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The rate at which new technologies get accepted into the mainstream never fails to confuse people. For the longest time, cell phones appeared to be the exclusive domain of yuppies, bankers and drug dealers. And then, suddenly, my mum had one. (No, she doesn't sell drugs.)
Could we see a similar rapid adoption for electric vehicles?
The LA Times reports that Q1 electric car (EV) sales are up 91% in California. Sales of Plug-In Hybrids (PHEV) are up 54% too. This is, of course, only one quarter, from one state, so let's not get too excited. And the actual number of units sold—13,804 EVs and 10,466 PHEVs—is still tiny compared to the 506,745 cars and light trucks sold in the state during the same period. But anyone who knows anything about math can tell you that it doesn't take long for a 91% growth rate to start making serious inroads into a particular market. (Electric car sales in Norway have already reached as high as 37% of new passenger vehicles.)
It's possible the muscle memory developed for cellphones could help with EV adoption, too: plug in the phone at night, plug in the car at night.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 25 2017, @01:54PM (7 children)
I don't drive (I don't know how to drive, didn't have the time or a pressing need).
So please explain something to me: why not own a cheap electric car for regular things and rent a long-distance car when you need to make a long trip? Is it really that much more expensive? Even if it's every weekend, I'd guess the long-distance car would be used by other people during the week for random things, so you would maybe pay for half of the long-distance car in total...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 25 2017, @02:07PM (2 children)
Renting is a lot of hassle, and quite expensive. On top of that, you've already paid more to own an EV. If I only needed to do it 2-3 times a year, it would be worth considering. But if it's 1-2 times a month (which it is), it's never going to be a viable solution unless I live next to the car rental place.
(Score: 3, Informative) by bzipitidoo on Thursday May 25 2017, @04:30PM (1 child)
Renting isn't that bad. Many years ago, paid $500 to rent a minivan for a week, for a road trip. Probably cost more like $1000 today. The cost to own a vehicle for a year can easily be more than $500. Auto insurance alone can be $500 per year, plus licensing and inspection is another $100 to $200, and they do need a little maintenance. Can wear $100 worth of tread off your tires in a year of ordinary driving, and you have to devote garage space to it or periodically clean all kinds of crap off the car. If you take only one road trip in a year, renting absolutely is worth doing.
But yes, I would prefer an EV that is practical enough for road trips. 100 km per charge with an hour to recharge won't cut it. Got to be able to do 8 hours of driving with only a little down time for refueling. If the capacity was enough for 8 hours of driving without having to recharge, I could live with an 8 hour recharge time. A 15 minute recharge time every 3 hours is livable too.
(Score: 2) by CoolHand on Thursday May 25 2017, @04:52PM
Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job-Douglas Adams
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 25 2017, @05:00PM (2 children)
Your thinking is sensible. And if people complain it is a hassle to rent a car, well "hassle" is also a subjective term. People's tolerance of "hassle" really varies a lot across the population. I find a lot of things a "hassle" so I married a woman who finds almost nothing a "hassle" and I just outsource all the stupid "hassle" out of my life. She takes care of everything that involves calling and staying on the line or gathering/filing large number of obscure documents. She bought our house, she does all the insurance paperwork, and if I ever get mad at a product she calls up the company and the retailer, and destroys it on every review site to a point we get full refund and free product on top of it just for retractions. But I get off-topic sorta...
Most families (at least in my state) do own two cars, so you could have the family car and the EV for commuting. It's not that inconceivable. So I could see adoption of electric peak around 50% until you can replace the other car with a sensible solution.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday May 25 2017, @07:22PM (1 child)
I think I've fallen in love with your wife.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 3, Funny) by frojack on Thursday May 25 2017, @08:14PM
He doesn't have a wife, he duped a woman into being his mom.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 25 2017, @06:58PM
Then go away while the adults talk.