had time, plug the car one hour here, another hour there, or shortened the charging time by half by choosing a higher voltage charging station. Also, never know how the vehicle was used and how much time it spend on a very cold environment, etc. Too many variables, the presumtion of an abused vehicle will always be in buyers mind....