OT. EVs For Rural Drivers

I might've found an adaptor.

It is surprising how much actually having to cough up a buck or two curbs that desire.

The times commuter lights are tight are work hours. That lot will be empty while he is at the bar and the no tell motel.

And the cost of the liability insurance.

At that point would you buy the car and get the battery separately? I am not sure I would want to swap my brand new Tesla battery for some used piece of crap at the battery station. OTOH when your car (battery) gets old you could keep swapping until you got a new one and go back to charging your own somewhere else. (the Blue Rhino solution to old Propane tanks)

I am certainly a guy who could use a plug in EV as my regular driver. and I even looked into the Civic electric kit for my Prelude but I still ran into that money thing. If you are not driving that far, you are not burning much gas so your payback time gets pushed way out.

I suspect people would be reluctant to hand over the keys to their buggies. They might have some really expensive or embarrassing things in them. The urge to snoop could get the best of the car mover. Who gets the blame if there is a small scratch or dent in the vehicle? How do subways or urban trains get their power? Would it be practical to have a charger on some sort of track and have people hired to charge the cars while they're parked?

My daily commute is about 18 miles RT with about 4 miles of 55 mph road. The rest is 25 to 45. This would work for me. I could paint it pink and apply Hello Kitty decals to match my notebook.

You could buy a similar econobox with an ICE for about 66% of that. The tax payer may be subsidizing your Leaf tho to make it competitive.

The resale value tracks the cost of the battery replacement pretty closely along with the normal depreciation. We were looking at them for a while for the kids.

AS LOW AS $27,410* After potential Federal tax credit on qualified Nissan LEAF

Gotta watch those asterisks.

When I bought the 2 Avis cars for the grandkids I had exactly that problem. One cab, one Uber.

We are spending $622 for a mid size SUV with decent amenities for 5 days in Michigan (Ford Edge sort of thing) Plus insurance. That was the best price we could find (Costco in this case)

Of all the vehicles I ever owned the 71 Gremlin was the easiest to work on. Everything but the oil pan plug itself was reachable under the hood without anything in your way. There as even a drain plug for the block coolant. It was a good thing because that 232 engine fouled #5 plug regularly. My buddy's Ambassador did the same thing. I got to the point that I could change it at a long light.

It wouldn't be any different than some parking lots where you give the keys to the attendant. Before remote trunk openers that was one reason trunks were keyed differently than the doors and ignitions.

The first car I had with A/C was a '82 Firebird. It was an extra cost option I didn't want but in the '82 recession the salesman was willing to negotiate to move the car. I traded it for a F-150 without A/C in '86. When I bought a Toyota in '07 A/C wasn't optional.

With the new aerodynamics having the window down over 55 mph is unpleasant so I use it.

You're a couple sigma away from the mean on this one, Ed. Most people would fly and then rent a car at their destination.

Cindy Hamilton

In fact, we own a Toyota Highlander and FJ Cruiser. We'll keep them until the wheels fall off. I remain unconvinced that getting Toyota to manufacture a new EV for me is better for the planet than my very modest ICE usage.

Cindy Hamilton