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Old 01-16-2024, 11:45am   #161
erickpl
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I guess I'm in an odd camp.

I have a Jeep and a Ram truck. Gas powered. LOVE EM. Ram is our tow vehicle and Home Depot/Costco car for the bigger loads. When we were down to just those two, I was filling up the Ram every week. That got expensive.

We had my wife's car we got rid of (dealer offered us a good chunk of $$ to buy it back early in COVID and we weren't driving), so we had that we were sitting on.

She wanted an EV for a few reasons. 1) Performance. She wanted good/great acceleration. 2) Not adding pollution while driving.

Yes, she knows that electricity comes from a variety of sources: oil, coal, gas, nuclear, hydro, solar so there's that, as well as the mining of minerals. So in that respect, EV's are not as environmentally friendly as claims say. But, she was not wanting to spit stuff out a tailpipe while driving, and that is a valid point, especially in cities.

EV's do not create the pollution while in operation that ICE vehicles do, and the amount of added pollution from the power plants is no greater than running a dryer load of laundry for the week (on a level 2 charger at home). The fast, level 3 chargers are more of an issue with power requirements, but they don't get the amount of use that level 2 chargers get - they just get the most publicity and have the bigger target on them.

My Jeep has a specific use: offroad and as a toy (and for severe/bad weather conditions).
My Ram has a specific use: hauling our travel trailer and big loads around town (and the occasional long trip, depending on what we're doing/where we're going).
The EV handles our long trips, around town driving, and is a lot of fun as well. And

Sure, the EV requires the planning of the charging stations, but we're okay with that. If we have to be somewhere, absolutely by a certain time, we take the truck.

I will not say EV's are THE answer. They're absolutely not. But, they are AN answer for some people. Just as the horseless carriage wasn't for everybody, it met a need for others and it grew. Infrastructure grew for it, despite the weaknesses at that time. Things got better. EV's are in a similar situation.

I'd love to see other options where ICE engines get even better with reduced to no emissions (hybrids are an example) yet help with performance as well.

I won't bash on ICE cars because I believe in, and love them. I won't bash on EV's because I think they have a role, believe in them, and love them too. I think innovations from one can help the other.

But I tend to be a moderate and try to see both sides of an issue.

We traded in our first EV, a Kia EV6, and got an insane deal on a Mercedes EQE that put it on par with the cost of the EV6. Longer range, more features she wanted, and put her back in the brand that she enjoys driving (other than BMW). She clears a great salary, so no worries. She's happy. To me, that's what matters.
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