Cheap Gas vs. Supercharging

Forty Creek · Dec 22, 2014

Gas stations in our area have been incredibly busy lately, thanks to cheap fuel prices. People love a bargain at the pumps.
I strongly suspect that if you offered most drivers a free fill up in exchange for an extra 15 minute wait time, the line ups would be staggering.
Superchargers take a little longer, but boy are they worth it.
Yes I know that we paid for supercharging when we bought our cars but it still feels good.
Oh, and even at today’s low gas prices in Ontario, off peak electricity is still roughly half the current price of gas. Those fill ups usually happen while we sleep and the only thing you have to ‘wait’ for is the alarm clock.

FLDarren · Dec 22, 2014

I'll take slower supercharging over quick cheap gas anyway. No greasy handles or watching where you step afraid you might step in grease or oil.

Canuck · Dec 22, 2014

Cheap gas is here for a year or two at most. Supercharging is free for the life of the vehicle.

Todd Burch · Dec 22, 2014

When people talk about how cheap gas is, all I can think in my head is "and it's still 2.5x what I'm paying" (I don't have the opportunity to Supercharge often).

DFibRL8R · Dec 22, 2014

Ask the good people of Lac-Megantic, Canada about the real cost of cheap gas. That Train was loaded with North Dakota oil.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v15LMXhHdB4#t=11

Forty Creek · Dec 22, 2014

FLDarren said:
I'll take slower supercharging over quick cheap gas anyway. No greasy handles or watching where you step afraid you might step in grease or oil.

Amen. My feelings exactly.

dhrivnak · Dec 22, 2014

Todd Burch said:
When people talk about how cheap gas is, all I can think in my head is "and it's still 2.5x what I'm paying" (I don't have the opportunity to Supercharge often).

+1 I figure my cost of electricity is about $.80/gal so gas needs to get a LOT cheaper.

Forty Creek · Dec 22, 2014

Canuck said:
Cheap gas is here for a year or two at most. Supercharging is free for the life of the vehicle.

Great point. It will take some time to convince the ICE world that there is another way. There are so many reasons to switch to electric.

nwdiver · Dec 22, 2014

Petroleum at ANY price is NEVER 'cheap'. You're just forcing future generations to pick up the tab.

Raffy.Roma · Dec 22, 2014

nwdiver said:
View attachment 66807

Petroleum at ANY price is NEVER 'cheap'. You're just forcing future generations to pick up the tab.

+ 1

Forty Creek · Dec 22, 2014

I agree with the higher calling but the practical considerations are also compelling. Many think that our cars are slow to charge. In fact, charging is actually quite convenient. It is just challenging to help others understand this. It isn't a one sentence argument.

invisik · Dec 22, 2014

Gas is still gas. Same problems as before.

I think they should increase taxes on gas now, while it's low, so nobody notices....

The convenience of filling-up electric is still king: I leave every morning with a full tank. I can fill up from any electrical socket. I don't have to do anything special except for plug a cord in when I get home for it all to work. The cost is generally free or a fraction of a gas fill-up.

You can't beat it......

-m

AmpedRealtor · Dec 23, 2014

But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas? We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.

- John F. Kennedy

omarsultan · Dec 23, 2014

The problem is the typical mainstream American doesn't give a rat's @ss about GHG. For those that kinda care about the environment, the car companies slap an "eco" tag on the name and a green leaf next to the name badge on the trunk and everyone is happy. To have mainstream appeal, a BEV like the Model 3 needs to be able to stand on its own merit as its cross-shopped against similarly priced BMWs, Audis, Lexuses, etc. without having to play the "green" card.

Total cost of ownership (TCO) is certainly one differentiator, but $2/gal gasoline will weaken that until the price comes back up (which it will). Even then, I think most buyers are not that sophisticated, I would bet the vast majority of buyers still take the "how big a payment can I afford" strategy without looking at any offsetting cost reductions from fuel and maintenance from picking an EV over an ICE. Whenever Tesla actually starts marketing, getting across the right-brain fun to drive message is easy, the left-brain dollars & cents message is going to take a bit more work.

Forty Creek · Dec 23, 2014

omarsultan said:
The problem is the typical mainstream American doesn't give a rat's @ss about GHG. For those that kinda care about the environment, the car companies slap an "eco" tag on the name and a green leaf next to the name badge on the trunk and everyone is happy. To have mainstream appeal, a BEV like the Model 3 needs to be able to stand on its own merit as its cross-shopped against similarly priced BMWs, Audis, Lexuses, etc. without having to play the "green" card.

Total cost of ownership (TCO) is certainly one differentiator, but $2/gal gasoline will weaken that until the price comes back up (which it will). Even then, I think most buyers are not that sophisticated, I would bet the vast majority of buyers still take the "how big a payment can I afford" strategy without looking at any offsetting cost reductions from fuel and maintenance from picking an EV over an ICE. Whenever Tesla actually starts marketing, getting across the right-brain fun to drive message is easy, the left-brain dollars & cents message is going to take a bit more work.

More good points. And as I said in an earlier post, the Tesla EV experience is difficult to convey in only a sentence or two.

jerry33 · Dec 23, 2014

omarsultan said:
The problem is the typical mainstream American doesn't give a rat's @ss about GHG. For those that kinda care about the environment, the car companies slap an "eco" tag on the name and a green leaf next to the name badge on the trunk and everyone is happy. To have mainstream appeal, a BEV like the Model 3 needs to be able to stand on its own merit as its cross-shopped against similarly priced BMWs, Audis, Lexuses, etc. without having to play the "green" card.

Anyone who has driven an electric car is very unlikely to go back, and they tell their acquaintances about how great it is to drive and how convenient it is to not have to go to a gas station. A green card isn't really necessary.

omarsultan · Dec 23, 2014

jerry33 said:
Anyone who has driven an electric car is very unlikely to go back, and they tell their acquaintances about how great it is to drive and how convenient it is to not have to go to a gas station. A green card isn't really necessary.

As I said, the fun to drive aspect is easy to sell, one test drive will seal the deal, its the logical side that needs some education around range anxiety, cost of electricity vs gas, understanding TCO, etc. As an example, an M3 is undoubtedly more fun than the 328, but you still need to make the financial math work.

jerry33 · Dec 24, 2014

omarsultan said:
As I said, the fun to drive aspect is easy to sell, one test drive will seal the deal, its the logical side that needs some education around range anxiety, cost of electricity vs gas, understanding TCO, etc. As an example, an M3 is undoubtedly more fun than the 328, but you still need to make the financial math work.

The point was that right now the majority of car buyers believe you are giving up something--maybe a lot. As more EV adopters come online, the majority of car buyers will see that EVs are better because they will know someone personally who has one.

ggies07 · Dec 24, 2014

My inlaws are thinking about buying a SUV thanks to a trip we just went on even though all 3 children are grown and out of the house.....but they are strong conservatives who dont really care about C02 and all that jazz....makes me pissed. Typical Americans....need a big SUV for daily driving. This cheap gas is probably making them think things are great and they can afford it, can't wait for it to go back up.

CHG-ON · Dec 26, 2014

So I just quit my f-ing awful job that had a 3 hour commute round trip and I was spending 650/mth for gas. With my "Miss", it dropped to 110/mth. 3,000 miles per month. At that point gas was 4.25. Now it's down to 2.99 in CA. So I am still saving a boat load, though I am not driving nearly as many miles. I must say that much of my purchase decision was based on my assumption of current and future gas prices. So I am not saving as much now, which is somewhat disappointing. But it is still a savings of 50% or so. And it is SO CONVENIENT to plug in when I get home and to have 250mi available the next day with no work on my part at all.

And you can bet that prices will take off again just as soon as OPEC realizes that they're current "let's bankrupt the American Shale Industry" won't work. Though I hate fracking and shale production, so I am happy that pressure is being put on that awful technology that is destroying huge swaths of our country.

FWIW

Cheap Gas vs. Supercharging

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