Electric Cars For Dummies

Description

Drive into the 21st century in an electric car With falling cost of ownership, expanded incentives for purchasing, and more model and body type options than ever, it may finally be time to retire the old gas-guzzler and dive into the world of electric car ownership. Electric Cars For Dummies is your guide to becoming lightning powered, reducing your carbon footprint, and saving money on gas while you do it. This book teaches you how to select the battery-charged vehicle that fits your need and budget. It also offers insight into how to maintain your electric car, including answering all your questions about charging your vehicle. Calculate the total cost of ownership, prep your home to become one huge charger, and demystify the battery, the tune-ups and more. Learn the difference in cost of ownership and emissions between electric and gas-powered vehiclesExplore your options and find an electric car that fits in your budgetKnow when and how to charge your vehicle, and what kind of maintenance it needsFigure out how to charge your car on the go This is the perfect book for new and would-be electric car owners looking for guidance on buying and maintaining one of these super sleek machines. Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Introduction About This Book Foolish Assumptions Icons Used in This Book Beyond the Book Where to Go from Here Part 1 Getting In On the Popularity of Electric Cars Chapter 1 So You’re Thinking About Buying an Electric Car Why Buy an Electric Car? The Disruption of Better Tech Acronyms and Abbreviations That Make You Sound Smrt Drawing the Line between Electric and Gas-Powered Vehicles Yeah, but Gas Cars Aren’t Going Anywhere for a While — Wait, What? Where gas cars are going in Europe (and especially Norway) Where gas cars are going in the US (and especially California) Why predictions are unpredictable TL;DR: Your Top Questions about Electric Cars, Answered How long does an EV take to charge? EVs can’t get me where I need to go? Aren’t EVs expensive? How long until I have to replace my EV’s battery? Why can’t I find somewhere to charge my EV? What happens if the battery runs out of juice while I’m driving? Aren’t EVs worse for the environment than gasoline cars? Chapter 2 The Fascinating Tech That’s (Sort of) Under the Hood Recognizing That Induction Motors Mean Instant Energy Seeing What Happens When You Hit “the Gas” Comparing Torque and Horsepower Letting Physics Do the Braking Knowing how EVs make energy while driving Seeing what happens when you let up on the “gas” Making More Room for the Fun Stuff Knowing What to Do When There’s (Almost) Nothing Under the Hood Driving an iPad with Wheels Faster and further — all by changing a few words Predicting the future of OTA updates, and the car as a computing platform Chapter 3 Electric Vehicles and a Safer Drive Why You Might Be Under the Impression That EVs Are Unsafe A Brief — and Instructive — History of ICE Vehicle Safety A Short History of Everything (Car-Safety- Related) in 2 Minutes Examining Safety Features (and Statistics) for Electric Vehicles What’s NHTSA’s line, anyway? The 5-star safety rating Exploring the Possibility of a Car Fire (ICE versus EV) Car fires by the numbers Calculating the risk of an EV catching fire One caveat to all this EV fire talk The leading cause of vehicle fires Okay, but what if I have a pacemaker — you know, electromagnetic motors and such? A Car That Gets Safer Over Time EVs will get safer over time Your EV will get safer over time Part 2 Buying Wisely Chapter 4 Consider the Cost (of an Electric Vehicle) The Price of an Automobile: An Analysis Using Numbers Gas versus Electric: A Comparison Using Numbers So, about that price parity thing Estimating the cost of gas for ICEs Estimating the cost of electrons for EVs Price parity: The wait is over A deeper dive (into the fuel tank) The French-Canadian connection EVs and Maintenance: An Estimation Using Numbers Whoa — EVs Seem Expensive! Maybe We Should Look at the Numbers Bottom Line: Estimating (Using Numbers) the Total Cost of Ownership Chapter 5 Researching Your EV Options An Overview of the EV Market HEVs PHEVs BEVs Separating the Wheat from the Chaff Hatchbacks Midsize sedans Luxury/performance sedans Crossovers SUVs Pickups Others Deciding When (or Whether) to Buy a Used Electric Car Verifying battery life Start practicing Zen meditation Living with no (or very few) incentives for used vehicles Chapter 6 Buying Your New Electric Car Exploring the Differences between Buying an ICE and an EV Navigating (or Avoiding) the Dealership So then what’s the deal — why can’t I buy a Tesla in Texas? Remembering that no states have banned EV car sales Buying an EV from a dealer Handling EV-specific issues at the dealer Choosing between buying and leasing Leveraging leasing incentives Taking advantage of the option to buy Taking the route of Costco or another wholesale club Taking advantage of a corporate discount Shopping for a used EV Insuring Your Electric Wheels Seeing why EVs cost (a bit) more to insure “How to save 15 percent on . . .” (you know the rest) Part 3 Maintaining Your Newfangled Horseless Carriage Chapter 7 Charge ’Er Up! Onions Have Layers, and Charging Has Levels Getting Up to Speed with Level 1 Charging Is Level 1 charging enough for your EV driving needs? How do you use Level 1 charging? What are some obstacles to Level 1 charging? Level 1 cheat sheet Turning Things Up with Level 2 Charging Level 2 charging at home Level 2 charging in public Should you install a Level 2 outlet at your home? How do you use Level 2 charging? What are some obstacles to Level 2 charging? Level 2 cheat sheet Getting a Wicked-Fast Charge with Level 3 Charging Fast charging plug connectors Examining Level 3 charging claims from EV manufacturers Identifying the players in the DC fast-charging business Level 3 cheat sheet Chapter 8 Protecting the Battery (and Your Investment) Seeing Which Batteries Actually Power Cars Looking at battery form factors Looking at the advantages of cylindrical batteries It takes a village Battery pack capacity Counting Up the Kilowatt-Hours Kilowatt-hours in vehicle badging — that’s so 2018 Getting down to the nitty-gritty Recognizing That Too Much of a Good Thing Is a Bad Thing Dealing with Battery Death Going the Extra Mile Seeing Where EV Batteries Go When They Die Dirk Spiers and Spiers new technology JB Straubel and Redwood Materials Your EV recycling to-do list Dealing with Battery Pack Replacements When replacing a battery makes sense: The case for hybrids Reviewing battery replacement options Chapter 9 Keeping Your Car in Top Shape Getting Your Hands Dirty (or Not) Dealing with tires Putting on the brakes Dealing with batteries Optimizing battery health Tracking Down EV Service Locations Finding service at a dealership Going mobile (service, that is) Benefiting from third-party services Doing it yourself with DIY service (right-to-repair) Keeping Your EV Exterior in the Pink Opting for paint protection film Wrapping up the exterior Coating in ceramic Keeping Your EV Interior Shipshape Caring for your seat Cleaning that big screen Organizing your trunk/frunk Knowing What You Don’t Need to Do Things You’ll Never Have to Add to Your To-Do List Part 4 Futurethink and Fun with EV Engineering Chapter 10 Faster, Farther, and More Fun Living Out Your Speed Racer Fantasies Taking a good look at ICE power output Comparing EV power output Staying Out of Jail Can an EV Power Your House? Recognizing the challenges of V2H Adding the challenges of V2G to the mix Addressing challenges with a Smart Grid Will EV Prices Ever Come Down? When? Renewable Energy and the Electric Car World Using a clean energy broker Using your own solar power Next-Gen Batteries Next-gen battery objectives Less expensive (and faster charging) Solid-state batteries: Lighter weight (and faster charging) Lithium-sulphur: Lighter, denser, cheaper Faster charging (that is all, but that is also enough) Chapter 11 Our Autonomous Future Adding Up the Self-Driving Benefits Listing the Key ADAS Benefits Can These Cars Drive Themselves — or What? Leveling up your self-driving knowledge Level 0: No Driving Automation Level 1: Driver Assistance Level 2: Partial Driving Automation Level 2 Examples Level 3: Conditional Driving Automation Level 4: High Driving Automation Level 5: Full Driving Automation Doing the Vision Thing Tesla and Comma.ai bet on cameras Waymo and Cruise add lidar Other carmakers split the difference Recognizing the Challenges What’s still really hard for autonomous cars What’s still really hard for humans regulating autonomous cars Gazing into the EV Crystal Ball Where AV capability is coming fast Where AV has already arrived Chapter 12 Other Vehicles That Are Going Electric Going Mobile with Electric Buses Seeing why battery-electric buses are fantastic But, but — electric buses aren’t all that fantastic, after all Keep On Truckin’ (with Electric Long-Haul Trucks) Tesla Semi Freightliner eCascadia Volvo VNR Electric Kenworth T680 BYD 8TT Nikola Tre Delivering the Goods (with Electric Delivery Vans) BrightDrop Canoo Rivian EDV Workhorse Keeping things in perspective I Sing the Lawn Mower Electric Chapter 13 The Best Car Is No Car: Electric Bikes and the Morning Commute Making the Trip by Bike Improving fitness Improving mentals Enhancing your ability to explore new places (and more often) Having access to faster and cheaper transportation Putting money in your pocket through tax incentives Looking at the Three Classes of Ebikes Scouting Out the More Notable Ebike Companies VanMoof Gazelle Aventon Rad Power Bikes Bird Bikes Trek Specialized Hey! I’m Giving Away Ebikes! Part 5 The Part of Tens Chapter 14 Ten Countries Leading the Way — and What They’re Doing Norway Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands Germany China United States California UK New Zealand Mexico India Japan Chapter 15 Ten Companies Leading the Way — and a Look at What They’re Doing Tesla Xpeng Motors Lucid and Rivian Volkswagen GM and Ford Geeley/Polestar Hyundai BYD SIAC Everyone Else Chapter 16 Ten Predictions from EV Insiders (with Plenty of Commentary and Opinion Because It’s My Book There, Bub) When New EVs Will Cost $25,000 When Robotaxis Will Make Their Grand Entrance When Electric Planes (or Flying Cars) Will Make Their Grand Entrance Which Companies Will Thrive (and Which Ones Won’t) Electric vehicle or EV-related companies that will thrive Electric vehicle or EV-related companies that will likely go bankrupt by 2030 Electric vehicle or EV-related companies that haven’t yet launched (or won’t ever launch) production When You Will See Electric Semis (and What It Will Mean) Future Battery Tech for Your Car When You’ll (Hopefully) See an Impact on Parking and City Design Connected Cars The Last ICE Sale Will Take Place Sometime in 2030 — for California Index EULA