I was being facetious because I assumed the poster was using observed anecdotal information to make his point. From what I can tell from a little Internet research about The Villages is that you can’t tell. The info is so saturated with user and self-appointed “expert” opinions and golf cart dealer’s profit-motivated pitches it’s next impossible to get to any real data on the subject. Most of my friends in those places use electric carts. All the people I know who live in my area who own side-by-side ATVs have gas models but for those who own golf course carts most all have electric models.
One other advantage about EVs: no worries about theft of catalytic converters or gas.
When the power has gone out I have taken a charger with me to my local gas station and connected it to their power system and pumped gasoline for my self and several other people.
Reliability of electrical service is a regional thing in the mainland US.
Losing power for extended periods of time was a regular occurrence when I lived in South-Central Alaska, sometimes for days. There, it was common to see private homes with backup generators. Some were fueled by natural; gas and many were designed to kick in automatically when the power went off. Many, if not most filling stations had backup gen sets. Lavarock probably has a similar situation in HI.
But here in Idaho, in ten years time, I haven’t experienced half a dozen power outages. And of those, I can remember just a couple that lasted over 10 minutes. And that power is relatively cheap. In the winter season I pay a maximum of 9.64 cents a kwh over 2,000 kwh/mo. and 8.3 cents a kwh under 2,000 kwh per month. In the summer the rates go up to 9.36 cents and 12.14 per kwh.
Your mileage may vary. 
$53,500 is still a huge chunk of change. I’ll continue driving my 20 year old car that is still comfortable, and in great shape.
We’re in the change-every-ten-years thing. I think the technology and safety features are worth the money. I control most of the creature comforts, communications, navigation and entertainment systems with Google Voice. Like “Hey Google… turn up the AC for the rear passengers.”
Sorry, but I don’t think electric vehicles are ready for prime time. To understand why, check out this piece by Ronald Stein.
Good strategy to pick a fringe event to make a point. I will take my EV and laugh all the way to the bank. Meanwhile, you be afraid of the apocalyptical events and drive your ICE vehicle spending $4-$6 / gallon on gas
Interesting article!.. here are some more details:
- Ronald Stein is the founder of PTS Advance. Here is a statement from their website: “PTS Advance is proud to be the largest specialist provider of technical talent to the United States’ Oil, Gas & Chemicals, Power & Renewables, Life Sciences, Construction & Infrastructure and Manufacturing industries.”
- Your linked article was published by CFACT. CFACT’s stated goal is: “goal is to enhance the fruitfulness of the earth and all of its inhabitants.”
- CFACT is governed by a Board of Directors that includes founding president David Rothbard. Staffers include communications director Marc Morano and policy analyst Paul Driessen. All of these guys are actively involved in various climate-change-denial and pro fossil-fuel groups. Check it out here.
If every single California resident were to own an electric vehicle, the state’s power grid might not be able to handle the situation. People should stop dismissing nuclear power.
If every household had an average residential solar array they would each produce 720 to 900 kWh. per month. The average EV today will go about 3 miles on one kWh. That means they could drive an average EV 2,160 to 2,700 miles a month with no impact on the electrical grid. According to the Federal Highway Administration, the average American travels nearly 13,500 vehicle miles per year. At that level of driving, most EVs will require around 4,000 kWh of electricity per year to operate.
Electric vehicles are in their developmental infancy. Over the next few decades we will see huge changes in energy production and storage. Things like quantum batteries and more efficient solar energy production will make ICE-powered cars a thing of the past.
For those who might be interested in checking out electric cars, there might be an Earthday event near you. Here’s a link that you might find helpful:
I’ll be answering questions about my Tesla Model 3 and electric cars and related topics in general in Lewisville on Saturday April 23 for those in the Dallas/ Fort Worth area. There are events around the country but many have already taken place.
Here’s a fairly recent development: Ford is splitting it’s organization to facilitate EV manufacturing.
Don’t know about Arizona but the YouTube Videos by “The Villages Newcomers” report 80% of the Golf Cars are Gas.
They report that with the size of the Villages that Electric is iffy?
The Villages consists of an area approximately 5mi X 10mi. Even with that small area of around 50 sq/mi I would think that a compact SUV BEV would be a better choice than either a gas or electric golf car for use in The Villages.
But as far as golf carts in general go, electricity seems the go-juice of choice:
Power roads charge cars while driving
In the future, you may not need to plug in your EV…
Is the cabin heated with electric heaters?
My Volvo BEV uses direct heat for seats and steering wheel and a heat pump for the cabin. I’d guess with all that air volume to heat in a bus, they’d use a heat pump.
Ford’s Lighting Home Electrical Backup is a Real Thing!
I’ve been doing some research on home solar panels and electrical storage solutions.
When Ford first advertised their 2022 F-150 Lightning P/U as a practical residential home backup solution I assumed it was just sales hype. But, in fact, the Lighting will be able to power the average American SFR home for three days! And up to 10 days with power rationing. Here’s the Ford Lightning story:
That is on the verge of happening now here in Texas, where our grid was basically designed by Enron. “The smartest guys in the room.” The politicians love their campaign contributions. Vote them out, Texas!