....and so people with families can only reasonably buy an electric vehicle as a second car, so that they can restrict its usage to local commuting.
I don't know how the economics work out for that - it probably depends a lot on both the family and the car - but, based on my experience of many years not owning a car myself, and going to the Hertz down the street when I needed one, I wouldn't be surprised if it can be made to work out reasonably well.
The only downside to renting is they may not have inventory on holiday weekends. I've never had this problem.
Every other time they either push me to upgrade, or for whatever reason upgrade my car for free. I usually decline because if it's just me with a carry-on I'd prefer not to pay the extra cost of gas. When I've needed a full-size/SUV I've never had a problem.
Although, one other issue is the widest selection is near an airport. If you're taking a road trip and not flying you may have to drive to one.
You will this year if you try, given what a disaster the rental agency inventories are right now.
I'm sure certain things like a winch might be hard to get. I know I've specifically requested 4x4 a few times and I've never had the need to ask for tire chains. If you have a particular need, like towing something or you like to go mudding, you'll probably need your own vehicle.
That's just unacceptable to not provide a jack. I know some vehicles, like Mini Coopers, have run flats and don't even offer a spare or jack. That always made me uncomfortable (and it sucks to pay way more for tires with a worse ride).
About two thirds of the cars I've rented had issues with tires that are balding and leaking air. I wouldn't call that "well-maintained," and I'd have concerns about renting one for a long road trip. I now carry a portable air compressor in the trunk of every car I rent.
https://www.kbb.com/car-news/5-tips-on-buying-a-used-rental-...
"rental companies typically keep their units on strict maintenance schedules. They can’t afford the downtime from unscheduled repairs, so you can be fairly sure that the vehicle is in top shape."
That's been in line with my experience. I'm not brand loyal. In general, the discount brands do have older cars. The name-brands usually had current or last year models. The larger vehicles were almost always brand new unless they were specific to hauling. The only time that hasn't been true was when renting in Iceland. The vehicle was at least 10 years old (maybe 15 or 20?) and we were driving it to remote places. So I was a bit concerned about breaking down and access to help. Thankfully, it never had an issue.
You may also be limited by the drop-off/pickup times. Road trips often have very early departures or very late returns.
I have a headache just thinking about re-installing 3 car seats for every weekend hiking trip...
Things become significantly more painful when you have kids.
This is hyperbole. If all your stops have very fast electric then you’re going to have a comparable experience (assuming you like long stops). But to say that a Tesla is better than all gasoline cars for road tripping? Hyperbole...
We’re nowhere near the level of infrastructure for any electric car to be comparable to gasoline. I can and have filled up in less than five minutes many times. And only made 3 stops over 16+ hour drives (each being under 10 minutes). I would not and could not have made the same amount of time with an electric car. Therefore, not a superior experience as far as I’m concerned...
Another benefit comes into play when I am going to a less populated/remote place. For example the Ladakh region in India where petrol stations are far and few between. Just fill up a few 5 liter cans with petrol and you have a spare 500-600km range in your trunk. Cheap, easy and efficient.
Slightly hyperbolic. I was on a long trip through Arkansas one night, and was very worried about finding a gas station.
These days, with smartphones and more 24 hour stations it's less of a concern, but if you're not careful it's certainly still possible to end up somewhere without a gas station in easy range. The world is a big place.
On the other hand gas is a highly volatile liquid shipped at great expense across the country to pump stations that typically sell it for low or no margin loss leaders for convenience stores and grocery stores. It's a great miracle of logistics that it seems like gas stations are everywhere, and have more than enough supply to meet demand. The 1970s isn't that far back in human memory to suggest exactly how fragile that supply chain really is and why disruptions in that supply chain are likely to snowball really quick and how quickly petrol cars may have to soon worry again about running out of fuel.
The nice (?horrrible?) thing about petrol is that those stations are environmental disasters, and in many parts of the US the laws governing the dismantling/re-purposing of the stations/land make it an extremely expensive development.
This means that you're not likely to find significantly less stations in most areas anytime soon
(I've got a couple old unused stations in my neighborhood already and watching the various ways they are reused, left to rot/wild, signed and resigned and signed again for sale/lease is an odd past time. I can't imagine what things are going to be feeling like when this is an even far more common phenomenon out in the suburbs and exurbs.)
Our last trip was 3000km, most of it across Northern Ontario. Beautiful country, our only regret is that we didn't stop enough.
On that trip we only spent 15 minutes waiting for the car to charge. The car was plugged in for much longer than that, but while it was we were using the bathroom, eating, sleeping or walking on the beach.
I didn't say the Tesla was better than all gasoline cars. Maybe if you gave me a brand new S class it might have been a superior drive to the Tesla. Whatever car you give me would have to have a feature comparable to AutoPilot, that's a lifesaving feature for long trips in the back country. With AutoPilot on you can spend most of your attention scanning the ditches for moose and other wildlife.
EVs need much longer range, or much faster charging time. Otherwise it will not be scalable.
Electric has some benefits, but overall, gas engines have more. IMO, the series hybrid, a la the old Chevy Volt, is the best approach - use electric where you can, but with the confidence that you've got a gasoline engine/range extender that can get you there.
I routinely drive 600km one way and stop one time for gas and a pee - which takes about 15 minutes total.
The trip usually takes me a little over 6hrs. I cannot imagine an EV would come anywhere near this.
Except for sports/performance cars, I set 400 miles as an absolute floor for range, and have had some that could do a bit over 500 miles (800 km)at 85 mph Texas-and-surrounding-states highway speeds, w/o extra tanks. Oh, and I never worry about turning off the air conditioning, either.
FWIW, for years, I've often stopped at Collin Street Bakery in Waco on trips between Austin and Dallas/Fort Worth. It's the only supercharger between those cities, and the poor Tesla owners often have a very long wait just to plug in. I know all about it, as one of the Tesla owners was bending my ear it over a truly excellent Chicken salad sandwich on my lunch stop. I was in and out for lunch, made a gas stop a bit down the road, and back cruising the interstate long before he could even get plugged in.
EVs are only valuable if your time is not.
Whatever happened to the plan to have facilities where you can drop off your discharged batteries and immediately replace them with charged ones?
It would also have been expensive and a logistical nightmare.
What if you had a brand-new car. Would you want to take a trip and end up with a 3-year old battery?
What if you had a 5-year old car. Would tesla want to give you a new battery?
how would the cost difference be resolved?
I think people didn't want to swap their pristine batteries for old ones. And people with old batteries didn't want to pay for new ones.
and the swap cost would be pretty large.
The process as demonstrated by Tesla was automated too.
this is the video:
I'll never, ever understand this particular argument against swappable EV batteries.
Do Tesla even just the same packs across S/X and 3/Y?