this post was submitted on 26 Jul 2026
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Electric Vehicles

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Overview:

Electric Vehicles are a key part of our tomorrow and how we get there. If we can get all the fossil fuel vehicles off our roads, out of our seas and out of our skies, we'll have a much better environment. This community is where we discuss the various different vehicles and news stories regarding electric transportation.


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[–] Rentlar@lemmy.ca 47 points 1 week ago (6 children)

I betcha that EV drivers pass by gas stations nearly every time they go on a drive, reminding them of the costs they no longer have to pay to keep their car moving.

[–] socsa@piefed.social 49 points 1 week ago (2 children)

It's not even the cost, it's never having to divert from my commute to put fuel in the car because I've been putting it off for a week and now it's both critical and more inconvenient than ever.

[–] dorkage@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 week ago

I just learnt this in the last few months.

We got a Rav4 Prime and I had only put gas in it for the first time for our normal drive two weeks ago.

What a pain in the ass and it was only a few minutes for the detour.

[–] AlphaOmega@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)
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[–] syklemil@discuss.tchncs.de 11 points 1 week ago

At the start, then they stop looking at the signs unless the gas prices have been in the news recently.

[–] Nomecks@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 week ago

I see the lineups at fuel stations in Russia and think about how happy I am to have solar panels and an EV.

[–] Sunshine@piefed.ca 4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

BC Hydro chargers are like Crown Corporation Petro Canada pumps but better.

[–] bluGill@fedia.io 4 points 1 week ago (8 children)

Until a road trip where they wish chargers were as obvious as gas stations. Enough exist to make the trip, but are not as common and are not on the beaten path so you need an app to find them.

When I make a road trip I'm often traveling on roads I've already looked up and I don't wasn't that voice yelling at me so I'm not using a GPS most of the time. We still use the gas car for road trips, but I often play the game "it had been 150 miles where is the nearest charger without using an app" I typically don't find it the next 50. An app would find one in sure but that isn't something I should need.

For short trips my EV passes them all and like you say I'm glad I'm not paying those prices. Until I pull into a charger because it is there and discover they have weird pricing systems. yesterday has would have been cheaper because I didn't know I would have to move so fast and so I paid a minimum charge more half hour worth of charge was worth. (The group tour said meet here I thought it was to unload not drive into normally of limits areas.)

[–] Splendid4117@piefed.social 14 points 1 week ago (2 children)

this is... an interesting argument. as an EV driver, you're essentially saying 'I want giant signs and chargers on every corner' which is how you'd find them without needing a map. this seems unlikely to really ever happen because we simply have better options now, but I guess we'll see.

[–] timbuck2themoon@sh.itjust.works 13 points 1 week ago (3 children)

I guess Im old because having charging stations like gas stations where you can simply pay with cash or card and no app sounds so, so much better than the current situation.

[–] Theoriginalthon@lemmy.world 10 points 1 week ago (1 children)

UK has a law (or similar) that you have to be able to pay with contactless on new charger or older ones above 50kw

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[–] Etnaphele@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

You guess right. Unfortunately many of you around to drag down improvements for the younger generations.

EDIT: I read this comment as only wanting cash payment, which I find unreasonable. App use should be optional or non-existent, I agree (but connected infrastructure is necessary, just not having an app for each charging network)

[–] ltxrtquq@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I don't think charging stations requiring an app to use/pay is an improvement, but you do you I guess.

[–] Etnaphele@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

I’m dumb and read the comment to which I replied as only wanting paying with cash “with no card or app”… I’m all in for avoiding app fragmentation and just use one card (cash is a real stretch… pretty unreasonable).

[–] doctorflynt@feddit.org 4 points 1 week ago

im driving a ev for 2 years now and not even once used an app to pay. also i havent searched once for a charging station manually. (but that means that the car has internet access wich opens another can of worms. i really dislike that part since the car uses google services for that functionality and wish car manufacturers would allow alternative software for the infotainment system)

[–] Ditti@discuss.tchncs.de 10 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (6 children)

In a lot of European countries, rest stop signs (along the highways) announce what amenities are available at the rest stop. Those signs include symbols for things like toilets, restaurants, gas stations as well as charging stations. Here's a German example. Pretty solid solution in my opinion.

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[–] Rentlar@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

You might have to worry about that, like at most, once a month, for going places where you wouldn't already have been familiar with charging places including backups if one is closed.

[–] bluGill@fedia.io 3 points 1 week ago

I'm thinking of yearly trips. My in-laws live far enough away that it is a major trip to visit. Flying the family is expensive so often we make it a two or three day road trip. We try to see something weird everyday so it won't be the same roads or stops. The general plan is head southwest until we hit i10, about 3 pm we book a hotel that we will arrive at around 6, and use GPS to ensure we do, but otherwise there is no reason for using any particular road.

[–] femtek@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 1 week ago

I just use a better route planner and with ionna building out new good chargers I never worry on trips, I make the same 5 hours trip almost every 2 months and the only time I got worried was when my normal spot was filled and took a chance on a circle k charger and they don't accept payment on the machine. Thankfully they are getting replaced.

[–] VibeSurgeon@piefed.social 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Anecdotally, this is not really the case any more in Sweden. There's a fully sufficient amount of fast chargers along the road for all the road trips I participate in on a regular enough basis.

Basically this is a problem that goes away as EVs continue to get adopted

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[–] Bubbaonthebeach@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

BC Hydro has been very good about adding high speed chargers on all the hwy routes and many gas stations also have added chargers. It keeps getting easier to use an EV although 90% of my charging is at home.
I'm old enough to remember when driving long distances in an ICE car had some of the same range anxiety due to low milage and small tanks, which is why there are abandoned gas stations all over the place. Imagine having as many charging stations around as there are, or were, gas stations?

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 week ago

Meanwhile in Ontario...the feds put chargers in, Doug Ford rips them out.

[–] fyzzlefry@retrolemmy.com 2 points 1 week ago (2 children)

I just took a decent trip in mine. It was fine.

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[–] Bieren@lemmy.today 2 points 1 week ago (4 children)

Around me avast majority of the chargers are at Sheetz. So you go from getting gas at Sheetz. To charging your car there. Same business and location.

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[–] ramble81@lemmy.zip 29 points 1 week ago

EV owner. Can confirm.

[–] gewindestift@feddit.org 19 points 1 week ago

The first year is great. Then it becomes the new normal and driving ICEs is only possible with physical discomfort.

[–] i_stole_ur_taco@lemmy.ca 13 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I’m on vacation and rented a plug in hybrid. It’s been 4 days and my brain is still not quite grasping that I need to press the brake pedal to make it slow down.

Regenerative braking has to be the best innovation in driving in decades.

Public charging is still annoying as hell, though.

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[–] betanumerus@lemmy.ca 10 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

gas cars: what companies push on us to suck in our gas and repair money

EVs: what customers really need to go from A to B.

[–] Kind_to_Everyone@slrpnk.net 4 points 1 week ago (3 children)

I've driven exclusively electric cars at home for the last three years. While they certainly make me happier on a day-to-day basis, longer trips are much more stressful.

I look forward to the day of common 1000 volt architectures and megawatt charging.

[–] dom@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 week ago

I take a 6 hour trip twice a month with my EV. It really isn't bad because I know where to stop. But the first few times was stressful just because there isn't the abundance of chargers.

But also there were two times I've had to wait for a charger and that really sucka.

I will say, for me, charging speeds are fast enough. Make everything 150+ kw and more of them at each location, and I think thats good enough for 90% of road trips.

[–] Dnb@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Plugin hybrid is great for road trips. Ev only standard days and had for road trips

That said the latest Gen with 80% charging in like 10 minutes is crazy good. Once there are more chargers like that sounds it will make ev only just as quick as gas fill up

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[–] artyom@piefed.social 3 points 1 week ago (2 children)

What do you think will happen to all the gas stations when the ICE vehicles go away?

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 week ago (2 children)

They just become convenience stores, which is all they are anyway.

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[–] okamiueru@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (6 children)

We'd need far fewer of them. Many will transition to also providing charging stations, then, as these can be placed pretty much everywhere without any complicated infrastructure (huge underground gas reservoirs), parking buildings will provide charging services.

99.999% of commuters can do so with a single over night charge. Many will be able to charge their cars at home.

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[–] bluGill@fedia.io 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Must not have a GM without car play support. I made that mistake and constantly hate it. In not playing another subscription for my car.

[–] lemmyng@piefed.ca 10 points 1 week ago (1 children)

That's got nothing with it being an EV though. Buy a gas GM and you still get no car play.

[–] VibeSurgeon@piefed.social 7 points 1 week ago

Seems like GM is the actual problem

[–] a4ng3l@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago (2 children)

It was a love story until I got stranded twice at ungodly hours due to the 12v battery failing on my EV6.

[–] chunkystyles@sopuli.xyz 6 points 1 week ago (7 children)

ICE cars can and will strand you with mechanical issues just the same.

[–] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I've had serpentine belts fail on 3 old beaters, sure, but in each case I could drive for a while after that at least (enough to get home in two cases, one was too far from home but I got to where I needed to go and then got towed and fixed at friend's workshop, I already had the belt in the car, just hadn't changed it yet). But these were all nearly 20 year old cars. And could've easily been prevented by me not being too cheap to spend 100 euros on a new belt, tensioner and pulleys - however, each of those happened when I was way too broke to get a lease on a brand new EV, so 100 euros on a belt kit was also an expense I didn't want without knowing first that I do indeed need it.

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[–] Etnaphele@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I am sorry for you but the 12V battery failing in EVs with a huge high voltage battery slotted just next to it is pretty funny. I know it is relatively common and there are reasons, but c’mon 😆

[–] a4ng3l@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

That’s exactly why I was pissed. Apparently it’s also « just » a regulatory safety feature that the system must detect the 12v before switching to the main battery…

It was not fun being stranded after midnight in a boat ramp until 2am…

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 week ago

And for some reason, manufacturers still use lead acid 12V batteries. Tesla makes trash, but their 48V standard makes much more sense than 12V systems.

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