US to announce sharply lower vehicle fuel economy requirements

Bought a PHEV earlier this year and my “old fashioned” family quickly moved from “that boy ain’t right” to “you get HOW MANY miles per gallon??” And they still can’t compute that I can drive 50 miles on less than $2 of electricity and not a drop of gas.

The numbers make sense, people just need to be shown. It’s where the market is headed, no one should really be considering anything less than hybrid. When my wife’s old Civic dies, it’ll be replaced by a full EV.

Serious question. What happens when the electric grid can no longer support everything, and starts either Browning or blacking out entire city blocks? I’ve seen the numbers, and the EVs are incredible in a lot of ways, but the pull on the grid if every household has an EV is also incredible. Also, supply economics will play a roll eventually, and just like petrol, which used to be 50p/L, electricity costs will rise as demand rises. We need a renewable energy EV. I agree with you, though, that EVs are better in almost every way. Just the grid isn’t ready.

I’m not commenting to dogpile on you, I think the others have explained why the grid is less of a concern than you might think.

Just wanted to add that we charge ours primarily using excess solar from our home panels, which is an option through our system management tool. It takes longer, but it means even less grid dependency (and virtually “free” vs paying for electricity, which you’re right, will go up in price… though largely due to data centers now, not EVs).

I won’t be surprised if this becomes the norm for EV drivers in the future, as a kWh in the “tank” is worth more than one backfed into the grid. More responsible use for extra power not immediately used.

we charge ours primarily using excess solar from our home panels

This is excellent! It is cost prohibitive where I am, but I guess if one can afford an EV, theoreo, they can afford a solar charger for it. I don’t think it will catch on fast enough everywhere, but I like this.

We did our solar panels first, to help address our home’s energy use (our electricity company is a monopoly and keeps charging more year after year). Plus we liked the idea of being green and energy independent, the vehicle is a newer addition to the setup.

Not sure where you are, but even if you can’t do solar now, you might be able to do plug-in solar soon! Super popular in some countries already, and coming quickly (hopefully) to the States. And even if you can’t do a four wheel passenger EV, e-bikes are a great choice for traveling on the power of the sun.