"Learning from Tesla Green Cars go Stylish" CBS (Honda Insight article)

[Ben Washburn]

Honestly, I think it just means folks aren't generally aware of what a PHEV is or means. I literally had no clue until I stumbled on the Clarity about a month ago. Isn't it a no-brainer when you compare an after credit Touring to a regular or hybrid top of the line Accord? Or base to base?

I might be a little off the norm since I was lucky enough to get an extra $1,700 from the state, but even so, isn't it a no-brainer if you actually know the alternatives? In fairness, I'm not a 'car guy' or even a 'green guy'. The last new car I bought was a BMW in Germany in 1999, so I really don't know what the general awareness level is out there. But I can say for me in terms of PHEV it was literally zilch.

Which is pretty much in alignment with my awareness level of lots of things. Are cuffs and pleats in or out? I like them so for me they're in. I have a feeling that means I'm out though.

 

[Ben Washburn]

That's a good post, Jeff. There are all these discrete situations. There's a 'norm' out there, but hardly anybody is actually 'the norm'.

So you have the apartment/condo deal. What I'd think would happen, though, unless the owners are idiots, is they'd put in and heavily advertise a bank of L2 chargers. These places have swimming pools and tennis courts and clubhouses and fitness centers and who knows what--unless they're literally fools they need to start edging in some L2s. Token driven, same as before. You want to be Mr. Jack-ss and leave your car there all night, fine, you pay $1/hr for all night. Most folks, on the early arrive home shift, will plug in their car, go change clothes, eat supper, drink a beer, burp, and move their car. The next shift will come home, change, eat supper, drink a beer, burp, and go plug in their car in the vacated slot. Then they'll go watch their shows, sneak out in their robe, move their car, and go to bed. Life is tough in the electric big city.

For me, my 'but it's different' item is I have a beater truck; a 2000 Ranger with a cap on the back. Every morning I take my dog for a swim and a walk and afterwards she jumps in and shakes off about 17,000 pounds of water and mud and various aquatic flora and fauna. That's cool, it's a 2000 Ranger and I'm probably cultivating the cure to the common cold back there; in about 2025 I'll offer my truck to some institute in Helsinki for $2M and I'm set.

But in the meantime, how do I replace that with anything electric? In all seriousness, I don't think I can.

I think what's going to happen is, in about 2030 when personal transportation is a driver-less all electric service that you pay $850/mo for that you order up on your smartphone, and nobody owns their own car for A to B anymore, people like me will still be owning our 2000 gas-guzzling Rangers with the cure to the common cold in the back and society will be infinitely the poorer that I never got to give it to an institute in Helsinki.

 

[Pushmi-Pullyu]

Honestly, I think it just means folks aren't generally aware of what a PHEV is or means. I literally had no clue until I stumbled on the Clarity about a month ago.

Thanks for your reality check, Ben.

We often see surveys of potential car owners which show the vast majority of the public has very little understanding of the different types of EVs and their capabilities. Yet somehow, participating in forums like this one, it's all too easy to forget that we EV advocates are only a tiny percentage of the population.

I was reminded of this when I was talking with a new friend just a few days ago, who said his wife wanted a Tesla car, and he was planning to install a Tesla "Supercharger" in his garage. I tried to explain that Superchargers are a commercial product providing DC (direct current) to the car, and that what he needed is a 220 volt "level 2" AC charger. But he wasn't having any of it; he was very insistent that he was going to install a Supercharger in his garage!

Okay... I guess he'll need to learn for himself.

​

 

[Ben Washburn]

Thanks for your reality check, Ben.

We often see surveys of potential car owners which show the vast majority of the public has very little understanding of the different types of EVs and their capabilities. Yet somehow, participating in forums like this one, it's all too easy to forget that we EV advocates are only a tiny percentage of the population.

I was reminded of this when I was talking with a new friend just a few days ago, who said his wife wanted a Tesla car, and he was planning to install a Tesla "Supercharger" in his garage. I tried to explain that Superchargers are a commercial product providing DC (direct current) to the car, and that what he needed is a 220 volt "level 2" AC charger. But he wasn't having any of it; he was very insistent that he was going to install a Supercharger in his garage!

Okay... I guess he'll need to learn for himself.

​

My wife was in a panic because I bought 'an electric car' to replace her beloved BMW. (My initials btw. I had to quit wearing a monogram after we bought it!) Last night she snuck out in the middle of the night so she could drive the Clarity!