# Bob\_Blaylock hates Electric Vehicles and was happy to highjack a thread about it

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-blaylock-hates-electric-vehicles-and-was-happy-to-highjack-a-thread-about-it/998798>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [March 13, 2024, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-blaylock-hates-electric-vehicles-and-was-happy-to-highjack-a-thread-about-it/998798 "2024-03-13T00:22:02Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 15

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**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2024, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-blaylock-hates-electric-vehicles-and-was-happy-to-highjack-a-thread-about-it/998798/281 "2024-03-16T19:37:30Z")

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> [@wguy123](#):
>
> I can see that driving to Cali will take longer, but we are old enough we don’t want to do those all day 13-14 hour driving trips and would rather spend the night along the way in Hood River or Bend.

Preach it. I’ve driven several times from L.A. to Eureka and back, and I often took only one break (only other stops for bathroom needs). Now, I stop at nearly every rest stop . Stop for a leisurely lunch. And I take a overnight stop half-way.

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**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2024, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-blaylock-hates-electric-vehicles-and-was-happy-to-highjack-a-thread-about-it/998798/282 "2024-03-16T19:48:41Z")

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> [@Ludovic](#):
>
> Plus if I had an EV and made the trip it could require 3 refuels, because I would have to make an extra trip to a recharging station to make sure I started with an adequate amount of juice.

Sounds like an EV won’t work for you. We are lucky because they do for us.

> [@Ludovic](#):
>
> If range is an issue for someone, then when looking to buy a car, they shouldn’t be comparing EVs that have good range to other cars that have bad range: that’s not apples to apples. A new Prius is cheaper than EVs with good range and can make the trip with only 2 refuels.

I’m giving real life examples of MY experience with our ICE and our EV. Not hypothetical compare apples to apples and they better be exact sort of shit. Everyone can find examples of why an EV won’t work for them. Folks that need to haul a large trailer should avoid an ICE like our Subaru. Also, they should avoid our EV.

> [@carrps](#):
>
> Preach it. I’ve driven several times from L.A. to Eureka and back, and I often took only one break (only other stops for bathroom needs). Now, I stop at nearly every rest stop . Stop for a leisurely lunch. And I take a overnight stop half-way.

Our EV is so much more comfortable than our Subaru that it would be possible to drive longer days with it, but we don’t like those sorts of drive till you get there trips any longer. I’ve done plenty of them in my life. Same as on my moto: I used to do 500-700 mile days on long vacations and I no longer want to do more than 400 in a day.

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**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2024, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-blaylock-hates-electric-vehicles-and-was-happy-to-highjack-a-thread-about-it/998798/283 "2024-03-16T20:01:26Z")

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I forgot to mention the first time I drove L.A. to the SF Bay Area in my Insight, I didn’t stop for fuel once. I did decide to top off even though I had almost a quarter tank left when I got to my destination. A couple of guys at the gas station were _really_ excited that I made it all that way on less than a tank of gas.

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**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2024, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-blaylock-hates-electric-vehicles-and-was-happy-to-highjack-a-thread-about-it/998798/284 "2024-03-16T23:51:22Z")

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> [@Saint\_Cad](#):
>
> Then if you need to charge your car in my parking lot, what are you going to do for a half-an-hour?

Get really ticked off that I’m wasting 26 mins since I can get 300 miles from a full tank in 4 mins of filling; the majority of my stops, including those that are food, fuel, & bio are significantly \< 30 mins.  
One of my cars is a roadster; that car is all about the journey & not the destination. Last summer I took a 10 hr drive in it instead of 7 hrs because I chose the ‘avoid interstates’ route. I thoroughly enjoyed both the scenery & the twisty-turny roads going the way I chose instead of the boring interstates but you know what I didn’t do in those extra three hours in the car? Sit around in a parking lot somewhere.

I’m one of those people that EVs don’t work for given the # of long trips I do per year & where I’m going in them (rural); even others on this board have said so.

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**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2024, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-blaylock-hates-electric-vehicles-and-was-happy-to-highjack-a-thread-about-it/998798/285 "2024-03-16T23:51:34Z")

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> [@bump](#):
>
> Explain how charging is not like refueling. Both are a process that culminates in a certain amount of stored energy being transferred into your vehicle which gives you a specific range

You’re confusing purpose with process. Charging and refueling have the same purpose, to load the car up with energy to make a journey. The process of doing this is very different.

The evangelizing is only happening because people keep insisting on coming back with the same tired myths about EVs. Do you really think that people are standing at the EV holding the charge handle for 25 minutes? Is that why charging stops are being treated like such an ordeal? Or is it just that EVs don’t meet 100% of all needs, therefore they’re shit?

ICE cars don’t meet 100% of all needs. If I’m going to replace my EV with a different car, it needs to be one that only costs me $0.50 for my 30 mile round trip commute. I also don’t want to make tedious stops on my way home, or wait in the Costco gas line.

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**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-blaylock-hates-electric-vehicles-and-was-happy-to-highjack-a-thread-about-it/998798/286 "2024-03-17T00:53:40Z")

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> [@echoreply](#):
>
> The evangelizing is only happening because people keep insisting on coming back with the same tired myths about EVs.

Also, because the people that own EVs know a lot more about them than those that don’t. I know a ton more about them and I’ve only owned one a couple months now. I at first said they wouldn’t work for us and was looking into PHEV. But, we realized that a pure EV would do nearly everything we needed and we’d keep our old Subaru for the time being. We’ll see if we actually use it more than 1-2 times per year. We sold my old pickup when I realized I only really needed it a couple times a year and we don’t miss it. We now pay for delivery for things and save a ton of money over having insurance on that truck (we also have a little utility trailer to haul compost and the Tesla can do just fine with that task). What we need is a former EV owner that switched back to ICE to come on and explain why.

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**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-blaylock-hates-electric-vehicles-and-was-happy-to-highjack-a-thread-about-it/998798/287 "2024-03-17T01:55:05Z")

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> [@Spiderman](#):
>
> Get really ticked off that I’m wasting 26 mins since I can get 300 miles from a full tank in 4 mins of filling; the majority of my stops, including those that are food, fuel, & bio are significantly \< 30 mins.

I’ve brought this up also: it’s hard for some people to believe that their own road trip habits are not universal. When I am on a road trip, all of my breaks are way shorter than 30 minutes. I’d also echo what was said about sitting at a restaurant still being sitting. I wouldn’t mind walking around a rest area for a few minutes instead of sitting at a restaurant, especially since the exercise would also keep my metabolism up.

Which isn’t to say that a sufficiently high penetration of superchargers would not still make _some_ road trip days more convenient, if I started and ended at a charge location and there happened to be superchargers at every place I stopped and the total distance covered was significantly less than 400 miles in a day.

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**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-blaylock-hates-electric-vehicles-and-was-happy-to-highjack-a-thread-about-it/998798/288 "2024-03-17T05:26:05Z")

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> [@echoreply](#):
>
> ICE cars don’t meet 100% of all needs. If I’m going to replace my EV with a different car, it needs to be one that only costs me $0.50 for my 30 mile round trip commute. I also don’t want to make tedious stops on my way home, or wait in the Costco gas line.

We’ve had our Tesla for a year and had to stop at a supercharger twice … how inconvienent.  
How many times have all y’all had to go to a gas station in the last year?

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**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-blaylock-hates-electric-vehicles-and-was-happy-to-highjack-a-thread-about-it/998798/289 "2024-03-17T17:04:06Z")

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Sure, but that just tells me that your EV gets more miles per charge than your ICE vehicle does in miles per fillup. It doesn’t mean your EV is inherently better.

Look at it this way- if your ICE car could get 500 per fillup, and your EV got 200, you’d flip your situation.

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**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-blaylock-hates-electric-vehicles-and-was-happy-to-highjack-a-thread-about-it/998798/290 "2024-03-17T17:05:30Z")

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The big issue for me is that in the past few years, we’ve gone places where charging stations are considerably out of the way.

So we’re talking ~30 minutes detour each way, _plus_ however long it takes to charge the car. And it’s not like those are always conveniently at every restaurant; sometimes they’re at weird places.

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**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-blaylock-hates-electric-vehicles-and-was-happy-to-highjack-a-thread-about-it/998798/291 "2024-03-17T17:59:45Z")

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> [@bump](#):
>
> Look at it this way- if your ICE car could get 500 per fillup, and your EV got 200, you’d flip your situation.

I wouldn’t. I hardly ever drive 200 miles from home. When I do, I can typically charge at my destination.

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**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-blaylock-hates-electric-vehicles-and-was-happy-to-highjack-a-thread-about-it/998798/292 "2024-03-17T18:02:35Z")

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> [@bump](#):
>
> Look at it this way- if your ICE car could get 500 per fillup, and your EV got 200, you’d flip your situation.

Kind of. It doesn’t matter nearly as much if you start every morning with a full tank. We keep going round and round on this. All of us except the Pitee understand that some vehicles just won’t work for some people’s situations. The Tessie\* is a perfect car for me and I had no idea until my specific ignorance was fought.

\*Yes, I am a Tesla techbro douche bag now but I own it.

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**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-blaylock-hates-electric-vehicles-and-was-happy-to-highjack-a-thread-about-it/998798/293 "2024-03-17T18:06:07Z")

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> [@hajario](#):
>
> \*Yes, I am a Tesla techbro douche bag now but I own it.

You realize you are now legally obligated to support Elon Musk in all online arguments, great and small? It was in the fine print of the sales document you signed 😜.

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**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-blaylock-hates-electric-vehicles-and-was-happy-to-highjack-a-thread-about-it/998798/294 "2024-03-17T18:33:56Z")

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> [@bump](#):
>
> Sure, but that just tells me that your EV gets more miles per charge than your ICE vehicle does in miles per fillup. It doesn’t mean your EV is inherently better.

My ICE gets around 330 miles per fill-up before the light comes on and I need gas. My EV doesn’t go that far. However, I have to fill my ICE before we leave (fill-up 1) while my EV is already filled (I mean, you could count the 5 seconds it takes to plug in and unplug in my garage as a fill-up). The Subaru cannot make it to the destination without filling so we fill along the way, eat lunch, walk the dog, and get a coffee (fill-up 2). We fill before we head for home (fill-up 3), and then along the way (fill-up 4) where we also do lunch. Of course, we have to fill not long after getting home so it’s almost a 5 fill trip. Now, we could get by with maybe one less fill on the return but that requires us trying to find gas in Everett/Seattle and we do all we can to not leave the interstate in that area. We’ve done this trip many dozens of times over the last 15 years and we never found a better way to do it in the ICE vehicles we’ve driven.

A lot of folks want to discount the fills before the trip and after and only count the ones along the way. They count. I don’t have to do them at either end of the trip with an EV and I only need one each direction.

> [@hajario](#):
>
> The Tessie\* is a perfect car for me and I had no idea until my specific ignorance was fought.

Same! We are about a month more into our owning of one and we LOVE it!

> [@Tamerlane](#):
>
> You realize you are now legally obligated to support Elon Musk in all online arguments, great and small?

Oh shit…I just checked and you are correct! I wonder what happens if I don’t? I imagine the next software update will shut down my car.

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**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-blaylock-hates-electric-vehicles-and-was-happy-to-highjack-a-thread-about-it/998798/295 "2024-03-17T18:35:07Z")

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Fuck you to Hell, “Bob” “Blaylock.” You’re not a man, you’re a worm. Well on its way to extinction.

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**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-blaylock-hates-electric-vehicles-and-was-happy-to-highjack-a-thread-about-it/998798/296 "2024-03-17T18:43:38Z")

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> [@wguy123](#):
>
> Same! We are about a month more into our owning of one and we LOVE it!

It is bad that I had a sore back the other evening and I turned on the seat warmer, reclined a bit and watched a Netflix show in the garage?

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**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-blaylock-hates-electric-vehicles-and-was-happy-to-highjack-a-thread-about-it/998798/297 "2024-03-18T00:35:07Z")

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> [@hajario](#):
>
> It is bad that I had a sore back the other evening and I turned on the seat warmer, reclined a bit and watched a Netflix show in the garage?

Nope! We are loving the over the air integration with those streaming services that comes with Tesla Premium. We listen to Spotify all the time, and the ability to get it natively is great, particularly now that we can listen to books as part of our subscription.

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**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-blaylock-hates-electric-vehicles-and-was-happy-to-highjack-a-thread-about-it/998798/298 "2024-03-18T01:10:19Z")

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> [@Bob\_Blaylock](#):
>
> You’re telling me that I am being a dick, for very rightfully pointing out that a real car meets my needs, in important ways that an EV cannot, and trying to tell me that the solution is for me to have multiple cars, instead of one real car that meets my needs.

No, I’m saying that your a dick for saying that an EV isn’t a real car. There are probably 200 non-EV cars that don’t meet your needs, either.

I’m sorry you’re too poor for two cars. Most Americans aren’t so destitute. Maybe instead of subscribing to the internet you should save the money, and also get a third job.

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**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-blaylock-hates-electric-vehicles-and-was-happy-to-highjack-a-thread-about-it/998798/299 "2024-03-18T09:24:07Z")

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> [@bump](#):
>
> Look at it this way- if your ICE car could get 500 per fillup, and your EV got 200, you’d flip your situation.

My Suburban get **700** miles per fill-up\* but I’m still looking forward to getting an EV.

\*40 gallon tank.

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**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\
**Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-blaylock-hates-electric-vehicles-and-was-happy-to-highjack-a-thread-about-it/998798/300 "2024-03-19T23:17:35Z")

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> [@Johanna](#):
>
> You’re not a man, you’re a worm.

And that is immutable scientific fact!

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