Shall my next car be electric?
My son is on the road tonight with my trusty old tank, our 2005 Volvo V70 station wagon. With almost 200,000 miles on the odometer and some peeling paint near the roof rails, the car is doing overall quite well for its age.
Today, one of my friends is the proud new owner of a 2020 Golf SE Turbo. Another gasoline car.
This made me ponder whether my next car shall be electric, gasoline or a hybrid model.
My first consideration is whether the new technologies will be as reliable. I don’t think I will ever fare as lucky as I have been with my Volvo. The car has been solid. It has a true and tested power train. It is simple and lacks a lot of the electronics of today’s cars. And probably because of it, it has been such a great and reliable car.
My wife’s new car, a 2019 Honda Accord Hybrid, is full of electronics and software. I hold my heart for its reliability. There is just too much new technology in the Honda to make me feel comfortable. The same is true for the new hybrid Volvos I suspect.
Therefore, when I ultimately have to retire my tank, it shall either be a similar true and tested gasoline powertrain, or a simple new electric car. An older model Volvo, Mercedes, or Honda will serve me surely for a few years. Or, I will look at a Tesla Model 3 or Y. Sure the battery technology is key. Yet, the mechanics inside a Tesla are simple. They stand in stark contrast to what sits underneath the hood of our Honda Accord Hybrid. I hope I still have a little time to figure this out.