Question of the Month: Will the next car you purchase be an EV or a Hybrid Electric Vehicle?

I historically keep a car for about an average 20 years, 150k-200k miles. I do the mundane maintenance. Since my latest purchase is only 5 years old, it will be another 15 years until I'm ready to see what technology gives me the best bang for the buck. Maybe Mr.Fusion will be ready or a fuel cell. 

I'd be much more acceptable of EVs if the batteries were mounted in a pullout tray(s) in the undercarriage, that I could replace / inspect them myself. 

robogary said:

Since my latest purchase is only 5 years old, it will be another 15 years until I'm ready to see what technology gives me the best bang for the buck

We are in a similar situation - we like both of our vehicles and it doesn't make sense to upgrade right now.
We probably have at least 7 more years before the SUV starts to feel too old. The Fiat is so low milage we'll probably have it forever  The advantages of not commuting!

The technology is still progressing rapidly, and at the same time there are some early-tech hiccups still being worked on.
Maybe full self driving will finally be ready when we upgrade

robogary said:

I'd be much more acceptable of EVs if the batteries were mounted in a pullout tray(s) in the undercarriage, that I could replace / inspect them myself. 

Yes! Or at least reasonably cheap and easy to access and service.

Ideally I just want the technology to be so good that I never have to worry about it.
In ICE cars, we eventually wear out the body and engine and scrap the car. I'm hoping the batteries and motors will be so low maintenance that they will last at least as long as the car without much attention.

robogary said:

Since my latest purchase is only 5 years old, it will be another 15 years until I'm ready to see what technology gives me the best bang for the buck

We are in a similar situation - we like both of our vehicles and it doesn't make sense to upgrade right now.
We probably have at least 7 more years before the SUV starts to feel too old. The Fiat is so low milage we'll probably have it forever  The advantages of not commuting!

The technology is still progressing rapidly, and at the same time there are some early-tech hiccups still being worked on.
Maybe full self driving will finally be ready when we upgrade

robogary said:

I'd be much more acceptable of EVs if the batteries were mounted in a pullout tray(s) in the undercarriage, that I could replace / inspect them myself. 

Yes! Or at least reasonably cheap and easy to access and service.

Ideally I just want the technology to be so good that I never have to worry about it.
In ICE cars, we eventually wear out the body and engine and scrap the car. I'm hoping the batteries and motors will be so low maintenance that they will last at least as long as the car without much attention.

ntewinkel said:

I'm hoping the batteries and motors will be so low maintenance that they will last at least as long as the car without much attention.

It will be interesting to see how the reliability of the batteries actually holds out in reality. Definitely one thing to keep an eye out for in the small print of the warranty.

I read about one manufacturer looking at incorporating the battery pack into the bodywork of the car making use of the surface area. However this would tend to mean that replacing the battery would mean replacing the car. Also a small bump in a side panel could damage the battery and result in having to replace the car.

It will also be interesting to see how the battery market develops over time. I suspect there will be a market for low-cost counterfeit batteries as we already see with other products.