i look at it more as what an EV isn't.

an EV isn't a vehicle that:
- makes engine noise
- has hesitation at it changes gears
- needs to be taken to the gas station
- needs oil changes
- has needs 'regular maintenance' like oil changes

with tesla's innovations and designs an EV is often thought of more as a rolling computer with few controls and a big screen, but outside of the drive train there's no reason the features on teslas can't be on ice vehicles too (and most are anyway).

speaking of ev's... i saw a kia ev6 today... that is one ugly car, especially from the front.

 

Ugly or not, it seems to be popular here. Someone in my neighborhood just bought the GT. I prefer the Ioniq 5 or 6 myself

 

I generally don't talk about different car's looks; each to their own. But that Kia has face, and everything else, that only a mother could love.

 

EVs are perfect for around town driving, and a display of affluence.

 

So is a Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, Range Rover, Bentley etc, except more so. My daughter who recently bought a Bolt (under $30k) is anything but affluent. It's strange you would single out EV owners, as all of the brands I mentioned are way costlier than a Model 3 rwd, or Model Y base, which cost nearly about the same as a Camry.

@bitkahuna 's LC500 costed as much or more than both my Polestar and Model Y combined lol. There are better ways of displaying affluence, like driving an S Class...or an LC

 

True. For home charging, solar panels are a viable option. Most of the public and fleet charge stations are not powered by solar or wind. Many of those types of charge stations use fossil fuel powered generators to make electricity.

 

Unfortunately, solar panels do not produce enough electricity to handle a large public-fleet recharging-load, and the panels themselves are subject to damage from weather and storms. They are generally better for smaller needs.

 

vehicles like ionic 5, ev-6, id.4, mach-e all look about as cheaply made as anything today. when the ionic 5 launched, i was excited to see one. when i finally did, i was very disappointed but how cheap it looks with all the plastic panels all over it out and in.

even bmw's ix screams to me anything but alluence.



a bit like a prius, most ev's may have the 'look at me' enviro-cred badge, but they do not convey affluence to me.

 

Looks affluent to me and looks like big bucks. Lol

Compared to my RX330 of course.

See that's just it, other than the power train difference, I would never know this was an EV.

EV just means electric motors and batteries!

 

Most EV buyers today, especially with the price drops are buying them to cut out the costs of gas and maintenance from their commute. The price of filling up bothers them. As much as I love both my Polestar and Model Y, there is absolutely nothing about them that screams "affluence"

Imagine showing up to the country club in this $190 a month Ioniq EV

 

I'm not going to advocate or dismiss EVs. People buy them for different reasons. In my opinion, EVs are great for commuting to work and around town. My wife works 5 minutes away from home, so EV is perfect for her needs. The caveat is, you need to have a L2 charger at home. Besides Tesla, no other EV manufacturer has established a reliable charging network. Third party charging stations are increasingly getting overcrowded and there are a lot of stations that don't work half the time.

Another thing to consider is the cost of electricity. Fortunately, we have enough solar panels to cover the cost of electricity bill. I'm not sure the cost of electricity in other parts of the US, but in LA, it's not as cheap as one would think. Edison charges between 23c to 26c per kWh during off peak and up to 66c in peak hours. That's with the EV plan. The upside is the lower cost of maintenance. Besides brake fluid every 2 years and tires, there's nothing much to maintain. I love both ICE and EV vehicles. It just depends on if an EV can fit your needs.

 

I hate both Southern California Edison and PG&E... bunch of crooks. They pay me pennies for my excess solar generated and resell it for the prices you listed. I'm hoping to add batteries so I can disconnect from those crooks

 

Solar is part of a larger solution. By the way, they are rated for hail and 120 MPH winds. Otherwise they could never work.

 

If you pay Lexus $150 to change your oil, then sure. Ater 106k miles on my 3IS, I've only spent money on the usual $30 oil change kits from Autozone, $5 bottles of brake fluid and a couple $25 of SLL coolant from Toyota.

Assuming 10k mile oil change intervals per the manual, that's about $300 on oil, lets call it $50 on brake fluid because I'm pretty generous with my flushes, and $100 on coolant to flush and a little extra for reserves. Oh, and also one set of spark plugs.

So, $500 for 106k miles, which is about 9 years of owernship for most assuming 12k miles/year. Probably the verdict is still out on long term ownership of what is an EV. Not because nobody has ever driven one hard for 10 years, but because the sample size is a very small fraction of its counterpart.

 

Yeah, I was out and about on Friday and saw one of our customer's EV delivery vans on the road. How did I know it was an EV? Because it looked absolutely ridiculous. Statement making is one thing and mass adoption of EVs is another. I'm not sure where they may meet.