marthafokker

So anyone got hit hard with range in the cold? I know my Rav in NorCal is getting hit hard.

rob-2

With that much effort required, probably better to buy a natural gas car or convert one into dual fuel. Typically costs about $1,500 in parts and due to the low costs gets about the same as a Prius in dollars per mile for fuel. Plus you have range and quick refills.

Presto123

This car would be awesome for my work commute. Wish they offered them in Fl.

marthafokker

With the FitEV, you really get a crap load of options loaded into it, with free collision insurance. You get $2500 from CA Gov. Get free refueling at many public chargers. And if you need to charge at home, the FitEV is 1/3 the price to fuel than a Prius. Plus, the thing does not drive like a Civic CNG (slooooow) or Prius. This thing hauls asses fun.

The only draw back are recharging and range. But as a commuter, this is not a problem.... usually. Once you go electron, it is hard to go back to dino water.

rob-2

With the FitEV, you really get a crap load of options loaded into it, with free collision insurance. You get $2500 from CA Gov. Get free refueling at many public chargers. And if you need to charge at home, the FitEV is 1/3 the price to fuel than a Prius. Plus, the thing does not drive like a Civic CNG (slooooow) or Prius. This thing hauls asses fun.

The only draw back are recharging and range. But as a commuter, this is not a problem.... usually. Once you go electron, it is hard to go back to dino water.
[/quote]
Oh don't get me wrong. I really like the idea of a pure EV car with some range. A guy recently added natural gas to his Subaru Legacy GT and it's not slow. System switches between gasonline and natural gas depending on throttle position and fuel available. In dollars per mile it's like driving a Prius.

I like what Honda has done with the Fit EV and generally like the direction they're headed with a lot of options. Since nothing is really free it seems like a system that doesn't scale. The nation cannot afford EV drivers to get free energy, who pays for it? The tax credits from a broke state. How long can they last? The federal tax credits will need to come to an end soon as well.

Leaves me wondering if these cars don't work without all the 'freebies' being given, when will they? Will they still sell if you had to purchase them and the company make money? What about if you had to pay for the energy you used?

closetgeek

I hope Honda and their EV cars do make a big splash in the market. If the rumors of GM buying Tesla become true, then they'll get a huge head start on everyone. That's a good thing for them

marthafokker

Tesla already has a good business model ready. They are in the works to build a $35k-$50k 200 miles range EV. Elon Musk said we will see the prototype in 12-18 months when he talked to German press about the Model S release in the fall.

He is already scaling the Fremont factory to build the next few new car models. The "BlueStar" car (aka Model E) should be in the ballpark to get to some of our business with or without government handout. I am already charging at home for 1/2 the price of a Prius cost on my Rav4EV, no free energy here.

As for the NGV car. Have looked into it. There are a few public stations in Bay Area. Owners have complaints of pump sometimes do not have enough pressure, as a result not too much NG goes into the tank. So stuck with about 150 miles per refill. I like the idea, but this is worse than EV. I can charge at home, but how constantly going out of your way to refuel NG any good? There are a few home refueling stations, but a lot have given up on it because of cost and maintenance.... Hence Honda gave up on Phill.

If I put money, I put it on Tesla to push it along. Lets wait and see with the Model E. This could be the game changer for the car industry. And it seems like Dealerships are already taking on the fight in court to make it illegal to sell directly to customers. If it is a failing experiment, dealerships would not spend millions to have laws to take money from Tesla.

rob-2

With the FitEV, you really get a crap load of options loaded into it, with free collision insurance. You get $2500 from CA Gov. Get free refueling at many public chargers. And if you need to charge at home, the FitEV is 1/3 the price to fuel than a Prius. Plus, the thing does not drive like a Civic CNG (slooooow) or Prius. This thing hauls asses fun.

The only draw back are recharging and range. But as a commuter, this is not a problem.... usually. Once you go electron, it is hard to go back to dino water.
[/quote]
Oh don't get me wrong. I really like the idea of a pure EV car with some range. A guy recently added natural gas to his Subaru Legacy GT and it's not slow. System switches between gasonline and natural gas depending on throttle position and fuel available. In dollars per mile it's like driving a Prius.

I like what Honda has done with the Fit EV and generally like the direction they're headed with a lot of options. Since nothing is really free it seems like a system that doesn't scale. The nation cannot afford EV drivers to get free energy, who pays for it? The tax credits from a broke state. How long can they last? The federal tax credits will need to come to an end soon as well.

Leaves me wondering if these cars don't work without all the 'freebies' being given, when will they? Will they still sell if you had to purchase them and the company make money? What about if you had to pay for the energy you used?
[/quote]

I agree with you. Obviously someone somewhere is paying for the "free tax credits" but for now id say take advantage of it lol It will eventually hit a point where the money runs out or is lowered to almost nothing. Its the same thing that happened with the hybrids when they first came out in the 90's where people where getting massive tax credits but that only lasted for the first X amount of hybrids sold in the US and now those rebates are almost gone. I love the FIT EV idea but its just a guinea pig stage since its Hondas first full electric car on the east coast which will obviously show how these cars hold up in -20degree weather like it was last week in NY and NJ with snow. From my knowledge this is the first lease from Honda where you can n ot buyout the car at the end of your lease no matter what.. Honda is covering all maintenance and part of your insurance as well since they want to make sure that if your involved in a accident the vehicle is correctly repaired by one of their assigned facilities only. Im assuming they will not let you buyout the lease at all because they want these cars back to check and report how the vehicle handled the environment and how long of a lifespan they believe it may have.. Maybe im wrong but to me its just an experiment with the east coast but overall i think its a hit and will take honda in a new direction in the future.
[/quote]

Interestingly the lease only isn't new. They did it in California in the 90's when everyone had an EV car to comply with CA's requirement to make one zero emissions car. They're doing it in case they want to pull the plug on the program and remove the cars from the market.

marthafokker

I thought the Honda FCX was only lease too?

imtigahwoodz

Awesome! What was your total wait time?

We had a cold spell for about 2 weeks in Socal a few months back if I recall. It did seem to affect the range a bit but really hard to quantify how much.