He's the first buyer of the electric F-150. Why he's the future of the car industry

[Raido Free America]

$100,000 shot to ????


https://news.wfsu.org/all-npr-news/...-f-150-why-hes-the-future-of-the-car-industry
Schmidt ran into one big issue soon after getting his F-150 Lightning, one that is all too familiar to other electric vehicle owners: charging.

The clean energy worker took his F-150 Lightning on a camping trip with his wife and daughter his first weekend with the truck, and he found himself unable to find a charger.

"It was just not a great experience at all," Schmidt says. "We're trying to figure out what does that mean for camping trips because I'm not sure I feel comfortable going given the lack of infrastructure up there."

Electric vehicles looks like the furture, and thats fine with me, but where is all that extra electricity going to come from? If we have mostly electric vehicles including transport trucks, what will that do to the demand on generation of electricty, double or triple the need? With all the clean energy and the dirty energy we can generate now, we can't keep up in peak piroids, RIGHT? HOW are we going to keep up with two or three times that demand? We both know the answer, Nuclear Power, and will we be any better off doing that?

 

[Foxfire5]

Not defending him but this was literally the last sentence lol....

"It was just not a great experience at all," Schmidt says. "We're trying to figure out what does that mean for camping trips because I'm not sure I feel comfortable going given the lack of infrastructure up there."

Ah...........Maybe haul along a gas/propane powered generator?

 

[SPDguns]

For the guy camping- Get a longer extension cord DUH.
I would like to thank all of the EV people from the bottom of my fuel injected supercharged V8 heart.

 

[Jason Freeland]

While an EV actually makes sense for my driving habits (I work from home), they are too expensive for me to consider. Like a previous poster said, you can't even get one for MSRP right now and I don't see that changing for years. I also think that most families are going to have to keep one gas car for the foreseeable future, in addition to an EV. As the original article pointed out, there just aren't enough chargers around yet.

 

[RickN]

I thought Ford was claiming they recharge themselves.

 

[trekrok]

I think right now electric motorcycles have the most compelling argument. The battery is reasonable sized so chargeable in a decent amount of time. Range isn't usually too far from traditional. And they can be stupid fast.

Downside is almost silent, which seem like it would be even more likely to get smacked by an inattentive driver. Maybe they can power a loudspeaker to make exhaust sounds?

 

[Shadowrider]

The problem I see is all the manufacturers rushing to go pure EV. GM, Subaru, Volvo, etc. have committed to go EV only in the near future. Pure electric isn't the way to go and may not be for 50 years or more. Simply put, our national electric grid is not going to support everyone switching to EV only vehicles. If your power grid is out for any reason, you're stranded.

I recently researched PHEV's, or plug in hybrids. I was shocked that Honda doesn't even have one now. There are a total of 34 models on sale this year. Of the 34, a full 20 of them are in the luxury class and start over $50K MSRP (not that you can touch one for MSRP right now). Overall, the price range goes from $27,845 for a base Hyundai Ioniq, to $507,000 for a base Ferrari SF90 Stradale.

The problems I see are that none of them fill two baseline objectives. One would be a commuter car with the highest pure EV efficiency, that will go at least 50 miles on EV-only, and starts under $30K. The closest is the Ford Escape PHEV starting at $34,785, which will go 37 miles on EV-only, with a combined 105 MPGe rating. If they made this chassis with a low drag 2 or 3 door coupe design on top, I think they could get 50 miles EV-only range and come in under $30K for a base model. BTW, there are NO 2 or 3 door coupe PHEV's on sale, which seems foolish since most miles driven in America are daily work commutes with one person in the vehicle.

The other objective would be a people and tow/haul SUV/truck platform that will carry 5 people comfortably and have a 5,000lb tow rating, again with a 50 mile EV-only range and say a base price in the $50K range. The Toyota Rav4 Prime is as close as it gets right now. It has a EV-only range of 42 miles (one of the best available) and a combined 94 MPGe rating. It's not slow either. With a combined 302hp, it's quicker to 60 than a base Supra and carries a 10-year, 150,000-mile battery warranty. The problems are it's a bit cramped inside, it only tows 3,000lbs and even though base MSRP is $41K, most of the ones available are selling for $50-$65K with ADM markup.

The only one that meets the tow capacity is the Lincoln Aviator Grand Touring at 5,600lbs, but it's $69.875K and only goes 21 miles on EV-only with a combined 56 MPGe. Once the battery runs out, you're back to a SUV that gets about 23mpg unloaded, and far less towing something heavy. At least this one will move out of it's own way in either mode, which is something quite a few PHEV's struggle with, especially when the short EV range runs out.

So it seems to me that PHEV's haven't fully matured, and may not mature at all if the manufacturers are pushed into EV only by the left. Even with PHEV's, the technology needs to incorporate smart charging. Not just for the sake of the batteries, but also to make sure you have the option to only charge during off-peak hours so you're getting the most economical kWh from your electric company.

I'd like to have a PHEV in the near future as a hedge against high gas prices, but none of them meet my needs as of now.

I've been kinda looking at hybrids too for the last few years. Came real close to buying a used Honda CRZ and found they don't offer them anymore so I held off. A hybrid makes so much more sense than pure plugin. If Jeep would come out with a diesel powered hybrid version of their Gladiator they'd not be able to make enough of them and we'd see that space filled with selections from all makers.

Lately I've been craving a rear wheel drive car of some sort and really jonesing for a Cadillac CTS. The RWD pickings are very slim too. It's sad that you have to go performance car like a Chevy Camaro, Dodge Challenger, Nissan 370Z, etc. or to Cadillac to get RWD. There's just not much to pick from in that space and the price points for offerings that are out there are up higher than I want to deal with. I'll probably end up with a Subaru Forester or Outback. I dig their AWD system a lot, and after warranty is up you can turbo them if you get one that isn't already.

 

[golddigger14s]

I've been kinda looking at hybrids too for the last few years. Came real close to buying a used Honda CRZ and found they don't offer them anymore so I held off. A hybrid makes so much more sense than pure plugin. If Jeep would come out with a diesel powered hybrid version of their Gladiator they'd not be able to make enough of them and we'd see that space filled with selections from all makers.

Lately I've been craving a rear wheel drive car of some sort and really jonesing for a Cadillac CTS. The RWD pickings are very slim too. It's sad that you have to go performance car like a Chevy Camaro, Dodge Challenger, Nissan 370Z, etc. or to Cadillac to get RWD. There's just not much to pick from in that space and the price points for offerings that are out there are up higher than I want to deal with. I'll probably end up with a Subaru Forester or Outback. I dig their AWD system a lot, and after warranty is up you can turbo them if you get one that isn't already.

I will never get a turbo car again. I had a 2005 turbo outback and it required premium gas and the milage was not very good (less than 20mpg). My 2017 Outback gets about 25 mpg and goes more than fast enough. Also, a blown turbo cost me more than $1000.

 

[KroyWen]

That was a NPR story, so they didn't realize they were writing about a stupid person.

NPR Nitwit Peoples Radio, our tax dollar at work

 

[TerryMiller]

I think right now electric motorcycles have the most compelling argument. The battery is reasonable sized so chargeable in a decent amount of time. Range isn't usually too far from traditional. And they can be stupid fast.

Downside is almost silent, which seem like it would be even more likely to get smacked by an inattentive driver. Maybe they can power a loudspeaker to make exhaust sounds?

Here you go....