Electric car question
sal 60 Hanzlik
3 years ago
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sealavender
3 years agomorz8 - Washington Coast
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoRelated Discussions
Safety of cars' keyless entry and ignition systems questioned
Comments (2)I agree. Autos with keyless start and run systems should have a kill switch in a standardized location. To do otherwise is dangerous. And that kill switch should duplicate the mechanical key-switch by having a direct mechanical link that cuts off power to the ignition. Interrupting the coil circuit of a relay (that might be stuck) is not positive enough. Pressing and holding the start buttom for a few seconds just won't do either. Hang onto your hats and crash helments; There's more in the pipeline. A few well known auto companies are developing steer by wire- that's right - No mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the steering linkage. Steering is accomplished by all electric drives or an electric-hydrulic arrangement. Does this mean you loose steering if you loose electrical power? I don't know, but I'd have to know a lot about any such systems before I drove it, and then I'd like to restrict it to a track, not a public road. Right now, it seems like a disaster waiting in the wings....See MorePre-wiring for Electric Cars
Comments (1)Not sure why you would need 220 for a freezer...usually a regular 110 outlet will do... You can just add a box for 220 to charge a car in the future...put the outlet in later......See MoreQuestion for car people
Comments (14)I'll sidestep the questions on her driving skills and acumen. I assume you're satisfied that she is competent. Many older drivers are just fine and in fact better than younger. So 'nuff on that for me. Although yes there's more safety features on a newer car, that doesn't necessarily make a car safer. I'd feel very safe driving my old '62 Impala or one of the DeSotos my dad had. My point about fixing it is to try to avoid nickel and dime thoughts or compare to "what you could buy". I suggest comparing to what it would cost to replace and what you would pay to replace it. If you're looking at a $5,000-$15,000 replacement car, then that's your budget point, even if the value is, take a guess at about $1500. I'd guess if you put both cars in front of her and said $5000 and you can have either car, which do you want? She'd take "her" car. You probably could buy the car from the insurance company for, say, $500? Maybe less? Maybe a little more. They vary a lot and depend on what they do with the cars. But if you paid even $1000 for it, then spent another $2000 to fix, repair, replace body parts (and I don't think I'd try to make it "new condition anyway) then you spent $3000 for a vehicle she likes. And maybe even saved some sales tax along the way too. Is the car *worth* $3000? No. But is it worth it to HER? I'd venture to say yes. My philosophy is that even when I had a 15 year old truck, 150k miles and it's quirks, it got me to and from my destination every bit as well as a Cadillac limousine and cost me a lot less. I'll let Joyful add more about value on older cars and if you recall several of his posts about his car experiences, you'll know what I'm saying. It's like things at an auction or garage sale. I'd never pay more than new price for that piece of garbage up there but to someone else it was worth it for whatever reason. I do see people pay a lot for sentimental value at times. The rule of selling is "it's worth exactly what someone actually pays for it - no more, no less". And of course insurance is cheaper on the older car, etc. However, if you're considering buying the car, let them know immediately. Better yet if you haven't settled if there's a payment coming you can make it $__ plus you keep the car. One caveat, I'm also assuming that you're satisfied the car is in otherwise good condition which is how it sounded. Good luck....See MoreIsn't there an 'eco' downside to electric cars?
Comments (15)As I understand it, there *is* an eco downside to electric cars, but it's much less than that of gas-powered cars. Of course you still have to have energy to power the cars, but in general, it's "greener" to produce big amounts of energy at one place (i.e., a power plant) than to produce small amounts of energy at a bunch of different places (i.e., each car having its own engine to burn fuel). The charging station question is interesting. Most people can just charge at home, as the batteries go at least 100 miles on a charge, and most people don't drive that much in an average day. Businesses are starting to install stations, too, where employees can charge during the day. But the most interesting model, to me, is the battery switching station model from Better Place. The idea is that you have stations that stock fully charged car batteries of every type. The stations have a battery-changing machine that changes so quickly that it takes less time to change a battery than to fill a gas tank. And batteries will get better, and charging times will get shorter. Here's an article from the Sierra Club on the subject that I think is pretty interesting. Here is a link that might be useful: Electric car myths vs. reality...See MoreBookwoman
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3 years agomorz8 - Washington Coast
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