xkcd #2948: Electric vs Gas
xkcd #2948: Electric vs Gas
Alt text:
An idling gas engine may be annoyingly loud, but that's the price you pay for having WAY less torque available at a standstill.
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I would absolutely love to have an EV. But they are very expensive, especially compared to the gas-powered car I already own.
Well everything's more expensive than the thing you already own. It's true, most are available in the higher end markets right now, but the Bolt and Leaf are pretty cheap. In the long run, almost all EVs are cheaper than their gas counterparts.
Maybe in your country. Chinese electric cars are plenty cheap, many of them are cheaper than most ICE cars
Cool. I'll just go ahead and abandon my whole life to move to China.
You are aware that these vehicles are sold outside China as well, right? I'm not making the point of "in china they're cheap", I'm making the point "they are cheap, maybe just not in your country"
Sorry, let me rephrase for you: I'll just go ahead and uproot my entire life to move to a country that sells Chinese cars.
No new car, of any kind, is cheaper than a car you already own.
True
in the US you can get a decent ICE car for under $2000, you cannot get a Chinese EV for under $2000 that holds a charge
The average price of a new car in the USA is $47k. Comparing averages is more realistic than going to the lowest extreme example. My point is there exist electric cars that cost less than the average new car.
But I don't see why I'd ever buy a new car
It doesn't matter, my point stands, half the people in the US who buy new ICE cars could buy electric cars for the same of less money. My whole point is that the price has gone down a lot.
Do half the people buy new cars?
Here in middle eu they are twice as expensive. Maybe it got a little better to like 1.75 now? Still I would have to be crazy to spend more than necessary on a car and watch it’s value plummet and repair cost suck my entertainment money. But also no way to charge them without living countryside or arrive comfortably at the far destination without long stops.
A car is a necessary tool to get from a to b. Whatever does its job the best at the moment. I despise car owners treating them as status symbols.
You're making this up.
The average car in Germany costs above 40k€, that's very similar to what an EV such as the BYD Dolphin can cost (from 35k€ upwards).
You don't need to convince me that cars suck, I don't own one as a matter of principle, but there's no point in lying about the price of things
Eee 40k euros? That’s what I am talking about I buy cars for 20k-25k€ maximum after conversion to local currency
You don’t even drive one so how can you have valuable opinion on this? I drive one and analyse which one is the most efficient purchase and you only deal in theoretical armchair expertise
You buy much cheaper cars than the average German then. Good for you to unironically know better than the average German and understand that beyond the 20-25k mark, you're paying for stupid stuff and branding.
I can analyse this because I can compare studies and averages, my whole point was "no, electric cars aren't even that expensive anymore", not "cars are good and electric cars are always better and everyone should get one".
Allright maybe they are cheaper than a year ago at least. Still very infeasible here however except for semi upper class countryside
Only you can judge your own circumstances but it really seems like fear of difference makes worries loom larger.
Here in the US
- my Tesla was the most expensive car I ever bought
- but price had dropped and continues to drop
- cheaper than the average new car, cheaper than the custom trucks so many neighbors have
- it was like $120 to buy a full set of adapters and cables to allow me to plugin anywhere to any type of outlet
- installing a level 2 home charger (if you can) was essentially the same cost as installing a new stove circuit - expensive but quite doable
- superchargers are all over the place and easy to find. I know people who can’t charge at home just goto the supercharger once a week
- since I can charge at home, I’ve only used superchargers over 100 miles from home
- it’s really nice to never have to go to the local gas station: charging my car is like charging my phone, get into the habit and it’s always ready to go. Once people get used to this, they’ll never accept the idea of a technology like hydrogen where you would have to go refuel yet again
- it’s roomier, more practical than my Subaru
- it’s faster more powerful than my old Grand Am
- my local garage services them, or at least inspects them, since I haven’t yet needed service
I know it’s mostly better but it’s not feasible yet where I live. 1) more expensive.. I mean I already typed all the things once
Wait tho why do I have a feeling like we are arguing even though we just repeat our own experiences? It’s all cool, some place electric cars are viable elsewhere they aren’t. I hope they will become feasible here where I live (middle eu)
Again, I don't know what "here" means, I'm telling you that the average new car in Germany (since you mentioned central Europe)costed more than 40k€, and that's more than some seriously good electric cars like the BYD Dolphin.
Yes… nice to hear my neighbours enjoy that kind of economy. Hopefully at some point it will become possible here too instead of 2x price