Full disclosure: I’m the cliched Alberta pickup guy, the kind the Greenies warn you about..My first ride was a 1970 Ford Ranger with a 390 big block that put out almost 400 horsepower — strong enough to pass anything on the road except a gas station. It was so rusted I had to watch my pocket change lest it fall out to the curb. It was followed by a 1980 F-150 — Old Yeller for its distinguishing hue of beige — with a 351 Windsor that was much easier on the wallet, but had the distinguishing feature of metric body bolts so I needed two sets of wrenches to change the oil. I racked up almost half-a-million klicks on almost every byway and highway in northern Alberta through my early journalism career at rural weeklies north of Edmonton..What both of them had in common was they were both exceedingly reliable. The only time Old Yeller didn’t start was went it went down to -50C one night in Redwater and had to be towed for an hour of shop time to let it thaw..That’s why I was curious to come across a Department of Transport audit that showed Ottawa paid out more than $750 million in electric vehicle rebates as of March of last year, or 153% more than the $300 million originally budgeted over the three year program. First introduced in 2019, the Liberal government allowed $5,000 rebates to consumers purchasing EVs up to a limit of $45,000, which has since been raised to $75,000. .“The program’s main risk is not having sufficient funding to meet the demand,” wrote analysts in the Audit Of Incentives For Zero Emission Vehicles Program. .Which is why in April the Liberals extended the program and added an additional $1.6 billion out to 2025. So far, about 136,000 people — presumably wealthy enough to own a Tesla — took advantage of taxpayer subsidized rides. Given that Ottawa will require that at least 20% of new vehicles sold in Canada to be zero emission by 2026, 60% by 2030 and fully 100% by 2035, it seems to be woefully inadequate. A recent analysis by Blacklock’s Reporter suggested it could cost taxpayers more like $100 billion by the time it’s all said and done..I’m not personally opposed to the concept of electric vehicles in general, but for a Rippy (Redneck-hippy) like me there hasn’t been much of an incentive to get into one given offerings to date have been boxy and small. That is until Elon Musk unveiled Tesla’s Cybertruck — looking like a cross between a Jawa school bus and the Millennium Falcon, with performance specs to boot. But it’s a bit TOO testosterone charged, there’s not much chance the Lady of the House is going to let me go for it — if and when it ever hits the market..Being a Ford Guy, I’m a bit more enamoured with the F-150 Lightning, which seems a bit more age-apropos. And I like the idea of powering a whole house, or as the ad copy states: “Fire up the table saw. And the blender, the fan, the kettle, the slow cooker and the juicer.” Indeed..But with a starting price of $68,000 for the base model — rising to $108,000 fully loaded — it hardly seems like a bonafide Redneck Ride. And then you have to pay for the charger, which tacks on another $1,800 for the top line Lariat, and have it installed by a professional..But the biggest question for me is reliability. Given that fully electric vehicles barely have a handful of model years to go by, JD Power and Associates is only now gathering enough data on the longevity of the battery itself. Most manufacturers — including Ford — warranty the “power train” (pun intended) for eight years, which seems to be roughly aligned with the expected lifespan of about 150,000 klicks, more or less the same as gas powered engines..In its most recent analyses, JD suggests the capacity — and thus the range — of the lithium ion battery will decline about 10 per cent in the first four years, flatline for the next four, and fall off significantly after that, when it will need to be replaced. And it isn’t cheap; a Toronto couple was recently shocked to find the replacement cost of the battery for their 2018 Kia Soul was $23,000. It was warrantied for 160,000 kilometres or eight years — whichever came first — and they had put 180,000 on it in a little less than four. If you’re a wrench twister like me? Forget fixing it because you’re not going to be able to work on it in the garage..Then there’s the issue of range. The base model F-150 gets about 350 klicks on a full charge, the “advanced” battery gets about 475. But even with the higher capacity charger, it takes about 10 hours to fully charge. Ford estimates each hour of charge time adds about 35 km of range — depending on driving conditions — which means a 10-hour road trip to Vancouver or Fort McMurray, which are both about 1,000 km from Calgary, would take about three days..That’s assuming perfect driving weather. Car batteries need optimal operating temperatures to achieve peak performance. Although it’s true they tend to operate better at lower temperatures, the same JD Power analysis showed up to 40% of the battery’s capacity — and range —can be consumed by the heater or AC alone. On a cold Alberta morning, your 350 km is now more like 200 km, assuming you’re not going uphill. I’ve been stranded in winter before, and it isn’t fun. Add insult to injury if you happen to hit the ditch in the world’s largest oilfield at Ft. Mac..It’s true faster chargers are on the way, but only if you have a Tesla. Their specialized units are fewer and farther between, especially in Northern Alberta. And the speed chargers significantly degrade battery life..Finally there’s the issue of cost, what exactly is the value proposition compared to good old unleaded gasoline?.This is where it gets a bit tricky; it depends where you live. JD estimates an average EV will require about 280 kilowatt hours (kWh) of power per month to keep charged. Electricity rates vary widely across the country, ranging from 7 cents kWh in Quebec to almost 40 cents in the NWT and Yukon. Alberta is roughly in the middle, at 18 cents per kWh. Doing some simple math, that means you can expect to pay roughly $350 per month for electricity — assuming you’re charging at home. I presently drive a Honda Element with a four cylinder DOHC engine. It’s not exactly thrifty on gas, but I can expect to pay about $60 per tank per week, or less than $250 driving around town without any weekend outings to Banff..There’s also the question of just exactly where that power comes from. Wyoming recently introduced a measure to ban EVs in the state to protect its fossil fuel industry, but it doesn’t make much difference given that almost 100% of the state’s electrical grid is fed with coal or natural gas. Alberta isn’t quite as bad, but there aren’t nearly enough windmills to fill the demand if we were all to retire our old pickups. .So, as much as I’d like to show my woke willingness to save the planet and be the envy of all my trendy, tree hugging friends and neighbours, I really can’t make the business case. That is, unless I consider it costs a toonie to put air in my tires, but I can hang out at the mall and charge the vehicle itself for free.
