Chicagoland area

[DougWantsALeaf]

Releaf,

I also saw my first Lyric on 94 into the city last week. The landscape is certainly getting more diverse for EVs. Bolts are appearing in greater numbers now too.

[redLEAF]

Well ... Chicagoland quite close to the 50K EL plate count ... saw 4999x EL on a Hyundai IONIQ 5 tooling around the North Shore.

Actually we're past the 60K EL plate count now ... saw 600xx EL on a White Tesla Model Y ... also, even though October is a hiatus for the IL EPA rebate program they are updating how many rebates they are awarding and it looks like the upper income folks who submitted are getting some of this money --- take a look if your an IL resident who purchased an EV recently (new or used)

https://www2.illinois.gov/epa/topics/ce ... bates.aspx

After a few more months since the last post we're past the 65xxx EL plate sighting now -- on a Rivian pick-up. The IL EPA rebate program ended on January 31st -- they may get more funding, we'll see. Saw a Cadillac Lyriq in the wild for this first time -- quite a rare finding with so few produced. Tesla still dominates and with the latest price reductions that will probably continue. Planning a few long road trips with my Tesla Model 3 AWD coming late spring and early summer so we'll see if other areas of the country have any surprises.

Perhaps the ramp up is taking a bit longer (at least longer than I expected) but saw 703xxEL on a Model X yesterday - probably as IL SOS now allows plate transfers from non-EL cars it will continue its current pace. The IL EV rebate program did end at the end of January, still waiting for more funds and of course the Fed Tax Credit seems to be in a constant state of change. Just returned from a great trip south - Tesla Supercharger network just gets better with each trip - hit all fast(er) chargers with typically 10 to 20 minute charge times -- I do wish the 3rd party charger companies would step up their game, no one even comes close to Tesla in both reliability and shear numbers of locations -- we'll see how fast Tesla starts offering non-Tesla access in the future. A few more neighbors with Tesla's and one with a BMW iX (beautiful car! - other than that massive front grill) are showing up now -- love to see some more Chicagoland EV sighting posts!

[DougWantsALeaf]

See many non Teslas at the superchargers yet.

[redLEAF]

Here is a great info site on that program from Tesla --

https://www.tesla.com/support/non-tesla ... r-benefits

Current Tesla drivers should like this comment due to concerns over possible issues with congestion in the future -

'We’re starting with a select number of sites so that we can review the experience, monitor congestion and assess feedback before expanding. Future sites will only be opened to non-Tesla vehicles if there is available capacity.'

https://www.tesla.com/findus?v=2&bounds ... ters=party

The link above highlights the non-Tesla capable locations on the east coast -- they have a few in CA as well -- none in Midwest or South as I also didn't encounter any (yet) on my recent trip -- Tesla and non-Tesla charging is quite common in Europe. We have a 2nd EV - BMW i3. So if they do start a few closer to home might give them a try. If the experience for non-Tesla's is anywhere near what I get on every long trip I've taken with my Tesla it should continue the popularity of using EV's on more than short commutes. Hopefully their ramp up goes well -- seem to have a solution for the short cable issue -- starting in Europe so far
https://www.arenaev.com/tesla_opens_fir ... s-1668.php

[DougWantsALeaf]

https://www.illinois.gov/news/press-release.26547.html

[redLEAF]

A few quick updates worth a quick read -

IL EL plate sightings - latest sighted was 725xx EL - on a new black Model S - not surprisingly, as of July 1st, IL SOS raised their registration/plate transfer fees as well as gas taxes - seems like national trend in the US. Some states are going a bit overboard on 'punishing' EV drivers for much more road damage than they 'create' versus say tractor trailer trucks but that's how political this can get, easy target for now.

On the NCAS story -- more mfg.'s as well as EV Charging providers adding this standard -- I'm sure once SAE 'certifies' it perhaps that will convince any stragglers - I like the discussion on Wikipedia. Shows decent photos of each plug - seems to be regularly updated:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Ame ... g_Standard

On a more personal note - upgraded our main family EV from a 2021 Tesla Model 3 to 2023 Tesla Model S in Ultra Red - coming full circle so to speak as our first EV was a Red Nissan LEAF - absolutely love this new car - better ride, longer range, tons of cargo space and lots of nice little comfort items (100% heated steering wheel, heated and cooled seats, 'white' noise speakers to override any excessive road noise in the headrests, air suspension, etc.). This will be our 3rd Tesla and it is a significant bump up from the Model 3 which was already a big upgrade from the original LEAF - EV's will continue to improve - there are lots of choices now - it's what works best for you so go for it!

[DougWantsALeaf]

RedLeaf how much more storage are you getting with the S vs. the 3?

With the US OEMs all moving to NACS, I would be hesitant to get a new Ford/GM/Rivian until the conversion work is complete.

[redLEAF]

RedLeaf how much more storage are you getting with the S vs. the 3?

With the US OEMs all moving to NACS, I would be hesitant to get a new Ford/GM/Rivian until the conversion work is complete.

Model 3 has 19.8 cubic feet of cargo space versus 28 for the Model S with both having their seats up -- with the rear seats folded - the Model S has 61.4 cu ft. as it's a hatch back - Model 3 is not so can't really increase it that much with the same type of utility --- for anything taller than the fixed trunk height of the M3 you're out of luck unless it's narrow enough to fit on the folded rear passenger seat (found this out taking a new Microwave home once with the M3 - would have been much easier in a MS). We had a '13 VW Touareg in the past (last ICE car we owned) that had 63 cu ft. using the hatch so this car is close in having the same utility.

On the whole NACS transition - at least Ford has said that they would start early next year providing CCS to NACS adapters to new customers followed by new connectors on their cars in 2025 - this won't by any means be overnight but Tesla themselves has already proven that their Superchargers can indeed work with non-Teslas -- with the separate new 'Magic dock' units. They discovered early on that many mfg.'s use different charge port locations as well as different length cables are sometimes needed - hence the new V4 chargers - introduced in Europe for now - last update mentioned new cables would go from about 6.5 to almost 10 feet. The CCS combo plugs are indeed heavier and more cumbersome to use so many may indeed wait. I'm going on 11+ years of EV driving now and my 7th EV - you just roll with it ... for our long trips the Tesla Superchargers (as well as Hotel 'destination' chargers for overnight charging) haven't failed us even once. Tesla's charging network just gets better with every trip, great to see it's finally getting recognized and adopted by other EV mfg.'s and charging providers.

[DougWantsALeaf]

We still do Skokie to Lawrence Kansas a couple times a year in the Leaf. While nothing like the supercharger network, the expansion of Chademo between 2019 and 2023 has been substantial.

In 2019, there were only a couple EA stations once outside of Chicago....with poor reliability. Today we have nearly 40 stations over the 580 mile drive with the gap between Naperville and Davenport being the only long span without a station. It so nice to have choices when deciding where to stop. I dont even need to plan much amymore. It is still not as plentiful as with an gas obviously.

[redLEAF]

Actually we're past the 60K EL plate count now ... saw 600xx EL on a White Tesla Model Y ... also, even though October is a hiatus for the IL EPA rebate program they are updating how many rebates they are awarding and it looks like the upper income folks who submitted are getting some of this money --- take a look if your an IL resident who purchased an EV recently (new or used)

https://www2.illinois.gov/epa/topics/ce ... bates.aspx

After a few more months since the last post we're past the 65xxx EL plate sighting now -- on a Rivian pick-up. The IL EPA rebate program ended on January 31st -- they may get more funding, we'll see. Saw a Cadillac Lyriq in the wild for this first time -- quite a rare finding with so few produced. Tesla still dominates and with the latest price reductions that will probably continue. Planning a few long road trips with my Tesla Model 3 AWD coming late spring and early summer so we'll see if other areas of the country have any surprises.

Perhaps the ramp up is taking a bit longer (at least longer than I expected) but saw 703xxEL on a Model X yesterday - probably as IL SOS now allows plate transfers from non-EL cars it will continue its current pace. The IL EV rebate program did end at the end of January, still waiting for more funds and of course the Fed Tax Credit seems to be in a constant state of change. Just returned from a great trip south - Tesla Supercharger network just gets better with each trip - hit all fast(er) chargers with typically 10 to 20 minute charge times -- I do wish the 3rd party charger companies would step up their game, no one even comes close to Tesla in both reliability and shear numbers of locations -- we'll see how fast Tesla starts offering non-Tesla access in the future. A few more neighbors with Tesla's and one with a BMW iX (beautiful car! - other than that massive front grill) are showing up now -- love to see some more Chicagoland EV sighting posts!

Quick update - recently saw 76XXX EL on a new Model Y -- also starting to see some higher number EL plates on older EV's (a few LEAF's, older Tesla's, even one VW e-Golf which are really rare in the Midwest) so of course these may simply be transferred from older EV's. Seeing a fair amount of non-EL plates on some EV's as well -- for IL folks those who read this - just keep in mind your beloved 'vanity' plate will cost a pretty penny to be renewed on your EV - heard about $500 for a vanity White Sox plate! For comparison, annual 'EL' plate renewals are $251 - so basically double -- long gone are the days when it was only $35 for every 2 years (my first EV, the LEAF was only that much)