A new problem for E.V.'s
 

Several folks have preached that EVs are the future. Maybe some day. In the meantime, what do all the folks with an EV do when PG&E in California shuts down the power during high fire risk events? Yeah I know it is only a temporary shut down but that is cold comfort if you get home and find out you can't charge your car for the morning commute. He buddy, can you spare an Energizer battery?

Best have solar and/or a generator if you are in one of the penalty zones, and hope you can charge at work

Hmmm, no electricity, eh? Might expect the gas stations to be shut down, too. And traffic lights. It’s gonna be great. :D

There are very few EV's that can't make it through a couple hour shut down, hell most of the Tesla's have enough range for a full week of my commute which is 20 miles each way.

Is it possible someone runs low and can't charge? Sure...it's also not a life or death situation.

if I have half a tank in my Jetta I can go 300 miles

My old Jetta (2004) never went 300 miles on half a tank. Are you only going downhill, Otto? ;)

If I have 7 gallons in my Volt I can go 300 miles too!

Six gallons got me 120 miles today in my MFI 2.7RS. And unlike these soon to be obsolete rolling iPads it will still be doing the same in 20 years...

Have you guys seen what Toyota is doing with IC engines? We're talking 41% thermal efficiency in a car you can buy today and over 50% TE on one of Mercedes race cars. --what's an old 911?... maybe 20%TE?

Couple that with cheap gas --the US recently became energy independent (a net energy exporter)

The big plus for EV's is that they regen the braking. Yet that is not exclusive to EV's.

Edit - Here we go...
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Lots of folks up here in Tesla-rich Seattle have a Powerwall, which does a pretty good job of storing power. In a wall. My daughter's Model 3 has pretty good range--it gets the advertised 325 miles per charge, if you don't cowboy it. It is the dual motor long range version. It's a very cool appliance--I can appreciate the incredible acceleration--but it's still an appliance. It's got no soul. Even though it would leave my V8 M3 in the dust, I'll take that old dinosaur chugger any time over elon's car or any other EV I've driven.

Only off the line. But for 60mph - ??? the M3 would be the likely winner. And certainly on the track.

anyway, here is another vid of some cool power solutions.

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GF said on the way home a Nissan Leaf had crapped out on a VERY busy road with no breakdown lane. Everyone was stuck behind it tooting etc getting really angry and it had no battery left and didn't seem to be able to be pushed off the road. VF bad.

Thankfully, IC engined cars never do that.

I don't think I'd bet my last dollar on that.

My post was misleading.

The tech will always be improving but no one will want an old EV just like no one wants an old Dell desktop now. There is always a newer cheaper platform available with no new software updates coming for say, a 2015 Tesla in 2025.

Once they go bad you can't release the hand brake because it's electric. A lot of new cars have them. That and the weight.

The old school cable hand brake has a lot going for it.

well thought Mechanical solutions are hearty as hell.

check out this 747. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_E-4

I'm sure the carmakers thought the same thing about their product in the 70's but along comes someone a lot smarter than me and figures out how to drop the newest technology into an old beater.
https://carbuzz.com/news/electric-porsche-911-packs-a-700-hp-tesla-motor

There is a group out in Cali that will convert anything with the "standard" 200mm type clutch - Bugs, Busses, 356, 912/911, etc. Using Tesla batteries, kinda expensive. Something I'd do with "won the powerball" levels of money

I agree..........
 

with Tobra. If you are going to own/use an electric vehicle, best get some insurance in the form of an alternate power source. You should be able to wire in or at least provide a plug to use a generator or solar. Or, you could just keep a gas vehicle around "just for emergencies"!