Here's another tidbit of clarity, John: My 2013 F150 is "rated at 15/20. Guess what, I have NEVER gotten 20, I average about 14.2 and have never gotten higher than 18.5. You know why? Because the temp isn't "ideal", I don't drive 55, it's not perfectly flat, it's windy, sometimes I turn the heater or the AC on, etc., etc. NO vehicle achieves it's "rated" mileage. Your revelation about the Tesla isn't exactly earthshattering.JohnStOnge wrote:I find it weird doing this when I started the thread to sound an optimistic note about electric cars but I guess it's come to it. Here's something on how electric car range declines when temperature is not ideal:
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/1732 ... ld-weather" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
On the Tesla in particular:
he same thing happened when I drove a Tesla Model S. With the 85 kWh battery, the Tesla is good for around 250 miles. During the afternoon with temperatures above freezing, the discharge rate indicated I wasn’t far off from that kind of efficiency. Driving at night as temperatures fell into the 20s (0C to -5C), I found the range fell noticeably faster than the distance gauge suggested at the start of the trip.One more general article on batteries in general with a relevant quote on electric vehicles at the end:Tesla uses waste heat generated by the electric motor. It’s efficient once there’s waste heat available but that takes time.
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/arti ... mperatures" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Users of electric vehicles need to understand that the driving distance specified per charge is given under normal temperature; frigid cold will sharply reduce the available mileage. Using electricity for cabin heating is not the only cause for the shorter driving distance between charging; the battery performance is reduced when cold.
But at the end of the day, my truck spends 9 hours per day parked at my work garage (where it could be plugged in) and about 14 hours per day in my garage at home (where it could be plugged in). My commute is 17 miles each way. On the weekends I put an average of maybe 200 miles on the truck, and (as I said in an earlier post) there is only ONE trip I've taken in the past year where I couldn't have taken a Tesla and been just fine (and in reality, THAT was because I needed to tow something).
I've done the math, and the 5 year cost of ownership of my F150 is about $67,500. The 5 year cost of ownership of a Tesla is about $63,600 (with the $7500 tax credit). So in reality, Tesla has ALREADY reached the price point where it makes financial sense to consider one, and they've reached the "range" point where it's virtually a non-issue for 95% of the drivers and miles driven.









