Fuel economy and range

[RZehr]

Would seem impossible to get that car through that garage door size. Sort of like a camel through the eye of a needle.

[ohio jones]

I never drove it faster than 50 mph on the interstates

Then they took a 400 mile trip, and he decided to run the A/C the whole way, as a test. The MPH results were exactly the same as the same trip at a previous time - 18 MPH.

I thought Max was a slowpoke, but I have to give the prize to Neto's dad.

[Valerie]

Our old motorhome was 30 feet on a Ford 350; we bought it used and it was a 1990 model. If I remember correctly the fuel tank held 38 gallons. The living quarters added quite a bit of weight to it but we still managed to get 22 mpg on the highways. I did not drive fast nor accelerate quickly. I used the air conditioner. I changed the oil every 3500 miles and maintained the transmission frequently.

Correction: it was a 1999 model. I seem to be hitting or missing the keys lately.

You really need to be more careful

[Valerie]

We bought a Toyota Rav4 Hybrid in 2019. We need an SUV and AWD.

The hybrid has gotten over 50 mpg on occasion, but usually closer to 40ish. A nice feature is it shows you mpg while you are driving. It gets better gas mileage around town than highway but highway mpg still very impressive for a 220hp vehicle.

In Ohio you get charged $100 every year when you renew your registration if you own a hybrid.

I'm impressed with the F150 mileage. My hubby prefers Fords but wanted the RAV4 Hybrid this time. He has t driven in 21 years but loved his F150 4WD, i dont recall mpg, it was a 1995.

[RZehr]

My pickup has the real time fuel economy readout as well. That was really helpful, because I could see exactly how my driving was affecting the fuel economy.

These F150’s aren’t at heavy as they used to be. Mine is all aluminum, and the weight is 4,700 pounds. And the motor is a small 2.7 liter V6.
So for comparison purposes, the 2022 Lexus 500 sedan weighs about exactly the same weight of 4,700 with a 3.5 liter V6. And the EPA highway fuel rating for the Lexus is 29 MPG. Both the Lexus and F150 are rear wheel drive.

So, while it is astonishing to see an F150 get this fuel economy, we would not find it astonishing to see the Lexus get it. The F150 has a smaller motor and they have the same weight. And the Lexus has only a 21.7 gallon tank, compared to the F150’s 37 gallon tank.

The Lexus is more streamlined. I thought about opening my tailgate to help my pickup’s economy, but I read that doing so actually increases drag, so I left it closed.

[MaxPC]

The ICE age is not over.

ICE will continue.

[MaxPC]

Correction: it was a 1999 model. I seem to be hitting or missing the keys lately.

You really need to be more careful

As long as I do not confuse the gas and break pedals, it is fine.

[Valerie]

Correction: it was a 1999 model. I seem to be hitting or missing the keys lately.

You really need to be more careful

As long as I do not confuse the gas and break pedals, it is fine.

Amen. I hope you realize i could tease you only because I am guilty of much worse- obvious to most I'm sure.

[MaxPC]

You really need to be more careful

As long as I do not confuse the gas and break pedals, it is fine.

Amen. I hope you realize i could tease you only because I am guilty of much worse- obvious to most I'm sure.

Fortunately we have those little laughing emojis to the rescue.

[Ken]

The ICE age is not over.

ICE will continue.

No but we will eventually reach a tipping point where ICE vehicles become more and more expensive and inconvenient to maintain.

Gas stations are already disappearing from big cities because the land is to valuable to waste with low-margin businesses like selling gasoline. In fact, for most gas stations, the gas itself is more or less of a loss leader to get people to come into the store to buy hugely over-priced drinks and snacks.

For example, New York City has already lost over 75% of its gas stations and there are now more than 11-times more public EV charging stations in NYC than there are gas stations: https://www.carscoops.com/2022/10/its-n ... s-station/ and the same thing is happening in other large cities across the US.

One of the biggest obstacles to EV ownership is the lack of high-speed public charging stations in rural areas. But I expect that will change as fast as we changed from horses to automobiles. When cars started to become common in the early 20th century there were few rural gas stations and at best you might find rural stores with cans of gas for sale. Gas stations quickly started to pop up around the country as soon as there was a market for it.

The biggest obstacle to truly fast EV charging is 800 volt charging systems of which only a few current EV models like the new Hyundai and Audi models have (even Tesla doesn't do 800 volt charging). By 2025 the majority of new EV models are expected to be 800 volt. That will generate a market for 800 volt ultra-fast charging stations around the country. And I would expect all kinds of rural businesses like convenience stores to start putting in 800 volt charging stations, especially if they can cut lease deals with companies to install them at no cost to themselves. Every rural convenience store and fast foot restaurant will want them because they will draw foot traffic into their businesses. It takes about 10 minutes to gain 100 miles of range with an 800 volt charger and for the average EV, about 18 minutes to gain an 80% charge which is about what it take to get to full charge anyway since most people do not run their cars until completely empty. So if you are driving cross country in an EV and doing 600 miles/day you are basically talking about taking one or maybe two 18 minute lunch breaks while on the road and then charging again at your destination. That isn't terribly inconvenient. Most people take that many breaks to stretch their legs today while driving gas cars. And very few people every drive 600 miles/day on a regular basis.

But you can't just charge an older slower 400 volt EV with an 800 volt charging system. The EV wiring harness has to be built for that rate of charging from the ground up.

I also expect new homes and apartments will eventually start coming with built-in EV charging stations that will eventually be as common as central AC. And just like central AC it will start with new high-end homes and apartments and eventually filter down to most.

We are not there yet. But the current trends are that: (1) the inconvenience and cost of ICE ownership is increasing while (2) the inconvenience and cost of EV ownership is decreasing. When those two trendlines cross we will have reached a tipping point and after that there will be no looking back. Even today you can still buy cans of kerosine at your local hardware store. It hasn't completely disappeared. But that doesn't mean most people still use kerosine to light their homes.