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"I’d choose a cheap old banger over an electric car any day of the week"

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Didn't read the article, but based on the title, I'd say sure... that works for a lot of people. If you're not a car person and it's just an appliance to get you from A to B, I think buying a couple of year old baseline model makes a lot of economic sense. (My wife is firmly in this camp!)
 
His point was lamenting the poor state of the UK's charging networks. Reliability is becoming a real problem and he got stranded, save for a friend that lived nearby who had the old banger.

I'd say that he is right to call out the multiple operators who have let things get this way. The manufacturers need to take Tesla's lead and get a grip of things before the whole infrastructure nosedives.
 
Sounds like the author of that article was driving a Leaf or similar limited-range (70 mile) EV, was trying to complete a trip at the limit of the cars range, didn't plan in advance regarding possible charging points, and got into a desperate situation. Old, familiar story.

Also, he found a charge location but it was a single charger and occupied. Every time I see some media report about how Tesla only has XXX number of Superchargers and fails to make clear that it is actually X,XXX number of charge points it irks me because it is so fundamentally inaccurate. That is a very important Tesla advantage that does not get enough attention in the media.
 
Sounds like the author of that article was driving a Leaf or similar limited-range (70 mile) EV, was trying to complete a trip at the limit of the cars range, didn't plan in advance regarding possible charging points, and got into a desperate situation. Old, familiar story.

Also, he found a charge location but it was a single charger and occupied. Every time I see some media report about how Tesla only has XXX number of Superchargers and fails to make clear that it is actually X,XXX number of charge points it irks me because it is so fundamentally inaccurate. That is a very important Tesla advantage that does not get enough attention in the media.

Yes, more range, faster charging, more stalls per site and they respond if stalls are reported as down.. It's almost like they think about the problem.
 
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All's well until the old banger coughs it up and strands him. But anyway, all cars need some sort of go-go juice. Even with gas and diesel cars, tens of thousands of people still manage to run out of fuel every single year. Why doesn't the author write about that? Why doesn't the author write about reliability issues of old bangers? Rhetorical questions. I've planned to stop at specific gas stations on trips only to find the gas station closed/out of business and no other choices because of where I am. It's one of the reasons I've often carried a jerry can of fuel. What seems to be the problem here is that he headed out with what he thought was 'just enough' energy for his trip. That's like heading out on a trip that's going to take a quarter tank of gas and only having a quarter tank of gas, then realizing part way there - Oops! Might not have enough gas after all. Are the chances good a gas station will be along the way, anyway? Um...that really depends on where you're driving, doesn't it? So everyone who's ever had that happen should write an article entitled: "I'd buy an EV over a gas or diesel car any day of the week". Yeah, makes about as much sense.
 
Poor judgement on the drivers part, better planning could have avoided the problem. No one ever talks about going on a trip and having your ICE car break down in the middle of nowhere. I used to own a 67 Jaguar XKE and an Alfa Romeo 1750 and you can guess the rest, never knew which car would start and how far I could go before it broke down. I have always loved cars and enjoyed even driving these, could work on them myself and always carried tools in the trunk. There will be sacrifices you have to make to drive any car, but for me not buying gas and driving a quite fun car, not to mention the environmental aspects wins over any negatives.
 
This should be less of a problem in a few years when the Bolt / Gen III, and hopefully a few other 200 mile EV's are available for "affordable" sale...it is a shame that the UK's Level II charging network is so unreliable...I guess we are very lucky here in Canada to have relatively few Level II charge station network problems...
 
I've planned to stop at specific gas stations on trips only to find the gas station closed/out of business and no other choices because of where I am. It's one of the reasons I've often carried a jerry can of fuel.

I see. You do, indeed, travel well prepared ! I wonder what the Krug has covered and safely secured on the roof rack?
 

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I think you guys really don't appreciate how bad the charging networks are right now. Around 25% of rapid chargers offline. Imagine if 25% of gas stations were offline and they were situated almost a full tank's worth of travel apart.
 
All's well until the old banger coughs it up and strands him. But anyway, all cars need some sort of go-go juice. Even with gas and diesel cars, tens of thousands of people still manage to run out of fuel every single year. Why doesn't the author write about that? Why doesn't the author write about reliability issues of old bangers? Rhetorical questions. I've planned to stop at specific gas stations on trips only to find the gas station closed/out of business and no other choices because of where I am. It's one of the reasons I've often carried a jerry can of fuel. What seems to be the problem here is that he headed out with what he thought was 'just enough' energy for his trip. That's like heading out on a trip that's going to take a quarter tank of gas and only having a quarter tank of gas, then realizing part way there - Oops! Might not have enough gas after all. Are the chances good a gas station will be along the way, anyway? Um...that really depends on where you're driving, doesn't it? So everyone who's ever had that happen should write an article entitled: "I'd buy an EV over a gas or diesel car any day of the week". Yeah, makes about as much sense.

What you have to remember is that he is wiriting about the situation in the UK (which is quite similar to that over here in Germany by the way).
Compared to the US we live in small countries with (at the moment) very bad charging infrastructure (I called it "charging mayhem" in another thread). Of course we have quite a lot of Tesla superchargers now, but the author of that article was talking about EVs in comparison to "old bangers" so I don't think he had the luxury market in mind that Tesla is catering for at the moment. Perhaps he should have driven an e-Golf instead :wink:

But jokes aside, I have never met or known anyone who has run out of gas in an ICE. With the amount of gas stations we have over here it's hard to do anyway. OK, Germany has one of the highest densities of gas stations in the world, even though thousands have closed over the past decades. Even in the rural area where I live we have about 20 gas stations in a 10 kilometer radius. I am often amazed at how they can all survive, but then again, I don't care as I don't have to visit them very often anyway...

As far as the average Joe over here is concerned, the feelings the author displays are the same that I get from almost everyone I talk to about EVs. And as I said, Tesla aside, the general charging chaos situation over here right now makes those feelings not completely unfounded. Sad but true. Equally sad that only very few people can afford a Tesla at this point. Might change with Model 3, but for now, imagine how great it would look with many more Teslas on the roads. At the moment I get a real thrill every time I see a Model S or Roadster in the wild - which is not very often.

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I think you guys really don't appreciate how bad the charging networks are right now. Around 25% of rapid chargers offline. Imagine if 25% of gas stations were offline and they were situated almost a full tank's worth of travel apart.

+1 That's the European charging infrastructure for you. I can only second what you describe.
 
I see. You do, indeed, travel well prepared ! I wonder what the Krug has covered and safely secured on the roof rack?

In truth, I've never used the roof on any vehicle I've owned. Ever. The image of someone's mattress flying off at freeway speeds scarred me long before I got my driver's license at 16, along with the recording of my Father's voice. "Don't ever let me catch you..." Even at my mature age, his voice rings in my ear whenever I think to do something, possibly, borderline, could go wrong. I'm a firm believer it's not a pickup truck unless it has got a full bed, and then everything must be tied down in case you're going to drive through a hurricane. :wink:
 
I'm going to keep this thread to show my grand children that I was A Pioneer.

The first diesel Mercedes cars sold in the USA used to come with a booklet showing where you could fill them up. You tell that to young people today and they just won't believe you.

I remember when I used to get oop at three in't morning and eat a handful of hot gravel before going to work in't mill..............
 
I'm going to keep this thread to show my grand children that I was A Pioneer.

The first diesel Mercedes cars sold in the USA used to come with a booklet showing where you could fill them up. You tell that to young people today and they just won't believe you.

I remember when I used to get oop at three in't morning and eat a handful of hot gravel before going to work in't mill..............

Oi use to fill up from paper bag, in middle of road...
 
I think you guys really don't appreciate how bad the charging networks are right now. Around 25% of rapid chargers offline. Imagine if 25% of gas stations were offline and they were situated almost a full tank's worth of travel apart.

yep

ppl who are priviledged enough to be near SpC or home charging dont get how terrible the EV infrastructure is for so many of us.

that's the power of priviledge, perhaps, but it pays to see things from other ppl's perspective