Author Archives: lukefrugalev

Lately, much discussion has swirled around building oil pipelines and increasing oil production. Articles with large numbers and the “tag-line” build oil pipelines now, preferrably to Prince Rupert, BC seem to be abundant. All suggesting that more oil production will bring Jobs and Money a plenty. But is oil really the land of milk andContinue reading “The “Oil = Lots o jobs and Money” fallacy”

We have seen EV range steadily increase over the years, my new Kia EV4 now gets an astonishing official range rating of 552 km (source). Further, on the drawing board, are battery designs that could enable 1500 km range (source). Lets discuss the reasons for why more range might be better, despite the obvious costContinue reading “Gas range = EV range”

As winter turns to spring, my solar system is celebrating its first aniversary. Lets look back and see how things went in year 1 of operation. My roof generated 8.3 MWh, a little over half of the 15 MWh my house used up during the same time. There were some teething pains, some wiring problems,Continue reading “A year of solar”

As the US-Canada tradewar grinds on, the Tesla Model 3 was an early casualty. Indeed, Canada had tarriffs in place for both Chinese and US made EVs (with some exceptions relating to the CUSMA trade agreement). Apparently, Tesla only manufactures the model 3 at their US based, or Chinese factories (source). Both of which wereContinue reading “The Tesla Model 3 is “back””

With the ski-resorts closing, it is time to do our biannual EV survey. The range of used EVs continues to expand, with many 2022’s and 2021’s now entering the used market, often at very attractive prices. Indeed, the EV depreciation problem does have a sunny side, so why not go green, and yes I meanContinue reading “Spring used EV Survey”

Recently I became aware of “The Grizzle-E club” (source). It is organized by United Chargers, the EVSE manufacturer of the Grizzle-E charging staions. You can get a home charging station for as little as $100 (installation is extra), and earn up to 10c/kWh thereafter. Lets look at the economics of this, take a closer lookContinue reading “Free Home Charging?”

As the teenagers get taller, the limitations of the Leaf are starting to become apparent. Don’t get me wrong, the 2018 Nissan LEAF is a great car, but suffers from two limitations: Limited legroom in the back and longer motorway journey times than necessary. Most of the time, these are just fine, but for familyContinue reading “The Kia EV4”

Much ink has been spilled on the state of Ontario’s auto-industry. The sector faces many challenges: High labour costs, tarriff drama, and electrification to name a few. That last one, even prompted Mr. Ford to encourage BC and Quebec to abandon their electrification goals (source). We believe Mr. Ford’s insistance on BC and Quebec toContinue reading “Is the Ontario Auto-industry screwed?”

As avid readers of this blog might have noticed, I have not done a trip report in a while. Mostly because motorway travel in an EV is not really an issue these days. New EVs can easilly cover 300 km without charging, and once at a charging station one charges up before the driver enjoysContinue reading “Montreal”

Earlier this year two old stalwarths in Tesla’s lineup called it quits. After 14 years on the market, it became official and Tesla announced that 2026 would be the last model year for the Model S and X. While it is true that both of these models are long in the tooth, and to someContinue reading “The demise of the Tesla model S and X”