The study asks responses from over 100,000 purchases and lessees of vehicles acquired in 2024. Study focuses on the first 90 days of ownership. Internal combustion engine vehicles averaged 180 problems per 100 vehicles. On the other hand, battery electric vehicles got 266 problems per 100 vehicles. That’s 48% higher. The study shows that EVs, even though they have fewer parts and systems, ended up requiring more repairs than regular, gasoline powered cars. We understand that newer technologies used in EVs may increase number of problems – but most everybody expected that fewer parts and systems would result in fewer problems – simply because there is less stuff that could break. Apparently this is not the case. Tesla gets the blame for dragging down EV score, which makes sense considering the huge number of Tesla vehicles sold. One sore point was the removal of traditional turn signal controls and traditional wiper control – these changes are not seen as benef ... read more

Hertz car rental company is selling about 20,000 electric vehicles, including Teslas. Apparently the cost of collision damage for EVs is causing Hertz to rethink their commitment to convert 25% of their rental fleet to electric vehicles by the end of 2024 - clearly this will not happen. Sine a number of customers driving EVs were involved in collisions, Hertz decided to lessen the chance of future collisions involving EVs, by limiting the torque and speed of their EVs. It has not been widely reported, but collision shop owners are thrilled with the EVs, as their high acceleration results in increased probability of a collision, at least until drivers get used to driving EVs. So while there are headwinds facing the EV industry, as individuals we may benefit from Hertz's sale. You can check out their website, apparently in addition to Tesla's Model 3, they also have BMW's i3 and Chevrolet's Bolt for sale. Naturally when you consider used EV purchase, you should keep in ... read more

Tesla’s problems with the Tesla truck are well documented. But what about other automakers? Well, I recently talked to a delivery guy. The company he works for uses a fleet of Ford ETransit  (yes, that’s “electric” Ford Transit) and Rivian trucks.  His enthusiasm was muted. The biggest problem, of course, is the range.  He said that Ford ETransit was giving him about 100 mile range. Rivian vans were better, at 140 miles, but it was not because of super efficiency – they just have a bigger battery pack. The bane of the electric cars – limited range – will continue to impact electric vans for years to come. Imagine crawling in Bay Area traffic, and your electric van is running low on power. Are you close to a charging station? Is it a fast charging station? How about 15 minutes to get 45 mile range at a fast charging station. But at the Level 2 Ford Connected Charge Station, it will take almost 3 hrs. to recharge, so you can go a ... read more