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Post by Oatking on Nov 14, 2024 21:05:14 GMT -6
How many of you guys have bought an ev ?
I am looking at the new ev equinox for my wife .
With 9000 off in rebates and a sale price of 55 grand before tax and rebates it appears to be a 46 purchase price .
8 year warranty and was told the battery cells can be replaced in sections .
My friend sells these cars and says Chevy is not making much at all with this model .
What do you think and would you take the leap to electric !
I ask him about going on long trips with an ev . It definitely would slow your day down . Charging up to 40 minutes and frequent charging stops . Basically they say charge while you are stopping to eat !
Not many people do that anymore !
It doesn’t look like we could go from Winnipeg to swift current in the same time .
The suv comes with a charging app but it would still worry me on long trips where to stop .
Just as a daily commuter , maybe these are a no brainer !
He did place the seed in my head !
In fact Chevy is leading the charge in evs. Unfortunately it’s built in Mexico . I wondered if the government is helping Chevy and by how much to make these cars .
The crazy thing is it’s my canola money helping to buy an ev even though China is threatening canola imports . Maybe it has already brought our canola price down .
Wondered if you guys have any first hand experience . Our local dealer is offering free 24 hour test drives .
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MBRfarms
Junior Member
Posts: 95
Likes: 133
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Post by MBRfarms on Nov 14, 2024 21:18:57 GMT -6
Heard of 3 different Tesla's stranded dead on the side of the highway in your general area over the last year or so. Drivers swore the car said they could make it. I would be very uneasy trusting an app that may or may not take weather/traffic/driving habits into account for a long drive. Friend works at the local Ford dealership and they had issues with their EVs not heating at all in winter and then having pathetic ranges after they reprogramed the climate control system, as in people couldn't commute to Winnipeg from Steinbach pathetic range. If they were really such a great and perfect car that was so much better why do they have to incentivise people with massive discounts and government funding to drive them? If I lived in a bigger city in the southern states, I'd consider one for running local errands/short commuting. Otherwise I'll wait for more Edison Motors style diesel/electric hybrids before buying one
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Post by shmiffy on Nov 14, 2024 22:22:52 GMT -6
I wouldn’t wanna take one for long distance. Short trips fine. Thought one of each. Gas or diesel for longer drives and an ev for short ones.
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Post by meskie on Nov 14, 2024 22:43:27 GMT -6
My neighbours had a F150 lightning. Lasted maybe 3 months before they traded. Saskatoon is 1.5 hours away down the highway. They couldn’t make it there on a charge when it was cold.
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Post by northernfarmer on Nov 14, 2024 22:49:30 GMT -6
I've heard the comment from various youtubers that either have an EV or those that are explaining the issues surrounding the use of an EV and if being used to travel any distance the number one stresser is "range anxiety", a constant plaguing worry and ending up diverting from an intended route at times to find a nearer charger. But that's not all, then the idiot apps that are required to pay for the charger and various brands of chargers use various different apps. But here's the kicker, if the cell service is crap, you can't do squat ... your fuked. Add winter time and a high rolling resistance road surface with snow or slush building up or a high head wind and the heater system in full use in cold weather, your range ( as it is with a gas/diesel vehicle also ) goes down drastically. The difference is one can pack emergency fuel with in a pickup box or someone can hand you a jerry can of fuel, you can't do squat with an EV unless a good sized generator is packed in the back of your EV pickup. And quick fuelup vs charge times are vastly different and not all chargers are that fast so the charge time can be hours if not overnight at slow chargers. And apparently some chargers will start charging a fee if the vehicle reaches full charge but is left charged in as of course leaving your EV plugged in prevents another person from using the charger. If the only charger around is being used, well good luck as you sit and wait and where will one stay warm for hours if the battery is about to die.
I don't know what the current rules are with various businesses/buildings in Canada as that would be changing as decisions are made and changed so I would not count on being allowed to park in underground parking.
There is one thing which I can see as a plus to an EV and this is a big if, if lets say the person using their EV is allowed to plug in at work for free and although very slow charging as its only going to be a 15 amp outlet, assuming they even leave the power on to the plugs at all times of the year as well as don't have roaming power on/off systems to save on their power bill for block heaters.
But anyway back to my main point, range anxiety would become ones new mental worry that might feel like your head is going to explode or have a coronary, it would all depend on how one was using the vehicle, short commutes with no worry about range vs wanting to use it for longer trips from home base. Resale value, if one is concerned about that, I'd say be very concerned about that aspect.
I was noticing lately, the large Ford dealer in this part of Alberta has one F 150 lightning on its lot, they list it under the new vehicle heading but it has well over 2000 km on it which would indicate being used as a demo unit and the kicker ... its a 2023 model year unit. That to me doesn't point to that dealership having much luck with brisk EV sales, not pickups anyway.
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Post by Oatking on Nov 14, 2024 22:52:53 GMT -6
My neighbours had a F150 lightning. Lasted maybe 3 months before they traded. Saskatoon is 1.5 hours away down the highway. They couldn’t make it there on a charge when it was cold. Wow , maybe it’s smart to wait and see how they perform in minus 30 c. I was impressed with my 3.1 l diesel going from Morris to Regina and filled up in portage la prairie . I think I could have made it home on fumes but wasn’t brave enough . A diesel / electric seems to make more sense for long trips |
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Post by Oatking on Nov 14, 2024 23:06:16 GMT -6
Northern farmer , you make some excellent points . Yeah I can’t imagine being stranded at a charging station and their are 4 guys ahead of you . I guess you would have to get a room because you’re not going to wait 3 hours !
I can see pushing an suv for local city driving but a pick up truck will be a tough sell . The points you outline seem like throwing away money ! And TIME!
What is the cost for charging ?
And yeah , I know when I worked at ag Canada , they had rolling black outs on their parking plugs .
Charging for free would not work .
I wondered how much the battery loses charge if it sits a full week when it’s originally charged .?
Here is a comparison that makes no sense !
A fully loaded ev polaris Ranger costs almost the same amount as a Chevy ev equinox!
Never even occurred to me to ask if the ev rebates qualify for a ev polaris Ranger !
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Post by bob123 on Nov 15, 2024 0:31:58 GMT -6
I would consider an ev if it gave me more freedom instead of less. I'm guessing a major manufacturer will never make or be allowed to make car without kill switches/ big brother stuff any more but I'm hopeful for retrofit kits like the Edison motors one being open enough and self fixable enough. I like the idea of being able to make your own energy with solar or whatever and have completely independent/ off grid transportation.
I also think that we are kind of in the first ish generation of ev's and like all other electronics as a couple years go by the capabilities of ev and solar will increase rapidly. Not ready to be an early adopter on this yet.
The other thing is the fixation on being completely fuel free by the gov and these companies even if it's illogical. I saw a guy that put a webasto into the battery coolant circuit of an f150 lightning and was able to get summer time like battery range for a tiny amount of fuel but that wouldn't fit their marketing. That or a small generator to remove range issues and provide heat.
I'm not against evs at all like I once was but I'm very much against the fake and gay way they are being pushed on us by government and woke companies. I'm kind of keeping my eye out for open source retrofit kits down the road. Good ones are already available for motorcycles and it's only a matter of time till vehicle kits are out there too
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Post by slipclutch on Nov 15, 2024 7:03:57 GMT -6
Save your cash $$$ oatking. Keep with a diesel you’ll thank me later
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Post by victory on Nov 15, 2024 15:24:12 GMT -6
If it wasn't for all the environmentalist garbage out there and people trying to get rid of fossil fuels, we wouldn't even be having this conservation about buying electric vehicles. They obviously aren't a great idea (just see all the cons listed above), it is just that some people want to make it work. We already struggle with brown outs from time to time, i.e. lack of electricity, and now they want to have everyone charging their vehicles too yet. I always have to laugh when I see the picture of an EV charging station and behind the tree line a big diesel generator to power the EV charging station. Some people have no self awareness. I'm not trying to make people feel silly for buying one. Maybe one day manufacturers will get it figured out. The whole idea behind it sure frustrates me. There's a reason that they have to push these things so hard and have government incentives to sell them and to have government funded battery plants. If something is really good, it doesn't need advertising. Word of mouth works just great! Just like global warming and then having to call it climate change. What's next lol? I'm all for being good stewards of this world, but being realistic would be a good start. Hey Oatking, I'll still be your friend if you buy one.  |
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Post by Oatking on Nov 15, 2024 15:48:43 GMT -6
I am more concerned how the United States will promote bio fuels under trump .
The US needs to eat up corn supplies with bio feul . But maybe bio fuel doesn’t make sense either ! It’s better than an ev by a long shot but does the economics support its future .
I can’t believe the hype on the equinox ev . Chevy is pushing it on radio and tv ads big time .
Funny thing they are using the 9000 gov rebate as their big pitch !
They say it costs 8 dollars to charge .
Wow after hearing all your comments , I sure like my VW Tiguan a lot better now !
I wondered how the European market is reacting to evs? They seem to be reliant on Russia for energy so is diesel still their preferred fuel ?
Why is diesel not as popular in North America as Europe ?
After my experience with my diesel Silverado , I would never go back to gas !
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Post by meskie on Nov 15, 2024 16:12:06 GMT -6
Can’t be pushing it too hard this is the first I’ve heard of the ev equinox. Been to the chevy dealer a few times also.
Local ford dealer told ford to stop sending the ev cars and trucks as they can’t sell them. Government is making them produce so many of them so they ship them out to dealers even if they don’t want them.
Electric vehicles have their place. The golf carts work great. Electric Zambonis are really nice also
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Post by northernfarmer on Nov 15, 2024 18:17:45 GMT -6
That Ford dealership snapshot locally as per what they had on the lot F 150 Lightning wise, I gather from what you were told Meskie is a similar theme in the sense of a more spread out rural area interest or lack there of where as I wonder if there are more sales in the major cities of Canada. And not that everyone is always towing with their pickup but when they do put a good load in the back of one or tow something, that is when the whole sunshine and roses theme falls apart all the more. The charging stations are not set up typically for anything more than a single vehicle and in fact smaller single vehicle theme per a smaller car, certainly not a truck towing a trailer. Horrendously awful range towing and now no where decent to access to plug in, that would be a huge wakeup call for someone who had not realized what they were getting themselves into. In my mind I think of an urban fit with an EV, only there is a big problem the government doesn't want to advertise, lack of electricity capacity for even a fraction of what are total vehicle owners in a city.
Good question about the cost of the electricity for charging stations, the impression I got was that some chargers such as a Tesla charger but there may be others, if you are not of a certain vehicle type or somehow connected to that brand of charger system, some chargers have claimed to cost three times as much as another charger for the same power used. How that all settles out into cost per km/mile driven vs a gas or diesel vehicle, I do not have that answer. I do know one thing though, in the middle of a cold snowing but still Canadian winter day, there is no renewable power from a windmill generator nor solar to charge that EV !.
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jaymo
Full Member
Posts: 202
Likes: 89
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Post by jaymo on Nov 16, 2024 0:05:52 GMT -6
Plug-in hybrids seem to make some sense. Guy I know has a Jeep version. Says he can drive about 30km on a charge before the gas engine will turn on. His commute to work and home is just under 30km, so it works out well for him. If he wants to go somewhere farther it becomes just a normal gas fueled vehicle.
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Post by OptimallyDismal on Nov 16, 2024 8:17:12 GMT -6
I don't think battery technology is advanced far enough to make EV's viable yet, we need a massive battery redesign that is lighter and has better charging and discharging characteristics.
The biofuel issue is also interesting, looking at the Minnedosa plant, it is hard to imagine how it is viable to truck all that corn in (30 Btrains a day?), heat it up to ferment it, heat it more to distill it, then dry it down for DDG. The electrical and natural gas usage at the plant is HUGE and without the government support it would not be profitable for the company, another government scam and brilliant use of tax dollars, in the same class as diesel powered EV charging stations.
I can see EV's being good for urban use but also in Manitoba there isn't a surplus of electricity, it takes 30 years to build a dam, and Hydro is a government run monopoly, this results in poor management and some really odd policy that changes with the political wind, as happened with the wind turbines at St Leon, and the attitude about solar panels. Wind turbines will never pay for themselves let alone make a profit, that is a well known fact at this point. Solar panels are a bit more viable, but the numbers are a bit hard to justify due to the reliability and service life of an installation which is something you will only know at the end of it's life. Some are very trouble free and have a long service life, some not so much, and they are new enough that very few have reached their end of life yet.
It would be interesting to know how a hybrid compares, as the losses from generating power from a fossil fueled engine/generator and the control components to get power to the wheels vs a direct drive from that engine and the losses in the transmission and gear train?
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