Cold hard truth about ev's?

just_sayin

I think the push for EVs has been harmful to poor people.  The cost of the average EV car is $10,000 more than for a gas powered car.  Further, the electric grid in many states is not capable of the surge in energy needed.  This means higher electric bills for poor people too.  If you really want people to switch to EV vehicles then you need to work on the technology to get it to be cheaper.  If something costs less than what they are paying now, people will naturally switch to it.  It is why coal use decreased so much - when obtaining natural gas became much cheaper, it just made sense to switch away from coal use.  

just_sayin

Argument Topic: Cold Weather showing weakness of EVs

The cold weather has pointed out a weakness of EV cars in that the cold has a great effect on the efficiency and long the battery last.  From Electric Car Owners Confront a Harsh Foe: Cold Weather:

With Chicago temperatures sinking below zero, electric vehicle charging stations have become scenes of desperation: depleted batteries, confrontational drivers and lines stretching out onto the street.
“When it’s cold like this, cars aren’t functioning well, chargers aren’t functioning well, and people don’t function so well either,” said Javed Spencer, an Uber driver who said he had done little else in the last three days besides charge his rented Chevy Bolt and worry about being stranded with a dead battery — again.
Spencer, 27, said he set out Sunday for a charging station with 30 miles left on his battery. Within minutes, the battery was dead. He had to have the car towed to the station.

Cold weather happens.  I hope the issues are addressed quickly.

MayCaesar

A hybrid car costed me maybe $5,000 extra over its gasoline-only counterpart, and given how much I drive, over the course of 5+ years I have probably saved over $15,000 in gas prices. From the individual customer's standpoint I got the deal of the century. Had I bought an EV car instead and had there been sufficient infrastructure for it at the time, my savings would have been much more significant.

The problem seems to be exactly that: lack of infrastructure, coupled with immaturity of the technology. I can see the gasoline cars becoming as obsolete in 20-30 years as buggies, but right now is a bit too early to do the full switch. Electricity is much easier to produce and provide than gasoline, but like with any innovation, no matter how easy and cheap it can be, the switch does not occur instantly and is not painless.