Hertz to sell 20,000 EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars

[GrizBota]

EVs are great when:
There is a taxpayer funded subsidy to encourage ownership,
When one only needs to drive short distances in an urban environment,
When someone else pays the power bill,
When you have secure, dedicated off street parking and time to change for many hours,
When you have multiple options for alternative transit,
When you don’t have firm timelines associated with your transit,
When you don’t have to worry about being financially responsible for damage a runway battery may cause,
When someone with an ICE vehicle can take you the places you really need to get to regardless of weather and charging availability.

For folks not in the above demographic, just maybe EVs aren’t quite ready for prime time.

Publicly funded entities are embracing them, of course. It’s someone else’s money.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

hmm, wonder if anyone includes the upfront cost of a 'charging station' in the ACTUAL cost of maintaining any EV ? Or does everyone get a 'level2' charger,installed, for 'free' with purchase of their EV ?

 

[fried1765]

I used to feel for them. Not any more. People should know by now.

The old saying applies to EV buyers.
"You can't fix stupid".
.....and then..... they vote!

 

[DustyRusty]

The last person that I knew to buy a new Tesla was told by his electrician that it is going to cost about $6000 to install a charging station in his garage. He asked why and was told that his 60 amp service needed to be upgraded to 200 amp service.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

yes, and could be the start of the dominos.....
when he upgrades to 200 amp, the transformer feeding him and neighbours might have to be replaced ! I've seen that done THREE times in my neighbourhood.
BIG hassle here is ANY 'electrical work' needs permits pulled and whole house gets inspected,then everything has to be brought up to current code. THAT can be very,very expensive.
I know different lands, different rules but yeesh......

Place up the road HAS 200amp service, common pole has 200 a breaker HIGH on the pole(30'+-) feeding FOUR outbuildings, EACH with 100 amp services in them. Might be interesting tonight-tomorrow when we get -25*C temps.

 

[fried1765]

The last person that I knew to buy a new Tesla was told by his electrician that it is going to cost about $6000 to install a charging station in his garage. He asked why and was told that his 60 amp service needed to be upgraded to 200 amp service.

I have 200A service, and a 50A welder receptacle, so only the charger ($600?) would be needed.
Ain't gonna happen though.
I will NEVER be buying an EV!

 

[The Evil Twin]

The last person that I knew to buy a new Tesla was told by his electrician that it is going to cost about $6000 to install a charging station in his garage. He asked why and was told that his 60 amp service needed to be upgraded to 200 amp service.

And then, when they do that, they discover that all the wiring has to be upgraded from aluminum to copper.

 

[fried1765]

And then, when they do that, they discover that all the wiring has to be upgraded from aluminum to copper.

Am wondering just what percentage of US residences are actually wired with aluminum?
I am thinking small %.

 

[The Evil Twin]

Am wondering just what percentage of US residences are actually wired with aluminum?
I am thinking small %.

Um.... think again. The NEC still allows for the use of aluminum wiring in residential structures. It's quite common. Especially when running a 240v circuit for an oven or dryer. Or a sub panel. Multi strand AA8000 aluminum wiring is still approved by the NEC. The no no is solid wire branch circuits, or any other grade of aluminum wire.
Hence, the problem. There are a great deal of conductors that are not AA8000 because people (and inspectors) don't know better.
I was really being facetious, but it is indeed possible.

 

[DustyRusty]

The service from the pole to my meter socket and then to the 200 amp panel is all aluminum. The ends of the wires are coated with a product called No Ox, or something like that. The power from my generator to my transfer switch is all copper. If I could have afforded it 40 years ago I would have used all copper from the meter socket to the main panel, but the cost then was prohibitive as compared to the aluminum. If I were to do it today, the supply house would probably be delivering it by armored car with a bunch of guys with machine guns.

 

[GrizBota]

Good to know. I think I have one multi strand Al 240V circuit in of the panels in my house.

FWIW, when we upgraded our service from 200 amps to 400 amps, it required a new transformer, and mine was the only service from that transformer (it’s a 1000 ft from the county road). IIRC, that was about $5k for the new transformer, installation and about 200 ft of larger gauge Al wire. 15 years ago.

 

[DustyRusty]

If I wanted a 400 amp service when I built my home in 1983, they would have had to rebuild the service for a few miles before they got to my home. At the time they wanted to give me a 100 amp service, but I insisted on the 200 amp as a minimum. It took 4 poles just to get the service to my home, and more than a year for them to finally run the wires on the poles.
I called them in April and asked when the service was going to be installed because that was the only thing that was keeping me from moving it. They asked when I ordered the service and I told them it was in March. The response was that it usually took 3 or 4 months after the request to get the service installed. I then explained that it was March of the previous year, and if I had to wait another 3 or 4 months I was going to complain to the Public Utility Service. Later that afternoon, 2 crews came to install the service, and the only thing that they didn't have was the wire. That had to come from the other end of the state. It was dark when it finally arrived, so they camped out in their trucks, and at daybreak they started running the wire and putting up the transformer.
The crew foreman asked me why they put this job on a high priority. When I explained what happened during that phone call he understood, and said that they didn't stock long runs of wire, and when they have a job that needs it, they just take it from the job that was on the list for that roll. He further told me that someone else would be complaining that their job wasn't started when it was supposed to because of the wire shortage. It isn't that they can't get the wire, it is just that they don't want to keep any extra in inventory because of costs. My job used that whole spool of wire.

 

[mikester]

I have 200A service, and a 50A welder receptacle, so only the charger ($600?) would be needed.
Ain't gonna happen though.
I will NEVER be buying an EV!

I'd buy an EV. Corvette convertible EV!

 

[GreensvilleJay]

I don't see a class 2 trailer hitch on it to pull my BX23S !!
Too dang low to even go down my dlaneway...
Always wondered why disc brake calipers are mounted that way ?

 

[fried1765]

I'd buy an EV. Corvette convertible EV!
View attachment 120406

No Corvette here, either EV or not !

 

[The Evil Twin]

I don't see a class 2 trailer hitch on it to pull my BX23S !!
Too dang low to even go down my dlaneway...
Always wondered why disc brake calipers are mounted that way ?

Leading vs. trailing calipers are usually the result of finding somewhere they are not in the way. Steering and suspension component location matter more.
There is the slight possibility that on the Vette, they were placed in that configuration so that their weight is closer to the center of the vehicle.

 

[Poohbear]

On the 5:30 national news it was reported Ford is cutting way back on production of the F150 electric. Demand just not there.

 

[The Evil Twin]

On the 5:30 national news it was reported Ford is cutting way back on production of the F150 electric. Demand just not there.

Even with all the price cuts and taxpayer funded incentives!

 

[D2Cat]

I saw a video with equipment dragging 300,000 gallons of diesel fuel across ice. Those machines were tier two. The world outside of the USA isn't concerned about "global warning", climate change, leaving a carbon footprint or using electric powered vehicles.

Maybe all this creative selling by govt. is another way to get money into corporations that can be fed back to necessary members that is usually provided by war?

 

[GreensvilleJay]

yup, Ford missed the mark with their EVs.
Had one of them 4 door Mustang-Es here in driveway for 3-4 hours,POS to put it mildly. I've had 4 or 5 real Mustangs, all '67s.
Now IF they'd made a battery powered reg cab/short box F-150... THAT would be a sellout ! PDQ off the line for the 'boys that need toys', hopefully decent power to tow or work offroad.