An EV in Every Garage

[LiberaBlueDem]

It's time the USA sells a cheap EV so that everyone can own one, save gas and save the planet.

Republicans are gonna hate this idea: The government shall put together a committee of car builders whose purpose shall be to design an econonical EV produced from all American parts. The car will have a standard chassis and use parts off the shelf when it can or contract with suppliers.

A cost of just $10,000 wil be the target price, making it very affordable.

And EV in every garage will be what we have in just a few years.

[gay texan]

1. great idea, but

at 10k with today's money, you'd have to sell it at a loss

[liberal N proud]

2. EVs are going to replace ICE vehicles

The only major hurdle is battery life/replacement costs

[Angleae]

5. That's not the only hurdle.

Not everyone has a garage. Where are we going to charge the damn thing?

[liberal N proud]

23. I rented an EV last month, chargers are everywhere

You download an ap, and it shows you where chargers are. We charged it while attending a Billy Joel concert.

[Meadowoak]

7. Batteries last 15-20 years, longer than most cars.

[canetoad]

9. They do

But I think they cost several thousand dollars compared to a couple of hundred.

[madville]

16. Theoretically maybe

Real world evidence of that is pretty slim at the moment though since mass produced EVs and most of the batteries they’re using haven’t existed that long.

8-12 years is more realistic with 20-30% battery degradation over that span.

Toyota’s solid state battery tech they are promising by 2025 will be a game changer though and 15-20 years could very well be possible.

[Caribbeans]

25. Lots of people at TeslaMotorsClub would like to know why their battery didn't last 15-20 years

Batteries last 15-20 years, longer than most cars.

The engine in most cars built since around 1990 lasts 3-400,000 miles or more, if properly maintained - regardless of the length of time it takes for that vehicle to travel 3-400k miles.

A battery starts dying the instant it comes off the assembly line. Battery degradation is subject to both cycles and time.

This isn't discussed much because companies like Tesla don't want to talk about it. And they damn sure don't want the public talking about it.

Here's a Tesla Owners forum searched for "HV Battery replacement" (HV=High Voltage, the 12v battery goes dead and must be replaced after 1-2 years)

https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/search/7476134/?q=HV+Battery+replacement&o=relevance

Current costs to replace a Tesla HV battery are ~$15,000 remanufactured (junk with a limited warranty) and ~$23,000 for a new one. And no you don't get to keep the dead one. Also, as of a few years ago, recycling of these dead batteries costs ~$3,000 PER BATTERY. Lots of people think they will just hook it up to their house (but they will have to pay core charges!) and turn the dead battery into a house backup system. The problem is that most home insurance companies will either not allow that or insist that that dead battery be inspected and certified. Since these batteries weigh around 1200 pounds it's not like you can throw it into the back of a pickup and cart it off to the inspector.

[Zeitghost]

26. That is a limiting factor

A bigger one is the sheer amount of raw materials needed to build out the charging infrastructure needed to support the majority of our almost 300 million vehicles. .

We are a long way from replacing ICE powered transportation.

[LiberaBlueDem]

3. It wouldn't be a fancy car

Meant only for short trips, it would have a small battery, two seats and a jump seat for groceries and pets.

It wouldn't be for everyone but retirees and students would be happy to drive a zero-emission car that costs hardly anything to drive or repair.

[Meadowoak]

10. I'm retired, and that would be perfect for me.

[Wounded Bear]

13. Many, many people could live their lives with a golf cart...

If they need a personal vehicle at all.

[Bettie]

21. We have an electric golf cart

to do errands around town.

I am driving it this week, because my son's car is in the shop and he's using my prius.

[Zeitghost]

27. Retirees and students

Don't drive the automobile market. The people who do don't want tiny cars.

I also don't think a car can meet modern safety standards and come in anywhere close to 10K. The cheapest new cars for sale now are twice that.

[pwb]

4. I think a EV makes sense for a second car

for a family, with a hybrid for road trips.

[House of Roberts]

6. Title is required

$10,000 is over five times what I paid for my current vehicle. I'm on Social Security now, and I'll never own an EV because the only ones I could afford will have a $10,000 repair in their immediate future.

I would like to have a garage though.

[LiberaBlueDem]

8. In due time there will be chargers all across the US.

This car can be charged on 110 volts or 220 -- which is water heater or dryer voltage. Plus it can be charged by rooftop solar.

There are even charging systems that all you have to do is park over and it charges.

All government short trip cars will be this EV.

[hunter]

11. How about rebuilding our cities so that car ownership is unnecessary?

Car culture has a huge environmental footprint whatever powers the cars.

[ForgedCrank]

12. Sounds all

great and everything, but this isn't necessarily a Republican issue. It's a geographical thing.
Those of us who live in remote or rural areas cannot really use them much. We put a LOT of miles on vehicles, and sitting for a couple of hours waiting for a charge simply isn't practical.
EV's are a great option for the everyday metro commuter, but beyond that, they turn into a huge burden.

[sl8]

14. Sort of a "People's Car"? nt

[tinrobot]

15. $10K in the US will basically get you a golf cart.

Very tiny, low range, not very safe. Not sure if people will want to drive those.

How about we work on getting the price down on cars people really want to drive? That can be done.

[Bettie]

22. Ours is a used electric one

4,000 bucks, because we wanted a newer one.

[madville]

17. Those are golf cart prices

Lead acid battery golf cart prices at that.

Lithium battery golf carts are between $12,000-$20,000 now…….

[brooklynite]

18. None of the houses on my block have a garage...

...and the City doesn't provide easily accessible charging points. That's why we didn't bother to consider an EV when we bought our new car.

[roamer65]

19. How about setting and enforcing an average 35 mpg standard for all ICE vehicles?

Make what we have use less.

[madville]

20. What about people without a garage?

The ability to home charge is a major hurdle to EV ownership. Many people live in apartments or where there is only street parking.

Public fast chargers are becoming more expensive everyday, in some areas they are more expensive than fueling a gas car to go the same distance. Hard to sell someone on a $40,000 EV versus a $30,000 gas car if they can’t charge at home and there aren’t any fuel savings.

[flamingdem]

24. The Chinese already have cheap EVs

They're ahead of us in that department

[LiberaBlueDem]

28. EVs are the future

Gas is polluting and we have climate change already from the pollution.

Are there problems around EV's? Yes, but they can all be dealt with, and will be. Are we gonna do away with gas cars? No, there will always be some. But EV's can be driven 3 times farther than gas cars for the same amount of energy, so EVs are 3 times more efficient.

The main problem is many people see their cars as a status symbol. They grew up with the sexy car commercials.

A small EV that can go 0-45 in ten seconds and can be charged by the sun and fixed by shade tree mechanics is the way to go.

[LiberaBlueDem]

29. There is a limited market for EVs

It is clear one must be interested in stopping climate change AND be fairly smart to want to drive an EV.

Since there are a limited number of smart people in the US the market is rather small?

[Torchlight]

30. Purchased my first computer the summer of '84 for just under $2500

($7000 equivalent in today's dollars). Wife bought a backup computer three weeks ago for $250.

I think as time moves forward, and as the infrastructure and market expands, and a killer app (or its equivalent in the durable goods world) is defined, it will provide us with affordable EVs sooner rather than later.

[Voltaire2]

31. Public transportation would be better investment.

Ubiquitous local public transportation at low or zero cost would eliminate the need for many people to own a car.