I would think any shaming would be toward Tesla drivers, especially those Cybertruck time bombs. And until there's a safe, reliable EV that can charge as fast as I can refuel gas and run for 400+ miles between charges, I'm hanging on to my 4-year-old RAV4 hybrid.
Totally agree with you! I'm not spending my days worrying about how far I can go and where I'm going to find a charging station. With the amount of driving I sometimes do for my work, I'd be spending half my day charging!
The most environmentally sound car is the one you don't buy. There are numerous articles and papers regarding the destructive manufacturing process for automobiles generally; add in battery production and inability to maintain without full replacement, and it's game over for the EV fetishists.
We own a gas sedan (hubby’s) and a full electric SUV (mine - not a Tesla). I don’t think we’ve ever been gas shamed but I get shade thrown at me for my electric somewhat regularly. Interestingly
the snarky comments are almost all from men. It balances out though - lots of folks ask me about my car with genuine curiosity. I’m happy to answer their questions but always say I simply finally reached the stage in life where I could buy the car I simply love to drive!
And to second another commenter - if you really want to be environmentally friendly keep your cars as long as possible. We typically buy ours 2-3 years old and aim for 10 years or 200K miles before we even consider replacing them so I’ll be enjoying this one for a while!
My current car is a 2002. It is paid for. And while it definitely doesn't get the best gas mileage, I only drive about 4,000 miles per year so the trade off is fine. Also it will haul my scuba gear, dog, and pull a trailer when we want to escape to the wild in comfort. There is zero reason for me to replace this car. AND I wouldn't want to have to wait overnight to fully charge an electric car to get less range than I can get on my current vehicle with five minutes at the gas station.
It takes maybe an hour to fully recharge my 300+ mile battery at a fast charger and most of my driving is on the charger heavy east coast and Adirondacks. But electric is not remotely for everyone! Good for you for hanging on to the best kind of car - paid for!
It varies depending a lot on where you are. Like most EV drivers I do most of my charging at home. But I also take regular multi-day work trips where I can slow charge overnight at a public charger and refill my roughly 100kwh battery cheaply (under $20).
The closest gas vehicle to mine is the BMW X5 which needs 22 gals of premium gas. At $4.75/gal locally it’s $100+ to fill that tank. I think the most I’ve ever paid at a rapid charger on a road trip is $.50/kwh so a 100kwh rapid charge would be $50 at max cost.
My electric SUV has an EPA rating of something like 90 mpg - the gas X5 is maybe 25 mpg or around 55mpg if you get the plug in hybrid.
Frankly I think the plug-in hybrids are the sweet spot for many folks right now if they can afford the initial costs.
I drive a gas powered Honda Pilot. When I bought it four years ago, electric cars were not as available and I wanted to pull a camper and needed a car strong enough to do that. The range issues on electric cars is still an issue for me. I would like to buy a plug in hybrid to bridge the gap, but my car is paid for and has under 30k miles on it. Now is not the time for us to buy a new car. I’ve been given dirty looks on occasion but no one has criticized me to my face. I make a similar scowl when I see a Tesla, but that’s because of Musk, and I would never criticize a stranger for their choice in vehicles.
I love the idea of EVs, and there is a Tesla charging station right in my rural neighborhood, actually closer than any gas station. But if you, as a gasoline driver, are afraid of getting the occasional dirty look from an EV driver, consider the fate of an EV driver who buys a vehicle that the woke mob suddenly decides to demonize for purely political reasons. Though EVs are safe around here, driving the "wrong" EV into the big city could subject it to getting keyed or set on fire. I'm going to wait.
I had 2 women in a Ford Mustang flash their breasts at me while driving my Porsche 911 Ragtop in Florida! I still they think they were approving of my ride, not shaming it!
What surprised me was there was no ( at least that I saw) comment about hybrid vehicles, the best of both worlds. My wife drives a hybrid Toyota Avalon and I drive a hybrid Toyota Rav 4. They both have smallish gas tanks, yet we get 500 miles per refill in city and highway driving at no particular ratio, without the need to plug anything in. In addition, with the regenerative breaking, there is virtually no brake wear. I cannot understand why hybrids are not the primary vehicle sold today. Power? The V4 engine gives ample power to both cars, and if you push down hard on the accelerator pedal, the electric motors kick in giving you the power of a V8 for easy passing even at highway speeds. Hybrid is the only way to go and our last five cars have been Toyota hybrids.
EVs are far from being without a climate shadow. Just different points of pollution. Tires, for instance, on an EV disintegrate much faster and pollute the area along the roadways. And where's the E in EV coming from? Better choice is public transit, which, btw, is very critically underfunded where I live. The steep budget cuts coming will axe many of their currently scheduled services, which will force many more commuters onto the roadways. Better yet, lets ride bikes and walk, though even walking a lot more will mean we will wear out our shoes and socks faster. That's another story. Best solution: just don't leave home. Walk to the closest park for a staycation.
The more I think about today's article the more I am disappointed. The article is click bait that quotes other click bait stories. Hostility towards ICE drivers is probably less common than hostility towards electric cars, although both are rare. The most hostility I have seen is from a friend who said my car runs on coal, as our utility gets some of its power from coal. I replied that it is American coal. My friend bought an electric car recently.
My car is 7 years old, with just about 30,000 miles on it. It's paid for, and gets good gas milage. I park on the street with no where to charge an EV. If there was a true hybrid that charged the battery when running the combustion engine, I would consider it. (A plug in hybrid is two separate systems - more things to break and more $$$) Putting a functioning vehicle in the dump just to purchase an EV is a bigger environmental crime. Also mining the materials for rechargeable batteries is horrible for the environment. The entire supply chain should be considered when purchasing a new vehicle, that includes how the electricity for charging the vehicle is manufactured, not just where the parts come from or what it takes to make the parts. I am an engineer and mathematician, I used a huge spread sheet to purchase my 2018 Buick Encore. I will do the same at some future date when the cost to repair ratio on my current car tips over my pre-defined limit.
My wife and I own two vehicles, one gas powered,one EV. We have never been shamed for driving the gas van (I like to think Minnesotans are more tolerant?!) and we thoroughly enjoy driving the EV. That said, for long trips the EV is simply not practical when one considers the mileage range of our vehicle and the difficulty in finding viable charging stations throughout the country. We just returned from an overseas trip to Australia and New Zealand where in both countries we rented Toyota hybrids. The practicality and convenience of hybrids cannot be overstated. In fact I hate to say it but buying a hybrid is probably a better option until we build batteries with better range. I am all for reducing our carbon footprint. Let's improve the product!
I drove a 2012 Jeep Wrangler for the past six years and all gas cars prior to that and never got shamed. I drive a lot for work, and yeah, I probably should have bought a hybrid - not convinced on the full EVs yet - instead of the Jeep, but at the time, that's what I wanted (my dream vehicle). A few months ago I traded it in on a 2025 Honda Hybrid as I decided I wasn't going again to put a huge amount of money for major repairs into a 13 year old Jeep as I had twice before. I loved that Jeep (bright orange!) but I really do like the massively improved mpg and smooth ride of the Honda hybrid.
The only cars that *should* be shamed arre the god forsaken butt ugly piece of c*** Tesla cybertrucks!!
As others have mentioned, EVs are not very environmentally friendly. With the involuntary mining by children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and/or slave labor in China, the metals needed for the batteries are bad to get.
If an EV catches fire, the fire is extremely intense and takes a foam not many fire departments have yet--or an incredible amount of water (much more than a gas car).
After so many years, the batteries used to power an EV will have to be replaced. I have heard that currently that is about $5k - $20k or so.
In colder climates, EVs have a much shorter range since the batteries have/carry much smaller loads when cold.
I think those that are vandalizing Tesla vehicles, charging stations, and dealerships are idiots and should be arrested and penalized/jailed. Don't agree with him trying to shrink the US government and make it more efficient? Fine--then get involved and try to get your preferred candidate that will not have Musk help elected.
I will consider an EV when their range is consistently equal to a gas car (same size model), charging stations are easy to find and are in working order, and the EV can be charged to at least 90% in about 10 - 15 minutes, which is about how long a stop is to refuel a car on a road trip, use the facilities, and walk a bit. Also, when their tires last as long as a gas car's do (I have heard EV tires last about 7k miles but that might be user error since the EV's torque from a stop is greater).
I have not been shamed for driving a gas car, and I would most likely just ignore the person.
The tires are an issue. EVs are typically heavy with lots of torque so tire wear is real. I have a 500hp / 5000+lb electric SUV and get about 20K out of my tires. But the cost evens out with near zero maintenance costs.
EV is still underdeveloped in the United States. Charging stations are few and far between, and almost absent in the American West. Moreover, they are poorly maintained and often broken. Added to this we have scofflaws parking in charging station spots with gas vehicles. I was recently in Spain and the EV infrastructure is infinitely better. As a compromise, we drive a hybrid vehicle. It is less eco-friendly than an EV, but we can't afford to be stranded witout a car because the infrastructure network is so deficient.
The reason we have Teslas is because the public infrastructure is so good. Looking at Oregon and Northern California, there are over 100 Tesla public high speed charger locations. Most of them have 8 or more chargers Unlike my experience with non-Tesla chargers, I have never had a problem or a wait charging a Tesla. In addition, I can charge at over a hundred non-Tesla locations with an adapter. Other brands are getting access to Tesla chargers. What ever you think of Elon, Tesla understood from the beginning that reliable public high speed chargers were essential. Until early 2017, Teslas came with transferable unlimited free charging at Tesla Superchargers. Our 2017 has it. We could drive pretty much anywhere in the country and not pay for charging, so every time we do so, it costs Tesla money.
Have never heard of that before, and this area -- D.C. and suburbs -- is rife with EV drivers. Makes me wonder just how prevalent it really is.
I would be happy to consider an EV if I could charge it at home. But I don't have a garage or driveway (street parking only) and there's no way to do it. I keep my cars as long as possible; my current one is a 2014 I've owned 10 years as of this month. It has about 105K on the odometer and I'm looking forward to a lot more. Had my previous one 13 years and 160K+ miles.
I would think any shaming would be toward Tesla drivers, especially those Cybertruck time bombs. And until there's a safe, reliable EV that can charge as fast as I can refuel gas and run for 400+ miles between charges, I'm hanging on to my 4-year-old RAV4 hybrid.
Totally agree with you! I'm not spending my days worrying about how far I can go and where I'm going to find a charging station. With the amount of driving I sometimes do for my work, I'd be spending half my day charging!
The most environmentally sound car is the one you don't buy. There are numerous articles and papers regarding the destructive manufacturing process for automobiles generally; add in battery production and inability to maintain without full replacement, and it's game over for the EV fetishists.
We own a gas sedan (hubby’s) and a full electric SUV (mine - not a Tesla). I don’t think we’ve ever been gas shamed but I get shade thrown at me for my electric somewhat regularly. Interestingly
the snarky comments are almost all from men. It balances out though - lots of folks ask me about my car with genuine curiosity. I’m happy to answer their questions but always say I simply finally reached the stage in life where I could buy the car I simply love to drive!
And to second another commenter - if you really want to be environmentally friendly keep your cars as long as possible. We typically buy ours 2-3 years old and aim for 10 years or 200K miles before we even consider replacing them so I’ll be enjoying this one for a while!
My current car is a 2002. It is paid for. And while it definitely doesn't get the best gas mileage, I only drive about 4,000 miles per year so the trade off is fine. Also it will haul my scuba gear, dog, and pull a trailer when we want to escape to the wild in comfort. There is zero reason for me to replace this car. AND I wouldn't want to have to wait overnight to fully charge an electric car to get less range than I can get on my current vehicle with five minutes at the gas station.
It takes maybe an hour to fully recharge my 300+ mile battery at a fast charger and most of my driving is on the charger heavy east coast and Adirondacks. But electric is not remotely for everyone! Good for you for hanging on to the best kind of car - paid for!
Curious what does a full charge cost? Is it cheaper than gas?
It varies depending a lot on where you are. Like most EV drivers I do most of my charging at home. But I also take regular multi-day work trips where I can slow charge overnight at a public charger and refill my roughly 100kwh battery cheaply (under $20).
The closest gas vehicle to mine is the BMW X5 which needs 22 gals of premium gas. At $4.75/gal locally it’s $100+ to fill that tank. I think the most I’ve ever paid at a rapid charger on a road trip is $.50/kwh so a 100kwh rapid charge would be $50 at max cost.
My electric SUV has an EPA rating of something like 90 mpg - the gas X5 is maybe 25 mpg or around 55mpg if you get the plug in hybrid.
Frankly I think the plug-in hybrids are the sweet spot for many folks right now if they can afford the initial costs.
Thanks Erica!
And I drive far more than you do - we would never get 30 years reasonably on our cars.
Whoops - 20!
I drive a gas powered Honda Pilot. When I bought it four years ago, electric cars were not as available and I wanted to pull a camper and needed a car strong enough to do that. The range issues on electric cars is still an issue for me. I would like to buy a plug in hybrid to bridge the gap, but my car is paid for and has under 30k miles on it. Now is not the time for us to buy a new car. I’ve been given dirty looks on occasion but no one has criticized me to my face. I make a similar scowl when I see a Tesla, but that’s because of Musk, and I would never criticize a stranger for their choice in vehicles.
I love the idea of EVs, and there is a Tesla charging station right in my rural neighborhood, actually closer than any gas station. But if you, as a gasoline driver, are afraid of getting the occasional dirty look from an EV driver, consider the fate of an EV driver who buys a vehicle that the woke mob suddenly decides to demonize for purely political reasons. Though EVs are safe around here, driving the "wrong" EV into the big city could subject it to getting keyed or set on fire. I'm going to wait.
I had 2 women in a Ford Mustang flash their breasts at me while driving my Porsche 911 Ragtop in Florida! I still they think they were approving of my ride, not shaming it!
LOL!
What surprised me was there was no ( at least that I saw) comment about hybrid vehicles, the best of both worlds. My wife drives a hybrid Toyota Avalon and I drive a hybrid Toyota Rav 4. They both have smallish gas tanks, yet we get 500 miles per refill in city and highway driving at no particular ratio, without the need to plug anything in. In addition, with the regenerative breaking, there is virtually no brake wear. I cannot understand why hybrids are not the primary vehicle sold today. Power? The V4 engine gives ample power to both cars, and if you push down hard on the accelerator pedal, the electric motors kick in giving you the power of a V8 for easy passing even at highway speeds. Hybrid is the only way to go and our last five cars have been Toyota hybrids.
EVs are far from being without a climate shadow. Just different points of pollution. Tires, for instance, on an EV disintegrate much faster and pollute the area along the roadways. And where's the E in EV coming from? Better choice is public transit, which, btw, is very critically underfunded where I live. The steep budget cuts coming will axe many of their currently scheduled services, which will force many more commuters onto the roadways. Better yet, lets ride bikes and walk, though even walking a lot more will mean we will wear out our shoes and socks faster. That's another story. Best solution: just don't leave home. Walk to the closest park for a staycation.
Chris:
The more I think about today's article the more I am disappointed. The article is click bait that quotes other click bait stories. Hostility towards ICE drivers is probably less common than hostility towards electric cars, although both are rare. The most hostility I have seen is from a friend who said my car runs on coal, as our utility gets some of its power from coal. I replied that it is American coal. My friend bought an electric car recently.
My car is 7 years old, with just about 30,000 miles on it. It's paid for, and gets good gas milage. I park on the street with no where to charge an EV. If there was a true hybrid that charged the battery when running the combustion engine, I would consider it. (A plug in hybrid is two separate systems - more things to break and more $$$) Putting a functioning vehicle in the dump just to purchase an EV is a bigger environmental crime. Also mining the materials for rechargeable batteries is horrible for the environment. The entire supply chain should be considered when purchasing a new vehicle, that includes how the electricity for charging the vehicle is manufactured, not just where the parts come from or what it takes to make the parts. I am an engineer and mathematician, I used a huge spread sheet to purchase my 2018 Buick Encore. I will do the same at some future date when the cost to repair ratio on my current car tips over my pre-defined limit.
My wife and I own two vehicles, one gas powered,one EV. We have never been shamed for driving the gas van (I like to think Minnesotans are more tolerant?!) and we thoroughly enjoy driving the EV. That said, for long trips the EV is simply not practical when one considers the mileage range of our vehicle and the difficulty in finding viable charging stations throughout the country. We just returned from an overseas trip to Australia and New Zealand where in both countries we rented Toyota hybrids. The practicality and convenience of hybrids cannot be overstated. In fact I hate to say it but buying a hybrid is probably a better option until we build batteries with better range. I am all for reducing our carbon footprint. Let's improve the product!
I drove a 2012 Jeep Wrangler for the past six years and all gas cars prior to that and never got shamed. I drive a lot for work, and yeah, I probably should have bought a hybrid - not convinced on the full EVs yet - instead of the Jeep, but at the time, that's what I wanted (my dream vehicle). A few months ago I traded it in on a 2025 Honda Hybrid as I decided I wasn't going again to put a huge amount of money for major repairs into a 13 year old Jeep as I had twice before. I loved that Jeep (bright orange!) but I really do like the massively improved mpg and smooth ride of the Honda hybrid.
The only cars that *should* be shamed arre the god forsaken butt ugly piece of c*** Tesla cybertrucks!!
As others have mentioned, EVs are not very environmentally friendly. With the involuntary mining by children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and/or slave labor in China, the metals needed for the batteries are bad to get.
If an EV catches fire, the fire is extremely intense and takes a foam not many fire departments have yet--or an incredible amount of water (much more than a gas car).
After so many years, the batteries used to power an EV will have to be replaced. I have heard that currently that is about $5k - $20k or so.
In colder climates, EVs have a much shorter range since the batteries have/carry much smaller loads when cold.
I think those that are vandalizing Tesla vehicles, charging stations, and dealerships are idiots and should be arrested and penalized/jailed. Don't agree with him trying to shrink the US government and make it more efficient? Fine--then get involved and try to get your preferred candidate that will not have Musk help elected.
I will consider an EV when their range is consistently equal to a gas car (same size model), charging stations are easy to find and are in working order, and the EV can be charged to at least 90% in about 10 - 15 minutes, which is about how long a stop is to refuel a car on a road trip, use the facilities, and walk a bit. Also, when their tires last as long as a gas car's do (I have heard EV tires last about 7k miles but that might be user error since the EV's torque from a stop is greater).
I have not been shamed for driving a gas car, and I would most likely just ignore the person.
The tires are an issue. EVs are typically heavy with lots of torque so tire wear is real. I have a 500hp / 5000+lb electric SUV and get about 20K out of my tires. But the cost evens out with near zero maintenance costs.
EV is still underdeveloped in the United States. Charging stations are few and far between, and almost absent in the American West. Moreover, they are poorly maintained and often broken. Added to this we have scofflaws parking in charging station spots with gas vehicles. I was recently in Spain and the EV infrastructure is infinitely better. As a compromise, we drive a hybrid vehicle. It is less eco-friendly than an EV, but we can't afford to be stranded witout a car because the infrastructure network is so deficient.
The reason we have Teslas is because the public infrastructure is so good. Looking at Oregon and Northern California, there are over 100 Tesla public high speed charger locations. Most of them have 8 or more chargers Unlike my experience with non-Tesla chargers, I have never had a problem or a wait charging a Tesla. In addition, I can charge at over a hundred non-Tesla locations with an adapter. Other brands are getting access to Tesla chargers. What ever you think of Elon, Tesla understood from the beginning that reliable public high speed chargers were essential. Until early 2017, Teslas came with transferable unlimited free charging at Tesla Superchargers. Our 2017 has it. We could drive pretty much anywhere in the country and not pay for charging, so every time we do so, it costs Tesla money.
Have never heard of that before, and this area -- D.C. and suburbs -- is rife with EV drivers. Makes me wonder just how prevalent it really is.
I would be happy to consider an EV if I could charge it at home. But I don't have a garage or driveway (street parking only) and there's no way to do it. I keep my cars as long as possible; my current one is a 2014 I've owned 10 years as of this month. It has about 105K on the odometer and I'm looking forward to a lot more. Had my previous one 13 years and 160K+ miles.
I know in my head that de-escalation is the right thing to do. But my body is throwing punches if I catch someone spray painting my car....