GM building an all-electric-vehicle plant in Detroit.

[Redsfaithful]

It’s actually a moot point. Auto manufacturers know that current lithium battery technology will go the way of the dinosaur quite soon. The next generation, probably solid state batteries, will be able to be charged in minutes and will have far more range. This isn’t just a theoretical exercise- A colleague of mine is one of the top engineers in the battery division of one of the big three, and they are investing big time in the solid state batteries. Both Toyota and some Chinese companies are doing the same thing. This will happen full scale within five years, with limited availability within a year.

You're still talking 10+ minutes and to the crew in this thread that'll be enough to complain about. I mean, we're at 30 minutes for hundreds of miles of charge with Teslas now, and they think that's unthinkable compared to getting gas.

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We treat our road trip stops like a NASCAR pit crew. We even pack sandwiches to avoid the slowdown of getting food.

This all means you hate driving, like most Americans I think, probably worth unpacking that a little more.

[JaxRed]

And Sea Ray will want to know about the warranty !!

[kaldaniels]

You're still talking 10+ minutes and to the crew in this thread that'll be enough to complain about. I mean, we're at 30 minutes for hundreds of miles of charge with Teslas now, and they think that's unthinkable compared to getting gas.

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This all means you hate driving, like most Americans I think, probably worth unpacking that a little more.

10 minutes is doable. 30 is unthinkable.

[BernieCarbo]

You're still talking 10+ minutes and to the crew in this thread that'll be enough to complain about. I mean, we're at 30 minutes for hundreds of miles of charge with Teslas now, and they think that's unthinkable compared to getting gas.

It is for most people, and that's why the driving range of an EV is a deal breaker for many. But like I say, it's a moot point anyway because battery technology is in its infancy and we will soon have much better and more eco-friendly batteries that will make current ones obsolete.

[Boston Red]

This all means you hate driving

No, it means we want to get to our destination ASAP. Adding an hour to our trip would objectively suck.

[Redsfaithful]

No, it means we want to get to our destination ASAP. Adding an hour to our trip would objectively suck.

Right, I'm with you, and it means you dislike being in a car for a long period of time. Cars are pretty cruddy places to be for more than a short period of time. We should probably be trying to change that as a society.

[*BaseClogger*]

So from a macro standpoint what happens on high travel dates? There aren't going to be millions of rental cars just sitting around waiting for Thanksgiving weekend. (Where much to the rental companies chagrin there will be a lot of miles put on the car...so hello expensive rentals). This is a sincere issue/question. Something has to give if you can't hop in your own car and drive to a far destination easily .

The newly built High-Speed Rail Interstate System should take care of it...

[Boston Red]

That's not really the issue. I mean, cars are usually cruddy compared to the destination, sure, but it's usually not a miserable experience in and of itself. Waiting for half an hour twice at two charging stations in the middle of nowhere (probably)? That sounds cruddy!

Obviously, once we go autonomous the experience should change dramatically. Can't wait to the day I can hop in the car in Wichita, pop my destination into the coordinates, have a glass of wine, fall asleep and wake up in Louisville.

[Redsfaithful]

Can't wait to the day I can hop in the car in Wichita, pop my destination into the coordinates, have a glass of wine, fall asleep and wake up in Louisville.

I don't think this is a thing that's really going to happen in that sense anytime soon, so probably should be dreaming other dreams.

I personally fly anytime a drive is more than a few hundred miles, and I don't understand people who act like it's enjoyable to drive that far. There's no way anyone does it for reasons other than saving money.

Electric cars are light years better experiences than gas cars, even with a few minutes of charging time. That's one thing Tesla has gotten right that gets overshadowed - the entire thing is an upgrade, not just moving away from gas.

It's wild to me how soft people are! Everyone spends 4 hours a day looking at their phone, but you ask them to do that for a bit while their car charges and it's just unthinkable.

These conversations make you realize global warming really has no chance of being mitigated because people dig in their heels when it comes to the simplest things (changing lightbulbs is a poltiical battle! charging a car!), let alone the tougher things that probably will need to happen.

And I include myself in that, just to cut off that line of conversation. As I said above, I fly when able.

[Boston Red]

Flying is better, of course. But with a family of five? Not generally gong to happen. Particularly when it's around a holiday. That's expensive. A day long road trip ain't great, but it's not horrible, either. Adding new delays to it would suck, yes. Sorry, not sorry.

BTW, driving ALONE can can actually be pretty pleasant in and of itself. Particularly with satellite radio. But only the actual driving part.

[BernieCarbo]

I don't think this is a thing that's really going to happen in that sense anytime soon, so probably should be dreaming other dreams.

I personally fly anytime a drive is more than a few hundred miles, and I don't understand people who act like it's enjoyable to drive that far. There's no way anyone does it for reasons other than saving money.

Electric cars are light years better experiences than gas cars, even with a few minutes of charging time. That's one thing Tesla has gotten right that gets overshadowed - the entire thing is an upgrade, not just moving away from gas.

It's wild to me how soft people are! Everyone spends 4 hours a day looking at their phone, but you ask them to do that for a bit while their car charges and it's just unthinkable.

These conversations make you realize global warming really has no chance of being mitigated because people dig in their heels when it comes to the simplest things (changing lightbulbs is a poltiical battle! charging a car!), let alone the tougher things that probably will need to happen.

And I include myself in that, just to cut off that line of conversation. As I said above, I fly when able.

If you are alone and don't care when you leave or get there or get back, and you don't need to take much, sure, flying is good too. But if I can drive there the same day, I'm driving. Is it enjoyable? No, but flying isn't enjoyable either. I have gone on so many trips where something went wrong with the flight that I just don't do it anymore for trips to places like Chicago, St Louis, Nashville, Pittsburgh, etc.

And nobody is acting soft. You don't mind waiting a half hour for your car to charge? That's ok, but if someone lives in Dayton and has to drive to Cincy or northern Kentucky regularly, that's an extra few hours per week added to their commute. The present day electric car just isn't a good fit for a lot of people for a lot of reasons, and it still isn't environmentally great, but it's a start. In four or five years, that is really going to change.

[kaldaniels]

Redsfaithful - I engaged you on your rhetoric when I said it sounds crazy but c’mon.

We are all reasonable people here but why the inflammatory terms? “Hate driving”. “Soft”. It’s like you are spoiling for a fight.

This is just reality. People want to get to where they are going fast (and cheap). Stopping for 30 minutes to recharge will dissuade people from going EV. Is that even controversial to believe that?

[Redsfaithful]

That's ok, but if someone lives in Dayton and has to drive to Cincy or northern Kentucky regularly, that's an extra few hours per week added to their commute.

Nobody should be making that commute regularly.

[Redsfaithful]

Redsfaithful - I engaged you on your rhetoric when I said it sounds crazy but c’mon.

We are all reasonable people here but why the inflammatory terms? “Hate driving”. “Soft”. It’s like you are spoiling for a fight.

This is just reality. People want to get to where they are going fast (and cheap). Stopping for 30 minutes to recharge will dissuade people from going EV. Is that even controversial to believe that?

I hate driving so it's not spoiling for a fight, and I included myself in the soft part. I fly every chance I get vs driving for hours and hours. People talk about how miserable flying is - and it is - but the tradeoff of not having to spend hours and hours longer in a car is well worth it.

I'm sure you are right that it will dissuade people, but I also know for a fact, it's just data, that people very rarely make trips long enough where it comes into play.

Boston is on here talking about a trip he makes around the holidays, and ignoring that it's .... a trip he makes around the holidays. Once a year.

[Boston Red]

The family makes that trip twice a year, and there are other, somewhat shorter trips as well. Sorry for talking about my experiences. How could we make this thread more comfortable for you?