( % Writer J.Kent drives a Tesla-3 EV % ) https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2020/01/05/ive-been-driving-an-electric-vehicle-for-a-year-and-its-bliss/ I’ve been driving an electric vehicle for a year, and it’s bliss Jan 5, 2020 John Kent
The electric car is the best thing I’ve ever paid money for. [image] Volkswagen unveiled its I.D. Space Vizzion autonomous electric concept car in Los Angeles on Nov. 19.(Damian Dovarganes / AP) I’ll get right to the point. The electric car we bought one year ago is the best thing I’ve ever paid money for. Not just the best car — which it is by a very wide margin — the best thing. While that’s sinking in, here’s some context: Last summer in these pages, I chronicled [ https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2019/06/30/if-you-re-not-shopping-for-an-electric-vehicle-maybe-you-should-be/ ] the pros and cons of electric vehicle ownership after six months behind the wheel. At that time, the accumulating evidence was affirming our decision to buy an EV, despite warnings from naysayers and social media trolls, mixed in with a few of our own doubts. None of those fears took root. The battery has never run down to zero, the car hasn’t burst into flames, no one’s been electrocuted, we’ve always had way more than enough juice to putter around North Texas, and long-distance trips have mostly been boringly uneventful. The advantages of EV ownership that I cataloged last June have held steady: outrageous operating efficiency (I’ve averaged the equivalent of 130 miles per gallon over the last year), rocket-sled acceleration, minimal maintenance, zero tailpipe emissions and really cheap fuel from your wall socket. Also, the car is a blast to drive. It receives periodic, free over-the-air software updates that, among many other things, have improved 0-60 mph acceleration time from 5.6 seconds when new, to 5.2, and recently to 4.9. Gearheads shell out a lot of money for that kind of performance bump. Lessons learned? The nationwide public-charging network is reliable and great for trips, but it is not a factor in our daily driving routine. Unless we’re traveling, the power stored in the car’s battery comes exclusively from the wall socket in our carport. Also noted: Pontificating about the wonders of your battery-powered car can launch a skeptic into a kind of fidgeting, shuffling, eye-averting anxiety — like someone who’s being pressured to switch religions. In the last year, I’ve encountered no small amount of suspicion about EVs. Some observers react with resolute silence (If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything, as our mothers taught us), or take the form of a social-media ogre spewing rehearsed anti-EV talking points, of which there are many. Others are benignly uninterested, or only mildly curious. I’m trying to curb my enthusiasm. Among the few demerits our car chalked up was a relatively steep out-the-door cost, though it’s priced competitively with non-EVs in its segment. Some of the controls are not intuitive, but after a couple of tries you’re good to go. And on one long trip, we experienced anxious moments brought on by a dwindling battery on a deeply rural back road with no charging station nearby. Now that I better understand the car’s capabilities and how to manage them, that scenario has not repeated. Running low on juice? Drive slightly more conservatively and you’ll magically create more available range than you had five minutes ago. The car notices your boot dancing more lightly on the throttle and recomputes accordingly. An unrelenting myth says that modern EVs are great for urban driving but unsuitable for long trips. Balderdash. Baloney. Bunkum. In August, I drove my daughter and her friend from Fort Worth to Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., and back, logging more than 2,000 miles. The experience was alarmingly similar to taking the same trip in a conventional car, including but not limited to the numbing monotony any such adventure induces. We’ve also taken multiple journeys to Houston, Austin and Lubbock. In September we zipped up to Oklahoma City for our daughter’s field hockey game. Afterward, in the parking lot, a brief conversation with a bystander ensued. “That thing make it all the way back to D-FW [Dallas-Ft.Worth]?” “Yup.” “Seriously?” “Yup.” It’s true that many first-generation EVs were severely range-constrained, making cross-country voyages untenable. But the EV range standard has climbed to well over 200 miles. At 264, ours is on the high side of average and provides more than enough juice to zoom around North Texas all day long. On big trips, we typically spend 10 to 20 minutes at each public charger, during which time everybody’s ready to get out of the car, anyway, to stretch or eat. So, yeah, our EV is fab. I’m trying hard not to be such an annoying evangelist about it. Just tell me to shut up. Still, come on — cars that run on gas work great, so why bother with an EV? 130 mpg? Ferrari acceleration? Five bucks to fill up at home? “That all sound good?” “Hmm.” “What? Too much change for you?” “Hmm. Shut up.” [© dallasnews.com] http://texasclimatenews.org/?page_id=10500 John Kent Contributing editor John Kent is a Fort Worth-based writer specializing in transportation and environmental topics. He is a contributor to the Dallas Morning News and GreenSource DFW, a former staff writer for the Albuquerque Journal, and has written for the Associated Press, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Business Press and Corpus Christi Caller-Times. ... (from) https://cleantechnica.com/2019/01/20/exclusive-survey-of-people-who-used-my-tesla-referral-code-explains-why-elon-killed-it/ (gives) https://cleantechnica.com/files/2019/01/John-Kent-Cropped.jpg John Kent with his Model 3 + https://www.greensboro.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/this-electric-car-owner-got-his-money-s-worth/article_5fcf6046-8af8-543e-9630-d05bd299e4da.html This electric car owner got his money's worth ... The comfort and performance of today’s electric cars is wonderful. I have no regrets and I would bet other owners agree. Wayne Foster Greensboro-NC For EVLN EV-newswire posts use: http://www.evdl.org/archive/ {brucedp.neocities.org} -- Sent from: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/ _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub ARCHIVE: http://www.evdl.org/archive/index.html INFO: http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
