Electric Vehicle charging at Walt Disney World

[MissM]

Ever hear of Pontiac or uhm Hummer?

Just a point of clarification: just because GM discontinued the brand doesn't mean you're SOL for parts, maintenance, warranty etc. of your Pontiac. (Or Saturn. Or Hummer.) GM itself is still in business.

"Although Pontiac vehicles are no longer being made, each one remains backed by the confidence of our outstanding warranty coverage, combined with Roadside Assistance and Courtesy Transportation Programs."
Source: http://www.pontiac.com/owners/owner_resources/warranty.html

 

[Master Yoda]

Just a point of clarification: just because GM discontinued the brand doesn't mean you're SOL for parts, maintenance, warranty etc. of your Pontiac. (Or Saturn. Or Hummer.) GM itself is still in business.

"Although Pontiac vehicles are no longer being made, each one remains backed by the confidence of our outstanding warranty coverage, combined with Roadside Assistance and Courtesy Transportation Programs."
Source: http://www.pontiac.com/owners/owner_resources/warranty.html

That is pretty much true for any vehicle with high enough production numbers. You can still get parts for a 1975 AMC pacer at pretty much any parts store in the country.

 

[thomas998]

Just a point of clarification: just because GM discontinued the brand doesn't mean you're SOL for parts, maintenance, warranty etc. of your Pontiac. (Or Saturn. Or Hummer.) GM itself is still in business.

"Although Pontiac vehicles are no longer being made, each one remains backed by the confidence of our outstanding warranty coverage, combined with Roadside Assistance and Courtesy Transportation Programs."
Source: http://www.pontiac.com/owners/owner_resources/warranty.html

Having once owned an orphaned car, yes part will remain available. But they will become more and more costly the further you get from the time the car was dropped.

 

[ddrongowski]

Well if Disney ever does put in charge stations at the parking lots, they should also put in gasoline, diesel, and lp dispensers (aka pumps), in the same parking lots. After all it's only fair that way.

 

[Master Yoda]

Well if Disney ever does put in charge stations at the parking lots, they should also put in gasoline, diesel, and lp dispensers (aka pumps), in the same parking lots. After all it's only fair that way.

They already have 3 of those.

 

[ddrongowski]

They already have 3 of those.

But but but... those are not in the parking lot and thus I would have to drive my liquid powered vehicle to 1 of those 3 places. That is just not very convenient and NOT FAIR.

 

[Master Yoda]

But but but... those are not in the parking lot and thus I would have to drive my liquid powered vehicle to 1 of those 3 places. That is just not very convenient and NOT FAIR.

Like everything else, I am sure they will show up either when someone else flips the bill, or they can turn a profit. I am honestly surprised that GM did not put them in at Epcot.

 

[ddrongowski]

Like everything else, I am sure they will show up either when someone else flips the bill, or they can turn a profit. I am honestly surprised that GM did not put them in at Epcot.

Maybe there is a "reason" they haven't. Who knows... well actually Disney and GM probably do.. but hey that's how rumors get started.

 

[MichWolv]

But but but... those are not in the parking lot and thus I would have to drive my liquid powered vehicle to 1 of those 3 places. That is just not very convenient and NOT FAIR.

You can fill up your liquid powered vehicle in 5 mins. Making a special stop for that not a big deal. An EV requires multiple hours to charge.

 

[ddrongowski]

Did you hear that gm is going to put a ev charging station in Expedition Everest? Yep they say the yeti is going to get a charge out of it.

 

[ddrongowski]

You can fill up your liquid powered vehicle in 5 mins. Making a special stop for that not a big deal. An EV requires multiple hours to charge.

And that is a problem for whom? I just want it to be fair. After all if it makes a day more magical for just one child, it should be done.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

The reason I jumped up and said that was the fact you only had 15 posts on the forum all of which seem to localize around a singular automobile....on a Disney website. Something a great screen will pick up. So you came on here to look at Disney stuff and saw something on your fav car.

Ps my 96 Honda civic got 50 on the highway with no battery in sight....I could drive from Atlanta to Daytona beach on a little over half a tank. But your right the car company that legally should not exist right now is the leader in innovation. Your right that the only thing that even makes the volt a conversation is a tax credit collection. So I get to pay for your dog and pony show with my tax bill whilst you feel better about the environment whilst the Chinese single handily offset your carbon footprint....simply cooking dinner. So I apologize if I don't buy into a car company that builds crap.....I mean really a ton of crap every car they make is bested by fords comparable the only exception might be pick up trucks.

No. Ford makes a better truck. I can say this honestly. We have had 2 Chev Tahoe's: a 2003 or 2004 and now a 2011. Both Z71. Both with towing packages. Both 4x4. The new one has since day 1 had a slight miss in idle. Called multiple dealerships and looked online. This is accepted by Chevy as "normal". Really? My BiL's Ford doesn't have that. And since when is an engine miss EVER okay???? Spend $40k for a vehicle and it's especially NOT okay. Then there's the transmission. This vehicle has Chevy's towing package because we have a bass boat ( don't even get me started). So, when under load the transmission temp stays unusually high. Every. stupid. time we pull the boat anywhere or pull any trailer anywhere for any length of time I have to listen to constant griping from the husband about the transmission temp. Supposedly we have a more than adequate cooler system. Personally, I think the design has it in a poor location. All the techs we've talked to say if we don't go over like 210F or something like that it's okay. Well, we hover around 205F-208F continually. Still, they all say this is okay. Sorry, it doesn't feel okay. We are NOT confident we can go fill the boat with gas (it holds about $150 worth) then haul it up to Toledo Bend (there's hills) without roasting our stupid truck transmission. My BiL's Ford Expedition, also a 2011, does NOT have this problem at all. Ever since we bought this last Tahoe the husband has regretted it. We'll make it work until we can get out from under it but I really do think this is our LAST Chevrolet. Ford may be less flexible on their pricing and don't seem to want to deal much but that's prob'ly for a good reason. They don't need to. They have the better truck and they know it.

As far as electric cars, I was in a Tesla education center thing inside the Galleria mall in Houston just this past weekend. It was interesting. I thought the car was sorta pretty. Would I buy one? Not a chance. Wouldn't even consider it. First and formost, I have major issues with the fact that I have to take time to charge. Any amount of time. Not just an hour. ANY amount of time. It's nothing for me to go a few hundred miles then go a few hundred more. For what I spend on a car, I better never ever eeeeeeever be limited by a charge time. Ever. And at the price of a Tesla, come on, I can buy 2 Acura TLs (yeah, that's what I drive): 1 for me and 1 for my teenager to drive. Hell, we could buy me a new TL and a nice new Ford truck for the husband to drive.

My in-laws have a Honda electric hybrid. ((Trust me, my FiL catches 6 shades of hell driving that thing into the refinery every day... LOL!)) I've driven it around town and on a 500 mile drive. Um, no. I don't like the drive at all. When you hit the "gas" pedal there's a hesitation. Not gonna fly. The gas mileage is nice, no doubt, but I'm okay with the mileage I get on my car. I'm okay with the price I pay for a tank of gas and I have to use 93 octane gasoline.

Sorry, any amount of $$ spent on anything needs to be something I like and I want. The Tesla is pretty and I like it but I don't like it $110k worth. Not even close. There's plenty of gasoline cars I like for half that. Or less.

I drive a 2009 Acura TL. It'll be paid off within the next month. I've still got 60k miles left on a bumper-to-bumper warranty. I paid for the lifetime subscription for the XM radio the week I bought it. ((Did you know they don't even sell this anymore??? Not even if you call and insist on it!)) I've had such an outstanding experience with Acura from the day I bought my car. The dealership was more than fair on the price and on my trade. The service department ladies are like family to us now. Every time I get my car serviced I get a loaner for the day comparable or better than my car. The service is always good. Always dependable and fast. Trying to think of anything I've had go wrong with the car. Hmmmm...oh yes. 1 of the front door speakers was blown-out. They replaced all the front speakers at no charge. She's beautiful. She's dependable. She's fast. Drives like a dream. I had the car less than a year before I was no longer under a negative equity in what I owe because the resale values are strong. That's WITH financing in $4k in negative equity from my '07 Mazda3 that I traded in (it had 90k miles and the transmission was toast). I will never ever eeeeeever complain about my Acura. And I'll be a repeat customer for sure.

Now, if there was an electric car that could match my Acura toe to toe in every way INCLUDING price, I'm in. Otherwise, not happening.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Like @Master Yoda said and I totally agree with the statement, the best value you get for any vehicle is driving it until they die. Generally, that's us. We drive 'em until it doesn't make sense to repair them anymore. In the case of the Mazda3, that was a lot sooner than we intended. I traded it on the advice of a reliable mechanic. The transmission was toast and replacing it was going to run over $4k. Not happening when there was no guarantee we wouldn't have the same problem again. Our 2 Mistubishi Eclipses we had ('96 & '97) were both wonderful. Little 5-speeds w/4 cylinder engines. Great gas mileage. A real PITA to get child car seats in & out of. Drove both of them to 300k miles without ever replacing a clutch. Cannot complain! Our old Tahoe started with the electrical issues. We repaired until we got to the new wiring harness and that was the end. I think about 250k miles. I'm really looking forward to the "golden" time with my TL. Paid off with 60k miles of full warranty left. I shall giggle and giggle with happiness!!!

 

[acishere]

Just a point of clarification: just because GM discontinued the brand doesn't mean you're SOL for parts, maintenance, warranty etc. of your Pontiac. (Or Saturn. Or Hummer.) GM itself is still in business.

"Although Pontiac vehicles are no longer being made, each one remains backed by the confidence of our outstanding warranty coverage, combined with Roadside Assistance and Courtesy Transportation Programs."
Source: http://www.pontiac.com/owners/owner_resources/warranty.html

It helps that Pontiac and Saturn offerings shared platforms with other GM car brands that are still in business. So the parts are still going to be made for the Chevy Malibu, and the people with the Pontiac G6 should be able to use most of those same parts.

You can fill up your liquid powered vehicle in 5 mins. Making a special stop for that not a big deal. An EV requires multiple hours to charge.

Right now there are 2 EVs that people are going to be able to use for long trips: Tesla Model S and the Chevy Volt. The other offerings right now are basically commuter cars. The Volt you are going to charge overnight, so you will only be made to wait when you were planning to nap anyway. The Tesla takes at most 30 minutes when you use the Supercharger network that they say should be complete in 2014, so the same amount of time a lot of people need to stretch their feet, grab a snack, and use the restroom that people would take at the rest stop anyway.

 

[MichWolv]

It helps that Pontiac and Saturn offerings shared platforms with other GM car brands that are still in business. So the parts are still going to be made for the Chevy Malibu, and the people with the Pontiac G6 should be able to use most of those same parts.



Right now there are 2 EVs that people are going to be able to use for long trips: Tesla Model S and the Chevy Volt. The other offerings right now are basically commuter cars. The Volt you are going to charge overnight, so you will only be made to wait when you were planning to nap anyway. The Tesla takes at most 30 minutes when you use the Supercharger network that they say should be complete in 2014, so the same amount of time a lot of people need to stretch their feet, grab a snack, and use the restroom that people would take at the rest stop anyway.

True on those models. But it's the in-staters who would benefit. They can get one-way to WDW in their Leaf, but not home without a charge.

 

[Meredith]

I think installing them at the resorts would be a good idea. I am to young to have a car but if I could I would WANT an electric car. With the price so high when I can get a car I don't think I will be able to get one, but my eyes are still on that Tesla especially since the safety test did so well.

 

[blueboxdoctor]

I've seen a few Volts in the parking lot (and I don't look for them! LOL) but of course, the Volt has a gas engine backup.

While I can't afford an electric or electric/hybrid at this point, it would certainly be nice if hypothetically I could drive out to the parks from Tampa, charge it while I'm in the parks and be ready to head home at the end of the day - and not use any gas in the process! Gas is one of the biggest costs in a day trip since I use about 1/2 a tank to get there and back currently.

Somehow I highly doubt it would be free to charge, since, ya know, electricity doesn't magically appear from the outlet (not even Disney can conjure up such things).

As for charging stations in general, while I'm not at all a fan of electric cars right now (too many limitations for an all electric car, such as range, which will likely eventually improve), they are an issue pretty much all around since not enough people have electric cars to justify a full change in the infrastructure (especially now with companies like Mazda and their Sky Active tech to get pretty good gas mileage with a much more traditional engine). But I suppose they could add a section somewhere, maybe the transportation and ticket center. I don't know if there's enough demand to justify putting charging stations at each resort and/or park.

Out of curiosity, how does pricing work at a charging station, as they can't really go by gallon.

 

[blueboxdoctor]

Your best bet if you are young is something like a Scion don't be fooled, those all electric cars are more expensive to run when you figure everything in. You can pick up a brand new Scion sub $20K, solid build, gas efficient, cheap insurance and should last for a very long time problem free. Let the old guys with money play with the toys. A tesla will depreciate enough in two year to pay for a Scion. 4 years two Scions. In other words buy a Tesla and keep it for 4 years or simply buy a Scion and throw it away after year two, buy another one and throw that away after the next two years. Get my point???

Or a new Mazda 3 i Sport (I like the look of the redesigned sedan more than the hatchback, and it's listed as a couple hundred cheaper) which is rated 30/41 for gas mileage. Plus, these cars (at least from experience, the 2013 sedan) are pretty fun to drive.

There are a decent amount of rather good cars in this price range as it seems to be what people want and more importantly, can afford.

 

[Padraig]

A conventional car can use the heat from the engine for heat in the winter. An electric heater drains the battery a lot faster, but the technology is coming around.

More critically, (and this is a fundamental problem) is that the chemical reaction that powers the motor will slow down when you've cold/freezing conditions, leading to a loss of output and range.

 

[Meredith]

Your best bet if you are young is something like a Scion don't be fooled, those all electric cars are more expensive to run when you figure everything in. You can pick up a brand new Scion sub $20K, solid build, gas efficient, cheap insurance and should last for a very long time problem free. Let the old guys with money play with the toys. A tesla will depreciate enough in two year to pay for a Scion. 4 years two Scions. In other words buy a Tesla and keep it for 4 years or simply buy a Scion and throw it away after year two, buy another one and throw that away after the next two years. Get my point???

Thanks for the information