unclewill

You couldn't exactly go for long road trips in ICE vehicles in 1918 - the horse riders would be laughing at the prospect!! We are on the cusp of a revolution...

cometguy

A hundred years ago in the USA, a Ford Model T had a 10-gallon gas tank and got 13-21 mpg, for a total range of 130-210 miles.

unclewill

All fine and dandy if you could find a gas station!
The point is that the infrastructure to support recharging EVs on the road may be a limiting factor today, but likely won't be for much longer.

daveo4porsche

while I'm a big fan/believer that the whole long distance travel thing can be mitigated with a greater investment in infrastructure…

fossil fuel's "killer" feature _IS_ their energy density, stability, and portability - their power/weight ratio is awesome and unparalleled - it's entirely practical to bring your energy "with you" for long trips (jerry cans anyone for long distance travel?) - it does however require planning and foresight. EV's require infrastructure to go long distances, ICE's benefit, but do not necessarily require infrastructure to go long distances (up to a point)...

I foresee ICE fuel based transportation remaining with us for some time, and in particular remaining the best choice for particular use cases…that should not inhibit the transition to EV based transportation in high density, high infrastructure environments which currently suffer from congestion and large amounts of emissions - and less dense less infrastructure areas could remain fossil fuel based and that type of mix would still represent major progress.

cometguy

Yes, that's the key point: EVs are important mainly for highly congested/polluted urban areas, not for more rural areas. What I hope is that there will be a good mix of EVs and PHEVs (or hybrids with ICE and fuel cells), the latter good for both local commuting and long-distance/rural travel. I see that Volvo is really moving forward with hybrid trucks now, which can go all-electric in congested urban areas (for zero pollution and very little noise) and then back to ICE for outside of congested areas -- and busses also. This is really wonderful stuff.

Akunob

I suspect the future for EV won't be quick chargers but replacement fuel cells. Instead of waiting 40 mins for a charge at a rest stop, you pull in, get on some kind of lift, take out your spent fuel cell/battery, replace it and be on your way. The key will be getting all the manufacturers to agree to design their EV around ONE HOMOGENEOUS FUEL CELL, that way "battery station" don't have to stock multiple cells for different vehicle types.

DannieK

Early on before gas or service stations existed the only place to buy gasoline was a pharmacy. Pharmacists used it as a solvent.

Pokerhobo

The whole concept of replacing the battery than recharging seems to have died before it was really got going. Prototypes were demoed even by Tesla, but part of the problem is one of the advantages of batteries. You can kind of stick them anywhere vs a gasoline tank. Tesla puts it as part of the bottom frame giving a low center of gravity, but also each Tesla model is unique, so you can't swap out one for another. Even within a model, you have variants with different battery sizes. So a swapping station would now need to have on stock multiple sizes and shapes which doubles for each new brand it has to support.

Fast charging has been making big leaps, but unfortunately each time creating a new "standard". My prediction is that sometime in the future (perhaps not near future) there will be some agreement or mandate on charging standards and you'll see charging stations pretty common at locations beyond just dedicated charging stations.

Needsdecaf

unclewill

I just bought a practically brand new 2017 Fiat 500e with 1300 miles on it for $15k. It is fantastic to drive and probably the best automotive bargain out there right now. Still can't wait for my Toucan..the future is awesome!

txhokie4life

This would make my wife happy and drive me nuts :-)

Looks like I'll be Taycan :-)

Or better yet -- I'll haul the Spec Boxster behind the RV -- and she'll drive the Taycan -- and she'll blow by me every few hours after I catch her while she's "refilling"!

M

niche

I just did a three state road trip in our Tesla... Not the way to do a road trip.

tstafford

Right now EV's are pretty terrible road trip cars. Driving my Tesla adds about 20% to the drive time for any trip that requires charging - that's a lot. Will certainly be worse in an EV that doesn't benefit from the extensive Tesla charging network.

unclewill

An ICE powered vehicle is at its most efficient under steady state conditions such as extended highway slogs - EVs are best in stop and start within a bounded area (Range/2).

daveo4porsche

I mostly agree with Uncle will's statement - I find EV's most effective if you limit your fast charging stops to 1 or 2 a day - anything more than that makes it a slog - but no one should fear a road trip with one fast charging stop along the way - once you are planning 2 or more stops per day the EV charging penalty really starts to kick in on over all trip time.

1 stop is no big deal and some what refreshing.