The Volkswagen Crafter is a big van. It’s made for carrying people or cargo, so it’s often used for work. The podcast mention is likely just referencing the vehicle as part of the conversation.
Mach-E is Ford’s electric version of the Mustang name. The host brings it up to show how much it can cost to charge an EV depending on where you plug in.
The Lightning is Ford’s electric pickup truck (the F-150 Lightning). The host uses it as another example of an EV where charging price depends on where you charge.
Tennessee is mentioned because the cost of electricity there can be different. Since EV charging uses electricity, your charging bill can change based on where you live.
Hydroelectric plants make electricity using water flow. The host is saying that if a region has more of this kind of power, electricity can be cheaper.
Steam plants make electricity by heating water until it turns into steam, which spins machinery. The host says these plants may use nuclear or coal to generate that heat.
Nuclear refers to a power source that uses nuclear reactions inside a plant to make electricity. The host mentions it as one of the ways steam plants can generate power.
Coal is a fuel that can be burned to make electricity. The host is saying that some regions generate power using coal, which influences electricity pricing.
Term
depreciate at a slower rate
Depreciation is how much the car’s value drops as it gets older. If it depreciates slower, you usually lose less money when you trade it in or sell it.
Mercedes-Benz is a luxury car brand. The host is talking about how much these cars keep their value when you sell them later, and how that has changed—especially for their electric cars.
A depreciation curve is just a way to describe how a car’s resale value changes over time. The host says hybrids hold their value pretty steadily at first, then start dropping more later.
When the warranty ends, repairs are no longer covered by the manufacturer. The host is saying that hybrid values tend to take a bigger hit once that warranty period is over.
Powertrain is the main set of parts that actually moves the car. For hybrids, the warranty on these parts is a big deal because it can cover expensive hybrid-related repairs.
A hybrid battery is the battery that helps the car run using electricity part of the time. The host is warning that it eventually wears out and replacements aren’t cheap.
An EV tax credit is a discount from the government for buying an electric car. The host is saying that when that discount was available, more people bought EVs, and when it was removed, EV sales were expected to drop.
Dealer reimbursement means the dealership gets paid back for the government incentive tied to the EV sale. The host is saying that when the credit could be applied immediately, it made buying easier for customers and dealers.
Charging infrastructure refers to the network of charging stations and the reliability of those stations for EV drivers. The host argues that if chargers aren’t dependable, it makes long-distance trips harder and reduces EV appeal.
Elon Musk is a well-known tech entrepreneur associated with electric cars. Here, the host is saying he helped build charging stations at the same time as selling EVs, which other companies didn’t do as aggressively.
The Dodge Charger is a car that’s built to feel fast and sporty. The podcast mention of “Level 3 charger” is about charging equipment, not a special part of the Charger itself. The Charger is typically talked about as a performance sedan people recognize.
The Ford Maverick is a small pickup truck that can be bought with different engines. The point here is that you can choose a hybrid version if you want better fuel economy.
The Ford Ranchero is a type of vehicle that mixes a truck with a more car-like setup. In the podcast, it’s mentioned as a name that might come back in the future. The key point is that it’s a recognizable model name tied to that truck-and-car idea.
The coefficient of drag is a measure of how “slippery” a vehicle is through the air. Less drag means the car needs less energy to keep moving, which helps range.
Battery chemistry is the type of materials inside the EV battery. Different types can affect cost and how well the battery performs.
Car
Slate vehicle SLATE
The Slate SLATE is a truck concept where the factory makes a basic version, and you can add pieces later. The host says it can be upgraded into something more SUV-like by buying extra parts.
A modular truck is built in sections. You can buy a basic version and later add or swap parts (like seats or body pieces) to change what the truck is used for.
In an EV, the electric motor is the part that turns electricity into motion to move the car. It doesn’t use pistons like a gas engine, but it still has parts that can wear out over time.
Brake pads are the parts that squeeze against the brake rotors to help the car stop. EVs may replace them less often because the car can slow down using the motor, but they still wear out.
EV training is the extra instruction mechanics get to work safely on electric cars. EVs have high-voltage parts, so technicians need specific training before touching them.
Term
components of the battery
The “components of the battery” are the parts inside the EV’s battery pack that store and distribute high-voltage electricity. The point of the warning is that EV batteries can be dangerous to touch without the right safety steps.
Electric shock is when electricity harms your body. EVs have high-voltage parts, so safety rules matter a lot when working around them or charging them.
Charging stations are places where you plug in your EV to recharge. When you’re relying on them for road trips, you need to plan ahead because not every station works reliably.
Tesla is an EV company, and it also runs a charging network. The point here is that the host thinks Tesla chargers are the most dependable for EV road trips.
An adapter is a plug converter that helps your EV fit a different charging connector. If you don’t have the right plug, you may need an adapter to charge at certain stations.
The host is saying charging at these stations can cost money. That’s important to factor into your budget if you rely on public charging.
LIVE
Hey folks, welcome back to another edition of my Korgura.
I sound happier than I am.
My wife has decided to leave to go to the beach without me.
See, I set that up good, didn't I?
No, she's not leaving me permanently, but she did go to the beach with her friends.
Now, this woman and I, we've been together a long time.
Married 48 years together since we were 15.
Well, she was 15 and I was 16.
We have, well, except for when I was in college, we have not been away from each
other for more than four consecutive evenings.
And so this is a seven nighter and I'm at home by myself, except when the grandkids
are there and they were there all day yesterday.
I was in charge of, well, two of them all day and three of them for about five or six hours.
And it was great.
We did crafting bead bracelets for Bose baseball team.
Ivy is a crafter big time.
We worked on some Legos.
We watered the new grass at my new barn.
Yeah, I put down sod because I was too impatient in my old age to wait for the grass to grow.
And it's been really hot this summer.
So we sodded.
It's doing pretty good.
And then late afternoon, I came to work for a little while
and pretended like I was important here still.
But yes, we are going to carry on with my car guru.
I want to talk a little bit philosophically about EVs and hybrids.
And I think it's an important discussion because I think people are going to be making
decisions over the next three to five years that are going to kind of upend their view of automobiles.
Because what's going to have to happen is that there's going to have to be a reckoning
where people realize that you should never buy an EV.
I'm not saying don't get one.
I'm just saying lease it.
Don't buy it because the used EV market is weaker than pond water.
And that's weak.
Some dealers are absolutely cleaning up, buying off lease EVs
and then selling them to the public at a huge discount.
And who is this costing?
Well, it's costing the automakers, the captives who lease these things.
But they've got to keep doing it because it's the only way that anybody with any sense
Well, that was kind of rude.
Anybody that really puts a lot of thought and knowledge into the EV market knows that you don't buy them.
Now there's a lot of folks.
It's a generational thing that I'm not going to pay for a car over time.
I'm not going to lease a car.
I'm paying cash.
Bad move.
I don't know that it's even a good move with an internal combustion engine.
I mean, that's how I buy my vehicles, but I own a car dealership and I can, you know,
when I get tired of it, I can make my dealership load up in it, put more money in it than it's worth
to the average person or to the average dealer and then sell it for what they gave me for it.
At no profit.
I've got that kind of leverage.
But you don't.
I'm not bragging.
It's just a statement of fact.
So if you are a consumer out there and you are thinking about, well, you know,
I'm thinking about maybe doing an EV next time.
I can understand why you would consider it, especially if your driving habits would justify it.
And by that, I mean you don't travel a lot.
You know, you just stick around within a 50 to 100 mile radius of your home.
Because you can get there and back without having to stop at some charger somewhere.
And you can charge at home at a much, much lower rate than if you were to stop at a supercharger,
some type of level three charger, which is going to cost you, well, I mean, if it's okay,
like the Mach-E, which was our, well, it was kind of a Mustang, Mustang.
That offended a lot of people.
But you could charge that or a lightning pickup truck for anywhere from 35 to $50.
No, it's not quite as bad as filling it up with gas, but it's still, you know, it's not free.
A lot of people think, well, electricity, it's free.
Well, it's not free.
Now, if you charge that same, those two same vehicles at home, anywhere from $8 to $12.
Pretty good deal.
Well, let me qualify that.
That's if you live in Tennessee, we have something called TVA and a lot of hydroelectric plants.
But we also have a lot of steam plants and they are powered by either nuclear or coal.
And so it's, I take that back.
There is a fusion plant being built probably within three miles of where my brother lives
in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
Now fusion is nuclear too.
It just works different from a fission reactor.
No, I am not a nuclear physicist, obviously.
So, you know, if you see Knoxville and Oak Ridge just kind of go poof one day,
then you know it didn't work.
They didn't have it figured out, but I hope they do because I want to keep my brother
and my nieces and nephews that live in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
I think that's important.
So I'm going to be optimistic about that.
So that's one of the reasons why it's cheaper to charge your electric vehicle in Tennessee.
I know when my parents bought their house in Greenville, Tennessee, it had something called
ceiling heat.
Now that's, that's absolutely insane because heat rises.
So we would walk around in the house and our heads would be hot and our feet would be cold.
It was awful, but electricity was cheap and still is cheaper here.
And so that's why they had all these houses with ceiling heat.
It was embedded.
It had like it was radiant heating and it was embedded in the sheet rock overhead.
Yeah, brilliant.
I'll be back here in just a minute.
Okay, here's a test on the first part or segment one of this episode.
Question one, when you get an EV, should you finance it?
In other words, buy it and finance it.
And the answer is no, should you buy it and pay cash for it?
Absolutely not.
There's a lot better things to do with your money.
And the EV is going to depreciate rapidly.
We don't know what the life of the battery is going to be like.
We do know that it would degrade over time just like our iPhones or our Android phones do.
They don't charge back to 100%.
So that's an issue.
So I think you're safe on a 36 month lease or less.
And please don't pay a bunch of money down because you're just throwing money away.
Just endure the monthly payment.
When you pay money down on a lease, all you're doing is prepaying monthly payments.
There's a certain amount between the selling price of the vehicle,
which we call the capitalized cost.
And what the residual value of that vehicle is at the end of the lease.
There's a certain amount of depreciation there.
Throwing into that is also some interest.
We call it the cost of money.
And so you take that amount and on a 36 monthly, she divided by 36.
And that's your monthly payment.
So if you pay $5,000 down, you're just reducing the numerator.
You remember fractions, numerators and denominators.
The number on the top, you're reducing that.
The denominator, as I understand it, is still 36.
So it's going to be a lower number.
If you need it for some reason to make yourself feel better,
then you can pay a little bit of money down.
Now, a lot of people wonder, can you trade a vehicle in on a lease?
Well, no, you can sell the vehicle to the dealership, the trade in, so to speak.
You can sell it to the dealership.
You agree to a number and then decide what to do with that equity that you had.
But let's say that you have a car that they determine they'll pay you $20,000 for it.
And you owe $10,000.
Then you can decide what to do with that $10,000 of equity.
You can apply some of it to the lease.
But what I would do, depending on your situation, is take that $10,000
and buy a CD where you can earn interest on that money, or invest it in the stock market,
or pay off a high interest credit card.
The key is to get rid of debt and then lease from then on.
It's a good way to stay in the market and stay up with technology.
Do we lease a lot of cars?
No, we do not.
This is not a market for people who lease that much.
Where you see a lot of leasing is in major metropolitan areas and more so on certain brands.
A lot of people lease Toyotas, Hondas.
They lease vehicles that are really expensive luxury vehicles that depreciate quickly,
like BMWs, certain Porsches, Jaguars, Mercedes-Benz.
I would be willing to say to estimate that 90% of all Mercedes vehicles sold in major
metropolitan areas are leased.
They just, it just doesn't make sense to purchase it.
Because the people who purchase at trade in time, they're going to be very disappointed.
There was a time when a Mercedes-Benz would hold its value
and would depreciate at a slower rate than everything else does.
Now it's one of the fastest depreciating cars on the market.
And their EVs depreciated even a faster rate, and they sell a lot of EVs.
So let's flip the coin.
What's happening with hybrids, Lenny?
Now, whereas Mercedes or many other brands, or any EV brand appreciates quickly, hybrids don't.
The hybrid depreciation curve, not much of a curve there.
It's pretty flat.
That's good for hybrid buyers, if they like to trade pretty often.
But there is a point where the hybrid starts to drop off the cliff.
And that's after the warranty runs out.
You know, in the first three years or 50,000 miles or whatever the warranty
is on the powertrain on a hybrid, you're pretty good.
So you need to trade it before you get to the end of the warranty period,
if you don't want to suffer that drop off.
Because a hybrid battery is not going to last forever, and they're not cheap.
They're not as expensive as a full EV battery.
But it's something to be aware of.
And you know, I'm a fan of hybrids.
We sell the Ford Maverick, and in the hybrid form we can't keep them.
The F-150 power boost, we can't keep them.
We've got an all-new hybrid Nissan Rogue that's getting ready to come out,
that is going to be state-of-the-art as far as hybrids are concerned.
So I'm very positive on hybrids.
We did really well with EVs early on when there was a $7,500 tax credit.
And when they made it available where the customer, the purchaser,
did not have to wait on that $7,500 tax credit,
we could give it to them upfront and they would reimburse the dealership.
They mean meaning the government.
But the Trump administration took that away.
You know, when the only thing propping up the EV market is $7,500 in cash,
then it was going to crash anyway.
Because of the perceived lifestyle changes that were going to have to take place with a lot of people,
they think, well, you know, I can charge at home, but they want to go on a trip
and I have to drive cross-country or whatever.
The charging infrastructure just is not reliable.
But just to prove the brilliance of Elon Musk,
he built out the charging network at the same time he was selling the cars.
Nobody else did that.
Ford tried it.
Several of the manufacturers, they partnered with their dealers to install chargers
and, of course, most of the burden fell on dealers.
My cost was going to approach $1.3 million to install one Level 3 EV charger, one,
plus a bunch of Level 2 chargers, which are about worthless to somebody that's traveling.
At the last minute, they said, well, if you really don't want to do this,
we'll let you back out because the writing was on the wall.
And they knew that with the Trump administration, these EV credits were going to go away.
And they did.
And so I did not pull the trigger.
I'm so glad I didn't.
But at some point, I'll have a Level 3 charger in my dealership.
I know I will.
I'll have to because we will be selling a lot of electric vehicles.
Ford is coming out with this small truck.
They already have a small truck.
It's called the Maverick.
You can get it with just an ice engine or you can get it with a hybrid.
And the hybrid will get 45 to 46 miles to the gallon around town and like 42 on the highway.
And that's great.
When it first came out, it was $19,999 plus freight.
Now it's $27,000 in change plus freight.
But this new vehicle that they're coming out with, supposedly, is going to be called
a resurrected name, the Ford Ranchero.
Don't hold me to it, but that's what everybody's speculating because Ford put a
or copyright or whatever you call it or trademark on the Ranchero name.
I think it's a good name.
And I've seen some renderings of what this vehicle is supposed to look like.
It looks like a real aerodynamic Maverick.
Maverick is very boxy.
This is not boxy because of obvious reasons.
They want to reduce the coefficient of drag so that this thing slices through the air
with as little resistance as possible so that you can extend the range of the battery.
And the battery is going to be of a different chemistry, not as expensive.
The goal is to be able to sell this thing for under $30,000.
I don't know if that includes freight or not, but that's what Ford is telling us.
I go to Las Vegas in 14 days, not because I want to, not because I want to gamble,
but because I'm a Ford dealer and that's where they're having their national convention,
they're going to show us this thing.
And they're going to also reveal to us some other strategies for the next five years or so
to show us how they are going to tackle the affordability crisis with automobiles.
We've got to have some more choices for people.
Have you seen the Slate vehicle SLATE?
It is a modular truck.
All of them are built identically when they come out of the factory
and then they can be customized by the car buyer.
They have no power windows.
Do they have air conditioning?
I can't remember.
No radio.
They're basically very, well, they're stripped down and they're $25,000.
Now are folks going to buy a stripped down modular, I mean, if you want to, when I say modular,
you can turn this Slate pickup truck into an SUV.
You buy the top, you buy the rear seats, comes with an airbag package.
I think the upgrade, they're estimating it's going to be around $5,000 or $6,000 to turn
the Slate pickup truck into an SUV.
That's the modular name and you'll be able to change it.
If your needs change, that's pretty cool.
But then it's $30,000.
I don't think a small upstart company like that is going to gain a lot of traction,
especially when you look at what has happened to Lucid, what has happened to Rivian.
These companies are established and they lose billions and billions of dollars and they're
still able to stay in business.
Why?
Because of the backers.
The backers are a bunch of very ultra-wealthy billionaires and maybe no trillionaires.
I think there's only one trillionaire that are able to back this thing as it loses money
because of their, basically, their liberal philosophies.
They think it's what needs to be done to save the planet.
I'll be back in just one minute.
Okay, so question number two from the previous segment is should you buy or release a hybrid?
I don't think it matters.
If you buy a hybrid, you're probably going to be okay as long as you don't finance it for 84 months
and carry over a bunch of negative equity from the car that you're in right now.
You should be okay.
Of course, that's never a good idea.
But buying a hybrid is safer because they don't depreciate as fast.
The depreciation curve is flat, not a curve.
So lease your next EV if there is one in your future.
And there is, if you're under 70, then you will probably, before you expire,
you will lease a, hopefully, lease an EV.
But if you're just still not ready to jump all the way in,
then hybrids are a safe option for just about anybody.
Now, I'm still an internal combustion guy.
I do like pistons.
I like the idea of pistons going up and down inside of an engine.
I like the sounds and it's just something that I was raised with.
I like motors.
I like anything that is mechanical.
There's nothing mechanical, whether a few things mechanical about an EV.
I guess you could say the electric motor has some mechanical components to it.
I mean, the vehicles still have brakes.
They have air conditioning, power steering, all of the stuff that's on a regular car,
except they have a battery and electric motors.
How long will an electric motor last?
A long time.
A lot longer than the battery will.
Are there going to be maintenance advantages with EVs?
Yeah, some.
For sure, you'll still have to buy tires and brake pads and things like that,
not as often on the brakes, but you will have to service your brakes.
And there's a lot of other things on the car that are going to have to be worked on.
The problem is that the techs aren't out there.
That's another big issue with EVs.
Techs are being trained at car dealerships,
but you'll have one out of 10 techs that are trained in most new car dealerships to work on EVs.
And it's a very dangerous proposition as well.
As a matter of fact, one of our techs, when he came back from the EV training, he said,
Lenny, you're not allowed to touch any of the components of the battery with both hands.
You always use one hand because if you use both hands,
you could get killed because of electric shock.
That's pretty shocking in and of itself.
It's dangerous.
It's not the first dangerous thing that was in a shop.
I guess gasoline qualified for that one.
But I guess the ultimate lesson in all of this is just please do the research.
Understand what you're getting into before you fall in love with an EV because you will.
If you drive one, they're awesome.
They're so smooth and so quiet.
The power delivery is very impressive.
But don't let that seduce you into thinking that it's going to be just an easy thing.
Because when you travel, if this is your only vehicle,
you're really going to have to plan your trips.
You're going to have to know where the charging stations are.
And the only reliable charging stations in the United States are run by Tesla.
Now, if you buy a Toyota and it's an EV, then you can buy an adapter.
Same thing with a Ford or an Nissan or Honda or any other brand.
You can buy an adapter to use the Tesla standard.
I can't remember the acronym for it, but it is a specific type of plug.
And so Ford makes available an adapter.
So you can go to a Tesla charging station and plug in and charge.
Just realize it's going to be expensive.
It's not free.
Well, thanks for listening to this edition of My Car Guru.
Any questions about EVs or hybrids or internal combustion engines?
Don't hesitate to send me a text message to 423-552-2020 or send me an email to
LendingLostIn2020 at gmail.com and I'll see you next time.
About this episode
EV vs hybrid purchase talk turns into a practical decision guide: the host pushes leasing EVs, arguing the used EV market is weak and depreciation/battery uncertainty make buying risky. Charging reliability and costs—especially fast Level 3 versus home charging—shape the recommendation, with Tennessee/TVA used to frame electricity pricing. Hybrids are presented as a steadier resale bet until the powertrain warranty ends, after which depreciation can drop sharply. The episode also covers EV safety, technician training limits, and charging network realities.
