Well normally I just read some of these posts and chuckle and move on. But this time I am going to respond to the 'comments' on EVs.


Just a little disclaimer: In October 2022 I bought a Tesla. Why, was I trying to save the planet, reduce GH gases, no - I bought one because I loved driving an EV. No one forced me to do it. I will never go back to a gasoline/diesel car again. But that's me! My other vehicle is a Hyundai gas car. It is a great car.

Some points:

EVs are less likely to catch on fire than an ICE vehicle. Media reports every EV fire, ICE fires aren't newsworthy.

The comment that to replace a EV battery costs $55K - $60K, I don't even know how to respond. Either your friend got taken or she doesn't know what she is talking about. For comparison a Tesla 100 kWh battery pack replacement would be under $30K. And the Tesla warranty is eight years. Very few Tesla battery packs have ever needed to be replaced 10 -12 years later. What year was her EV, size of battery?

Lithium Carbonate prices have cratered. In late 2022 prices lithium pricing hit $600,000 per metric ton. Today pricing is a little below $100,000 per metric ton. Mines around the world are throttling back production. Too much production was brought on. Funny how markets tend to self correct! Concerning mine reclamation, absolutely as it should be. Do some foreign materials come from questionable locations, yes they do. So does many products we use everyday in our life. Not right, but it is what it is.

The statement that a women spent more time charging than sleeping - I don't even know how to respond. What type of EV did she have, and where was she charging, was she on a trip? Did she have a dedicated charger at home? With a dedicated Level 2 charger you can fully charge overnight. Without telling the rest of the story you skew the narrative.

Almost all new EVs have the ability to plan your road trip and tell you where to stop for charging and how long. I haven't taken a 1000 mile trip yet, but I've taken a 440 mile trip. I plugged my destination into the Tesla navigation system and it told me where to stop and how long. I started with a fully charged battery and made my first and only stop three hours later around noon time. We hooked up our EV to a supercharger, and walked across the street for a sit down lunch. When we came back 45 minutes later the car had sufficiently charged to make it to our destination. If I had had my ICE car (Hyundai) we would have also stopped to have lunch.

I freely admit their are disadvantages to owning an EV. Purchase price is generally higher than the comparable ICE vehicle. If you live where there is not overnight charging, than yeah, an ICE vehicle might be better. There are far more gas stations than EV charging stations. If you are traveling 2000 miles, and only want to stop for refueling (charging) and go, yes you are going to be disappointed in the time it takes to cover 2000 miles.

With a few exception, range anxiety is not a concern. If you run out of juice it is your own fault. The EV is going to do everything to prevent that from happening. You have chosen to disregards its guidance.

The positives: Driving an EV is awesome. If you have charging at you home, you just plug in at night, and in the morning when you leave; a charged battery, good for the day. Charging cost - I live in Alabama, not the friendliest EV state. I pay a 'slightly' reduced kWh rate from 9pm to 5 am. The reduced rate is for the whole house, not just charging. Not taking the whole house reduction into account I pay the equivalent of $0.95 - $1.05/gal of gasoline.

Look, in summary, If you don't want an EV don't buy one. It's that simple. No one is forcing you to buy anything you don't want. It comes down to what works for you. For me, I will keep my EV and I'll keep my ICE car because it is paid for and is a great auto.

There is no need for misinformation on this site. We are all passionate about our hobby - photography. You all have helped me with my passion - thank you. So let's leave the politics out and present accurate information to the best of our collective abilities.

Boy, there is a lot of bad news online about EVs. Fires are a real problem because they can start spontaneously. One house was destroyed when a Mercedes burned. The car was a loaner from the dealer while her own Mercedes was being serviced. Another house was severely damaged when a Tesla burst into flames. Water is useless for putting out lithium fires. Fire departments use special blankets costing $3k - $5k to smother the fire. They then haul the car away in a procession with police and fire engines. They leave the blanket on for a day or more to keep oxygen from letting the fire restart.

Sales are tanking, with dealers having EVs sit on their lots. Charging away from home typically costs more than filling the tank with gas. When many cars are charging from the same station, the amount of charge going to each car is reduced proportionally. A reported rented an EV to do a story on it. During a long trip, she said she spent more time charging the car than sleeping. The car got more "recharging" than she did. Replacing the battery can cost more than the car - $60,000 for a $55,000 Hyundai. Car makers are starting to produce their own batteries so they won't be at the mercy of battery makers. Still, with a limited supply of lithium, prices will continue rise. Reliability is an issue because the car is basically running on software, and you know how reliable that can be. Repairs can be ridiculously expensive.

I never had any interest in buying an EV, but now I'm dead set against them. Give me gas any day. (Enter a humorous comment here.)

A friend had an EV, but he sold it and bought a pickup truck. He didn't go into details.

Go back a little over a 100 years and the same was being said of gasoline powered vehicles. It is still early in the development and implementation of electric. Electric offers the advantage of not being tied to only one form of power like gasoline. Electric power can be made using various forms of power, from coal to wind so easier not be under the control of other nations. Like now, the middle east problems threaten our supply of oil, the only source of gasoline. As long as we feed on the oil tit, we are giving money to our enemies and funding our own downfall.

Boy, there is a lot of bad news online about EVs. Fires are a real problem because they can start spontaneously. One house was destroyed when a Mercedes burned. The car was a loaner from the dealer while her own Mercedes was being serviced. Another house was severely damaged when a Tesla burst into flames. Water is useless for putting out lithium fires. Fire departments use special blankets costing $3k - $5k to smother the fire. They then haul the car away in a procession with police and fire engines. They leave the blanket on for a day or more to keep oxygen from letting the fire restart.

Sales are tanking, with dealers having EVs sit on their lots. Charging away from home typically costs more than filling the tank with gas. When many cars are charging from the same station, the amount of charge going to each car is reduced proportionally. A reported rented an EV to do a story on it. During a long trip, she said she spent more time charging the car than sleeping. The car got more "recharging" than she did. Replacing the battery can cost more than the car - $60,000 for a $55,000 Hyundai. Car makers are starting to produce their own batteries so they won't be at the mercy of battery makers. Still, with a limited supply of lithium, prices will continue rise. Reliability is an issue because the car is basically running on software, and you know how reliable that can be. Repairs can be ridiculously expensive.

I never had any interest in buying an EV, but now I'm dead set against them. Give me gas any day. (Enter a humorous comment here.)

A friend had an EV, but he sold it and bought a pickup truck. He didn't go into details.

Boy, there is a lot of bad news online about EVs. Fires are a real problem because they can start spontaneously. One house was destroyed when a Mercedes burned. The car was a loaner from the dealer while her own Mercedes was being serviced. Another house was severely damaged when a Tesla burst into flames. Water is useless for putting out lithium fires. Fire departments use special blankets costing $3k - $5k to smother the fire. They then haul the car away in a procession with police and fire engines. They leave the blanket on for a day or more to keep oxygen from letting the fire restart.

Sales are tanking, with dealers having EVs sit on their lots. Charging away from home typically costs more than filling the tank with gas. When many cars are charging from the same station, the amount of charge going to each car is reduced proportionally. A reported rented an EV to do a story on it. During a long trip, she said she spent more time charging the car than sleeping. The car got more "recharging" than she did. Replacing the battery can cost more than the car - $60,000 for a $55,000 Hyundai. Car makers are starting to produce their own batteries so they won't be at the mercy of battery makers. Still, with a limited supply of lithium, prices will continue rise. Reliability is an issue because the car is basically running on software, and you know how reliable that can be. Repairs can be ridiculously expensive.

I never had any interest in buying an EV, but now I'm dead set against them. Give me gas any day. (Enter a humorous comment here.)

A friend had an EV, but he sold it and bought a pickup truck. He didn't go into details.