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Asheville is hippie/ liberal central for the state . Really a shame , scenery is spectacular, not to mention its home to The Biltmore House. In addition to the bus fiasco , crime and homelessness have skyrocketed under the current city government. ?
In the past 3 years, crime has skyrocketed in Asheville due to all the homeless. It has gotten so bad that even Lib Asheville has had to crack down, the crime was driving away the tourists.
The City has attacked a half dozen big homeless camps. I have seen a dump truck there, right where I 240 crosses Merrimon, and city workers throwing the tents and tarps into the dump truck.
There used to be a huge homeless camp at I 240 and Patton, the City cleaned it up several months ago. We drove past there yesterday, there were only three tarp-tents that had sprung back up. The big church there feeds the homeless and lets them take showers.
Speaking of EV's, batteries, solar, and windmills.
Autoworkers UAW supporting Brandon.
They do not seem to realize that he is actually not supporting them by trying to do away with automobile employees and going to robots and EV's. What a weak upstairs move for the UAW. Brandon says he has got their back. (yea sure)
I dropped out of Unions because they ALWAYS supported the politicians that I did not care for and most everything else. (and it was not user friendly getting my union dues cancelled)
Easier joining the Union's than getting out.
I also seen lots of employees (slackers) that used the unions as a shield so they could draw a paycheck and not have to work hard or just do pretend work.
Griggs, I have been told by reliable sources that some folks are loading up busses with homeless and deporting them to other areas, one in Marion and Elizabethon TN for sure. One farmer saw smoke coming out of the woods in the edge of his pasture field, he had been squatted by one of the bus loads.
You know some of the lib progressive ideas are good but after trial and error and a few wake up calls they turn into some of the most stupid things ever. Even life and limb threatening.
No Don, they will just inform us all that we don't really need to travel about in wintry conditions for our safety. Just like how I am regularly informed that I don't need to be driving distances that are further than the need to recharge. Or how the 45 minute recharging time every 300 miles is also a good thing because even though it makes a long trip unbearably longer it's good to take breaks to stay alert.
Just like how 55mph speed limits that made long trips "now take all day" (if you'll permit me to quote Sammy Hagar) were all for our own safety and to reduce fuel consumption... um somehow.
Some will die in hot pursuit
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
EVs seem to have another problem. Apparently a set of tires only lasts 7,000 or 8,000 miles. The article I read did not give a reason. It could be the weight. Those vehicles are heavy.
I just spoke with my brother. He says that Teslas are harder on tires than regular cars. One problem is the Tesla is very heavy. He got 32,000 miles on his first set of tires.
Years ago some of the best gun shows were in Asheville.You might not tell by looking at them,but many of the native good old boys were very well off when it came to money.We sold many expensive,rare guns in Asheville. They elected a female,vintage hippie mayor that decided no more gun shows in town.The shows moved to the Ag.center near the airport.Its still a pretty good show but nothing like it was downtown.
Dropped off my Ram at 8am this morning for state inspection. under carriage flush and wax job at Chevy Dealer. Like the folks there as i was always a Silverado guy before.
Small 100% EV sitting in shuttle space. One guy scratching his head and two standing behind it. Driver looking very bewildered. Finally all three gave it the heave ho and off they went pushing away thru the gate and parking area to the service bays. Oh well another one bites the dust.
I was really concerned as i seem to have outlived my friends and Willie Jr. was closed up in his cage at home 35 minutes away. Just in time another 100% EV shuttle car arrived to take me home to Willie Jr. I had my good VA hearing aids turned up and could not hear a thing. Very quiet. I suppose the hand writing is on the wall but not for me. Willie Jr. was so happy to see his Pa. come home. -----------------------------Ray
PS: They had three charging stations with a huge sign that said "Not for public use"
EVs are extremely quite, so much so that some add exhaust noise to make the driver more at ease.
There is a time and place for EVs, but NEVER for a mandate.
I view EVs as either toys or luxury items, not for everyday driver of common people. I do NOT buy into the saving the planet hoax either. I do like the quite part and the torque! I do not like the charge/recharge issues.
I would prefer an EV golf cart for sure, but a gas/diesel primary vehicle!
Some will die in hot pursuit
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
So- I generally let my wife buy & drive what she wants.
In 2022- that was an EV Audi. She was driving almost 500 miles a week literally just taking the kids to school and sports.
Enter the Audi E-Tron.
This thing has its extreme pros and cons.
There are some folks an EV is a good choice. For example- it has never cost me more than about a dollar a day to charge at home.
That means usually less than thirty bucks a month to drive roughly 2,000 miles around town when the wife was really racking up miles.
Very cool.
Leaving town, well that is another matter all together, it takes planning and additional time. I’d say realistic range is around 250 miles on a road trip between charges. Charging in public, is similar in cost to fueling up with gas. Not good, & the infrastructure to support charging can be very sketchy and you 100% need to plan out your trips & often charging stations are either broken or full.
EV owners talk about “range anxiety” and that is a real problem if you leave your normal bubble.
Not cool.
It’s very quick- 0-60 in 4 seconds and this particular car has some sort of magic Audi suspension & steering that just gets better the harder you drive it.
Very cool.
It requires very, very little maintenance. My car has about 20k miles now and the tires are fine, which I only mention because it’s addressed elsewhere in this thread.
Very cool.
Now they are some oddball 19 inch size so it will probably set me back a pretty Penny to replace them when the time comes.
Not Cool.
Well she figured out she needed a giant people hauler- so long story short the Audi became my car about 6 months ago.
Now the Audi does the around town duty and we have a giant GMC Yukon XL for everything else.
This isn’t bad and just getting me back and forth to work it more like $15 a month to charge at home.
Decent compromise. I drive about 12 miles a day round trip.
I’m trying to not buy 3 cars in 2 years and live with this thing but it’s just not me.
So I decide to trade it in-
In 2 years of ownership, it has lost about 50% of its purchase cost!
Not cool.
So now, I’m having to decide to either keep it as my commuter car and add a third vehicle or trade it in and take the loss to drive what I want.
I live in Orlando- and when the cold snap hit Chicago, it got “cold” here as well. I have never really ran the heater, but reading the news and it being cold, I run a little experiment.
I crank the heat all the way, turn on the heated seats & heated steering wheel- The car dropped its estimated range from ~280 miles to 115 miles instantly. This is Orlando and maybe 48 degree weather. The EV problem becomes pretty apparent for anyone outside of a warm climate that doesn’t just drive in circles and charges at home.
I haven’t decided what I’m gonna do, technically it fits my needs I just don’t like it, but holy cow, do I wish for once in my life I would have leased a vehicle instead of bought it!
Personally I would not buy another pure EV, I think that hybrid technology will ultimately win the day in the long run.
Great post Warbirds, thanks for the hands on insight on this vehicle.
When I first began to read your post I was thinking that you would not want to own this thing out of warranty, but come to think of it, I would say the same thing about most any high tech motor vehicle.
Have been in the repair end of it in the past, and yesterday a friend asked me about a BMW EV that his daughter wants to buy living in the Bay Area of Commyfornia.
I suggested leasing and if she had to buy, I suggsted a Toyota 4-Runner Hybrid ( if they build such a thing ).
I got the impression that her ego is running the show and needs the bimmer, but for God's sake lease the thing if thats the case.
Due to damage to my knees and 1 ankle, I try to use an electric shopping cart at the grocery. And THAT formed my opinion of electric cars. I make it to the milk cooler when the charge indicator drops from green to yellow and it starts bleeping at me.
I liked the story about the guy who bought a Ford 150 EV somewhere west of Chicago. He loaded up the family and headed east. They made it to somewhere around Detroit, where he went to a Ford dealer and traded the EV truck in for a gas-powered one and continued on his trip.
Comments
You will probably find some really interesting information on the internet. Go to Google and type in ev busses in North Carolina. Unbelievable.
Asheville is hippie/ liberal central for the state . Really a shame , scenery is spectacular, not to mention its home to The Biltmore House. In addition to the bus fiasco , crime and homelessness have skyrocketed under the current city government. ?
Downtown is a place to avoid. Not a place for week minds and children.
Matches other role model cities in the great nation.
In the past 3 years, crime has skyrocketed in Asheville due to all the homeless. It has gotten so bad that even Lib Asheville has had to crack down, the crime was driving away the tourists.
The City has attacked a half dozen big homeless camps. I have seen a dump truck there, right where I 240 crosses Merrimon, and city workers throwing the tents and tarps into the dump truck.
There used to be a huge homeless camp at I 240 and Patton, the City cleaned it up several months ago. We drove past there yesterday, there were only three tarp-tents that had sprung back up. The big church there feeds the homeless and lets them take showers.
Speaking of EV's, batteries, solar, and windmills.
Autoworkers UAW supporting Brandon.
They do not seem to realize that he is actually not supporting them by trying to do away with automobile employees and going to robots and EV's. What a weak upstairs move for the UAW. Brandon says he has got their back. (yea sure)
I dropped out of Unions because they ALWAYS supported the politicians that I did not care for and most everything else. (and it was not user friendly getting my union dues cancelled)
Easier joining the Union's than getting out.
I also seen lots of employees (slackers) that used the unions as a shield so they could draw a paycheck and not have to work hard or just do pretend work.
Griggs, I have been told by reliable sources that some folks are loading up busses with homeless and deporting them to other areas, one in Marion and Elizabethon TN for sure. One farmer saw smoke coming out of the woods in the edge of his pasture field, he had been squatted by one of the bus loads.
You know some of the lib progressive ideas are good but after trial and error and a few wake up calls they turn into some of the most stupid things ever. Even life and limb threatening.
No Don, they will just inform us all that we don't really need to travel about in wintry conditions for our safety. Just like how I am regularly informed that I don't need to be driving distances that are further than the need to recharge. Or how the 45 minute recharging time every 300 miles is also a good thing because even though it makes a long trip unbearably longer it's good to take breaks to stay alert.
Just like how 55mph speed limits that made long trips "now take all day" (if you'll permit me to quote Sammy Hagar) were all for our own safety and to reduce fuel consumption... um somehow.
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
EVs seem to have another problem. Apparently a set of tires only lasts 7,000 or 8,000 miles. The article I read did not give a reason. It could be the weight. Those vehicles are heavy.
Not sure if 7 or 8k is correct, but they do wear out SIGNIFICANTLY faster....and yes it is due to the weight!
The tires do wear out faster than regular cars. I'll have to ask my brother what mileage he gets with his Tesla.
Today I paid 213.00 for a group 27 battery for one of my old Dodges. Felt lucky to do it.😉
I just spoke with my brother. He says that Teslas are harder on tires than regular cars. One problem is the Tesla is very heavy. He got 32,000 miles on his first set of tires.
Years ago some of the best gun shows were in Asheville.You might not tell by looking at them,but many of the native good old boys were very well off when it came to money.We sold many expensive,rare guns in Asheville. They elected a female,vintage hippie mayor that decided no more gun shows in town.The shows moved to the Ag.center near the airport.Its still a pretty good show but nothing like it was downtown.
This last week I think it was reported that Tesla business was down by 23% for the last quarter.
Beginning of the end??????.......we can only hope.🤔
As for ethanol......that's another story.....that also needs to end.😎
I went to those gun shows at the Asheville Civic Center 20 years ago. Great shows! I was wondering why they moved to the Ag Center.
Dropped off my Ram at 8am this morning for state inspection. under carriage flush and wax job at Chevy Dealer. Like the folks there as i was always a Silverado guy before.
Small 100% EV sitting in shuttle space. One guy scratching his head and two standing behind it. Driver looking very bewildered. Finally all three gave it the heave ho and off they went pushing away thru the gate and parking area to the service bays. Oh well another one bites the dust.
I was really concerned as i seem to have outlived my friends and Willie Jr. was closed up in his cage at home 35 minutes away. Just in time another 100% EV shuttle car arrived to take me home to Willie Jr. I had my good VA hearing aids turned up and could not hear a thing. Very quiet. I suppose the hand writing is on the wall but not for me. Willie Jr. was so happy to see his Pa. come home. -----------------------------Ray
PS: They had three charging stations with a huge sign that said "Not for public use"
EVs are extremely quite, so much so that some add exhaust noise to make the driver more at ease.
There is a time and place for EVs, but NEVER for a mandate.
I view EVs as either toys or luxury items, not for everyday driver of common people. I do NOT buy into the saving the planet hoax either. I do like the quite part and the torque! I do not like the charge/recharge issues.
I would prefer an EV golf cart for sure, but a gas/diesel primary vehicle!
How does it perform in the cold weather and snow?
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
My EV at least it has pedals of it goes dead
So- I generally let my wife buy & drive what she wants.
In 2022- that was an EV Audi. She was driving almost 500 miles a week literally just taking the kids to school and sports.
Enter the Audi E-Tron.
This thing has its extreme pros and cons.
There are some folks an EV is a good choice. For example- it has never cost me more than about a dollar a day to charge at home.
That means usually less than thirty bucks a month to drive roughly 2,000 miles around town when the wife was really racking up miles.
Very cool.
Leaving town, well that is another matter all together, it takes planning and additional time. I’d say realistic range is around 250 miles on a road trip between charges. Charging in public, is similar in cost to fueling up with gas. Not good, & the infrastructure to support charging can be very sketchy and you 100% need to plan out your trips & often charging stations are either broken or full.
EV owners talk about “range anxiety” and that is a real problem if you leave your normal bubble.
Not cool.
It’s very quick- 0-60 in 4 seconds and this particular car has some sort of magic Audi suspension & steering that just gets better the harder you drive it.
Very cool.
It requires very, very little maintenance. My car has about 20k miles now and the tires are fine, which I only mention because it’s addressed elsewhere in this thread.
Very cool.
Now they are some oddball 19 inch size so it will probably set me back a pretty Penny to replace them when the time comes.
Not Cool.
Well she figured out she needed a giant people hauler- so long story short the Audi became my car about 6 months ago.
Now the Audi does the around town duty and we have a giant GMC Yukon XL for everything else.
This isn’t bad and just getting me back and forth to work it more like $15 a month to charge at home.
Decent compromise. I drive about 12 miles a day round trip.
I’m trying to not buy 3 cars in 2 years and live with this thing but it’s just not me.
So I decide to trade it in-
In 2 years of ownership, it has lost about 50% of its purchase cost!
Not cool.
So now, I’m having to decide to either keep it as my commuter car and add a third vehicle or trade it in and take the loss to drive what I want.
I live in Orlando- and when the cold snap hit Chicago, it got “cold” here as well. I have never really ran the heater, but reading the news and it being cold, I run a little experiment.
I crank the heat all the way, turn on the heated seats & heated steering wheel- The car dropped its estimated range from ~280 miles to 115 miles instantly. This is Orlando and maybe 48 degree weather. The EV problem becomes pretty apparent for anyone outside of a warm climate that doesn’t just drive in circles and charges at home.
I haven’t decided what I’m gonna do, technically it fits my needs I just don’t like it, but holy cow, do I wish for once in my life I would have leased a vehicle instead of bought it!
Personally I would not buy another pure EV, I think that hybrid technology will ultimately win the day in the long run.
I guess time will tell.
Great post Warbirds, thanks for the hands on insight on this vehicle.
When I first began to read your post I was thinking that you would not want to own this thing out of warranty, but come to think of it, I would say the same thing about most any high tech motor vehicle.
Have been in the repair end of it in the past, and yesterday a friend asked me about a BMW EV that his daughter wants to buy living in the Bay Area of Commyfornia.
I suggested leasing and if she had to buy, I suggsted a Toyota 4-Runner Hybrid ( if they build such a thing ).
I got the impression that her ego is running the show and needs the bimmer, but for God's sake lease the thing if thats the case.
Due to damage to my knees and 1 ankle, I try to use an electric shopping cart at the grocery. And THAT formed my opinion of electric cars. I make it to the milk cooler when the charge indicator drops from green to yellow and it starts bleeping at me.
I liked the story about the guy who bought a Ford 150 EV somewhere west of Chicago. He loaded up the family and headed east. They made it to somewhere around Detroit, where he went to a Ford dealer and traded the EV truck in for a gas-powered one and continued on his trip.