Principles have limits

In 2022 I traded in my Mazda3 for a Nissan LEAF, which cost me about $1000 all-in. The LEAF was a pretty great car that I liked a lot, but it had a couple of critical features, namely that the lack of active battery thermal management meant that its range got super low in the winter and the battery was degrading quite quickly, and being stuck on CHAdeMO made it very stressful to find a quick charge the rare times when I needed one (which happened just often enough that I was getting worried).

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Slate: Another EV to look at

If you’re at all tuned into the EV space, you’ve probably heard of the Slate truck, for example from this Ars Technica article.

I am super into the concept. I probably wouldn’t buy one, because it doesn’t actually fit any of my needs as described (also IMO it’s kind of fugly), but I really hope that they expand their offerings a bit. In particular, I’d love to see a four-door model happen (I don’t drive other people often but when I do they usually have accessibility concerns!), and the addition of power windows would be really nice as well.

I do have my doubts about whether it can actually launch for the anticipated price, but they’re at least getting a lot of hype right now, and I love the idea of a barebones modular vehice where you only add the stuff you actually care about.

If I were to get one I’d definitely want to add a CarPlay display and audio amplifier. Fortunately there are already plenty of things on the market that could be used for this purpose, and I’m sure those will be among the first things to be adapted for the Slate if/when the vehicle comes to market.

I also hope that the hype around this causes other manufacturers to realize that there’s a market for lower-spec EVs. I’d absolutely love to see a low-spec version of a Telo, for example.

My actual EV costs in 2024

It’s car registration renewal time! Let’s see how much having an EV saved or cost me.

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EVs to look at in 2025

It’s been a while since I’ve done a roundup of current and upcoming EVs. Even though I don’t drive very much, I still like to keep track of where EVs are especially for everyday people who aren’t doing massive amounts of driving or cargo-hauling or whatever. I have no plans to upgrade away from my 2019 Niro any time soon, but I do know a lot of people who are EV-curious but not curious enough to do actual research, so I like to know where things are at.

With all of the FUD going around right now and the American auto industry’s hyperfixation on making everything into giant SUVs, I thought it’d be nice to raise awareness of the neat stuff that’s still happening.

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Per-capita EV registrations by state

A question that keeps on coming up in my conversations is: where exactly is the electric vehicle adoption the highest?

There’s plenty of information about it on a per-country basis but I couldn’t find anything that breaks it down by US state. So I did a little number-crunching, and figured I’d post it here so that other people can benefit from it.

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Hyperfixation: Car comparison Notes

All dimensions are in Imperial units.

Specification 2005 Matrix XR 2004 Matrix XRS 2019 Niro EV
Fuel efficiency (combined) 29 MPG 24 MPG 112 MPGe1
Range (combined)2 380 316 230
Horsepower 130 173 201
Length 171.3 171.3 172.2
Width 69.9 69.9 71.1
Height 60.6 60.6 61.8
Wheelbase 102.4 102.4 106.3
Cargo, seats up 21.8 21.8 18.5
Cargo, seats down 53.2 53.2 53.0
Spare tire Temporary Temporary A can of fix-a-flat
120V power outlet 400W 400W No, and there isn’t even a 12V adapter to plug an inverter into
Purse holder No No Yes
Acceleration time, 0-60 9.0 7.8 6.2
Stick shift Yes Heck yes No :(

CarMax is great

I feel like I need to sing the praise of CarMax, the dealership I bought the Niro at.

First of all: They had amazing prices on things, and a no-nonsense no-haggle policy. You pick out your car online, make an appointment to test drive it, and get some time with it.

They also did an amazing job of getting it ready for me. They performed all necessary service, including replacing the tires, and did a thorough inspection.

The inspection on mine missed two points: It was missing its emergency trickle charger, and there was a small but concerning crack on the windshield. When I pointed these things out, they immediately bought me a new, official trickle charger ($300) and paid for the entire windshield to be replaced ($700) — no questions asked, no proof required.

And with both issues, I’d called their service number outside of their business hours, and their answering service forwarded my concerns along and I got immediate contact, direct from the sales representative I worked with, as soon as they opened!

They also gave me the best offer on my old car by far, and worked really hard to get me every possible tax credit on the vehicle (the best one being the sales tax credit from the trade-in to begin with), and gave me a clear and concise explanation for why the ones I couldn’t get weren’t available. Not that it matters — the original price on the Niro was already ridiculously low, and the fact they’ve paid an additional $1000 to fix the issues mentioned above is a nice bonus on top.

This is 100% my own opinion, unsolicited, and I earn no commission or affiliate fee for saying this.

I honestly feel that CarMax is how all car dealerships should be.

The only thing I disliked about the whole experience is that they still aren’t quite equipped for EV sales, and don’t list things like range specs or show the battery condition on the inspection report. (For battery condition you really should bring an OBD-II scanner and an appropriate app, anyway. My Niro was still at 100%.) This is such an incredibly minor concern that I feel like it almost isn’t even worth mentioning, and as EVs get more popular this issue will definitely go away anyway.

So, yeah. CarMax is such a good experience. They are absolutely the way that car sales should be.