Tag Archives: electric cars

Supercharging I: Solo Road Trip

December 2020. California and the American Southwest.

The driving range of electric cars on the market today can easily meet the daily driving needs for the average person. In my case I charge my Model 3 for about 2 hours every night in the garage for daily driving. But what about charging an electric car on longer drives and road trips?

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Model Y Delivery and First Impressions

June 2020. California.

In March of 2019 we reserved a long range dual-motor Model Y with standard wheels in midnight silver. Yesterday we went to our local Tesla Service/Sales Center to pick it up. We had been scheduled to pick up our car back at the end of March 2020, but at the last moment delivery was understandably delayed by the pandemic. Three months later we got our car on the summer solstice.

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Repost: Winter Snow Adventures in a 2012 Toyota Rav4 EV

January 2016. Sierra Nevadas, California.

This article was originally posted on the Transport Evolved website in January 2016.

We live in California’s Central Valley about 100 miles from beautiful spots in the Sierra Nevadas, and we try to get up there as often as possible. Our town sits just above sea level, so traveling to the Sierras involves a climb of 7000 feet. This could be a problem for EVs that have 80-100 miles of range and no options for rapid DC charging, especially in the winter.

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Repost: Celebrating the 2014 National Drive Electric Week in a 2012 Toyota Rav4 EV

September 2014. California's Coast.

This article was originally posted on the Transport Evolved website in September 2014…. yes, things have changed!

This year we celebrated the National Drive Electric Week by taking
our electric car on a road trip. We drove our 2012 Toyota Rav4 EV on
a camping trip with friends to Bodega Bay on the California coast. What better way to celebrate this national event than by using domestic energy to power our trip?

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Every Day is Earth Day: Driving Electric Reduces Carbon Emissions

April 2020. California.

Have you wondered how much of a difference it would make for the environment if you started driving electric? This year for Earth Day I analyzed our data from 15 years of driving to compare the carbon emissions produced by the gas-powered and electric cars we’ve owned.

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Travelogue: Weekend Camping with the Model 3

August 2018. California.

Late last summer we decided to head out of town for one last weekend getaway before the kids started back to school. So we loaded up our Model 3 for a weekend of camping in Lassen Volcanic National Park. Continue reading

CHAdeMO Charging the Model 3

July 2019. California

Last night I received the 2019.24.4 software update for our Model 3. So this morning I tested Tesla’s CHAdeMO adapter to determine the rate of charge, and see how many miles I’d get and how long it would take to charge from a given SOC. Summary: 45 minutes gave me 139 miles of rated range and cost $8.69. Tesla’s CHAdeMO adapter is easy to use and provides more charging options for the Model 3.

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Tesla Model 3: One Year Review

April 2019. California.

This review of our Model 3 starts from the time we reserved it through our first year of driving the car. The review describes several aspects of life with the Model 3 and addresses the basic question: has the Model 3 met my expectations? There have been many reviews on the Model 3, but each review provides another data point for readers about driving the Model 3 in the real world. In addition these reviews may answer questions you have about how well EVs in general, and the Model 3 specifically, can meet your needs.

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50,000 miles in the 2012 Rav4 EV

November 2016. California.

We passed 50,000 miles in our 2012 Toyota Rav4 EV in 2016. To mark the occasion I wrote this post to share:

1) data on mileage, electricity use, efficiency, cost to drive;

2) a few things I’ve learned from driving an electric car;

3) highlights from driving electric;

4) a few opinions on driving electric.

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Tesla Model 3 Road Trip to San Diego

November 2018. California.

Most of our mileage comes from the daily work commute, but we’ve also taken a few trips in our region: to San Francisco for work and family trips, to Montgomery Woods State Reserve to see Redwood trees, to Lassen Volcanic National Park for camping, and to the Mammoth Lakes area to take in the scenery. Continue reading