Any GTAM'ers own an electric vehicle?

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DJM said:
That's what I learned owning the Volt. Lower battery range because I was lugging around an engine and trans, and higher fuel consumption because I was lugging around a battery system. Plus I still had oil changes annually and fuel to put into it if I went over 50 or so kms on battery or drove in the winter. There was little BEV options at the time but now? Lots of choices and it's only going to increase.
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I still drive the Volt to work everyday it has just enough battery range to make it there and back if I am doing extra I charge at work. Would much prefer something fully battery at this point but it is fully paid off and costs nothing and is not really worth anything. My wife has the equinox ev during the week and loves it especially the supercruise. Lots of range to head to Toronto or London and get back easily.

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ToSlow said:
Question, when the battery dies does it need to be trickle charged to bring it back on line or can you plug straight in and the magic automatically happens?
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Just plug it in. There is no reason for it to ever die so many charging stations around way more than gas stations. Look at the plug share map you will probably be surprised at just how many chargers there are.

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MacDoc said:
Australia likely just a step ahead of Canada in the EV rush ....combined with the crazy home battery surge.
No automotive industry to protect and maybe higher hydrocarbon fuel costs here
www.abc.net.au

Australians cut ties with servos as EV record sales continue

Over the past year, electric car sales have tripled, as anxiety about fuel shortages and rising petrol prices continues.
www.abc.net.au www.abc.net.au

Australia currently is getting along mostly with China so that helps too. Chinese EVs well on their way to part of the auto establishment and no limits on imp
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..
 
Scuba Steve said:
Just plug it in. There is no reason for it to ever die so many charging stations around way more than gas stations. Look at the plug share map you will probably be surprised at just how many chargers there are.

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'working' chargers?

Borrowed a friends car for a week a few years back and finding working chargers was a minefield. There was also multiple payment apps/etc and i think i had 2 charging issues, simply refused to communicate with the vehicle. I'm well aware charging is in its teething stage, but there is a level of frustration the average person is not willing to cope with.

I further recall this charging discussion was had, on here? what feels like almost 10 years ago. Dragging our feet on infrastructure seems like a bad plan.
 
Evoex said:
'working' chargers?

Borrowed a friends car for a week a few years back and finding working chargers was a minefield. There was also multiple payment apps/etc and i think i had 2 charging issues, simply refused to communicate with the vehicle. I'm well aware charging is in its teething stage, but there is a level of frustration the average person is not willing to cope with.

I further recall this charging discussion was had, on here? what feels like almost 10 years ago. Dragging our feet on infrastructure seems like a bad plan.
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I have personally never had a issue finding a working charger as the car lets you know if they are working and how many are in use. The stupid app thing is a different story as they all have their own app. It is getting better as a lot are just going to tap and pay. I also rarely use public charging 99 percent is done at home for free. Last time I charged at shell in Windsor no issues except for the needing the app.

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Evoex said:
As someone who cannot charge at home my view on the current state of affairs is still pretty negative.
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Yes that is the biggest problem ev are not realistic without home charging. Without the full charge every morning EV just doesn't work. If you have home charging they are great choice. Without I would strongly recommend against until condos and apartments have charging EVs are not realistic for residents of such buildings. Only exception is if you can charge at work.

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Even with a PHEV and review of my petro fill ups versus monthly electric cost on a 120 vac circuit, it does very well. And we can run about the area primarily on battery most of the time.

Wife loves regen and the idea of getting energy back while slowing down. It’s free in her mind and there is less wear on brake components.


I like the price stability of at home charging. I know the cost anytime I plug in at home. It’s better than the yo-yo pricing at the pumps based on political whims or weather events that impact product distribution etc.

I’m perusing what is out there ev wise and might as well take advantage of the tax dollars I’m giving to the feds and reclaim it for myself.

Toyota has a couple worth looking at.
 
We had a woman absolutely rail against EVs on a local Reddit sub. Anytime they were mentioned she would come on and say how unreliable and undependable they were and that the whole point of them was a failure.

After some queries it turns out she had purchased a new Mach E (awesome EV) but, had to rely on DCFC stations as she had no way to charge at home. This was a couple of years ago and the local DCFC scene consisted of 3-50kW Flo chargers and a Tesla station that had not yet accepted other brands. Basically made an impulse buy without any research.

Other people hear her tales of woe and it gets propagated out there on social media by others, like my FIL who thinks they are the commie work of the devil.

Anyways, speaking of apps, here's my screen that I use: It can be a pita to sign up for all that BS and I've had to re-log in sometimes after an app updates while trying to remember the special character ****ing password that they said I needed to select. Its mostly why I stick to Tesla SC now.

IMG_0417.jpg
 
nakkers said:
Even with a PHEV and review of my petro fill ups versus monthly electric cost on a 120 vac circuit, it does very well. And we can run about the area primarily on battery most of the time.

Wife loves regen and the idea of getting energy back while slowing down. It’s free in her mind and there is less wear on brake components.


I like the price stability of at home charging. I know the cost anytime I plug in at home. It’s better than the yo-yo pricing at the pumps based on political whims or weather events that impact product distribution etc.

I’m perusing what is out there ev wise and might as well take advantage of the tax dollars I’m giving to the feds and reclaim it for myself.

Toyota has a couple worth looking at.
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You can get the pion charger and get 10c back per kwh making off peak charging free. I have 2 one for each vehicle currently at 400 dollars which is also what my charging cost would be since March. We were using approx 130 liters a week in fuel before the getting the equinox, huge savings even with the rebate.

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DJM said:
We had a woman absolutely rail against EVs on a local Reddit sub. Anytime they were mentioned she would come on and say how unreliable and undependable they were and that the whole point of them was a failure.

After some queries it turns out she had purchased a new Mach E (awesome EV) but, had to rely on DCFC stations as she had no way to charge at home. This was a couple of years ago and the local DCFC scene consisted of 3-50kW Flo chargers and a Tesla station that had not yet accepted other brands. Basically made an impulse buy without any research.

Other people hear her tales of woe and it gets propagated out there on social media by others, like my FIL who thinks they are the commie work of the devil.

Anyways, speaking of apps, here's my screen that I use: It can be a pita to sign up for all that BS and I've had to re-log in sometimes after an app updates while trying to remember the special character ****ing password that they said I needed to select. Its mostly why I stick to Tesla SC now.

View attachment 79823
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Imagine if manufacturers told us we would have to start using an app to figure out where we could fill up our motorcycles?

Internet forum keyboard warriors would be outraged. The rest of us with balls would be out with torches and pitch forks calling for blood.

And y'all are just doing this voluntarily with your cars?! What the fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc tomfoolery is this?!?!?! lol
 
Wife loves regen and the idea of getting energy back while slowing down. It’s free in her mind and there is less wear on brake components.
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Early adopter on a Tesla - my longest term client got a rude surprise on one of his service visits.
"Sir you need new brakes"
Hunh.....I never use them.
"Yes sir that's the problem"

Dealer wanted some $1600 for full redo but haggling all around with Tesla and dealerI think he got it down to $450 or so. Lesson learned tho.
TANSTAAFL :sneaky:
 
Scuba Steve said:
Yes that is the biggest problem ev are not realistic without home charging. Without the full charge every morning EV just doesn't work. If you have home charging they are great choice. Without I would strongly recommend against until condos and apartments have charging EVs are not realistic for residents of such buildings. Only exception is if you can charge at work.

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Do you have any idea what is entailed in retro fitting 400 charging station in a parking garage?

Retro fitting may not be the right term. Instead the EV thing would be a new separate electrical vault, new electrical room, new switch gear and branch circuit wiring with metering. It means two services to one building and possibly two electrical bills.

Has anyone even started asking specific questions?

Where do they put the new rooms?

Where do they hook up to the grid?

In a condo dense area (Square One) how many buildings will need the new systems?

And who pays for the thing? One outlet near the existing electrical room is relative hump change. Scaling it up x 400 would be blinding. Then look at the other 100 buildings in the area.
 
DJM said:
Trying to remember the special character ****ing password that they said I needed to select.
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Start using the built in Passwords app on your iphone. Not only is it great for remembering the passwords & usernames, it can create strong passwords for you and fills in faster that you can type it.
 
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Nobbie
a third of adults in GTA don't drive.
Funny how Norway manages and yet you keep throwing up barriers.

The average commute return is 70 minutes for the GTA - 16 km each way. - even the weakest EV works weekly let alone the ranges coming out now.
You don't need daily charging, you barely need weekly charging.
Oslo has about the same commute time for 1.5 million people and arguably worse weather
 
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SunnY S said:
been calling it for years folks, hybrids are where its at.

(the market decides, not what automakers shove down our throat)

www.caranddriver.com

Car Shoppers in California, the Nation's Biggest EV Market, Now Prefer Hybrids over EVs

New data shows California has registered more hybrid vehicles than EVs in the first half of 2026, with the Toyota Camry leading the hybrid charge.
www.caranddriver.com www.caranddriver.com
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While I originally thought hybrids were the way to go because of range anxiety I'm more full EV now. A Hybrid is like a flashlight with a built in candle and bic lighter.

Isn't California having brown outs?
 
Adri, most new DCFC installations sans Tesla are tap and pay, same with Electrify Canada, Flo and others.

A lot of Level 2 stations use Chargepoint and NFC from your phone, so it's just a tap motion. Tesla has now began selling their DCFC units to 3rd parties, they are tap and pay as well.

I've used NFC Apple Pay on DCFC before, think it was Ultramar Livewire chargers but those are shite so I stopped using them.

Apps are good for receipts and usage tracking as tap and pay doesn't always give you the power and cost rundown. And it's literally a 5 second task to pull your phone out, connect and start charging.
 
So is it still taboo to be buying Tesla's or is that gone? I'm seeing brand new Model 3s for 40k with the RWD and standard range.

Tempting to say the least.
 
Scuba Steve said:
The biggest problem I have with teslas is the interior. They are so terrible I could never drive one

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I am not a fan of the bare bones interior. The Mach-E / Equinox are still top of list for an EV if I can convince my wife that she doesn't need a minivan for 90% of her driving...maybe I should give her the Maverick and I'll buy the EV LOL.

In other news...another step closer for Ford EV Fathom...

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