Done the trip from LA to Vegas with a Tesla multiple times. No problems. Ever. No one who actually drives an EV waits to charge to 100 unless they absolutely have to; just more journalistic nonsense for sensationalist headlines.
True. I have a 300 mile Tesla and I make this kind of trip very very often... even much further than a trip like this. Nothing beats road-tripping in a 300 mile range Tesla with autopilot. True statement; no need to charge more than 80% unless you just really want to wait much longer for that extra 20% to top off. Planning? What planning? Tesla Nav does that for me. It tells me how long the full trip is with charging wait times and where to charge. Easiest road-tripping I have ever done solo. A Tesla is not just your regular BEV or ICE vehicle.
Agree, its complete BS. I do a 550mi round trip in a BMW i3 once a month. My average increase in time compared to an ICE vehicle is only about 45mins. And thats in Texas where DCFCing is a lot less common that California.
Yes, and no - Nicky isn't wrong that 'habit' could lead to charging an EV to full, for someone who knows nothing about EVs (and hasn't bothered to do their research - which these days seems to be the default position.... see something, make your own assumptions about how it works, and then complain if it doesn't match those assumptions... but I'm getting off topic here) People who *have* done their research will know that EV charge rates is non-linear, and slows significantly as the battery charge level gets closer to 100% - and they also know not to regularly drive the battery below 10%... many ICE drivers typically drive the tank down to near empty, which is another habit that would need to be broken. Lastly, people who have done their research would know what the max charge rate of their vehicle is, and what the different type of chargers are, and the impact of plugging into the 'wrong' charger (charging too slow, or paying for charging performance the car can't utilise) And given that there are - apparently - people who think EVs won't work in the wet, or can't be taken into the car wash, etc, it should be obvious that there is a need for general education and awareness of the differences - and benefits of EVs, relative to 'gas cars', etc.
Right but she pointed out that most non EV car buyers don't know these things.. Until the driving experience is more similar to an ICE car, mass market adoption will be slower. The Only car that would work for my personal needs at this point is a long range Tesla, and the math makes zero sense even for me driving over 50k per year. I'm still better off financially to buy a Prius. The Tesla is a much nicer car, but that's not important to me... Only the cost to operate.
That's quite charitable (and it might be true in this case.) But I have definitely seen situations where people and organizations have planned to fail at something they did not want to do anyway! I mention this only because it's important to remember how desperately most auto makers, most automotive journalists, and many automotive engineers want electric vehicles to fail and/or take a very long time to reach widespread adoption.
I drove 1850 miles recently (Arizona to Illinois) in Tesla Model 3 with Navigate on Autopilot. What would have taken 3 days calendar time in an ICEV took just 2 days in the Model 3. What I found was that driving the Tesla with Autopilot was much less tiring than doing the same trip in a gas or diesel car. Having to take charging breaks every 200 miles allows time to revitalize the body and mind allowing one to drive much longer distances without experiencing the kind of stress and fatigue you'd normally expect. When I long trip in an ICEV, I tend to stop for quick fill ups and rest stops. There's a tendency to want to keep putting miles behind me. But after 6 or 8 hours of driving, I'm exhausted. Finding a motel to spend the night takes on a certain urgency. Rarely can I drive for more than 500 miles a day even trading off with another driver. Driving the Tesla on Autopilot was a completely different experience. Ninety five percent of the physical and mental effort of driving was done by the car, and those 9 or 10 stops along the way were not only used to charge the car's battery, but also my own biological battery by giving me time to eat, take a walk, read, answer email, take a short nap, listen to music, play a video game, etc, etc. It also helps that Tesla completely eliminates range anxiety with the 300+ mile range of the Model 3, and that marvelous Supercharger network. One can't say that for all EVs. I'm looking forward to future improvements in Autopilot that will make travel even more enjoyable.
Clara Smith Autopilot needs to be thought through more before being released through OTA. If you can’t detect a semi making a u turn on a clear day at 60 mph and apply the brakes, there is a seriously big constraint in there which hasn’t been properly disclosed to the consumer. Yes, the customer is expected to keep hands on the wheel, but hazard mitigation and accountability are key in the automotive sector. Tesla is not the only one guilty of this, but the law does not make exceptions, and if they get caught, the consequences can be severe.
Thank you Nikki, very well balanced and you are spot on with your analysis. For me personally driving 800+km in one leg in any car won't happen, I would need to stop and sleep as it could be too dangerous being tired and driving isn't my favourite activity.
Definitely a sensationalisic headline. Drove LA-Vegas-SLC in my Bolt last year. Only charged in Victorville for about an hour to get to Vegas. Was almost too easy.
i live an hour north of toronto. the first road trip we did in our model 3 was austin, tx. it sounds to me like EV naysayers put more effort into making a trip inefficient than we put into planning a smooth trip. we're no geniuses, but it was pretty goddamned easy to make good use of charging times, and they only exceeded 40 minutes when we wanted them to.
I don't know about the Bolt, but my Leaf does not tell me I have enough charge to leave. My Tesla lets me know via the app that I have enough charge to make it to the next Supercharger. Electric car makers should work to provide similar tools in the car.
Dan Edwards The Bolt doesn’t tell you when you have enough charge. On road trips, I look to see where the next charging station is ( hopefully somewhere close to 120 - 150 miles out), then add enough charge with a buffer of about 30 miles. I haven’t had any issues in 6500 miles, probably 75% done in road trips. Our home is in central California and I’ve been to San Clemente CA, Casa Grande AZ, Santa Barbara, greater LA on at least 3 occasions, the Bay Area twice as well as up to Yosemite to see the roaring waterfalls this spring. We also have an ICE vehicle that sits in the garage when we go on our road trips - I don’t ever want to have to take an extended trip in an ICE vehicle again. The Bolt is so much more efficient and road trips are boring to me in an fossil burning car.
@@kaazruo Totally agree about never wanting to do ICE again. There just needs to be something in the car while it is charging to clue new BEV owners that you don't need to charge to 100%. It's something we all learned to optimize, but new owners need to unlearn from ICE.
That article was pretty extreme and failed to explain the details and it obviously wasn’t written by an EV owner! I got the impression that they were idiot sticks charging to 100 percent
The problem with the NYTimes article is it specifically mentions Tesla and does not provide the equivalent Tesla times. The headline was the goal. While I always appreciate your perspective, I feel like you are giving NYTimes a pass because it is possible to use inferior technology and unadvised charging strategies to make EVs look bad. Imagine I told you that texting is slow because I used a flip phone with numeric keypad entry instead of a smart phone. I exaggerate of course, but it is important that EVs are not judged by the laggers. Virtually all of the major issues they encountered are already addressed by Tesla including where to charge, how long to charge and the speed of charging). People who read that headline feel free to ignore EVs for there next purchase. That article is fake news warped in NYTimes seal of approval. By not calling it fake news you let NYTimes off the hook. It would have been very clear plugging the values for the different Tesla models into a better route planner and sharing those numbers up front, that NYTimes was unfairly tarnishing all EVs with a subpar reputation. I don’t know what has happened between you and Tesla, but I feel like you are jaded by some bad experience with Tesla? If I missed a video send me a link? It is completely unfair to EVs to be judged 4 year old technology when there is much better technology available. With the latest 2019.20.2.1 update, a Model 3 can go from 5% to 80% in less than 30 minutes and complete the trip. This is a huge difference compared to 5 hours. NYTimes was off by a factor of 10 on the charging time required. Don’t you think a 30 minute charge time is more newsworthy than a 5 hour charge time?
If we could get the word out that people should generally plan to charge to 80% almost all the time, that would really help. Even when The Fast Lane Car did one of their first videos with the Model 3 they reported on the time it took to charge to 100% - which they did not know they should not normally do.
Valid points. I hope prospective EV buyers find a way to watch this channel for the real scoop. For anyone who is interested....the Ford EV has a trip planner in their app and in the car that tells you when you have enough charge to reach your next charge point. Additionally, it sets a budget and compares your current driving style to the budget needed to reach your next charge point. Ot is actually very helpful. I assumed all EVs have a similar feature. If not, they should.
Unfortunately - at least the version I have on a 2014 Ford Focus Electric - the app seems to have no idea about elevation. Living in Colorado Springs the elevation changes 100s of feet in just a few miles in town. I get a +/- of 12-20 miles within a 6-8 mile drive. The route matters.
The best tip I can give anybody worried about range anxiety for long road trips is to get behind something big and let them push the air out of your way. This will greatly increase your range. Wind resistance kills your range much more than going up elevation. This has been my experience driving our LR AWD Model 3 between TX and CO where we went between Amarillo TX to Trinidad CO (and back) without any stops in between driving through Dalhart (more direct route). We would reach destination with 50-60 miles left on battery range. I met some Model S owners at either end that planned to take much longer route going out of way to stop in Tocumcari NM as an in-between charging spot. These were older Model S owners with around 250-260 miles of range. Model 3 owners with 300-310 miles of range can make that trip easier until Tesla adds Supercharger station in Dalhart or somewhere else in the middle of those two so less range Tesla cars don't have to go through Tocumcari to go from TX to CO.
The main problem is one of education for people in general. I still get the how far will it go on a charge and how long to charge it question with my Zoe and 'is it a hybrid'. It is true that Audi advertise their really fast charging but there don't seem to be many chargers able to charge it quickly (certainly in the UK - yet). I have noticed in my part of the UK speed limits are being reduced to cut pollution, it would be great if EVs were allowed to go faster on these roads as an encouragement to buy one.
I think the Bolt EV is a great car for the price you pay if you have a tight budget thanks to good cash on hood incentives. GM recently introduced it in places like Mexico and South America where purchasing power is low and people can't afford a Tesla, so it shows that someone in the company cares about making EV vehicles for 3rd world markets.
Getting to the end of your video, I see the point that you are making, and I think that's where Penn's article failed. Yes, he's raising awareness of important issues, but he did nothing to educate his audience on how to overcome them. The article was very one-sided, focusing almost exclusively on what went wrong and the types of anxieties EV owners have; however, he ignored how the trip could have been made conveniently and effectively. Essentially, he's leaving the audience to assume that a reasonable version of that trip in an EV is not currently possible.
I think you nailed it. Driving electric is different from driving ICE. We have a Tesla and always follow the charging suggestions the car gives us and we've never run into trouble.
I was waiting to here your thoughts on this article. You would think someone got New York Times would have done some research before doing a review on an EV
As a not-yet EV owner I can see both sides of this. The charging stations are very sparse out here in the east. We have one- one only- in our county with the next one nearly 400 miles away. It reminds of what my grandparents generation said about road tripping in early post WW2 America on into the '70s. Filling stations were a long ways apart and scarce so you planned any long distance ride to the smallest detail, or it was a washout. I still use that philosophy with my bicycle rides so it doesn't sound too daunting. Thanks for showing another view on the issue!
Your best work to date! Your point that EV travel and IC travel needs to be taken very seriously going forward. We are currently transitioning between EV enthusiast customers to a more mainstream customer base in the EV world. The mainstream consumer has no interest in understanding how or why things should be done in an EV to get the best experience. This requires honesty and education or the EV industry will face significant consumer backlash. Obviously, as the industry continues to evolve and the infrastructure continues to expand the situation will improve. (V3 is astounding and Electrify America future proofing at 350 is fantastic, but in the meantime we're stuck with woefully incomplete and under-powered isolated networks.) Add to that the bulk of non-Tesla 'affordable' manufacturers simply don't have the technical know-how to build cars with the kind of charge rates that make long distance travel comparable to gas and go. This will change with time, but in the meantime over promising will give the industry a black eye slowing the adoption of EV's.
Id agree... The mainstream consumer market will the the toughest market to crack. Those who believe technology should conform to them and not visa versa, see cars as an appliance. The Tesla site they figure in the gas savings, your tax rebate and superior depreciation are also figured in tne price. The enthusiasts response: "TAKE MY MONEY" Mainstream response"THATS DECEITFUL"
One of your best videos yet Nikki, it seems that this stuff is really in the heart of your wheelhouse. I read the full article as well and came away a little less frustrated with it then I did reading the headlines and reactions to it on various electric vehicle forums. It's great that you and a few others like Eric way have actual long-distance travel experience with your Chevrolet bolts. I think the point about non-experienced folks trying the same trips and having problems is the reality. Finding a sweet spot between new folks being afraid to get the most out of their vehicle and those who assume that they can do as well as experts with years of experience it's going to be the tricky part. More Chargers and more infrastructure will be key and getting that balance as more and more Eevees come on is also going to be tricky. Hopefully we'll all manage and as you say will have a cleaner and smarter world. :-)
YES! Only charge what you really need when away from home. This message needs to be clearly stated by manufacturers and journalists. 0-100% charges almost never happen. Nine times in ten, maybe more, charging beyond 80% is a waste of your time and the time of whoever may be waiting to use the charger.
This issue about planning and knowing when to charge and to stop charging is being made out to be a big headache by petrol heads, but in reality, it's a breeze after a few weeks of owning the car. The reports on road trips like this should NOT be done by EV newbs. It's pretty unrepresentative of the actual ownership experience.
Nicky - a thought occurs to me. You mention that your Bolt was fully loaded, and the impact that had on range etc... I'm guessing that currently range estimations are based only on charge level and, perhaps, driving style? Do you think it would be feasible to fit some kind of sensor to the suspension, to determine the weight of the vehicle (with occupants and luggage) and factor that into the range estimates? and the weather forecasts along the planned route (presuming the vehicle has been given the route), etc? Having more accurate range estimations, and maybe a screen showing what is impacting range, positive and negative - vehicle weight, weather, road conditions (incline/decline, etc), battery charge status, interior electrics (heating, stereo, etc), and driving style - might help with that education? Oh - and on the charging screen, don't just show the time to full charge, but e.g. the time per each 10% 'block', so that people can see that the bulk of the 'time remaining' is actually for just the final 10-15%, and ditto the mileage per block (based on overall efficiency, as per the screen outlined above). Then people can make an informed decision about when to stop charging, without needing to explicitly 'educate' them.
My trip from San Jose to San Diego was pretty similar to yours. Drive for 90 minutes, charge for 45 minutes. Made the 500mi trip in 16 hours. In that time I stopped to eat, stretch, inspect local brews, and take in the scenery. My shortest stop was 30 minutes, and my longest was 90 minutes.
Good points raised. I know it's not the same distance but as you know Nikki there are types of this terrain in the UK, for instance the M62 over the Pennines from Manchester to Leeds, the roads across the Peak District from Cheshire to Buxton, Chatsworth , Bakewell. These are local to myself and have driven them so I have noticed how much this type of terrain drains the battery, whether it's motorway speeds like the M62 or 40-50 mph going over the Peak District.
The article’s author stated that he travelled with EVGo representatives. It is surprising to me that they did not suggest the planning and charging techniques that you point out are known to EV drivers.
Oppps, I was wrong. It is an EVGo in Baker. Not sure how how he didn't choose it with an EVGo person with him. Curious. There is a great post on this on Torquenews (I think that's the name)
Excellent analysis, Nikki of the current issues as the EV world develops along. Food for thought for us here in Australia where we travel greater distances with barely a charging infrastructure at the moment unless you have a Tesla. Having just taken delivery of a Kona EV planning is our priority although with its over 400km range it is a little more reassuring. Keep up the brilliant work!
As you may know, headlines are not written by the newspaper article writers, but by the editor. There may or may not be some consultation with the author, but the editor's job is to catch eyeballs and please his bosses. The NY Times has done this sort of "damning with faint praise piece on EV's before. Who they are trying to please with it is dubious to me, but the newspaper business is losing advertising to the Web based auto information sources more everyday. My thinking is that until they get the direct advertising dollars from EV makers in proportion to what they get from ads for the lower performing ICE vehicles (popular models sell themselves) in a maker's inventory, they could be doing pieces like this one as a 'shot across the bow' so to speak.
In my final year at university, I did a thorough review of literature on electric cars. That was 1994. I find it interesting how the technology and the industry has changed over the years and yet attitudes of the motoring press are very similar to that time.
perhaps I am reaching a bit but two issues come up for me. 1. the batteries "on their way to market" will have a longer range and a shorter charge time 2. any differences in ice vs. all electric vehicles will be hounded and amplified as the gasoline industry goes deeper into their death throws. We will keep evolving as long as the general public continues to see the big picture. please do an episode emphasizing total maintenance costs and general fuel cost differences between ice and electrics over the last five years as new better electrics have been released o people have a good historical perspective on old numbers and what we can expect today. great work, thank you for encouraging our evolution.
An important aspect of long distance driving, whether in an ICE car or an EV, that is rarely mentioned by automotive writers, is the risk of DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis). It is occasionally cited as a risk of long plane flights, but the mechanism is the same on long car trips. You should not drive for more than four hours without stopping and “stretching your legs.” Some medical sources recommend as little as two hours. One of the benefits of driving an EV is that the need to stop periodically to recharge the car dovetails nicely with the need to get out and walk to avoid the risk of DVT. Even if you don’t need to go to the restroom/washroom/bathroom/WC, or have a snack or a meal, you should always stop every 2-4 hours to “stretch your legs.”
Try from Mira Mar Road to Vegas. Much more scenic and a fantastic bridge after Fallbrook. Charge overnight to full, charge in Escondido Von's parking lot to 80%, (If you have a 2017 Bolt LT you can watch videos on gallery on a USB flash drive, and holographic sound like the cannonade in Gettysburg before Pickett's charge), charge free at Park and ride at Highway 76 to 80%, charge to 80 % at Outlets at Lake Elsinore, ( or alternate Walmart Super Store at Corona to 80%),charge at Ontario back to 80% ( or alternate Rancho Cucamonga back to 80% before the big hill) charge. to 80% at Victorville, and then whatever you need at Baker at the World's tallest Thermometer. All these with EVGO and if you join no more than 20 cents per minute of charge. Also at many Terrible Herbst also listed with EVGO.
Current EV travel experience can be roughly compared to 1940~1950 interstate travel experience. Those trips required planning, scheduled stops and trustworthy local citizens to successfully travel coast to coast. Between the growing interstate highway system, back roads / short cuts, fueling opportunities and car reliability, not every trip worked out perfectly. I am enjoying my 100 mile range Nissan Leaf without regrets.
How much more pleasant and how much less planning would have been involved for either trip if you (and the journalist) had had 100 more miles of usable range?
The "perception battle" from ICE owners towards EV folk is going to get even more dicey. There is still a rather high percentage of "gear heads" who fear the "electrics". No sounds, no grease or oil, no modding an engine, and nearly impossible to tweak the software are the main excuses. At 73, I'll ask you younger folk to wait a bit longer - soon "we" will no longer be an impedance. So keep on evolving while the rest to fall by the wayside. Thanks for sharing...
Congrats; I've heard several rebuttals of this article due to being a budding EV nerd. This one summarized the best the problem here, which is probably one of understanding how to work with the differences between an EV and a gas car. The downside to the article though is that it feels like it's disseminating disinformation because the author doesn't have a good understanding of the subject in general; they just know this one road trip they took.
Good video nicki And good point as well about how he probably sat there and waited to charge up the last 20% on the battery in the vehicle each time which greatly increased the amount of charge time not to mention that that entire round trip he could start on either end with a full charge stop and charge midway for the actual road trip charge at his destination on the other end come back stop in charge again at the midway point and then drove the rest of the miles back home so he only really needs to stop and charge 3 times he probably stopped 4 or 5 times and chose to a 100% and he should have mentioned that in his article which I did not read but if he would have you would have mentioned it I believe he also should have said how the car probably never got to the point where it's said he had less than 70 miles of range Left as well because he always had it at least 70 miles range left when he stopped to charge based on how short the trip is over all and the total number of hours it took him By the way that particular trip normally takes about 4 and a 1/2 to 5 and a 1/2 hours depending on somebody's driving style and whether they give it the beans in their vehicle going up the Hill or they slow down I have done that trip a number of times as a truck driver and I remember was Angeles to Las Vegas or vice versa taking around 5 hours myself in a tractor trailer.
Roadways in America are all posted in MPH. It would be nice to quote mileage facts in same. Unless you want to be contrary. You have one of the best YT channels for EV's so I do not understand making USA viewers pause video to calculate then press play which interrupts information flow. Could you at least add a graphic as a popup showing the conversion so you would be at least helping viewers to learn instead of isolating them. Thank you.
Education and understanding is part of any new technology. With my LSEV I drove it for a month in different conditions, before I could say what the limits are.
Hi Nikki. I really enjoyed the video. I really want to get an EV but have no idea if I can because I do not have a garage or charger. I have no idea how expensive it would be to have a charger hooked up. The area I live in has very few charging stations, I think most of them are at the dealers, and few EV cars. The Nissan dealer didn't have a Leaf for me to even look at let alone drive. I haven't checked for a Bolt yet. The price of the EV's is a huge drawback for me and the lack of AWD is another. I get snow and they don't plow till they are good and ready if the schools closed for a snow day but I still have to get to work. If I could afford a brand new EV I think I'd go for the Rivian R1T or possibly the R1S with a towing hitch. Please keep the videos coming. Thanks for another great video.
You can find lots of Lvl 2 home chargers on line to get an idea of price. Basically, a few hundred. If you don’t have a proper outlet, a few hundred more for an electrician. Also you may need room in your electrical service. The Rivian looks terrific. I hope it delivers. Leasing an EV is one way to start out exploring EVs that doesn’t commit you to purchase.
Excellent video. A better test of an EV is San Francisco to Reno (~225 miles) 0-7300-5000 feet with a fully built out quick charge network. In a bolt, it can probably be done on a single stop.
Dear Nikki, did you ever desired from your car's range estimator to know your altitude and/or equivalent kWh? I think it would be useful while driving on mountains to reduce planning effort.
True. I really liked the Volt, but I didn’t enjoy a long uphill climb in my Volt that had used its electric allocation. The performance and engine whine were annoying even with the improved 2016 engine.
If media is going to compare an EV to an ICE vehicle, then they should simultaneously, and realistically, compare the infrastructure for each. This handicap should preface every discussion of EV's. This is not an even playing field. If regulators required petrol stations to include charging accommodations as well, we would go a long way towards making the change to clean transportation. It is a matter of will as far as our governance dragging it's feet.
This video offers a great example of why, after considerable thought, I selected the Volt over other pure EVs. It simply eliminates all of these issues regarding long distance travel, while offering pure EV travel for the rest of the time, which for me is about 80% of total miles traveled. EVs will make more sense for those who 1. Do not have single family homes with overnight charging ability but do have a local quick charger. 2. Those who have 100+ mile daily commutes. For everyone else, a PHEV with reasonably long EV range makes more sense to me, and now that the Volt is discontinued that pretty much means the Honda Clarity PHEV.
The Volt is a good car. I owned two of them. It was very practical for my typical amount of driving which was typically less than 60 miles per day. However, the Bolt is so much more fun to drive, much more roomy (despite the smaller length) and I do not experience range anxiety. I did a 300 mile road trip with a 15 minute DC charge stop. Personally, we take maybe 2-3 trips a year that are more than that. The newer Kona has an even longer range, as do Teslas. If I made a lot of long trips, I would have probably purchased a Model 3 which was after dealer incentives, still quite a bit more $7,000 than the Bolt Premiere ($44k sticker price) that I purchased but got for $36K and then down to $27K with rebates from Feds, CA and SCE. I have no problem with people who prefer to stick with a plug-in hybrid but I think the fears of 200-300 mile road trips are far overblown.
@@SJWSantaBarbara If your long distance travel habits fall within the range--or close within the range--of the EV and you only take these trips in warm weather I would agree. But if you take considerably longer trips--or only modestly longer trips in cold weather--I still think that PHEVs with a reasonably long EV range make more sense. $27K is a great price for the Bolt. EVs are insanely practical for local driving. For long distance travel? Not so much.
@@tlhuffman As the video states, EVs require a different driving approach than ICE cars and even plug-ins. I don't agree they aren't necessarily practical for long road trips, but they do require planning and they do generally take longer than an ICE car for long journeys. Certainly the cold weather factor is also an issue.
Glad you added the Bolt EV driver's perspective, thank you! Some rebuttals simply went with: shoulda used a Tesla, despite the article lingering on Supercharger negatives. Similar non-Tesla perspective offered here: www.torquenews.com/7893/ny-times-screws-simple-road-trip-don-t-blame-chevy-bolt-ev-or-charge-networks -- talks about trips like yours and those by News Coulomb, our resident West coast Bolt EV expert.
I was excited to hear about a better road trip planner with the hopes of finally finding something that would take elevation changes into account. My hopes were soon dashed when I didn't find Ford listed as a brand of vehicle to choose from.
>^. .^< Ms. Nikki, perhaps TEN should consider making n selling Life with an EVs edgucational videos as an additional way to help pay for TEN's expences....
A charging station is a wonderful thing. It is not a necessity, I drove a Tesla S75D to Tuktoyatuk from California. More than 3000 kilometers (one way) were driven without superchargers. Within the 3000 Km I found 3 charging stations , one did not work
So if I want an extended road trip, say Cali to Glacier National, then Banff, then along Canada Rt 2 to the west coast and back home to Cali in say 10 or 11 days with camping - an EV ain't goinna cut it ... Or tow my boat Cali to Lake Chelan and back. Point being that many west coasters or big sky folks consider a 6 or 7 hundred mile weekend not terribly abnormal. And almost always to out of the way places. LA to Vegas should be a piece of cake for any competent vehicle ... All freeway and there are actually charging stations along the way. The places my extended family goes means 2 gas tanks full at the last town and then the adventure begins. We are not city folk from origin to destination, we stay away from cities as much as possible. Guess I'll keep my 4x4 truck a while longer, or until an affordable EV gets a nominal 600 mile range ...
0:33 "inexplicably" - not sure if you're being sarcastic there, but it's almost too-easily explicable - Los Angeles is where the media live, Las Vegas is where they play, and this is a way to write off the trip they wanted to take anyway as a business expense.
"We shouldn't assume everyone understands how an electric car operates. Because they don't". Correct. However, I can't help but think a lot of this stuff can be smoothed over, made transparent, with the help of *software*. This goes from percentage of charge, route planning, or whatever other complexities experienced EV drivers take for granted. This would esp. be true as a new raft of consumers come in, who aren't early adopters, and originally EV enthusiasts.
To me, this NYT article demonstrated just how far Tesla is ahead of the pack. Teslas have been making this trip routinely since 2012. There is a service called Tesloop which has been doing it commercially, and successfully, with Teslas since 2013. To this day, no other manufacturer can make long distance electric car driving any where near as convenient as Tesla. Furthermore, there is no other manufacturer who is trying or who realizes how important such convenience is to the success of the EV. Tesla will stay far ahead of the others for the foreseeable future because of no one else seems to want to make the dedicated effort. If you want to show how much you hate Tesla or how crazy you think EM is by getting another EV besides Tesla, knock yourself out. But if you want convenience, practicality, comfort and support, get a Tesla.
I expect my next car purchase (scheduled for 2029 and no earlier than 2024) will be electric. I waited for the promised car in 13, then 14 (never arrived by 15)and finally just bought two frugal gasoline cars at 1/4 the price in Jan of 15. I'm shocked at the dependability and comfort of what I thought was a 10k ICE disposocar. It should last a while. I would like to see EVs and the public charging, and home charging, improve by then. Car weight should be pulled back to a ton, muscle car/sports car features skipped in most models, and therefore range being 500 miles or a 10 minute charge, and all chargers use the EXACT same interface, protocol, pay method on the screen (not an app) and competitive price . Till then, I think I'll avoid EVs but it is fun watching history repeat itself again. In 17 I leased a Tesla while on a survey trip the mountains of Kentucky. I stayed in the Daniel Boone hotel as it offered two chargers (very rural area). No Tesla chargers were available outside the city where I leased it. Charging that car was a pain in the hotel. The chargers were lower amperage. They were placed in hotel parking spaces and empty parking in the whole town was scarce. So when I returned each evening, there was a car in both spots. There was no attendant and charging was slow, so they were left there. If a non EV parked there, there was nobody to run them out. If an EV parked there because they came out from the city and stopped for dinner, they would be there for hours fully charged or not. One other EV driver was staying in the hotel. He was there every afternoon, typically plugged in. If he knew I was waiting (left a note with my cell number) he would still sit there till or past 100% cause he was there, JIC, and distances were far in rural Eastern KY. He tended to leave the car there overnight. Obviously he thought it was silly to move his car when he was happily parked. Why get out in the dark or rain in his slippers to move his car. I'd have to repeatedly eyeball the other spot any evening I needed a charge. When returning the car, the fun wasn't over. The rental place charged a premium if you didn't return the car with 95% or greater full charge, and you couldn't use their charger. I had to go find a supercharger and do the painful 75%-100% top charge. An EV today is a great car for personal commuting to work and town errands, just like Baker or Detroit electric in 1912, but I'd not lease one from a general rental company again. When I do buy one next decade, I am assuming history will repeat itself and these problems will have been worked through, just like gasoline availability and consistency problems of 1905-1925.
Hi, I’m driving a roewe ie5 in Shanghai everyday. Taking long trips and not really having any issues with charging as as every service station on the highway has a dc charger. Some 50kw some faster. My car which is first generation and has real work range on the highway of 260km. New model has 100km more. My battery is 35kwh new model has 52Kwh battery. So far No all has been good
That's one of my problems with EV reviews is that they are reviewed by people who have no idea how to drive electric. Most people who buy a car usually take some time to learn their car. Usually after a month most have figured out their cars quirks. Car reviewers have maybe a week to figure it out at best.
You’re dead right not to jump to judge that writer’s narrative, or even sinister intentions. I nearly did, but you opened my eyes and reminded me of the only time I’ve ever used a public charger. I’d just left a job in a remote data centre and was beyond tired, so missed the significance of the “junction n off ramp closed” sign - basically, not enough juice to get home, via the next junction *sigh* I popped into the next services & plugged into the Ecotricity charger, but made the mistake of not just doing an 80% charge; it was 3am and my brain was dead - I let it charge to 100% like an idiot noob!
Los Angeles to Vegas might not be a "run of the mill" week end jog, but it's a trip that even a decently maintained VW and pretty much ever highway capable motorcycle can make since the 1960's. And even longer perhaps more challenging trip would be to make that same route without using the highway system which would send you either through Death Valley or Mojave.Heck I did that in an 20 year old van that was loaded down with all my stuff when I moved from Los Angeles to the Mid West.
"...and it's got several people hot under the collar." No...it only has the EV nutbags hot under the collar. Why?? They HATE the fact that EV's perform DISMALLY when it comes to range and recharge time. I've done the trip myself...took about 4 1/2 hours. No 5 hours of wasted time in my life, because I was driving a car that has enough practicality and usability to get the drive done - an ICE vehicle!!! And with a 400+ mile range, no need to worry about refueling or stressing out worrying about charging stations. We did stop for a 10 min. tinkle break, but if we did need more gas, only 5 mins to top it off. I don't see EV's doing a 100% top off in 5 mins...or 10 mins...or even 15 minutes. Nope...EV's just aren't "there" yet, and a vast majority of car owners are not willing to dump the convenience of their ICE vehicle, just to have a car that costs more, and gives them FAR LESS!!
The PHEV is the best solution until we have the next generation of magic battery/capacitors and universally available 5 minute charging solutions to go with it.
@@jaroessa294In 1974 Congress passed the Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Development Act. I started sketching a hybrid and began graduate school with this as my project. When the fundiing was rolled out in '78 at the Bonaventure Hotel in LA there were 30 of us in the room. 29 designers of EV's and me with a hybrid. The Treasury Secretary was jabbing his finger in my chest giving me a seriously hard time, "you damn academics..." Next day two Treasury Officers knocked on my door in Davis and drove me down to Livermore Labs where supposedly my project would be funded. All I had to do was to work at the facility where we design nuclear weapons. I chose another career.
He is a journalist, EVgo gave him that car to use. He isn't ignorant, the reason he charged incorrectly, not to 80% was on purpose. No auto journalist is going into that trip blind, he was with the EVgo people. I mean COME ON. he is writing a sensationalist headline because he doesnt like EV's not because he didn't know better.
We obviously need something of an educational campaign. The press could help in this regard, but The Times, the Newspaper that served as a conduit for Cheney's disinformation lying us into a catastrophic war, provides us with EV FUD. I expect better from "The Paper of Record". Sadly, I'm afraid it no longer deserves that moniker.
Maybe the electric car manufacturers could sponsor a rally where every one of the vehicles now for sale starts at the same time or as a rally keeps their time for driving and charging and see how that shakes out I think you would see some cars slower in the bolt and some twice as fast as the bolt for driving and charging
Contour map which Tesla has will tell you when to use regency and constant speed helps extend range. Also free chargers and relief areas help make it enjoyable. Hemet to Indio Nursing 50 miles with White water mountain and Lambs Canyon. Fuel and charge in Indio (fuel 5 gallons $20.00 6 minutes or 30 minute charge point (free)nis your choice. Doing this four times a week (required under Trump for POAs to see patients) can make car payments if you are an EV . Speed is usually75 mph average total 30 mph round trip.
EV infrastructure roll-out will actually be faster than gasoline/diesel station construction, because we already know how to move electricity around and we don't need to store (much) on site. But that said, I don't care, because 95% of my mileage each year will be charged at home, overnight, while I sleep, at a steep discount. Most drivers are in this situation and yet for some reason, road trips made once a year or even less often get the headlines. I don't get it.
"Our trip was enjoyable because we were able to take some time out along the way." That is essentially putting cake frosting over a pile of excrement. When driving, the point is normally to get from point A to B in the least amount of time and no bizarre 'ignore the man behind the curtain will make that requirement go away. If your driving is all local, EVs makes perfect sense. If you live where there are great expanses, such as where I lived in Wyoming, no trip is nicer in an EV for the simple reason that it takes far longer, even if there were well located charging stations. Where I live now, in the Philippines, EVs are not yet an option. When they are, I will get one for a second car, but there is no way I can do without my diesel pickup as the range and total lack of potential infrastructure in the rural provinces, possibly for a century or more, will make it impossible. There aren't many diesel fueling options in the rural provinces, even now, but the range I get makes the lack a non-issue. Until EV's can solve the range issue and do it convincingly, over the lifetime of a vehicle, it won't win-out.
True, but there are other items not mentioned in this video. For instance, on the trip the NY Times took, there is an EVGo QC in a perfect location so you would only need to stop and charge once on the way to Las Vegas. And that stop only has to be a smaller charge. 30 minutes top. So that particular route choice and charger choice was frustrating to EV owners. However, it is important to point out that there are still places out there where the charging infrastructure isn't that great and you do need some of those longer stops. If that is a show stopper for someone, then for them, an EV is not yet an option. That's unfortunate, but it's OK. The infrastructure is getting better. So you can't replace your diesel truck now with an EV. But that will change. And for many people, even those wanting to go from LA to Las Vegas, an EV is an option right now. I do disagree that the lack of infrastructure will take 100 years. It's just electricity and that is everywhere. It's not like they need to lay new pipes in the road. Maybe 5 years. Probably 10 in some areas. If you look at where the infrastructure was 5 years ago, and extract out another 5, it will be impressive. And if you are still driving your pickup, that's OK too. ;-)
None of the charging software including better route planner actually tell you how much to charge to to minimize your charge time for a trip, based on charge rates for your specfic ev's state of charge, the least charging time per trip would likely be stopping more often at a minimum state of charge and only charging until the charge rate begins to taper off. even so I dont see how they had 5 hours of charging time.
www.abetterrouteplanner.com does exactly this, but you have to inform it about the car's initial state of charge. It's got controls for tuning, such as additional weight in the car, speed relative to speed limits, and weather. But it's not the most initiative website, so it takes time to learn.
Can I post links on youtube, I can't remember.. (I can!) Anyway, here is a great article on this story: www.torquenews.com/7893/ny-times-screws-simple-road-trip-don-t-blame-chevy-bolt-ev-or-charge-networks
Electrical vehicles are not suitable for long journeys and will not be in upcomming decades. But they are suitable for everyday short distance driving.
Thursday June 20: 786.8 mi (1,258.9 km); $24.92 SuperCharger costs, and; trip speed 51.8 mph (82.9 kph). Huntsville AL to Detroit MI for the Munro & Associates EV Conference. But I had to make my own benchmarks to get the engineering data needed for this trip: teslaownersonline.com/threads/munro-day-session-on-evs.13170/#post-241241 It would be more helpful to show how to benchmark and model, high-speed, low cost EV driving. Complaining about ignorant reporters is a waste of time.
Maybe some people are so spontaneous that they don't even want to take the one minute on a Tesla or on A Better Route Planner to put in their destination and allow it to do it for them, but I would guess that most people are willing to do it.
Maybe some people are so spontaneous that they don't even want to take the one minute on a Tesla or on A Better Route Planner to put in their destination and allow it to do it for them, but I would guess that most people are willing to do it.
@@DrTed3 Most people cant afford a tesla. You need the income to qualify for that government incentive. i agree most people can use a trip planner. One i know is plugshare
@@transportevolved Great point!!!!! But what if you could get that needed additional range at the same cost as we pay today for sup par range? Batteries costs and weight continue to come down. However I agree that carrying around all that extra battery range on a daily basis may not make sense even then. insideevs.com/news/355552/28000-tesla-400-mile-range
Done the trip from LA to Vegas with a Tesla multiple times. No problems. Ever. No one who actually drives an EV waits to charge to 100 unless they absolutely have to; just more journalistic nonsense for sensationalist headlines.
True. I have a 300 mile Tesla and I make this kind of trip very very often... even much further than a trip like this. Nothing beats road-tripping in a 300 mile range Tesla with autopilot. True statement; no need to charge more than 80% unless you just really want to wait much longer for that extra 20% to top off. Planning? What planning? Tesla Nav does that for me. It tells me how long the full trip is with charging wait times and where to charge. Easiest road-tripping I have ever done solo. A Tesla is not just your regular BEV or ICE vehicle.
Agree, its complete BS. I do a 550mi round trip in a BMW i3 once a month. My average increase in time compared to an ICE vehicle is only about 45mins. And thats in Texas where DCFCing is a lot less common that California.
Yes, and no - Nicky isn't wrong that 'habit' could lead to charging an EV to full, for someone who knows nothing about EVs (and hasn't bothered to do their research - which these days seems to be the default position.... see something, make your own assumptions about how it works, and then complain if it doesn't match those assumptions... but I'm getting off topic here)
People who *have* done their research will know that EV charge rates is non-linear, and slows significantly as the battery charge level gets closer to 100% - and they also know not to regularly drive the battery below 10%... many ICE drivers typically drive the tank down to near empty, which is another habit that would need to be broken.
Lastly, people who have done their research would know what the max charge rate of their vehicle is, and what the different type of chargers are, and the impact of plugging into the 'wrong' charger (charging too slow, or paying for charging performance the car can't utilise)
And given that there are - apparently - people who think EVs won't work in the wet, or can't be taken into the car wash, etc, it should be obvious that there is a need for general education and awareness of the differences - and benefits of EVs, relative to 'gas cars', etc.
Right but she pointed out that most non EV car buyers don't know these things..
Until the driving experience is more similar to an ICE car, mass market adoption will be slower.
The Only car that would work for my personal needs at this point is a long range Tesla, and the math makes zero sense even for me driving over 50k per year.
I'm still better off financially to buy a Prius.
The Tesla is a much nicer car, but that's not important to me... Only the cost to operate.
My Ioniq doesn't even allow me. Cuts off fast charging at 94%.
Old saying:
"No one plans to fail, they fail to plan."
(it's still true)
That's quite charitable (and it might be true in this case.) But I have definitely seen situations where people and organizations have planned to fail at something they did not want to do anyway! I mention this only because it's important to remember how desperately most auto makers, most automotive journalists, and many automotive engineers want electric vehicles to fail and/or take a very long time to reach widespread adoption.
I love how you guys keep pumping out the news we need to know. Keep up the great work.
I drove 1850 miles recently (Arizona to Illinois) in Tesla Model 3 with Navigate on Autopilot. What would have taken 3 days calendar time in an ICEV took just 2 days in the Model 3. What I found was that driving the Tesla with Autopilot was much less tiring than doing the same trip in a gas or diesel car. Having to take charging breaks every 200 miles allows time to revitalize the body and mind allowing one to drive much longer distances without experiencing the kind of stress and fatigue you'd normally expect.
When I long trip in an ICEV, I tend to stop for quick fill ups and rest stops. There's a tendency to want to keep putting miles behind me. But after 6 or 8 hours of driving, I'm exhausted. Finding a motel to spend the night takes on a certain urgency. Rarely can I drive for more than 500 miles a day even trading off with another driver.
Driving the Tesla on Autopilot was a completely different experience. Ninety five percent of the physical and mental effort of driving was done by the car, and those 9 or 10 stops along the way were not only used to charge the car's battery, but also my own biological battery by giving me time to eat, take a walk, read, answer email, take a short nap, listen to music, play a video game, etc, etc.
It also helps that Tesla completely eliminates range anxiety with the 300+ mile range of the Model 3, and that marvelous Supercharger network. One can't say that for all EVs. I'm looking forward to future improvements in Autopilot that will make travel even more enjoyable.
Clara Smith Autopilot needs to be thought through more before being released through OTA. If you can’t detect a semi making a u turn on a clear day at 60 mph and apply the brakes, there is a seriously big constraint in there which hasn’t been properly disclosed to the consumer. Yes, the customer is expected to keep hands on the wheel, but hazard mitigation and accountability are key in the automotive sector. Tesla is not the only one guilty of this, but the law does not make exceptions, and if they get caught, the consequences can be severe.
Clara Smith I’m like that too. A few hundred miles and I’m ready for a stop. Not every trip is the gumball rally
Adithya Ramachandran It was at the top of a rise I think. Don't think even a driver could have avoided that.
Whew. Good thing I made the same LA to Vegas trip as that 2012 Tesla Model S in my 2017 Bolt EV on a single battery charge. :-)
Yea, that article is an obviously sensationalized.
"Americans aren't being educated on EVs" would have been a better NYT headline, great point Nicky
Thank you Nikki, very well balanced and you are spot on with your analysis. For me personally driving 800+km in one leg in any car won't happen, I would need to stop and sleep as it could be too dangerous being tired and driving isn't my favourite activity.
TassieEV1 - My bladder range is around 100 miles!
Definitely a sensationalisic headline. Drove LA-Vegas-SLC in my Bolt last year. Only charged in Victorville for about an hour to get to Vegas. Was almost too easy.
Brennan Balson At what speed
@@daviddrake6875 65ish.
i live an hour north of toronto. the first road trip we did in our model 3 was austin, tx. it sounds to me like EV naysayers put more effort into making a trip inefficient than we put into planning a smooth trip. we're no geniuses, but it was pretty goddamned easy to make good use of charging times, and they only exceeded 40 minutes when we wanted them to.
I don't know about the Bolt, but my Leaf does not tell me I have enough charge to leave. My Tesla lets me know via the app that I have enough charge to make it to the next Supercharger. Electric car makers should work to provide similar tools in the car.
Bolt has LONG did this last year with no problems, lol. Video proof: ua-cam.com/video/qeAFtuxvhOI/v-deo.html
Dan Edwards The Bolt doesn’t tell you when you have enough charge. On road trips, I look to see where the next charging station is ( hopefully somewhere close to 120 - 150 miles out), then add enough charge with a buffer of about 30 miles. I haven’t had any issues in 6500 miles, probably 75% done in road trips. Our home is in central California and I’ve been to San Clemente CA, Casa Grande AZ, Santa Barbara, greater LA on at least 3 occasions, the Bay Area twice as well as up to Yosemite to see the roaring waterfalls this spring. We also have an ICE vehicle that sits in the garage when we go on our road trips - I don’t ever want to have to take an extended trip in an ICE vehicle again. The Bolt is so much more efficient and road trips are boring to me in an fossil burning car.
@@kaazruo Totally agree about never wanting to do ICE again. There just needs to be something in the car while it is charging to clue new BEV owners that you don't need to charge to 100%. It's something we all learned to optimize, but new owners need to unlearn from ICE.
Dan Edwards Remember 98% of Electric car makers are compliance cars( it is amazing the Bolt is so good ) THEY DON'T CARE!!
That article was pretty extreme and failed to explain the details and it obviously wasn’t written by an EV owner! I got the impression that they were idiot sticks charging to 100 percent
The problem with the NYTimes article is it specifically mentions Tesla and does not provide the equivalent Tesla times. The headline was the goal. While I always appreciate your perspective, I feel like you are giving NYTimes a pass because it is possible to use inferior technology and unadvised charging strategies to make EVs look bad. Imagine I told you that texting is slow because I used a flip phone with numeric keypad entry instead of a smart phone. I exaggerate of course, but it is important that EVs are not judged by the laggers. Virtually all of the major issues they encountered are already addressed by Tesla including where to charge, how long to charge and the speed of charging).
People who read that headline feel free to ignore EVs for there next purchase. That article is fake news warped in NYTimes seal of approval.
By not calling it fake news you let NYTimes off the hook.
It would have been very clear plugging the values for the different Tesla models into a better route planner and sharing those numbers up front, that NYTimes was unfairly tarnishing all EVs with a subpar reputation.
I don’t know what has happened between you and Tesla, but I feel like you are jaded by some bad experience with Tesla? If I missed a video send me a link? It is completely unfair to EVs to be judged 4 year old technology when there is much better technology available.
With the latest 2019.20.2.1 update, a Model 3 can go from 5% to 80% in less than 30 minutes and complete the trip. This is a huge difference compared to 5 hours. NYTimes was off by a factor of 10 on the charging time required.
Don’t you think a 30 minute charge time is more newsworthy than a 5 hour charge time?
Well said!
The NYTimes is always throwing fud at Tesla. I have yet to see anything else.
They are probably too stupid to understand how to charge electric vehicles within a reasonable time frame.
Cyborg Manticore I wish we could say ignorance is the cause, unfortunately this is just FUD pure and simple.
If we could get the word out that people should generally plan to charge to 80% almost all the time, that would really help. Even when The Fast Lane Car did one of their first videos with the Model 3 they reported on the time it took to charge to 100% - which they did not know they should not normally do.
Valid points. I hope prospective EV buyers find a way to watch this channel for the real scoop.
For anyone who is interested....the Ford EV has a trip planner in their app and in the car that tells you when you have enough charge to reach your next charge point. Additionally, it sets a budget and compares your current driving style to the budget needed to reach your next charge point. Ot is actually very helpful. I assumed all EVs have a similar feature. If not, they should.
Unfortunately - at least the version I have on a 2014 Ford Focus Electric - the app seems to have no idea about elevation. Living in Colorado Springs the elevation changes 100s of feet in just a few miles in town. I get a +/- of 12-20 miles within a 6-8 mile drive. The route matters.
Enjoyable viewing. Did the trip about fifteen years ago, while on vacation, from the U.K.
The best tip I can give anybody worried about range anxiety for long road trips is to get behind something big and let them push the air out of your way. This will greatly increase your range. Wind resistance kills your range much more than going up elevation. This has been my experience driving our LR AWD Model 3 between TX and CO where we went between Amarillo TX to Trinidad CO (and back) without any stops in between driving through Dalhart (more direct route). We would reach destination with 50-60 miles left on battery range.
I met some Model S owners at either end that planned to take much longer route going out of way to stop in Tocumcari NM as an in-between charging spot. These were older Model S owners with around 250-260 miles of range. Model 3 owners with 300-310 miles of range can make that trip easier until Tesla adds Supercharger station in Dalhart or somewhere else in the middle of those two so less range Tesla cars don't have to go through Tocumcari to go from TX to CO.
When I did long trips in my Honda Civic I did that. Especially out on the big open freeways.
Barstow needs ccs stations too, not just Baker
Good piece. Obviously the Times doesn't know about Tesloop and their former Tesla shuttle between LA and Vegas.
It would be nice to compare the carbon footprint of an ice vehicle on the same trip.
The main problem is one of education for people in general. I still get the how far will it go on a charge and how long to charge it question with my Zoe and 'is it a hybrid'. It is true that Audi advertise their really fast charging but there don't seem to be many chargers able to charge it quickly (certainly in the UK - yet). I have noticed in my part of the UK speed limits are being reduced to cut pollution, it would be great if EVs were allowed to go faster on these roads as an encouragement to buy one.
Now this is a real review of EV’s. Great job guys
I think the Bolt EV is a great car for the price you pay if you have a tight budget thanks to good cash on hood incentives. GM recently introduced it in places like Mexico and South America where purchasing power is low and people can't afford a Tesla, so it shows that someone in the company cares about making EV vehicles for 3rd world markets.
Getting to the end of your video, I see the point that you are making, and I think that's where Penn's article failed. Yes, he's raising awareness of important issues, but he did nothing to educate his audience on how to overcome them.
The article was very one-sided, focusing almost exclusively on what went wrong and the types of anxieties EV owners have; however, he ignored how the trip could have been made conveniently and effectively. Essentially, he's leaving the audience to assume that a reasonable version of that trip in an EV is not currently possible.
I think you nailed it. Driving electric is different from driving ICE. We have a Tesla and always follow the charging suggestions the car gives us and we've never run into trouble.
I was waiting to here your thoughts on this article. You would think someone got New York Times would have done some research before doing a review on an EV
My thoughts exactly. At best it's lazy journalism. The NYT should know better.
As a not-yet EV owner I can see both sides of this. The charging stations are very sparse out here in the east. We have one- one only- in our county with the next one nearly 400 miles away. It reminds of what my grandparents generation said about road tripping in early post WW2 America on into the '70s. Filling stations were a long ways apart and scarce so you planned any long distance ride to the smallest detail, or it was a washout. I still use that philosophy with my bicycle rides so it doesn't sound too daunting. Thanks for showing another view on the issue!
Your best work to date!
Your point that EV travel and IC travel needs to be taken very seriously going forward. We are currently transitioning between EV enthusiast customers to a more mainstream customer base in the EV world. The mainstream consumer has no interest in understanding how or why things should be done in an EV to get the best experience. This requires honesty and education or the EV industry will face significant consumer backlash. Obviously, as the industry continues to evolve and the infrastructure continues to expand the situation will improve. (V3 is astounding and Electrify America future proofing at 350 is fantastic, but in the meantime we're stuck with woefully incomplete and under-powered isolated networks.) Add to that the bulk of non-Tesla 'affordable' manufacturers simply don't have the technical know-how to build cars with the kind of charge rates that make long distance travel comparable to gas and go. This will change with time, but in the meantime over promising will give the industry a black eye slowing the adoption of EV's.
Id agree...
The mainstream consumer market will the the toughest market to crack. Those who believe technology should conform to them and not visa versa, see cars as an appliance.
The Tesla site they figure in the gas savings, your tax rebate and superior depreciation are also figured in tne price.
The enthusiasts response: "TAKE MY MONEY"
Mainstream response"THATS DECEITFUL"
One of your best videos yet Nikki, it seems that this stuff is really in the heart of your wheelhouse. I read the full article as well and came away a little less frustrated with it then I did reading the headlines and reactions to it on various electric vehicle forums. It's great that you and a few others like Eric way have actual long-distance travel experience with your Chevrolet bolts. I think the point about non-experienced folks trying the same trips and having problems is the reality. Finding a sweet spot between new folks being afraid to get the most out of their vehicle and those who assume that they can do as well as experts with years of experience it's going to be the tricky part. More Chargers and more infrastructure will be key and getting that balance as more and more Eevees come on is also going to be tricky. Hopefully we'll all manage and as you say will have a cleaner and smarter world. :-)
Spot on commentary 👍
YES! Only charge what you really need when away from home. This message needs to be clearly stated by manufacturers and journalists. 0-100% charges almost never happen. Nine times in ten, maybe more, charging beyond 80% is a waste of your time and the time of whoever may be waiting to use the charger.
This issue about planning and knowing when to charge and to stop charging is being made out to be a big headache by petrol heads, but in reality, it's a breeze after a few weeks of owning the car.
The reports on road trips like this should NOT be done by EV newbs. It's pretty unrepresentative of the actual ownership experience.
Nicky - a thought occurs to me. You mention that your Bolt was fully loaded, and the impact that had on range etc... I'm guessing that currently range estimations are based only on charge level and, perhaps, driving style? Do you think it would be feasible to fit some kind of sensor to the suspension, to determine the weight of the vehicle (with occupants and luggage) and factor that into the range estimates? and the weather forecasts along the planned route (presuming the vehicle has been given the route), etc?
Having more accurate range estimations, and maybe a screen showing what is impacting range, positive and negative - vehicle weight, weather, road conditions (incline/decline, etc), battery charge status, interior electrics (heating, stereo, etc), and driving style - might help with that education?
Oh - and on the charging screen, don't just show the time to full charge, but e.g. the time per each 10% 'block', so that people can see that the bulk of the 'time remaining' is actually for just the final 10-15%, and ditto the mileage per block (based on overall efficiency, as per the screen outlined above). Then people can make an informed decision about when to stop charging, without needing to explicitly 'educate' them.
My trip from San Jose to San Diego was pretty similar to yours. Drive for 90 minutes, charge for 45 minutes. Made the 500mi trip in 16 hours. In that time I stopped to eat, stretch, inspect local brews, and take in the scenery. My shortest stop was 30 minutes, and my longest was 90 minutes.
Good points raised. I know it's not the same distance but as you know Nikki there are types of this terrain in the UK, for instance the M62 over the Pennines from Manchester to Leeds, the roads across the Peak District from Cheshire to Buxton, Chatsworth , Bakewell. These are local to myself and have driven them so I have noticed how much this type of terrain drains the battery, whether it's motorway speeds like the M62 or 40-50 mph going over the Peak District.
The article’s author stated that he travelled with EVGo representatives. It is surprising to me that they did not suggest the planning and charging techniques that you point out are known to EV drivers.
The best stop for that route isn't an EVGo stop. It's Electrify America.
Oppps, I was wrong. It is an EVGo in Baker. Not sure how how he didn't choose it with an EVGo person with him. Curious. There is a great post on this on Torquenews (I think that's the name)
Excellent analysis, Nikki of the current issues as the EV world develops along. Food for thought for us here in Australia where we travel greater distances with barely a charging infrastructure at the moment unless you have a Tesla. Having just taken delivery of a Kona EV planning is our priority although with its over 400km range it is a little more reassuring. Keep up the brilliant work!
As you may know, headlines are not written by the newspaper article writers, but by the editor. There may or may not be some consultation with the author, but the editor's job is to catch eyeballs and please his bosses. The NY Times has done this sort of "damning with faint praise piece on EV's before. Who they are trying to please with it is dubious to me, but the newspaper business is losing advertising to the Web based auto information sources more everyday.
My thinking is that until they get the direct advertising dollars from EV makers in proportion to what they get from ads for the lower performing ICE vehicles (popular models sell themselves) in a maker's inventory, they could be doing pieces like this one as a 'shot across the bow' so to speak.
In my final year at university, I did a thorough review of literature on electric cars. That was 1994. I find it interesting how the technology and the industry has changed over the years and yet attitudes of the motoring press are very similar to that time.
Excellent episode!!
Eric way news coulomb is a expert at this trip. Check out his channel he has a bolt ev
perhaps I am reaching a bit but two issues come up for me. 1. the batteries "on their way to market" will have a longer range and a shorter charge time 2. any differences in ice vs. all electric vehicles will be hounded and amplified as the gasoline industry goes deeper into their death throws. We will keep evolving as long as the general public continues to see the big picture. please do an episode emphasizing total maintenance costs and general fuel cost differences between ice and electrics over the last five years as new better electrics have been released o people have a good historical perspective on old numbers and what we can expect today. great work, thank you for encouraging our evolution.
An important aspect of long distance driving, whether in an ICE car or an EV, that is rarely mentioned by automotive writers, is the risk of DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis). It is occasionally cited as a risk of long plane flights, but the mechanism is the same on long car trips. You should not drive for more than four hours without stopping and “stretching your legs.” Some medical sources recommend as little as two hours. One of the benefits of driving an EV is that the need to stop periodically to recharge the car dovetails nicely with the need to get out and walk to avoid the risk of DVT. Even if you don’t need to go to the restroom/washroom/bathroom/WC, or have a snack or a meal, you should always stop every 2-4 hours to “stretch your legs.”
Try from Mira Mar Road to Vegas. Much more scenic and a fantastic bridge after Fallbrook. Charge overnight to full, charge in Escondido Von's parking lot to 80%, (If you have a 2017 Bolt LT you can watch videos on gallery on a USB flash drive, and holographic sound like the cannonade in Gettysburg before Pickett's charge), charge free at Park and ride at Highway 76 to 80%, charge to 80 % at Outlets at Lake Elsinore, ( or alternate Walmart Super Store at Corona to 80%),charge at Ontario back to 80% ( or alternate Rancho Cucamonga back to 80% before the big hill) charge. to 80% at Victorville, and then whatever you need at Baker at the World's tallest Thermometer. All these with EVGO and if you join no more than 20 cents per minute of charge. Also at many Terrible Herbst also listed with EVGO.
Current EV travel experience can be roughly compared to 1940~1950 interstate travel experience. Those trips required planning, scheduled stops and trustworthy local citizens to successfully travel coast to coast. Between the growing interstate highway system, back roads / short cuts, fueling opportunities and car reliability, not every trip worked out perfectly. I am enjoying my 100 mile range Nissan Leaf without regrets.
the better route planner drives me crazy
How much more pleasant and how much less planning would have been involved for either trip if you (and the journalist) had had 100 more miles of usable range?
The "perception battle" from ICE owners towards EV folk is going to get even more dicey. There is still a rather high percentage of "gear heads" who fear the "electrics". No sounds, no grease or oil, no modding an engine, and nearly impossible to tweak the software are the main excuses. At 73, I'll ask you younger folk to wait a bit longer - soon "we" will no longer be an impedance. So keep on evolving while the rest to fall by the wayside.
Thanks for sharing...
Congrats; I've heard several rebuttals of this article due to being a budding EV nerd. This one summarized the best the problem here, which is probably one of understanding how to work with the differences between an EV and a gas car. The downside to the article though is that it feels like it's disseminating disinformation because the author doesn't have a good understanding of the subject in general; they just know this one road trip they took.
Good video nicki And good point as well about how he probably sat there and waited to charge up the last 20% on the battery in the vehicle each time which greatly increased the amount of charge time not to mention that that entire round trip he could start on either end with a full charge stop and charge midway for the actual road trip charge at his destination on the other end come back stop in charge again at the midway point and then drove the rest of the miles back home so he only really needs to stop and charge 3 times he probably stopped 4 or 5 times and chose to a 100% and he should have mentioned that in his article which I did not read but if he would have you would have mentioned it I believe he also should have said how the car probably never got to the point where it's said he had less than 70 miles of range Left as well because he always had it at least 70 miles range left when he stopped to charge based on how short the trip is over all and the total number of hours it took him By the way that particular trip normally takes about 4 and a 1/2 to 5 and a 1/2 hours depending on somebody's driving style and whether they give it the beans in their vehicle going up the Hill or they slow down I have done that trip a number of times as a truck driver and I remember was Angeles to Las Vegas or vice versa taking around 5 hours myself in a tractor trailer.
Roadways in America are all posted in MPH. It would be nice to quote mileage facts in same. Unless you want to be contrary. You have one of the best YT channels for EV's so I do not understand making USA viewers pause video to calculate then press play which interrupts information flow. Could you at least add a graphic as a popup showing the conversion so you would be at least helping viewers to learn instead of isolating them. Thank you.
Education and understanding is part of any new technology. With my LSEV I drove it for a month in different conditions, before I could say what the limits are.
Hi Nikki. I really enjoyed the video. I really want to get an EV but have no idea if I can because I do not have a garage or charger. I have no idea how expensive it would be to have a charger hooked up. The area I live in has very few charging stations, I think most of them are at the dealers, and few EV cars. The Nissan dealer didn't have a Leaf for me to even look at let alone drive. I haven't checked for a Bolt yet. The price of the EV's is a huge drawback for me and the lack of AWD is another. I get snow and they don't plow till they are good and ready if the schools closed for a snow day but I still have to get to work. If I could afford a brand new EV I think I'd go for the Rivian R1T or possibly the R1S with a towing hitch. Please keep the videos coming. Thanks for another great video.
You can find lots of Lvl 2 home chargers on line to get an idea of price. Basically, a few hundred. If you don’t have a proper outlet, a few hundred more for an electrician. Also you may need room in your electrical service. The Rivian looks terrific. I hope it delivers. Leasing an EV is one way to start out exploring EVs that doesn’t commit you to purchase.
Excellent video. A better test of an EV is San Francisco to Reno (~225 miles) 0-7300-5000 feet with a fully built out quick charge network. In a bolt, it can probably be done on a single stop.
Dear Nikki, did you ever desired from your car's range estimator to know your altitude and/or equivalent kWh? I think it would be useful while driving on mountains to reduce planning effort.
You should mention that in Victorville the charger cost 25 cents a min that really adds up its much cheeper to drive a ICE car
Don't want to take time to charge? Trips are the perfect use case for the Chevrolet Volt. Too bad no one was willing to buy one.
True. I really liked the Volt, but I didn’t enjoy a long uphill climb in my Volt that had used its electric allocation. The performance and engine whine were annoying even with the improved 2016 engine.
Like but why not mention doing it in the worlds best selling ev (m 3) and supercharger network?
We did. And the point is that it’s not always about Tesla ;)
If media is going to compare an EV to an ICE vehicle, then they should simultaneously, and realistically, compare the infrastructure for each. This handicap should preface every discussion of EV's. This is not an even playing field. If regulators required petrol stations to include charging accommodations as well, we would go a long way towards making the change to clean transportation. It is a matter of will as far as our governance dragging it's feet.
This video offers a great example of why, after considerable thought, I selected the Volt over other pure EVs. It simply eliminates all of these issues regarding long distance travel, while offering pure EV travel for the rest of the time, which for me is about 80% of total miles traveled. EVs will make more sense for those who
1. Do not have single family homes with overnight charging ability but do have a local quick charger.
2. Those who have 100+ mile daily commutes.
For everyone else, a PHEV with reasonably long EV range makes more sense to me, and now that the Volt is discontinued that pretty much means the Honda Clarity PHEV.
The Volt is a good car. I owned two of them. It was very practical for my typical amount of driving which was typically less than 60 miles per day. However, the Bolt is so much more fun to drive, much more roomy (despite the smaller length) and I do not experience range anxiety. I did a 300 mile road trip with a 15 minute DC charge stop. Personally, we take maybe 2-3 trips a year that are more than that. The newer Kona has an even longer range, as do Teslas. If I made a lot of long trips, I would have probably purchased a Model 3 which was after dealer incentives, still quite a bit more $7,000 than the Bolt Premiere ($44k sticker price) that I purchased but got for $36K and then down to $27K with rebates from Feds, CA and SCE. I have no problem with people who prefer to stick with a plug-in hybrid but I think the fears of 200-300 mile road trips are far overblown.
@@SJWSantaBarbara If your long distance travel habits fall within the range--or close within the range--of the EV and you only take these trips in warm weather I would agree. But if you take considerably longer trips--or only modestly longer trips in cold weather--I still think that PHEVs with a reasonably long EV range make more sense. $27K is a great price for the Bolt.
EVs are insanely practical for local driving. For long distance travel? Not so much.
@@tlhuffman As the video states, EVs require a different driving approach than ICE cars and even plug-ins. I don't agree they aren't necessarily practical for long road trips, but they do require planning and they do generally take longer than an ICE car for long journeys. Certainly the cold weather factor is also an issue.
Glad you added the Bolt EV driver's perspective, thank you! Some rebuttals simply went with: shoulda used a Tesla, despite the article lingering on Supercharger negatives.
Similar non-Tesla perspective offered here: www.torquenews.com/7893/ny-times-screws-simple-road-trip-don-t-blame-chevy-bolt-ev-or-charge-networks -- talks about trips like yours and those by News Coulomb, our resident West coast Bolt EV expert.
Do you think ‘road rage’ is bad?, get ready for ‘charge rage’.
When people are harming others by doing things that are idiotic, rage is an entirely reasonable, if unhelpful, response.
I was excited to hear about a better road trip planner with the hopes of finally finding something that would take elevation changes into account. My hopes were soon dashed when I didn't find Ford listed as a brand of vehicle to choose from.
It's possible to add custom cars. You could reach out to the development team and see if they could help!
@@transportevolved , thanks! I did eventually find contact info and they are quite receptive.
>^. .^< Ms. Nikki, perhaps TEN should consider making n selling Life with an EVs edgucational videos as an additional way to help pay for TEN's expences....
Thank you Nikki for all the information that you share and clarify.
A charging station is a wonderful thing.
It is not a necessity, I drove a Tesla S75D to Tuktoyatuk from California.
More than 3000 kilometers (one way) were driven without superchargers.
Within the 3000 Km I found 3 charging stations , one did not work
So if I want an extended road trip, say Cali to Glacier National, then Banff, then along Canada Rt 2 to the west coast and back home to Cali in say 10 or 11 days with camping - an EV ain't goinna cut it ... Or tow my boat Cali to Lake Chelan and back. Point being that many west coasters or big sky folks consider a 6 or 7 hundred mile weekend not terribly abnormal. And almost always to out of the way places. LA to Vegas should be a piece of cake for any competent vehicle ... All freeway and there are actually charging stations along the way. The places my extended family goes means 2 gas tanks full at the last town and then the adventure begins. We are not city folk from origin to destination, we stay away from cities as much as possible. Guess I'll keep my 4x4 truck a while longer, or until an affordable EV gets a nominal 600 mile range ...
Yes you shouldn’t get an EV for that purpose. However, if you have two vehicles, you might consider one being an EV.
0:33 "inexplicably" - not sure if you're being sarcastic there, but it's almost too-easily explicable - Los Angeles is where the media live, Las Vegas is where they play, and this is a way to write off the trip they wanted to take anyway as a business expense.
"We shouldn't assume everyone understands how an electric car operates. Because they don't". Correct.
However, I can't help but think a lot of this stuff can be smoothed over, made transparent, with the help of *software*. This goes from percentage of charge, route planning, or whatever other complexities experienced EV drivers take for granted. This would esp. be true as a new raft of consumers come in, who aren't early adopters, and originally EV enthusiasts.
To me, this NYT article demonstrated just how far Tesla is ahead of the pack. Teslas have been making this trip routinely since 2012. There is a service called Tesloop which has been doing it commercially, and successfully, with Teslas since 2013. To this day, no other manufacturer can make long distance electric car driving any where near as convenient as Tesla. Furthermore, there is no other manufacturer who is trying or who realizes how important such convenience is to the success of the EV. Tesla will stay far ahead of the others for the foreseeable future because of no one else seems to want to make the dedicated effort.
If you want to show how much you hate Tesla or how crazy you think EM is by getting another EV besides Tesla, knock yourself out. But if you want convenience, practicality, comfort and support, get a Tesla.
Perfect!
I expect my next car purchase (scheduled for 2029 and no earlier than 2024) will be electric. I waited for the promised car in 13, then 14 (never arrived by 15)and finally just bought two frugal gasoline cars at 1/4 the price in Jan of 15. I'm shocked at the dependability and comfort of what I thought was a 10k ICE disposocar. It should last a while.
I would like to see EVs and the public charging, and home charging, improve by then. Car weight should be pulled back to a ton, muscle car/sports car features skipped in most models, and therefore range being 500 miles or a 10 minute charge, and all chargers use the EXACT same interface, protocol, pay method on the screen (not an app) and competitive price . Till then, I think I'll avoid EVs but it is fun watching history repeat itself again.
In 17 I leased a Tesla while on a survey trip the mountains of Kentucky. I stayed in the Daniel Boone hotel as it offered two chargers (very rural area). No Tesla chargers were available outside the city where I leased it. Charging that car was a pain in the hotel. The chargers were lower amperage. They were placed in hotel parking spaces and empty parking in the whole town was scarce. So when I returned each evening, there was a car in both spots. There was no attendant and charging was slow, so they were left there. If a non EV parked there, there was nobody to run them out. If an EV parked there because they came out from the city and stopped for dinner, they would be there for hours fully charged or not. One other EV driver was staying in the hotel. He was there every afternoon, typically plugged in. If he knew I was waiting (left a note with my cell number) he would still sit there till or past 100% cause he was there, JIC, and distances were far in rural Eastern KY. He tended to leave the car there overnight. Obviously he thought it was silly to move his car when he was happily parked. Why get out in the dark or rain in his slippers to move his car. I'd have to repeatedly eyeball the other spot any evening I needed a charge.
When returning the car, the fun wasn't over. The rental place charged a premium if you didn't return the car with 95% or greater full charge, and you couldn't use their charger. I had to go find a supercharger and do the painful 75%-100% top charge.
An EV today is a great car for personal commuting to work and town errands, just like Baker or Detroit electric in 1912, but I'd not lease one from a general rental company again. When I do buy one next decade, I am assuming history will repeat itself and these problems will have been worked through, just like gasoline availability and consistency problems of 1905-1925.
Hi, I’m driving a roewe ie5 in Shanghai everyday. Taking long trips and not really having any issues with charging as as every service station on the highway has a dc charger. Some 50kw some faster. My car which is first generation and has real work range on the highway of 260km. New model has 100km more. My battery is 35kwh new model has 52Kwh battery. So far No all has been good
That's one of my problems with EV reviews is that they are reviewed by people who have no idea how to drive electric. Most people who buy a car usually take some time to learn their car. Usually after a month most have figured out their cars quirks. Car reviewers have maybe a week to figure it out at best.
You’re dead right not to jump to judge that writer’s narrative, or even sinister intentions. I nearly did, but you opened my eyes and reminded me of the only time I’ve ever used a public charger. I’d just left a job in a remote data centre and was beyond tired, so missed the significance of the “junction n off ramp closed” sign - basically, not enough juice to get home, via the next junction *sigh* I popped into the next services & plugged into the Ecotricity charger, but made the mistake of not just doing an 80% charge; it was 3am and my brain was dead - I let it charge to 100% like an idiot noob!
Los Angeles to Vegas might not be a "run of the mill" week end jog, but it's a trip that even a decently maintained VW and pretty much ever highway capable motorcycle can make since the 1960's.
And even longer perhaps more challenging trip would be to make that same route without using the highway system which would send you either through Death Valley or Mojave.Heck I did that in an 20 year old van that was loaded down with all my stuff when I moved from Los Angeles to the Mid West.
"...and it's got several people hot under the collar." No...it only has the EV nutbags hot under the collar. Why?? They HATE the fact that EV's perform DISMALLY when it comes to range and recharge time. I've done the trip myself...took about 4 1/2 hours. No 5 hours of wasted time in my life, because I was driving a car that has enough practicality and usability to get the drive done - an ICE vehicle!!! And with a 400+ mile range, no need to worry about refueling or stressing out worrying about charging stations. We did stop for a 10 min. tinkle break, but if we did need more gas, only 5 mins to top it off. I don't see EV's doing a 100% top off in 5 mins...or 10 mins...or even 15 minutes. Nope...EV's just aren't "there" yet, and a vast majority of car owners are not willing to dump the convenience of their ICE vehicle, just to have a car that costs more, and gives them FAR LESS!!
Nice use of the metrics!
The PHEV is the best solution until we have the next generation of magic battery/capacitors and universally available 5 minute charging solutions to go with it.
I completely agree with you!
@@jaroessa294In 1974 Congress passed the Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Development Act. I started sketching a hybrid and began graduate school with this as my project. When the fundiing was rolled out in '78 at the Bonaventure Hotel in LA there were 30 of us in the room. 29 designers of EV's and me with a hybrid. The Treasury Secretary was jabbing his finger in my chest giving me a seriously hard time, "you damn academics..." Next day two Treasury Officers knocked on my door in Davis and drove me down to Livermore Labs where supposedly my project would be funded. All I had to do was to work at the facility where we design nuclear weapons. I chose another career.
Nope. Most Tesla superchargers get enough range in the time it takes to go to the bathroom and get a snack... try it. I dare you.
He is a journalist, EVgo gave him that car to use. He isn't ignorant, the reason he charged incorrectly, not to 80% was on purpose. No auto journalist is going into that trip blind, he was with the EVgo people. I mean COME ON. he is writing a sensationalist headline because he doesnt like EV's not because he didn't know better.
We obviously need something of an educational campaign. The press could help in this regard, but The Times, the Newspaper that served as a conduit for Cheney's disinformation lying us into a catastrophic war, provides us with EV FUD. I expect better from "The Paper of Record". Sadly, I'm afraid it no longer deserves that moniker.
Maybe the electric car manufacturers could sponsor a rally where every one of the vehicles now for sale starts at the same time or as a rally keeps their time for driving and charging and see how that shakes out I think you would see some cars slower in the bolt and some twice as fast as the bolt for driving and charging
Literally rent an ice car to go on a road trip if that is a problem.
7:08 passing by semi, blocking traffic.
Contour map which Tesla has will tell you when to use regency and constant speed helps extend range. Also free chargers and relief areas help make it enjoyable. Hemet to Indio Nursing 50 miles with White water mountain and Lambs Canyon. Fuel and charge in Indio (fuel 5 gallons $20.00 6 minutes or 30 minute charge point (free)nis your choice. Doing this four times a week (required under Trump for POAs to see patients) can make car payments if you are an EV . Speed is usually75 mph average total 30 mph round trip.
TLDR? What does that expand to?
TL;DR ⇔ Too long; didn't read
Seems people forget when ICE cars came out, the infrastructure was not there yet. So why should it be different for EV?
EV infrastructure roll-out will actually be faster than gasoline/diesel station construction, because we already know how to move electricity around and we don't need to store (much) on site. But that said, I don't care, because 95% of my mileage each year will be charged at home, overnight, while I sleep, at a steep discount. Most drivers are in this situation and yet for some reason, road trips made once a year or even less often get the headlines. I don't get it.
"Our trip was enjoyable because we were able to take some time out along the way." That is essentially putting cake frosting over a pile of excrement. When driving, the point is normally to get from point A to B in the least amount of time and no bizarre 'ignore the man behind the curtain will make that requirement go away.
If your driving is all local, EVs makes perfect sense. If you live where there are great expanses, such as where I lived in Wyoming, no trip is nicer in an EV for the simple reason that it takes far longer, even if there were well located charging stations. Where I live now, in the Philippines, EVs are not yet an option. When they are, I will get one for a second car, but there is no way I can do without my diesel pickup as the range and total lack of potential infrastructure in the rural provinces, possibly for a century or more, will make it impossible. There aren't many diesel fueling options in the rural provinces, even now, but the range I get makes the lack a non-issue. Until EV's can solve the range issue and do it convincingly, over the lifetime of a vehicle, it won't win-out.
True, but there are other items not mentioned in this video. For instance, on the trip the NY Times took, there is an EVGo QC in a perfect location so you would only need to stop and charge once on the way to Las Vegas. And that stop only has to be a smaller charge. 30 minutes top. So that particular route choice and charger choice was frustrating to EV owners. However, it is important to point out that there are still places out there where the charging infrastructure isn't that great and you do need some of those longer stops. If that is a show stopper for someone, then for them, an EV is not yet an option. That's unfortunate, but it's OK. The infrastructure is getting better. So you can't replace your diesel truck now with an EV. But that will change. And for many people, even those wanting to go from LA to Las Vegas, an EV is an option right now. I do disagree that the lack of infrastructure will take 100 years. It's just electricity and that is everywhere. It's not like they need to lay new pipes in the road. Maybe 5 years. Probably 10 in some areas. If you look at where the infrastructure was 5 years ago, and extract out another 5, it will be impressive. And if you are still driving your pickup, that's OK too. ;-)
Road trips that consist of nothing but driving are dangerous, as they lead to exhaustion.
TLDR? If your point is to communicate why use abbreviations instead of words?
It’s a common phrase: “Too Long: Didn’t Read”
None of the charging software including better route planner actually tell you how much
to charge to to minimize your charge time for a trip, based on charge rates for your
specfic ev's state of charge,
the least charging time per trip would likely be stopping more often at a minimum state of charge and only charging until the charge rate begins to taper off.
even so I dont see how they had 5 hours of charging time.
www.abetterrouteplanner.com does exactly this, but you have to inform it about the car's initial state of charge. It's got controls for tuning, such as additional weight in the car, speed relative to speed limits, and weather. But it's not the most initiative website, so it takes time to learn.
Can I post links on youtube, I can't remember.. (I can!) Anyway, here is a great article on this story:
www.torquenews.com/7893/ny-times-screws-simple-road-trip-don-t-blame-chevy-bolt-ev-or-charge-networks
Electrical vehicles are not suitable for long journeys and will not be in upcomming decades. But they are suitable for everyday short distance driving.
tldr: battery has to evolve, Li-ion batteries can only go so far
a lot of EV news but little of battery news (battery research news)
or better said for consumers - "EV's aren't ready for the general populous. Check back in 10 years...in the meantime, keep driving your ICE vehicle"
Thursday June 20: 786.8 mi (1,258.9 km); $24.92 SuperCharger costs, and; trip speed 51.8 mph (82.9 kph). Huntsville AL to Detroit MI for the Munro & Associates EV Conference. But I had to make my own benchmarks to get the engineering data needed for this trip: teslaownersonline.com/threads/munro-day-session-on-evs.13170/#post-241241
It would be more helpful to show how to benchmark and model, high-speed, low cost EV driving. Complaining about ignorant reporters is a waste of time.
Chevy Dolt
Hmm....
Many people just want to jump in and drive, not plan out stops.
Frank E maybe that should have been the NYT headline then. Or Electric Cars Aren’t For Stupid People.
Maybe some people are so spontaneous that they don't even want to take the one minute on a Tesla or on A Better Route Planner to put in their destination and allow it to do it for them, but I would guess that most people are willing to do it.
Maybe some people are so spontaneous that they don't even want to take the one minute on a Tesla or on A Better Route Planner to put in their destination and allow it to do it for them, but I would guess that most people are willing to do it.
@@francesconicoletti2547
Psst.....stupid people vote
@@DrTed3
Most people cant afford a tesla. You need the income to qualify for that government incentive. i agree most people can use a trip planner. One i know is plugshare
Orly airport too far from las vegas.
EV can’t float so they won’t ever be great bass boats
Hahaha why the owl
8:35. And RANGE. and stop pretending that it NEEDS to be all that different
Why carry around a battery capable of gas car range when you don’t need it most of the time? The cost increase would make the car hard to buy.
@@transportevolved Great point!!!!! But what if you could get that needed additional range at the same cost as we pay today for sup par range? Batteries costs and weight continue to come down. However I agree that carrying around all that extra battery range on a daily basis may not make sense even then. insideevs.com/news/355552/28000-tesla-400-mile-range
Bolt? LOL