G. David Felt

Interesting story in the news today, Top 20 States that Consume the Most Alcohol in America. Binge Drinking seems to be a big past time at these states. #20 - New Hampshire 17.8% Binge Drink, 49.8% of them Binge Drink Frequently #19 - South Dakota 17.9% Binge Drink, 47% of them Binge Drink Frequently #18 - Louisiana 18% Binge Drink, 58.4% of them Binge Drink Frequently #17 - Colorado 18.1% Binge Drink, 48.6% of them Binge Drink Frequently #16 - Connecticut 18.3% Binge Drink, 55.2% of them Binge Drink Frequently #15 - Pennsylvania 18.5% Binge Drink, 48.9% of them Binge Drink Frequently #14 - Massachusetts 18.7% Binge Drink, 52.7% of them Binge Drink Frequently #13 - Vermont 19% Binge Drink, 55.2% of them Binge Drink Frequently #12 - Ohio 19.5% Binge Drink, 51.4% of them Binge Drink Frequently #11 - Michigan 19.8% Binge Drink, 60.3% of them Binge Drink Frequently #10 - Hawaii 19.8% Binge Drink, 65.1% of them Binge Drink Frequently #9 - Alaska 20% Binge Drink, 56.4% of them Binge Drink Frequently #8 - Maine 20.2% Binge Drink, 57.5% of them Binge Drink Frequently #7 - Nebraska 20.4% Binge Drink, 50.3% of them Binge Drink Frequently #6 - Minnesota 20.5% Binge Drink, 47.8% of them Binge Drink Frequently #5 - Illinois 20.8% Binge Drink, 50.6% of them Binge Drink Frequently #4 - Iowa 21.3% Binge Drink, 55.1% of them Binge Drink Frequently #3 - Montana 21.3% Binge Drink, 55.4% of them Binge Drink Frequently #2 - Wisconsin (Tied with D.C.) 24.4% Binge Drink, 51.3% of them Binge Drink Frequently #1 - North Dakota 24.9% Binge Drink, 50.5% of them Binge Drink Frequently LifeStyle Story

Your right, I was wondering what is just so off about this and it does have the same to me ugly look as the CLA. Just not a fan of this body style of auto. Does make one wonder if Buick would put on a performance body package, wheels and exhaust. Call it the Excelle GS?

Very cool and informative write up, I totally agree that the style is very subjective and right now this 2019 blends in with the rest of the truck industry compared to the big rig look of last years. The grill on this black tester makes me think you could easily take out those two small sections on each side and use it for cold air ram induction on a TTV8 motor like the hell cat charger has done for this year. Yea I know they have those fake hood scoops or at least I think they are fake. @William Maley Are those hood scoops real or fake?

Yup, the VOLT is prepackaged, but I guess you could have a Honda Generator in your trunk for the pure EV auto. In regards to an excuse from me over why in 10 to 15 years an EV does not show up will not be coming. The wife is already looking at the Jag E-Pace and once the dealership gets one in stock it could become our first NON-GM auto. I would say in the next 18 to 24 months, a Trigger will be pulled if not sooner. I honestly am really hoping Cadillac would have shown us an EV concept CUV at NY. I Honestly am very disappointed in them not doing this. Yup, a Greyhound EV would be cool and would fit me very comfy! Yup, it is roomy and I do fit in there, but then like Drew, I have a spouse that I also need to keep happy. Happy Wife, Happy Life. The dash was a deal killer. When the wife loves an auto, I can buy and that is important to me, Less headaches for those that have a spouse or partner and like to keep things relaxed.

So probably the last use of an Opel product then. Still ugly and not a mid level luxury version of what I would expect for Buick. Sad

100ft electric cord does wonders for plugging in anywhere!

That is a very good question as you could almost see it as one. But I think a Cruze with a nose job is right.

Your not thinking clearly as EVs are more practical, less maintenance over a petro auto. That has already been shown and Curtis electric trucks from 1912 have proven that point working 60 years before being replaced. EV Motors last with significantly less maintenance.

Would have been awesome to play trivial pursuit with you then!

We'll added value on resale when all those Cop SUVs come up for sale. It has Tri-Zone Climate Control.

Business Costco for a case of Energy drinks and then I am good for 18hrs behind the wheel!

Keep in mind that if they are a K9 Unit, the Tri-Zone will be good to have to keep the far back cool and comfy for the K9 Officer. Mid section you can just cool the criminal! Front section, gotta keep the cops comfy too as already stated, they come in all different shapes and sizes.

My thinking is that if you are looking at 5 to 6 years for your next auto, the EV's and Hybrids that come out in the next 12-18 months will then be coming up off their Lease so CPO options.

I can understand that for everyone and while the apps are good at showing you options, less populated areas means you need to plan which I can understand is inconvenient for some people compared to others. Yup bigger battery packs and as charging stations get installed it will get better. Thank you @ccap41 and @Cubical-aka-Moltar for an outstanding discussion.

I totally get that, as an online shopper, your house is your store in a virtual sense. I believe that is where @ccap41 and I are disconnected. Many people seem to be under the impression that you have to sit and wait while your auto charges versus plug in and walk away. This is the part of the mindset change that EVs pushes onto people. A different way to fuel an auto compared to traditional petro. I also think this is what the story above is trying to communicate that EV auto charging is different than Petro Auto fueling.

@ccap41 I think we are disconnecting my friend. You DO NOT have to sit at the charging station. Plug in, let it charge and leave to go do your shopping. That is the mindset that I see needing to change as you are not alone in people thinking they have to sit at the charger and wait. Hope we get the bigger battery packs sooner for you than later and that your local city steps up to adding in more charging locations. It would be interesting for you to inquire about the cities plans to add EV Charging stations for 2018 and see what they say. Will be insightful and might even be surprising.

How is driving half a mile or more to a gas station and back to your house or to you chosen place of shopping not also inconvenient? If there is a charging spot 3 to 4 blocks away from your shopping place, plugging in at cheaper electric rates and then getting some fresh air and walking a few blocks to get your shopping done I do not see as a big deal. Why not ask your favorite store when they plan to install customer charging stations? All it takes is proactive action from people to change things and charging at home is way easier than running out late at night to fill up for gas before you go to bed so you have a full tank in the morning. After all, you're just plugging it into your house electrical grid and charging up the tank with electrons.

How is it stupid to compare the number of pumps to Petro auto and EV charging stations to EV auto's? Since you do not use any charging app and probably have not downloaded one to your smartphone you have not seen how easy it is to find a charging station. Much easier than you think and more convenient than many realize. As the story clearly states, EV auto's is a CHANGE IN MINDSET / THINKING of how you fuel an EV Auto compared to petro auto thinking.

Sooner than most will realize, especially among the CPO buyer crowd.

Some things to like about this and some things to just shake your head at, but considering that @Potus45 loves his Rolls, he will probably buy one since he does not care about supporting America auto's. Guess an Armored version could be the new Potus Ride! ?

Interesting battle Brewing at Energy companies ask Perry to Ignore First Energy's Request to use a 1950 wartime law to force keeping coal and nuclear plants online, open and running as a National Security issue. Course gas companies and renewable energy companies say that Perry and the DOE does not have the authority to use the war time act to keep companies open. https://www.utilitydive.com/news/perry-doe-looking-very-closely-at-defense-production-act-to-save-coal-n/523187/ https://www.utilitydive.com/news/gas-and-renewables-groups-urge-perry-to-reject-firstenergy-emergency-reques/523145/

This I can understand and I think will be addressed by the wireless movement as Nissan, BMW and even GM auto's can use wireless charging. Nissan of course has their proprietary standard compared to BMW and GM who is working with the charging committee for an industry wide standard. I think the future will be to have wireless charging in the parking areas and via smartphone you can then pay for your charging as your auto sits. That is how I see the dense cities in the future. Course here on the west coast, Washington, Oregon and California require Apartments and businesses to offer charging stations with a maximum cost of $5 for 30 min of level 2 or 220V charging. So in most cases you can get 80% of your battery filled in that time at a cheap electrical rate.

Lucky for us that there are already denser battery packs that we will see show up in new auto's over the next 18 months and with Solid State Battery Development, we should see 500 mile range packs by 2030 or 11 1/2 years from now if not sooner. We are in a fast changing landscape. Hold onto your socks as we charge into the future.

Gas / EV Stations Comparison, Stop Comparing I was out looking at my normal alternative energy sites when I came across this story by Clean Technica about comparing gas stations to ev stations and how this needs to stop. As the story states, there is myths, misinformation, misleading concepts on all sides of the conversation when it comes to EV Auto's. First fact is that EV's make up .29% of the market compared to petro auto and with that small but significant piece of info the author states the 6 reasons that straight up comparison of the gas to ev stations is just idiotic. Current EV market is tiny: Why? 270 million petro auto compared to 794,000 EV auto's. This based on gas stations (1,200,000 pumps) gives a ratio of 225 auto's per pump compared to the the 48,472 public EV individual charging stations which gives 16 EVs to 1 charging station. So 14 times more charging stations per EV auto than gas pumps per petro auto. Residential charging, this is where the significant percentage of charging will occur: Assuming 75% of EV owners will charge at home, we add another 595,500 charging stations to the US total for a rough 644,500 charging stations. This gives EVs a charging station ratio of 1.23 to 1. Market alignment: Author clearly states that EV adoption rates vary widely with California seeing 5% of new auto sales in EV compared to .12% in North Dakota. Needed EV charging station needs should reflect regional penetration. Charging is different than refueling: Gas fueling is a 10 min task on average and so fuel, bathroom, get a snack or drink and leave. EV charging is a 30 min to 10hr task and as such should be based on doing other tasks while charging such as shopping, seeing a movie, overnight at a resort, etc. Future XFC chargers will change this to be more like petro fueling but right now a different mind set of change is needed. The Future: Current average range is 115 miles for BEVs, estimate is 290 miles by 2022. With solid state batteries, 500 miles by 2027 to 2030. With longer range batteries, people plugging in at home means fewer charge ups out and about except when on road trips. You CAN NOT have a Petro pump at your home, but you can EV. Stations versus pumps versus stations: The author puts in a valid statement of terminology errors by the industry that confuses end users by misaligning stations with charging versus pumps. He suggests Charging stations rather than charging pumps or just stations. The author clearly acknowledges that the world and especially the US needs more charging centers covering everything from inner city to suburban to remote roads and small town America to cover EVs in the way gas stations are spread out for petro pumping. He states rightfully so that this is an Apple to Orange comparison and needs to stop. Check out the story yourself for more details and sound off on what you think! Clean Technica Story

If ya mean me, please explain the mining comment, are you talking about the battery materials? Think mining them is safer than drilling for oil in the oceans or on land. Then again, I live in a state of renewable green energy, so yes EVs are way cleaner than anything petro, but until I can get my rapid charging and long range battery packs, I am stuck with petro for my road trips. Like Drew, I want and will get an EV for daily driving once I get a decent luxury version. I and the wife was willing to start with a Bolt, but the interior colors was a deal killer for the wife. After all Happy Wife, happy life! 27 years of marriage and counting. How long you been married?