Automotive

Everything about EVs!

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Oct 26, 2003
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Winnipeg
crimsona wrote: The msrp of a model 3 is 8k or so higher than any ev, presuming no discounts at other manufacturers. In BC, there's also another 6k scrap it rebate for all ev except Tesla, which makes the difference up to 14k or so
Awd model 3 or any model y is basically a 20k premium over other evs
That's a premium, no matter how you slice it. Tesla is probably going to hold a higher margin than other manufacturer's ev divisions, with the exception of maybe Porsche
For people who go on long road trips often, like traveling out of province, then the supercharging network is worth the $8k premium by itself.
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Jul 4, 2004
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divx wrote: For people who go on long road trips often, like traveling out of province, then the supercharging network is worth the $8k premium by itself.
I certainly agree that Tesla has a better network in every facet except for coverage (where CCS/CHAdeMO have a sizeable advantage) but I'd be curious to know how many Canadian car owners actually drive far enough that the charging network is a significant drawback/advantage.

We've owned an EV since Jan 2017 but in that time, we might have driven far enough that we'd need to charge away from home 10-20 times (and that's mostly because we have a 1st gen LEAF which has quite low range to begin with and live in Ottawa so in the winter, when it's -20C or below, we won't take the LEAF if we have to drive more than 60 kms (e.g. basically driving across Ottawa and back)). As far as actual out of town drive, I don't think we've driven more than 1/2 dozen out of town trips (offhand, I can only think of 3 (once Toronto, twice Montreal)). In our case, we have an ICE minivan which we'd probably use in those cases even if we could make it in the EV so it hasn't really impacted our usage. I've probably charged publicly maybe 20-30 times but all of those were out of convenience (other than when I first brought the car home (picked it up out of town and had to top up to make it home), I don't know if I've ever HAD to charge in public.

Do most of you charge at public stations often (I've never charged at a DC charger)? Our EV is really just for commuting to work and driving around town.
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May 9, 2007
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Nanaimo, BC
michelb wrote: Do most of you charge at public stations often (I've never charged at a DC charger)? Our EV is really just for commuting to work and driving around town.
Pre-covid I was driving 4-5K km per month in my SR+, including many days that were more than the range of my car. There are only two Supercharger locations on Vancouver Island. One is in Victoria. I am near that one less than a dozen times a year.

I would not have been able to own my Tesla if not for CHAdeMO charging with my adapter.
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Oct 26, 2003
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Winnipeg
michelb wrote: I certainly agree that Tesla has a better network in every facet except for coverage (where CCS/CHAdeMO have a sizeable advantage) but I'd be curious to know how many Canadian car owners actually drive far enough that the charging network is a significant drawback/advantage.
We've owned an EV since Jan 2017 but in that time, we might have driven far enough that we'd need to charge away from home 10-20 times (and that's mostly because we have a 1st gen LEAF which has quite low range to begin with and live in Ottawa so in the winter, when it's -20C or below, we won't take the LEAF if we have to drive more than 60 kms (e.g. basically driving across Ottawa and back)). As far as actual out of town drive, I don't think we've driven more than 1/2 dozen out of town trips (offhand, I can only think of 3 (once Toronto, twice Montreal)). In our case, we have an ICE minivan which we'd probably use in those cases even if we could make it in the EV so it hasn't really impacted our usage. I've probably charged publicly maybe 20-30 times but all of those were out of convenience (other than when I first brought the car home (picked it up out of town and had to top up to make it home), I don't know if I've ever HAD to charge in public.
Do most of you charge at public stations often (I've never charged at a DC charger)? Our EV is really just for commuting to work and driving around town.
For people with an ICE vehicle backup then it certainly does not matter which EV to go with as far as range is concerned, however for people with only one vehicle, then the range becomes rather important even if you only travel out of province once a month, it is just such a pain to have to plan for a road trip or get a rental ICE. People with only one vehicle would definitely want such vehicle to be able to replace their old ICE 100% of the time, no exceptions. After all, new tech is expensive and the last thing people want is to be less capable than the old vehicle they replaced.
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Aug 28, 2009
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Small town On the 40…
michelb wrote: I certainly agree that Tesla has a better network in every facet except for coverage (where CCS/CHAdeMO have a sizeable advantage) but I'd be curious to know how many Canadian car owners actually drive far enough that the charging network is a significant drawback/advantage.

We've owned an EV since Jan 2017 but in that time, we might have driven far enough that we'd need to charge away from home 10-20 times (and that's mostly because we have a 1st gen LEAF which has quite low range to begin with and live in Ottawa so in the winter, when it's -20C or below, we won't take the LEAF if we have to drive more than 60 kms (e.g. basically driving across Ottawa and back)). As far as actual out of town drive, I don't think we've driven more than 1/2 dozen out of town trips (offhand, I can only think of 3 (once Toronto, twice Montreal)). In our case, we have an ICE minivan which we'd probably use in those cases even if we could make it in the EV so it hasn't really impacted our usage. I've probably charged publicly maybe 20-30 times but all of those were out of convenience (other than when I first brought the car home (picked it up out of town and had to top up to make it home), I don't know if I've ever HAD to charge in public.

Do most of you charge at public stations often (I've never charged at a DC charger)? Our EV is really just for commuting to work and driving around town.
It seems to be that people “think” they’re going to take big road trips more so than they actually are taking big road trips.
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Sep 8, 2014
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michelb wrote: The Model S has had it's share of failures (MCU failures, control arm (actual failures where the metal around the bolt hole breaks off and the arm detaches leaving the wheel flapping (I believe that is likely the next one on NHTSA's radar)), door handles, water leaks / wind noise from sunroof, drive units, traction battery, battery charger, yellowing screen (IR treatment apparently fixes it but I read that it comes back), bubbles / leaking on main and dash screen, water / condensation in the lights, etc)
YUP!
Our 2013 S has had the warranty repairs for the control arm bolts, door handles (eventually they were all replaced with the newer revision), refurbished drive unit (for noise, still worked well, was in/out in a few hours and drive unit has been perfectly silent in many years since), and our car was pre-yellow screen (got one of the good originals), and rear tails lights were replaced for condensation.
For 1.5 years, nothing, not a single thing. The early teething issues were handled within the warranty, and since then, perfectly good car, quiet, not a squeak or rattle.
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Rob_EV wrote: I would never recommend a 2012-2015 Model S if you want an ultra reliable vehicle. The 2016+ are a lot better.
Unless you did what I did, get absolutely every early issue solved. If you pick up a used S, you could get one that has been meticulously maintained and followed up with Tesla on every one of the recalls and has the new door handles, drive unit, tail lamps, suspension like ours. Or, you could get one that still has original parts with their teething issues not solved. That's why I'd buy used from Tesla direct, and avoid the private market.

I am considering trading my Smart ED for the Cybertruck and keeping the 2013 S until it's well into 2020's. Tesla, unlike Mercedes has been continually upgrading it's aging S fleet hardware and software, and offers an entire computer retrofit, something no other manufacturer would dare do.

Smart stopped supporting my 2013 Smart ED phone app when 2g went away (2g!!!). My newer 2018 Smart never supported the 3g phone app in Canada, they never made the attempt.
Tesla supports our 8 year old car and the app and tech is better than the car was new from factory by a long way ...
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Sep 8, 2014
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michelb wrote: I'd be curious to know how many Canadian car owners actually drive far enough that the charging network is a significant drawback/advantage
60000 km of supercharged km on our Model S, mostly trips ~500 km with one or two charges over the span of a weekend. No other EV offered a practical package capable of this 2015 when we bought. CCS has come a long way, but in hundreds of supercharges, we only encountered a few times where we found faulty stalls, and in those few cases, I just moved to a working stall due to Tesla having 8+ stalls at most stations. I wouldn't consider any other EV brand, even today. We intend to do lots of east cost travel in our future, and the network is expanding out there similar to how it was expanding in Ontario in 2015, by 2019 we were road tripping all sorts of places that were difficult in 2015. Time marches on.
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kev994 wrote: It seems to be that people “think” they’re going to take big road trips more so than they actually are taking big road trips.
Which direction can you travel from winterpeg if driving a non Tesla EV?
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Aug 28, 2009
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Small town On the 40…
divx wrote: Which direction can you travel from winterpeg if driving a non Tesla EV?
Why would you ever want to leave? I take my SUV if I need to leave the city, its replacement will be a Tesla.
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kev994 wrote: Why would you ever want to leave? I take my SUV if I need to leave the city, its replacement will be a Tesla.
As I mentioned above, if using EV as a secondary vehicle, as in with another ICE backup available, then non Tesla will do just fine.
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Feb 29, 2008
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divx wrote: For people who go on long road trips often, like traveling out of province, then the supercharging network is worth the $8k premium by itself.
Umm... I can get crapload of rentals for 8k.
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Feb 29, 2008
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MexiCanuck wrote: Pre-covid I was driving 4-5K km per month in my SR+, including many days that were more than the range of my car. There are only two Supercharger locations on Vancouver Island. One is in Victoria. I am near that one less than a dozen times a year.

I would not have been able to own my Tesla if not for CHAdeMO charging with my adapter.
Chademo or CCS?
Deal Guru
Sep 9, 2003
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Burnaby
Chademo

Tesla doesn't have a ccs adapter officially in North America yet, but the cdm adapter is what, 700 bucks?

Edit: 530 apparently, I don't expect the ccs one to be any cheaper

https://shop.tesla.com/en_ca/product/chademo-adapter
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Sep 10, 2008
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Kitchener
mr_raider wrote: Umm... I can get crapload of rentals for 8k.
...but at the end of the day, you're still stuck driving a sub-par EV.
I still can't believe the LEAF SL Plus is listed at $52,000 (same as a Model 3 SR+). You've gotta be absolutely crazy to pick that over the Tesla. My '15 LEAF was $31,800......times have changed.
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mr_raider wrote: Umm... I can get crapload of rentals for 8k.
You can also get crapload of gas for 8k, EV isn't for everyone.
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May 9, 2007
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Joe Biden wants the US government to have 100% electric vehicles.

https://electrek.co/2021/01/25/presiden ... -electric/
The US federal fleet consists of over 645,000 vehicles...

Some federal vehicles may avoid replacement in the short term – it would be a significant cost to retire certain vehicles early, and some specialized vehicles will undoubtedly require more development before they’re ready to be electrified. But mass usage of electric vehicles should bring significant cost savings in fuel and maintenance for the government over the longer term, especially in vehicles that see a lot of use.

The US Post Office vehicles in particular are ripe for replacement, with the Gumman LLV, used by the Post Office since the late 1980s, showing its age. These vehicles do short, consistent daily routes with a lot of starting and stopping, which is an ideal application for electric vehicles. The US government has been running a bidding process for several years to replace the LLV, though has pushed back the decision several times – likely in an attempt to get more serious alternative-fuel bids.
Global warming will be exceeded during the 21st century unless deep reductions in carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas emissions occur (United Nations IPCC Report 2021)

Every disaster film starts with scientists being ignored
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Apr 30, 2019
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I live in the Toronto area but my mother is about a 150km drive north. If I get an EV such as a Tesla and drive up to visit her and stay for the weekend in the middle of winter, would the battery be functional? What if the temperature was -20C ?
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Oct 30, 2006
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ironman77 wrote: I live in the Toronto area but my mother is about a 150km drive north. If I get an EV such as a Tesla and drive up to visit her and stay for the weekend in the middle of winter, would the battery be functional? What if the temperature was -20C ?
Can you plug in to a regular outlet at her place? If so you should be fine. Also you could hit a supercharger on your way there and or back.
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Nov 28, 2007
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wackojacko wrote: Can you plug in to a regular outlet at her place? If so you should be fine. Also you could hit a supercharger on your way there and or back.
This is what I have done in the past, I carry an extension cord 50ft for this very purpose. Mind you it would take a week to charge from dead, but to get decent range while you stay would not be hard.
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