How soon will electric or hybrid vans/RVs be common?

[rruff]

StarLink is definitely not the cheapest and fastest Internet service.

Satellite internet, as I said. Prior satellite internet was more expensive and unreliable... and insanely expensive if you were a nomad. It's a huge difference.

 

[RonDean]

Some of these EV scare stories remind me that there was a time in the United Kingdom when the law required self-propelled vehicles to be led by a pedestrian waving a red flag or carrying a lantern to warn bystanders of the vehicle's approach.

*More than 46,000 people die in (personal) car crashes each year, according to the Annual United States Road Crash Statistics (ASIRT). The U.S. traffic fatality rate is 12.4 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.
*FARS contained no fatalities in electric vehicles, and less than 0.01 % of cases in NASS/CDS and NASS/GES involved electric vehicles. The incidence of fire was lower for hybrid vehicles than the conventional fleet in all three databases.
*Travel by personal light-duty vehicles presents the greatest risk, while air, rail, and bus travel have much lower death rates.

(Data from various sources, but I can post on request. Or you can try your own searches to make sure I didn't just present biased sources.)

So...
Maybe we should outlaw all personal vehicles and take public transport or walk instead? It would certainly help the environment.

JIC it isn't obvious, I am being sarcastic.

 

[bullfrog !]

^^^not totally but I remember when only odd number license plate cars could buy fuel on certain days and even numbered plates on the days they didn’t during the fuel shortages.

 

[Frood]

^^^not totally but I remember when only odd number license plate cars could buy fuel on certain days and even numbered plates on the days they didn’t during the fuel shortages.

And you could only buy a certain number of gallons too I think... I remember as a child sitting in the van with my mom stressing out because she didn't know if she could buy enough gas to get to the grocery store and back to the house (our house was pretty rural at that time).

My previous post was referring to that post not the thread by the way. I had second thoughts about a response so edited it. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[Happy Camper]

The Christmas prior to the even odd has buying with huge lines my sister's and I got 12v 9 inch black and white TVs. I remember sitting on the hood of the car waiting in those long lines watching TV. Good times bad times rolled into one.

 

[Happy Camper]

Interesting article about how miles are driven in EV vs gas and hybrid vehicles.
https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-electric-vehicles-driven-gas-cars.html

 

[NctryBen]

Well, I’m glad yesterday’s battery failure was a couple of pretty new interstates… had they been new lithium’s in an EV I’d really be in trouble stranded out in the rhubarb!

 

[Happy Camper]

Well, I’m glad yesterday’s battery failure was a couple of pretty new interstates… had they been new lithium’s in an EV I’d really be in trouble stranded out in the rhubarb!

Not the rhubarb!

 

[Carla618]

New article on Wired came in my email feed today. I can't read the entire article (used up my articles), but I think you may find it interesting:

https://www.wired.com/story/panasonic-powder-powered-silicone-ev-batteries/?

 

[Ric G]

I use a RAV4 Hybrid as my camper. LOVE IT! Gets great gas mileage, and supplies thermostat controlled heating or cooling while asleep.

 

[Oldwolf]

I use a RAV4 Hybrid as my camper. LOVE IT! Gets great gas mileage, and supplies thermostat controlled heating or cooling while asleep.

Once I wear out my AWD Sienna camper I'd like to have EXACTLY what you have. I'd install a class 3 hitch and tow a 10ft Aliner.

 

[RvNaut]

Not the rhubarb!

 

[JT646]

Available soon...if you can downsize:

 

[rruff]

Some notes...

You can "say goodbye to range anxiety" so long as your legs still work. Ditto for the "up to 120 mile range"...
9.5 KWh is a lot!
He's backing up traffic.
He's taking up 3 parking spaces so he can orient towards the sun.

Actually I love it! I seriously considered building something like this for my rig. Gotta go offroad though... big tires.

 

[RonDean]

Some notes...

You can "say goodbye to range anxiety" so long as your legs still work. Ditto for the "up to 120 mile range"...
9.5 KWh is a lot!
He's backing up traffic.
He's taking up 3 parking spaces so he can orient towards the sun.

Actually I love it! I seriously considered building something like this for my rig. Gotta go offroad though... big tires.

Your observations made me smile.

But I also thought there should be room for such vehicles as this. We have become so "car oriented" that it seems totally normal to think first about backing up traffic (cars) and parking spaces (sized for cars.) Watching several videos about the bike culture in the Netherlands I learned that their transition to the leading bike culture started with giving priority to pedestrians and bikes in urban settings. They didn't ban cars but did insist in some areas they have the lowest priority or right of way.

 

[rruff]

Watching several videos about the bike culture in the Netherlands I learned that their transition to the leading bike culture started with giving priority to pedestrians and bikes in urban settings.

I have about 250,000 miles riding on the road... but very little for transportation. I think in the US it would be tough to sell the idea of everyone using bicycles for transportation (weather, hills), but we need to get away from driving monster pickups and SUVs everywhere. I've been proposing that we make a tiny car standard (< 500 lb for instance, so really small), and repurpose urban infrastructure to make them safe and convenient. This would be far safer for cyclists and pedestrians as well.

It's a perfect match for electric vehicle tech, since simplicity is important in a small vehicle if you want it to be affordable, and a small battery would suffice since they are very efficient and don't need a long range.

 

[bullfrog !]

Toyota is scheduled I believe to bring to the US a small low priced pickup truck once again. Supposedly between $10,000 and $15,000 to try to boost sales of smaller affordable vehicles.

 

[RonDean]

I have about 250,000 miles riding on the road... but very little for transportation. I think in the US it would be tough to sell the idea of everyone using bicycles for transportation (weather, hills), but we need to get away from driving monster pickups and SUVs everywhere. I've been proposing that we make a tiny car standard (< 500 lb for instance, so really small), and repurpose urban infrastructure to make them safe and convenient. This would be far safer for cyclists and pedestrians as well.

It's a perfect match for electric vehicle tech, since simplicity is important in a small vehicle if you want it to be affordable, and a small battery would suffice since they are very efficient and don't need a long range.

Watching the Dutch videos I see a lot of golf cart sized "city cars" or "micro cars." I agree that vehicles like this make sense everywhere but on freeways. They would probably fit well inside Musk's tubes too. Or loaded onto some rail transport for long travel. And as you say, perfect for solar.

 

[rruff]

Toyota is scheduled I believe to bring to the US a small low priced pickup truck once again.

I read it was *not* coming to the US... for obvious reasons. We are not allowed to have cheap utilitarian vehicles here, that are common in the rest of the world. We cannot import and license a foreign car either, unless it's at least 25 years old. I discovered recently that this is not true in Europe, where there are no restrictions on what a person can purchase and license.

"Alas, that likely means the Hilux Champ will never make it to the United States, if you didn’t already figure that out. The gasoline and diesel variants sold in Thailand are Euro5 emissions compliant. Presumably bringing the gas engines up to U.S. EPA or the current Euro6 standard is possible but it, like everything else that would make this truck more palatable for even the most austere-minded of American customers, would raise the purchase price. But hey, eventually you can get one for that income property you’re planning to buy in Costa Rica."

https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a46190480/toyota-13000-pickup-hilux-champ/

 

[Gr8ful]

IRS To Change EV Tax Credit Rules in January from clark.com​ ​

Supply and demand has started to work in your favor if you’re in the market for an electric vehicle.​

Early adopters of EVs already own them. So in many cases, the hockey-stick growth charts are leveling off. At least at the eye-popping price points that we saw for the models dominating the market even three years ago.

Meanwhile, car manufacturers are racing to compete with Tesla. New models (including some more economical ones) are entering the marketplace with many more in the pipeline.

An IRS tax credit of $7,500 for EVs and the vehicle market moderating after the insane COVID-19 price spike are helping perspective buyers.

Speaking of the tax credit, beware of a major change coming Jan. 1. For EVs using batteries from China, buyers will be getting a $3,750 credit in the new year instead of $7,500.

That could mean, for instance, that Tesla Model 3 and Model Y purchases get $3,750 more expensive on Jan. 1. Same for the Ford Mustang Mach-E.