EVs

[dukealien]

@busker - Thanks for pointing that out, I'm not very familiar with BYD products (only see them on YouTube videos which tend to be biased for or against).  What I meant is, a highly integrated car (or other complex system, like an F-35) can be very efficient as long as it's working.  When there's a fault (something doesn't work) it can be quite easy to find with BITE (built-in test equipment) but very hard to fix:  you have to replace large parts of the system to include the bit that's gone wrong, or at best pull out large assemblies to get at it.  That's what increases insurance and repair costs:  get a knock that would require frame straightening and some sheet metal replacement in an old IC car, and you're looking at half the body and the battery pan in a Tesla.  And all that is billed at high rates for the big replacement assemblies, expert labor, and amortizing the gear that interfaces with the BITE.

This is not to discourage anyone from buying an EV, including Chinese products (if they ever get certified in the US).  The current state of the art has some gaps, that's all, and they have to be filled with money when you find yourself in one.  Money, and time.

They are fun to drive, though - I get a ghost of that feeling when my hybrid is running in EV mode.  The final outcome, as batteries get better and better, will probably be something like a PHEV where the IC engines get progressively smaller and less used as the EV side improves.  Current PHEVs are OK commuter cars to charge at home and drive 25 miles or so to work, but for road trips you're burning dinosaurs after the first 50 miles.