Electric Car News

[glhs837]

Journalists Tow Camper Behind Electric Truck, End in Stunning Failure When They Only Make it 85 Miles

Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you

ijr.com

Shocker, when you chose an inadequate tool for the job, its going to end in failure. The Lightning was the wrong tool for three reasons

1. Don't bring an electric truck to a towing battle who's range starts with anything less than three. Just asking for it.
2 Dont buy EVs who's design is a ICE vehicle conversion. If the platform was designed from the ground up as an EV, its going to suffer massive inefficiency. This is why every ICE maker who thought they could just slap some batteries and a motor into an ICE body has now decided to build from the ground up.
3. Dont buy EVs tied to shitty charging networks.
4. When a maker rushes a design to get first mover advantage, someones going to pay a price for that speed.

Last point. These guys are dicks, as shown by the fact that rather than be good citizens and unhook the trailer to charge, they blocked off a lot of chargers to make a point.

We'll see how the newer gen EV trucks fare, the Silverado and the 2025 Lightning, both of which will be clean sheet designs. That should make them more efficient, but theres only so much you can do to a vehicle that size, so I suspect there will be massive costly battery packs and a low eMPG.

This is the reason for the Cybertruck odd design. You cant really get the weight/strength needed for efficiency without the exoskeleton and the gigacastings and structural battery pack. Like farm equipment, the design requirements form the design.

 

[PeoplesElbow]

Not very bright journalists. The range initial was for the truck, unladen, no trailer. Once it determined the actual load and power usage, range was dramatically reduced, something the journalists didn't even consider. No different than an ICE getting 20-22mpg normal, and 10-15 when towing.

But it did expose what most of us already know... gas is not ready to be replaced by electric.

This is why I want a plug in hybrid fullsize with maybe 40 miles worth of EV and 400 of HEV range.

 

[Kyle]

Electric car survey finds this as the biggest reason preventing people from buying them

Electric-only vehicles in spotlight as gas prices remain high



Supply chain issues in auto sector will last until 2024: Expert
A survey of U.S. adults has found that the logistics of where and when they would be able to charge an electric car is the largest barrier preventing them from owning such vehicles.


The revelation emerged in a recent poll of around 8,000 people conducted by Consumer Reports, in which a combined 36% said they would "definitely" or "seriously consider" choosing an electric-only vehicle as their next auto purchase.

When asked about the top concerns preventing them from making the jump from gas to electric, 61% cited charging logistics, followed by 55% saying the number of miles the vehicle can go per charge and 52% saying the costs of buying and maintaining an electric-only vehicle.

Electric car survey finds this as the biggest reason preventing people from buying them

A survey of American adults has found that the logistics of charging an electric vehicle is the top reason preventing people from buying them as their next auto purchase.

www.foxbusiness.com

 

[Sneakers]

When asked about the top concerns preventing them from making the jump from gas to electric, 61% cited charging logistics, followed by 55% saying the number of miles the vehicle can go per charge and 52% saying the costs of buying and maintaining an electric-only vehicle.

I agree with this, and for most people this is a huge jump financially and in concept. That's why I chose to put money down on a concept vehicle. It won't be my primary vehicle which is still a big ol' ICE pickup, And I see it as more of a fun toy than a primary mode of transportation, but I'm sure over time it will be more and more like my daily driver, just to save on gas.

The Aptera, which I really hope comes to fruition, can have up to 1000 mile range. I opted for the 400 mile range package. It has solar cells which add up to 40 miles a day. Since most people drive less than that daily, in theory you never need to plug in to charge. If you do need to plug in, you can get a full charge from a 120VAC outlet overnight. I'm being very optimistic about getting one, so I'm putting in a 240VAC outlet in the garage now, so a couple of hours for a full charge.

I'm really looking forward to getting this vehicle and seeing just how close they come to their claims.

 

[Kyle]

The Aptera, which I really hope comes to fruition, can have up to 1000 mile range. ...

Had to look that one up, i'd never heard mention of it before.

At <900 lbs I can see how they've stretched the range but I'd never want to get hit in one.

 

[Sneakers]

<900 lbs

It's between 1700 and 2000 lbs, falls into the same category as my Slingshot. Agree, wouldn't want to get hit, but no different that what I drive now.

 

[Sneakers]

Had to look that one up, i'd never heard mention of it before.

I have mentioned it before, but here's their website.
Aptera Motors

Tons of videos out there on it, design, testing, features, safety, etc...

 

[Kyle]

It's between 1700 and 2000 lbs, falls into the same category as my Slingshot. Agree, wouldn't want to get hit, but no different that what I drive now.

I was going by the wikipedia entry that had it listed as 851lbs.

Still about half the weight of things that it would share the road with.

 

[Clem72]

Shocker, when you chose an inadequate tool for the job, its going to end in failure. The Lightning was the wrong tool for three reasons

1. Don't bring an electric truck to a towing battle who's range starts with anything less than three. Just asking for it.
2 Dont buy EVs who's design is a ICE vehicle conversion. If the platform was designed from the ground up as an EV, its going to suffer massive inefficiency. This is why every ICE maker who thought they could just slap some batteries and a motor into an ICE body has now decided to build from the ground up.
3. Dont buy EVs tied to shitty charging networks.
4. When a maker rushes a design to get first mover advantage, someones going to pay a price for that speed.

Last point. These guys are dicks, as shown by the fact that rather than be good citizens and unhook the trailer to charge, they blocked off a lot of chargers to make a point.

We'll see how the newer gen EV trucks fare, the Silverado and the 2025 Lightning, both of which will be clean sheet designs. That should make them more efficient, but theres only so much you can do to a vehicle that size, so I suspect there will be massive costly battery packs and a low eMPG.

This is the reason for the Cybertruck odd design. You cant really get the weight/strength needed for efficiency without the exoskeleton and the gigacastings and structural battery pack. Like farm equipment, the design requirements form the design.

Actually this article confirms my choice for the Lighting (im on the list, but haven't been given the chance to buy yet). They say in the article there's a place for this vehicle, focusing on around town light duty work.

Well I was planning on buying an electric SUV as I don't camp or haul toys anymore. Plan is to treat the Lightning like an SUV for in/around town travel that can also take trash to the transfer station and in an emergency power my house lights.

Might not be as efficient as an SUV in eMPG, but the extra features seem like a good tradeoff. They made it 85 miles with the trailer with around 10% battery left so if we're generous we could say it might get 100 miles if driven point to point. That's not a good for a vehicle that's supposed to get 230 miles. I won't really be concerned though unless normal non-trailer range is less than 170 miles or so (round trip from BWI, pretty much my worst case scenario use case).

 

[phreddyp]

They should have loaded the trailer being pulled by the EV with a generator, problem solved .

 

[Clem72]

So I was inspired to look for NON TOWING range reviews. Seems like guys are getting right at the EPA estimate.

Here's a video of a guys first trip with the truck. Drives a mix of city/highway with the adaptive cruise set 5mph above speed limit. 90+ degrees so he's running the AC the entire time (including while filming the introduction), he stops for fast food, drives around parking garages,etc.

Looks like he got 235 miles. Anything over 200 is gravy for me, and with my mostly in town and between Ltown/the Park/Solomons my max speed is likely to be limited to 60mph or so, so I should be on the upper end of the estimates.

 

[glhs837]

Actually this article confirms my choice for the Lighting (im on the list, but haven't been given the chance to buy yet). They say in the article there's a place for this vehicle, focusing on around town light duty work.

Well I was planning on buying an electric SUV as I don't camp or haul toys anymore. Plan is to treat the Lightning like an SUV for in/around town travel that can also take trash to the transfer station and in an emergency power my house lights.

Might not be as efficient as an SUV in eMPG, but the extra features seem like a good tradeoff. They made it 85 miles with the trailer with around 10% battery left so if we're generous we could say it might get 100 miles if driven point to point. That's not a good for a vehicle that's supposed to get 230 miles. I won't really be concerned though unless normal non-trailer range is less than 170 miles or so (round trip from BWI, pretty much my worst case scenario use case).

If it fits your use case, then agreed. I've not seen a 65-70mph highway run yet.

 

[Ken King]

If I had the coin I would like a Lucid Air Dream (Hell, I would settle for their low end model - Air Pure).

 

[GURPS]

Studies Show The Electric Vehicles Democrats Insist You Buy Are Worse For The Environment And Lower Quality​

According to J.D. Power, owners of electric or hybrid vehicles cite more problems than do owners of gas-powered vehicles. The latter vehicles average 175 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100), hybrids average 239 PP100, and battery-powered cars — excluding Tesla models — average 240 PP100. Tesla models average 226 PP100. Given the average cost of an electric car is roughly $60,000, about $20,000 more than the cost of a gas-powered car, it seems owners of EVs didn’t get the value they deserve.

Some blamed the supply-chain disruptions caused by pandemic-related lockdowns as the main reason for EVs’ quality issues. EV makers have sought alternative (sometimes less optimal) solutions to manufacture new vehicles. But the same supply-chain disruption affected makers of gas-powered vehicles. Yet the three highest-ranking brands, measured by overall initial quality, are all makers of gas-powered vehicles: Buick (139 PP100), Dodge (143 PP100), and Chevrolet (147 PP100).

Some pointed to the design as a main contributing factor to EVs’ quality issues. According to David Amodeo, global director of automotive at J.D. Power, automakers view EVs as “the vehicle that will transform us into the era of the smart cars,” so they have loaded up EVs with technologies such as touch screens, Bluetooth, and voice recognition. EV makers also prefer to use manufacturer-designed apps to “control certain functions of the car, from locking and unlocking the doors remotely to monitoring battery charge.” Increasing technical complexity also increases the likelihood of problems. Not surprisingly, EV owners reported more infotainment and connectivity issues in their vehicles than owners of gas-powered vehicles. Amodeo acknowledged that “there’s a lot of room for improvement” for EVs.

 

[phreddyp]

Studies Show The Electric Vehicles Democrats Insist You Buy Are Worse For The Environment And Lower Quality​

According to J.D. Power, owners of electric or hybrid vehicles cite more problems than do owners of gas-powered vehicles. The latter vehicles average 175 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100), hybrids average 239 PP100, and battery-powered cars — excluding Tesla models — average 240 PP100. Tesla models average 226 PP100. Given the average cost of an electric car is roughly $60,000, about $20,000 more than the cost of a gas-powered car, it seems owners of EVs didn’t get the value they deserve.

Some blamed the supply-chain disruptions caused by pandemic-related lockdowns as the main reason for EVs’ quality issues. EV makers have sought alternative (sometimes less optimal) solutions to manufacture new vehicles. But the same supply-chain disruption affected makers of gas-powered vehicles. Yet the three highest-ranking brands, measured by overall initial quality, are all makers of gas-powered vehicles: Buick (139 PP100), Dodge (143 PP100), and Chevrolet (147 PP100).

Some pointed to the design as a main contributing factor to EVs’ quality issues. According to David Amodeo, global director of automotive at J.D. Power, automakers view EVs as “the vehicle that will transform us into the era of the smart cars,” so they have loaded up EVs with technologies such as touch screens, Bluetooth, and voice recognition. EV makers also prefer to use manufacturer-designed apps to “control certain functions of the car, from locking and unlocking the doors remotely to monitoring battery charge.” Increasing technical complexity also increases the likelihood of problems. Not surprisingly, EV owners reported more infotainment and connectivity issues in their vehicles than owners of gas-powered vehicles. Amodeo acknowledged that “there’s a lot of room for improvement” for EVs.

I'm shocked I tell you !

 

[Clem72]

Studies Show The Electric Vehicles Democrats Insist You Buy Are Worse For The Environment And Lower Quality​

According to J.D. Power, owners of electric or hybrid vehicles cite more problems than do owners of gas-powered vehicles. The latter vehicles average 175 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100), hybrids average 239 PP100, and battery-powered cars — excluding Tesla models — average 240 PP100. Tesla models average 226 PP100. Given the average cost of an electric car is roughly $60,000, about $20,000 more than the cost of a gas-powered car, it seems owners of EVs didn’t get the value they deserve.

Some blamed the supply-chain disruptions caused by pandemic-related lockdowns as the main reason for EVs’ quality issues. EV makers have sought alternative (sometimes less optimal) solutions to manufacture new vehicles. But the same supply-chain disruption affected makers of gas-powered vehicles. Yet the three highest-ranking brands, measured by overall initial quality, are all makers of gas-powered vehicles: Buick (139 PP100), Dodge (143 PP100), and Chevrolet (147 PP100).

Some pointed to the design as a main contributing factor to EVs’ quality issues. According to David Amodeo, global director of automotive at J.D. Power, automakers view EVs as “the vehicle that will transform us into the era of the smart cars,” so they have loaded up EVs with technologies such as touch screens, Bluetooth, and voice recognition. EV makers also prefer to use manufacturer-designed apps to “control certain functions of the car, from locking and unlocking the doors remotely to monitoring battery charge.” Increasing technical complexity also increases the likelihood of problems. Not surprisingly, EV owners reported more infotainment and connectivity issues in their vehicles than owners of gas-powered vehicles. Amodeo acknowledged that “there’s a lot of room for improvement” for EVs.

Two things, I don't give a crap if it's better for the enviroment. Second, the overwhelming majority of the JD Power self-reported "problems" are issues the person had with an infotainment system. If the idjit can't figure out how to connect his phone bluetooth to the car, that's a reported "problem". And yes, electric cars have more fancy doodads that people can be confused about even in the base model trim than most ICE cars.

 

[Sneakers]

I'm shocked I tell you !

Don't stick your tongue in the outlet....

 

[Kyle]

Increasing technical complexity also increases the likelihood of problems. ​

 

[stgislander]

Wait... isn't JD Powers in the back pocket of General Motors?

 

[Kyle]

Wait... isn't JD Powers in the back pocket of General Motors?

Yep.