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Re:What it’s like to own an electric car by p_roz on Tuesday July 23, 2019 @11:13AM (#20507349)
The point about the range of most cars meeting maximal needs reminds me of when some people buy a vacation home vs renting.

People are willing to pay a premium to know for certain that something is available for them to use on a whim, even if they would never do so.

There’s something about the increased flexibility and redundancy afforded by long range capability.

Re:What it’s like to own an electric car by m463 on Tuesday July 23, 2019 @10:04PM (#20511848)
But people make huge strategic mistakes in their life because of "might". Basically it's hoarding behavior.

I might need this kayak, so it'll take up space in my life as I move it from apartment to condo to home for the next 20 years. Storage units are full of these mistakes.

I think some EV manufacturers (Fiat?) tried to alleviate this by offering rental cars for a certain number of days per year to people who bought their cars.

(that said after driving an electric car renting a gas car seems sort of like copping out - silly strategy)

Re:What it’s like to own an electric car by ggm on Wednesday July 24, 2019 @05:40AM (#20513562)
that said after driving an electric car renting a gas car seems sort of like copping out - silly strategy)

If you meant "they should rent high range bigger battery stack cars" I agree. The heinous cost of owning huge kWh battery for occasional use is silly. But fits MAKE ice cars so a cheap coverage for range is rental of an ice for the agency doing this model.

Re:What it’s like to own an electric car by m463 on Wednesday July 24, 2019 @10:57PM (#20522202)
> The heinous cost of owning huge kWh battery for occasional use is silly

I thought like this in the beginning, and there's a fallacy in there.

Think not about huge kwh battery, think of (range of a battery in miles) * (battery cycles)

That gives you the projected car mileage.

First generation evs from other manufacturers with ~20kwh batteries will have to replace their battery in just a few years. They might cycle their battery once a day while a tesla might be once a week or more. Many many leafs got new batteries after their range decreased significantly 50% within 5 years.

Re:What it’s like to own an electric car by hodr on Wednesday July 24, 2019 @09:33AM (#20515077)
A little bit larger battery lets me catch-up on charging during the weekend or days off from work without the need to get a level-2 charger.
Re:What it’s like to own an electric car by leetcrew on Tuesday July 23, 2019 @09:07PM (#20511567)
I don't think it's quite the same as buying a vacation home. I think having everything in the house be "the way they left it" is a much bigger motivation than being able to visit whenever they want. at least, this is what people with second homes tell me.

this is actually closer to why I would want a car with a longer range. I realize I could just rent something if I need to drive a longer distance, but I like my car and it wouldn't be there when I arrived.

Re:What it’s like to own an electric car by jacobush on Wednesday July 24, 2019 @05:33AM (#20513537)
Yep - we get more utility out of our stuff than is easy to explain. Many things give comfort and are not just about miles or money.
Re:What it’s like to own an electric car by jdietrich on Wednesday July 24, 2019 @06:03AM (#20513674)
Most American households have two cars. Pure EVs aren't right for everyone, but most of those two-car households would be very well served with an EV and an ICE or PHEV.