EV Stinger would you Buy or Not?

[AnalogMan]

For a little dose of the reality of trying to drive an EV on a long trip, check out this recent article:

I Rented an Electric Car for a Four-Day Road Trip. I Spent More Time Charging It Than I Did Sleeping.

Our writer drove from New Orleans to Chicago and back to test the feasibility of taking a road trip in an EV. She wouldn’t soon do it again.

www.wsj.com

One of the inconvenient realities of EVs is that marketed range does not equal real world range. The marketed range is like EPA gas mileage ratings. It assumes conditions that rarely happen in real-world driving. For an EV that means a lot of regenerative braking - which doesn't happen in highway driving.

Car & Driver has also written on this:

EV Range: Everything You Need to Know

We explain EPA ratings, factors that affect range, how EVs have performed in our testing, and why it's all very complicated.

www.caranddriver.com

FWIW, a friend of mine with a Nissan Leaf learned this the hard way. They believed the marketing about the '250 mile range.' When fully charged, the range meter would show around 260-265 miles. They tried to make a trip of 150 miles each way, which should have been a 7 hour round trip in a conventional car (3 hours each way, plus 1 hour for the business they had to do there). They thought they could easily get there, charge at a fast charger, and be back the same day.

The reality was a 22 hour nightmare that required 7 (seven) stops for charging, with the same problems the writers of the WSJ article experienced - broken chargers, slow chargers, space not available, etc. In the real world (at least in the winter), their Leaf's advertised range of 250 miles has consistently been about 130 miles.

Likewise two other friends who each bought a base Leaf with a 100 mile advertised range. They each thought 100 miles was plenty. Neither of them have been able to crack 60 miles in real-world driving.

When an EV honestly has comparable range to an ICE car, and the charge times are comparable to a gas full up, and charging stations are as accessible and reliable as gas stations are currently, I'm happy to buy one. Until then, I don't want to spend the money on an additional car mostly useable as a city runabout.

YMMV.

 

[Kamauxx]

Edmunds tested a bunch of EVs to see how their EPA estimates lined up against real world use.

For those interested, here are the results:

 

[Waynerm002]

A lot of ppl on the Tesla forum are frustrated with me. I ordered 9 days ago. The car was built on June 6th. I got my VIN on June 7th. It left the factory June 8th. My estimated date of delivery is June 21-27, which is about 2 months early.

There are people on the west coast who ordered the same trims in March and are still waiting. Rumor is that Tesla is shipping east to west to try to deliver as many vehicles as possible before the quarter ends. The thought is that they'll wait until the last week of the month to focus on closer deliveries.

I got lucky.

You got real lucky! A friend of mine in VA also got his delivered faster than the wait he had heard about online. Some folks were given dates almost a year out. I guess Tesla wants to get more cars in areas that aren’t saturated.

 

[Waynerm002]

It’s funny how we say the only constant in life is change, yet we want things to stay the same. EV charging will get better in the future for sure but anyone buying one now should be aware of the difference to “fueling” the vehicle and adopt the new ways that the EV require. I can tell you that my first road trip in my EV, driving like I normally do in an ICE vehicle, had me getting towed to a charger. I ignored the onboard maps telling me when and where to charge, thinking I could get to the one at my destination. Well terrain and traffic had a surprise in store for me.

Once I adopted the idea of letting the technology donors thing and I follow it, I never had that issue again. I also found Apps that lists all chargers and are updated by users constantly to let me know before a trip if they are working or not. Yes, it did take some additional planning to make sure I would get to my destination without issue. It’s like using Waze, it’s live updates from fellow EV drivers. Once you get used to the change, it’s not an issue.

Not everyone is going to be on board at the start of something new but that, I find is due to lack of information and fear of said new thing. I liked the silence when I had the hybrid and it turned off the engine at stop lights or didn’t turn it on while driving with a fully charged battery. Having a similar experience in an EV but all the time was an even better experience. I went hybrid due to gas prices and a change in my commute distance. It was pretty much the same for going EV but the prices weren’t as bad as they are now.

We all have to do what bets for us. Things aren’t always going to be perfect but they get better wi the time.

 

[Kamauxx]

You got real lucky! A friend of mine in VA also got his delivered faster than the wait he had heard about online. Some folks were given dates almost a year out. I guess Tesla wants to get more cars in areas that aren’t saturated.

For some reason the performance versions are delivered quickly. The long range and base rwd cars have 6+ month waits.

 

[NIU_Huskies]

The only EV I like visually is the Mustang Mach-E.

I've been in Tesla's and the interiors are so bland and boring and they are consistently rated one of the worst brands due to quality issues.

I'll give it a couple more years before buying a hybrid or EV to see what else comes to market and hopefully by then there won't be shortages and price gouging.

 

[Kamauxx]

The only EV I like visually is the Mustang Mach-E.

I've been in Tesla's and the interiors are so bland and boring and they are consistently rated one of the worst brands due to quality issues.

I'll give it a couple more years before buying a hybrid or EV to see what else comes to market and hopefully by then there won't be shortages and price gouging.

Tesla is notorious for having shitty quality control. Specifically exterior quality (body panel gaps, paint issues, DENTS, etc). One would ask, "how the hell did they allow this to leave the factory?!"

Well, here's the answer:

Quality Inspector - Fremont (Day Shift) | Tesla Careers

Apply for the Quality Inspector - Fremont (Day Shift) position in Fremont, California.

www.tesla.com

That's right, Tesla's quality control inspectors make just $19 an hour in one of the most expensive places in the world to live. That's just $2 above San Francisco Bay area's $16.99 minimum wage. The median home price in Fremont, CA is $1.5 million. Imagine living in that area and making under $40k a year. It's no wonder they don't GAF what they let out of the factory. They're probably homeless!

For comparison, the minimum wage where I live is $7.25 an hour. If Tesla's factory was located near me the inspectors would make just $9.25 an hour! The Walmart near my house pays people $18 an hour straight out of highschool. How is a grocery bagger in the Mid-Atlantic making more than (if adjusted for locality cost of living) a quality control inspector in San Francisco?!

Tesla's quality control issues will continue to suck. They're getting what they pay for.

 

[Waynerm002]

For some reason the performance versions are delivered quickly. The long range and base rwd cars have 6+ month waits.

Tesla wants to sell the ones they can make some profit on. Now that you mention it, my buddy did get a performance version as well. Who knows, they might just have more performance versions in the pipeline than the normal ones.

 

[NYBIOMED]

I dont understand alotta folks, most.people I know are quite pessimistic....can't anyone see any upside to Biden spending 7 billion to create 500k charging stations? This will propel crazy billions into infrastructure, this is the stress needed to initiate the massive technology investment our grid requires. Most governments, not just the US, need a reason before something happens and monies allocated. 7 billion ain't sh!t, didn't we just give Ukraine 40 billion and who know how much more we will..how much did we piss away in Afghanistan? Think of all the good.paying jobs that will be created, but our ugly tribal selves are.more interested in taking corners. These high ass gas prices are creating huge demands for EVs, solar and alt fuels/technologies, forcing us forward....so many people are just fearful.

I haven't figured out many things, But at 52, I've figured out some things.

 

[Waynerm002]

The US may be behind in EV adoptions but it is happening on a larger scale in other parts of the world. We just started to get some from mainstream automakers but there are a lot more out there. The Europeans have a number in their portfolio and they are coming to market now. BMW has the i4, based on the 4 Gran Coupe, too bad KIA didn’t do the same thing with the Stinger. The added batteries and motors to the G80 and GV70 and those use a newer platform than the Stinger. They most certainly could do something for the Stinger, in the way of making it an EV. Maybe they have something in store based on a dedicated EV platform rather than a shared ICE platform, like the Genesis vehicles.

It would have been nice to see the government do an EV rebate, rather than a tax incentive, that would make more people consider them. However, with dealer doing ridiculous mark ups and not being reigned in, that wouldn‘t help much.

 

[rpoffen]

One big issue I have with the whole thing is that we seem to be going full charge ahead (pun intended) with EV's, and we haven't yet figured out where the electricity is going to come from. California wants to outlaw the sale of ICE cars in the state in the next 10 years or so. In addition, more and more communities are banning the use of natural gas in new building construction, meaning all electric. On the Yahoo page with the list of articles including the one above, three articles down is the dire prediction for blackouts this summer as the national power grid is overstressed.
Do these people even talk to each other?
The other problem I have is that during the summer, being in a potential wildfire area, our electricity supplier may turn off whole grids on purpose when fire conditions are at their extreme. In past summers, we have been without power for up to 5 days at a time. Sorry, can't go down to the local corner store and get a 5 gallon can of electricity for an EV. I have a generator, but with the price of gas, that will get REALLY expensive. Oh, but wait, California wants to ban the sale of anything using small gas engines too within the next 4 years, including generators.
Sorry, this has gotten out of hand, going to end up back in the stone ages pretty soon.

 

[JSolo]

^^All valid points. Maybe the left wants everyone to make room in their garage (assuming you have one) for a true green vehicle - a horse and buggy. Now that's progress!

 

[MerlintheMad]

we haven't yet figured out where the electricity is going to come from.

Just more and more and more and more and more of these:

 

[rpoffen]

Just more and more and more and more and more of these:
View attachment 71907

Bird killers.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Bird killers.

And eyewash doesn't help us humans either. These along with solar panel "farms" are the most ugly eye pollution on the planet, well, after oil wells and refineries of course. But these are much bigger as per square miles. And no end in sight unless we go full nuclear: electricity generation is the weak link in all Greenie plans to go carbonless.

 

[Ohiocruiser]

Sorry, this has gotten out of hand, going to end up back in the stone ages pretty soon.

That was the whole point from beginning, boss. Own nothing and be happy.

 

[Kamauxx]

One big issue I have with the whole thing is that we seem to be going full charge ahead (pun intended) with EV's, and we haven't yet figured out where the electricity is going to come from. California wants to outlaw the sale of ICE cars in the state in the next 10 years or so. In addition, more and more communities are banning the use of natural gas in new building construction, meaning all electric. On the Yahoo page with the list of articles including the one above, three articles down is the dire prediction for blackouts this summer as the national power grid is overstressed.
Do these people even talk to each other?
The other problem I have is that during the summer, being in a potential wildfire area, our electricity supplier may turn off whole grids on purpose when fire conditions are at their extreme. In past summers, we have been without power for up to 5 days at a time. Sorry, can't go down to the local corner store and get a 5 gallon can of electricity for an EV. I have a generator, but with the price of gas, that will get REALLY expensive. Oh, but wait, California wants to ban the sale of anything using small gas engines too within the next 4 years, including generators.
Sorry, this has gotten out of hand, going to end up back in the stone ages pretty soon.

People who live in California need to do the sensible thing.

Move.

On the other side of the country I'll be paying $8 per 315 miles of driving. And I've been living in my here for three years and haven't had a single black out and never pay more than $135 for a month of zaps.

 

[Ohiocruiser]

People who live in California need to do the sensible thing.

Move.

Please, not to Ohio. They voted for the paradise. I don't want it here

 

[rpoffen]

Please, not to Ohio. They voted for the paradise. I don't want it here

I feel so unwanted..

 

[Kamauxx]

I feel so unwanted..

There's always Nevada.