We have more than enough oil in our own country that we do not need to rely on foreign oil. We have a ton of natural gas, too.

Right now, there are 2 zero-emissions power sources that make financial sense: solar and nuclear. The big issue with nuclear is the tremendous amount of regulations necessary before building a reactor. A 4th generation, liquid salt reactor would have the following benefits: 1) zero emissions; 2) fuel that could be re-processed, i.e., no 1,000 year radioactive toxic waste); 3) proven safety record; and 4) substantially lower cost.

The difficulty is that in the US, any nuclear reactor has to follow the one model that has been approved. And it's an outdated model that was purposefully inefficient so that the reactors could also process fuel for atomic weapons. 4G liquid salt reactors do not do that. The current approved model has safety mechanisms to slow down a reaction to prevent a chain reaction. 4G liquid salt reactors siphon off some energy from the reaction to sustain the reaction. So, old reactors need a break or the engine just keeps going. New reactors need a gentle foot on the gas or else the engine will slow down and stop.

for those of you who have EV's now does it not feel great to not have to pay what others are paying at the pump?

We have two cars, a tesla and my work car, I get a gas card so its sort of free in a way, but typically to fill up my car it was $28-32, now its $55 plus, just crazy.

With the tesla looking as how much our electric bill has gone up since having it its only $20-30 a month total and she drives the car 25k plus miles per year so I think we are saving 80% now compared with gas cars.

I know you can get cheaper EV's in the 20k range, I wonder why others are not switching faster?

***FREE*** DC Fast charging in Topeka at Sharp Honda though Charge Point.

https://i.imgur.com/FbbEWM5.jpg

Had to drive back home from Wichita and a trip that normally would have cost $60 in gasoline plus $11.50 in tolls cost me $13.18. It would have only cost me the tolls had I not had to charge the car a bit before heading out.

We have enough oil to supply the world right here in the United States. Now, tell me, where do we get the batteries that power the electric cars? We don't have the minerals here to produce them. The argument of going electric to become "energy independent" is nonsense.

I like it as much for avoiding gas stations as the cost itself. I don't really think about the savings side since I don't often buy gas, though it's obviously a nice benefit in the long run.

As for not switching faster, it still just depends on your use case. And the ones down at the $20k range will get you from place to place but aren't exactly luxury cars.

That's right. We could supply the entire world with bountiful oil, cheap gasoline for everyone, entirely produced from the good ol' USA, if only, if only, um..., what's the current conspiracy again?

I'm 100% ready to buy an electric car, but for it to make sense for my family, it must have 6 seats and plenty of cargo space. I'm hoping that the Kia EV9 doesn't come with huge dealer markups.

We test drove a Tesla Model Y Performance today. Been looking at one for a few weeks. Wife’s current car is a 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT that takes premium and gets 13 MPG. Premium was $5.15 today.

How’s the insurance on these Teslas?

Consumer Reports trashed the Model Y. The Mustang EV has been getting great reviews.

Because the range and time to recharge is still dogshit.

300 miles per day is plenty for us and when we do have to recharge we just use a fast charger , go into store and when you come
Out it’s about 70% full , had one for 3 years not one luck of problems and zero maintenance

Insurance was a concern for me as well. Through Geico my rates did go up but not as much as I had heard. I think it was around a 20% increase from the MDX to the MY performance.

That being said, I hit a highway cone at 4 AM on the way to work one morning. It was in the middle of the exit ramp and had been hit previously to where the black side was facing me so I didn't see it in time. Currently the parts for the Tesla have to come from Tesla so the total damage for a bumper, trim piece, and a bent "impact diffuser" was close to $5k. This was for damage that was barely noticeable. So I don't know how the insurance rates my adjust over time due to the high cost of repairs.

I love the car. I am not preaching green anything but I charge almost exclusively at work ($10 per month on employee plan). It's a bubbly, plain crossover family car that even my wife can drive, and it isn't a slouch if I want to go fast.

That and the fact automobiles/big rigs/cruise ships amount to roughly 16% of the total ozone depletion.
But we're saving the earth, lol.

Why not clean up the main culprits, industrial, foreign countries, plants producing electricity, etc., that contributes to destroying almost 50%, lol?


There's gotta be a balance. One dirty solution being replaced with another isnt, lol.

People seem to get hung up on the "green" stuff a lot (see: this thread). But the reality is that, unless you are the type to wax nostalgic about the loud engines of the past, most people pretty quickly come to love EVs because they're just a super pleasant driving experience. They're quieter than a lot of luxury vehicles, often at far lower costs. Even the cheapest EVs will beat most muscle cars off of the line. Similarly, the instant torque makes it a dream to move around in traffic since you can quickly zip ahead of someone when you need to. And then you realize you haven't gone to a gas station or had to get an oil change in years...

As I've said all along, I get the hesitation if you regularly drive hundreds of miles, but if you mainly need a commuter car, they're starting to hit "no brainer" territory.

What does it cost to use someone's fast charger?