Cars, it's electric! Do Do Do

rick81721 said:
How do you like the Mach-E so far? Which trim level? I took on a GT at a red light challenge earlier this year and he got me!
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About 19,350 miles and I'm liking it. Premium AWD extended battery. Plenty fast for me (just under 5 sec 0-60). Single speed transmission continuous power all the way up the curve without chugging though gears. I've been using one pedal drive (1PD) ever since I got it and don't miss switching back and forth from accelerator to brake, plus it maximizes regen.

Range is about 270 - 300 miles in the summer, which is really 240 to 270 if you fill up at 10% on a trip. Negative is I lose about 20 - 25% of that range in the winter. Most of the time, I just drive around town with occasional 100 mile RT road trip. Just plug in when I'm home. Never a problem. I DO NOT miss going to gas stations.

Longer road trips? I've done plenty. Three times to Charlotte, NC and back (600 miles) and many more times to MA and NH. It takes longer and you have to plan more but haven't minded it at all. The car is a joy to drive and tech is great.

Scheduled maint every 10,000 miles. First was a bunch of multi point checks and a tire rotation. $29. I'm never going back to an ICE vehicle.
 
SAM said:
I've been using one pedal drive (1PD) ever since I got it and don't miss switching back and forth from accelerator to brake, plus it maximizes regen.
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I never imagined how much I enjoy this on the Model 3. I makes a difference on how relaxed it is to drive an electric car. I think Hyundai also has it as well.
Before I bought the Tesla, I asked owners if they would go back to ICE and none said they would. An added bonus is no vehicle inspection needed and no sticker on the windshield.

The biggest drawback is cost. They are not cheap at all and keep going up.
 
JerseyPete said:
I never imagined how much I enjoy this on the Model 3. I makes a difference on how relaxed it is to drive an electric car. I think Hyundai also has it as well.
Before I bought the Tesla, I asked owners if they would go back to ICE and none said they would. An added bonus is no vehicle inspection needed and no sticker on the windshield.

The biggest drawback is cost. They are not cheap at all and keep going up.
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2021 Model Y Long Range here…

+1 on the EV drive difference vs ICE. Even traffic is enjoyable. It took me 2 hours to park at the US Open on Tuesday and I was like this is still cool. Pretty efficient too, 2% battery loss over the course of the 2 hours w/ A/C running.

Up front cost is a huge bummer no doubt and I do hope somehow BEV prices go down, but maybe total cost of ownership curves are favorable over ICE. I mean no NJ sales tax + almost zero maintenance (tires, maybe brakes 1x?), 4 cents / kWh off peak charging (for now) I think makes for a compelling case. Or maybe it doesn’t, idk.

Anyway, charging is easy at home and superchargers make pretty much any road trip achievable with minimal planning. Honestly, keeping my iPad charged is more of a problem.
 
bucknejo said:
2021 Model Y Long Range here…

+1 on the EV drive difference vs ICE. Even traffic is enjoyable. It took me 2 hours to park at the US Open on Tuesday and I was like this is still cool. Pretty efficient too, 2% battery loss over the course of the 2 hours w/ A/C running.

Up front cost is a huge bummer no doubt and I do hope somehow BEV prices go down, but maybe total cost of ownership curves are favorable over ICE. I mean no NJ sales tax + almost zero maintenance (tires, maybe brakes 1x?), 4 cents / kWh off peak charging (for now) I think makes for a compelling case. Or maybe it doesn’t, idk.

Anyway, charging is easy at home and superchargers make pretty much any road trip achievable with minimal planning. Honestly, keeping my iPad charged is more of a problem.
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Yeah, up front cost is high for EVs. I got a deal because Ford still qualifies for the $7,500 fed tax rebate (which I took off taxes this year). I heard that is going to start to phase out end of this year for Ford (unless new bill changes the rules?). Also got a $2,500 incentive at the time. So, $10K off brought down the up front cost significantly. Too bad I didn't get the $5K NJ State rebate but program ran out of money while I was waiting for my car and I missed the eligible window.

Unfortunately, the Mach E just became much less affordable. Earlier this year (March) Ford said they were losing money on every Mach E due to increased costs. So, they just raised the price of the 2023 models by $7K to 12K, depending on trim/options.
 


I'm not sure how I feel about Jonathan Ward at times but Icon does make some beautiful machines. I kind of like the V8 electric battery design - it goes with the feel of the car or as Jonathan says the design language. With the abundant use of LS for powerplants (for good reason) these electric swaps are interesting.
 
bucknejo said:
2021 Model Y Long Range here…

+1 on the EV drive difference vs ICE. Even traffic is enjoyable. It took me 2 hours to park at the US Open on Tuesday and I was like this is still cool. Pretty efficient too, 2% battery loss over the course of the 2 hours w/ A/C running.
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I think this is BEV owner-justification. I certainly do not have any issues (physical, emotional, or otherwise) driving ICE in similar (or even worse) conditions, and two of my vehicles are manual.
 
don said:


I'm not sure how I feel about Jonathan Ward at times but Icon does make some beautiful machines. I kind of like the V8 electric battery design - it goes with the feel of the car or as Jonathan says the design language. With the abundant use of LS for powerplants (for good reason) these electric swaps are interesting.
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I think this is a great case for the electrification of older cars. That Buick is a cruiser, not some 500HP LSx making a ton of noise.

Any of the generic cars from the 60s and such (Mustangs/Camaros/Vettes etc) the gas engine is part of the whole experience. But a cruiser from that era being electric makes sense to me. A luxury car like a Cadillac that's now electric is an improvement. A 5000lb electric Camaro is stupid.
 
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Santapez said:
I think this is a great case for the electrification of older cars. That Buick is a cruiser, not some 500HP LSx making a ton of noise.

Any of the generic cars from the 60s and such (Mustangs/Camaros/Vettes etc) the gas engine is part of the whole experience. But a cruiser from that era being electric makes sense to me. A luxury car like a Cadillac that's now electric is an improvement. A 5000lb electric Camaro is stupid.
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Totally agree. Add to that many of those classics aren't being driven a lot (Cars and Coffee, car shows, nice day cruises) so range and charging times shouldn't be an issue.

When Ward was talking about planetary gears, I was wondering if that "noise" could almost be part of the experience if designed a certain way. Almost like a down shift or jack brake. I know that is part of the ICE noise but they are different than an acceleration run sound.
 
don said:
Totally agree. Add to that many of those classics aren't being driven a lot (Cars and Coffee, car shows, nice day cruises) so range and charging times shouldn't be an issue.

When Ward was talking about planetary gears, I was wondering if that "noise" could almost be part of the experience if designed a certain way. Almost like a down shift or jack brake. I know that is part of the ICE noise but they are different than an acceleration run sound.
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I could get used to an EV that looks, drives and sounds like this one

 
one piece crank said:
I think this is BEV owner-justification. I certainly do not have any issues (physical, emotional, or otherwise) driving ICE in similar (or even worse) conditions, and two of my vehicles are manual.
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I used to be passionate about manual trans. I felt that I was not operating the vehicle as much as being a part of it, deciding the shift points, controlling the handling with much more direct power control than an automatic. My Model 3 Long Range does not come close, maybe performance model does with the oversteer/understeer controls.
It does make driving easier and relaxed keeping my foot on one pedal and having that "throttle" control to start/stop without stepping on a brake or clutch pedal.
As for driving a manual in traffic, I'll never forget driving my friends 57 Chevy (with a three finger clutch?).
And most of my friends hated driving my Porsche with the pedals that hinge downward.
 
JerseyPete said:
I used to be passionate about manual trans. I felt that I was not operating the vehicle as much as being a part of it, deciding the shift points, controlling the handling with much more direct power control than an automatic. My Model 3 Long Range does not come close, maybe performance model does with the oversteer/understeer controls.
It does make driving easier and relaxed keeping my foot on one pedal and having that "throttle" control to start/stop without stepping on a brake or clutch pedal.
As for driving a manual in traffic, I'll never forget driving my friends 57 Chevy (with a three finger clutch?).
And most of my friends hated driving my Porsche with the pedals that hinge downward.
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It's pretty common for people to say that they find electric vehicles very comfortable as they're way quieter. While I love my cheap manual transmission car, on long trips it's noisy and that wears you down after awhile.

I'm a "you can take my clutch from my cold dead foot" person. I never understood the thought that a manual transmission is hard to drive in traffic as I never really found it to be a big deal. And the downside of the manual transmission in traffic is completely offset by all other driving situations. However I would love less engine NVH while regular driving.

The way it's going though, by the time I'm in the market for a new car I won't be able to find any manual transmission replacements for what I drive now and will likely end up in an electric car.
 
SAM said:
I've been using one pedal drive (1PD) ever since I got it and don't miss switching back and forth from accelerator to brake, plus it maximizes regen.
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Santapez said:
It's pretty common for people to say that they find electric vehicles very comfortable as they're way quieter. While I love my cheap manual transmission car, on long trips it's noisy and that wears you down after awhile.

I'm a "you can take my clutch from my cold dead foot" person. I never understood the thought that a manual transmission is hard to drive in traffic as I never really found it to be a big deal. And the downside of the manual transmission in traffic is completely offset by all other driving situations. However I would love less engine NVH while regular driving.

The way it's going though, by the time I'm in the market for a new car I won't be able to find any manual transmission replacements for what I drive now and will likely end up in an electric car.
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Yeah, I love the feel of manual transmission. One of mine doesn't even have syncros, so it really is skill/feel/difficult to put into words, yet an insanely enjoyable experience.

I had never heard of one pedal drive (1PD) on electric vehicles! This is very exciting, especially since I'm a dyed-in-the-wool, dbl-clutch/rev-match driver.
 
one piece crank said:
Yeah, I love the feel of manual transmission. One of mine doesn't even have syncros, so it really is skill/feel/difficult to put into words, yet an insanely enjoyable experience.

I had never heard of one pedal drive (1PD) on electric vehicles! This is very exciting, especially since I'm a dyed-in-the-wool, dbl-clutch/rev-match driver.
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I traded in a 2019 VW GTI Rabbit edition 6 speed for my Model Y and went from 3 pedals to 1 pedal. I had to give up the GTI since the kids were getting bigger, my wife didn't want to learn manual, blah blah blah and went with the EV as at the time it made sense on many different levels.

I thought I'd hate an automatic transmission, but I really don't at all. I hardly ever use brakes with the current 1 pedal setup (standard mode) which is great b/c i probably won't have to replace them for a while or ever, idk.

Anyway - at least in the Model Y, in 1 pedal standard mode, the car basically slows down as soon as the accelerator is disengaged. the decrease in speed can be quite abrupt so there's a bit of "getting used to" in the first few days. There's a "low" mode that may lessen the re-gen deceleration, but I haven't tried it yet. There's no neutral gear in this setup so there's no drift / roll, etc, which can be weird I suppose coming from manual.

There's also creep mode which mimics an ICE automatic drive that keeps a certain amount of torque in the current gear (drive or reverse) which requires a 2 pedal approach (keep foot on brake at full stops), but not sure why folks would want to use this on a regular basis.

Otherwise, when the car is at a full stop e.g. red traffic light in 1 pedal mode, the car automatically applies a hold so no need to put your foot on the brake in this situation either. When the light turns green and you press the accelerator again, the car auto disengages the hold so you're good to go.

I'm probably not explaining all the details here accurately so I would recommend checking out some better sources on this topic. Or go take a test drive but don't blame me if you're hooked on EV acceleration / deceleration immediately 😉
 
bucknejo said:
I thought I'd hate an automatic transmission, but I really don't at all. I hardly ever use brakes with the current 1 pedal setup (standard mode) which is great b/c i probably won't have to replace them for a while or ever, idk.
😉
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I think what makes it pretty acceptable is it's not an automatic transmission, it's direct drive from the motor to the wheels. So there's no crap that happens with an automatic like gear hunting, lag, badly timed downshifts, etc.

I'll take a manual transmission in traffic as opposed to an automatic that sits in the wrong gear and then eventually downshifts when I give it gas to speed up on the highway.
 
We've come full circle. EVs were very popular in the first decades of the 20th century. Changing gears was hard work for ICE cars of the time and they had to be started with a crank, were noisy and smelly. Electric cars didn't have those problems, were perfect for getting around town and were heavily marketed to woman because of easy operability.

All that changed (except the noise and smell) with cheap abundant dino juice, mass production (making ICE cars less than half the price), improved roads (advantage ICE with greater range) and the invention of the electric starter.

GE ad 1912:
electric-early-suppliers_national_electric_xxsuppliers_1912GENELEC52p88.jpg

GE ad 1920 (just before the decline of the EV and rise of ICE):
electric-early-suppliers_national_electric_xxsuppliers_1920GENELEC8p153.jpg

Very fashionable!
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B961PRGIEAA--ux.jpeg
 
one piece crank said:
I wonder if I can find an old GE Rectifier just to mount on the wall and make it look like it's charging a modern EV?
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That would be cool. Kinda like people putting old gas pumps in their garages (some original, some refurbished). The really nice ones are way too expensive IMO.
 
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