To be more specific…
Here’s the 10 largest refineries in the US
and here they are in relation to where I live
8 out of 10 are less than a 4 hr drive away
5 of them, less than 2 hours
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We have a refinery in Martinez, it is massive in my eyes. Tankers come into the bay and pump out and the tanks, lines, and workings are all over the place. There is a Shell gas station at the entrance to the main refinery…one of the most expensive gas stations in the area. Always seemed odd to me that that one isn’t a touch cheaper because they can be mainlined to the plant if they wanted.
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Sounds like they don’t do petroleum any more…
“The refinery is located on 850 acres, in 2016 had approximately 650 full-time employees, and had a crude oil capacity of 157,000 barrels per day. In 2015 it was the fourth-largest refinery in the state.”
" In early 2021, the refinery was given to green light to start converting its units so it could produce renewable diesel made from animal tallow, corn oil, and soybean oil. They partnered with Neste in a 50/50 joint venture and began producing renewable diesel in late 2022 and moving up to full capacity in 2023 making it one of the largest renewable diesel refineries in the world"
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Whoaaaa. I had no idea. I used to live right there. That is pretty cool. I never thought to look at the price of diesel.
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now, there’s a Valero refinery across the bay from it…
but…
" On April 16, 2025 Valero announced its intent to close the refinery, citing regulatory challenges as the main driver for the decision.[6] In 2026 the process was expected to be completed in April, but Valero will continue to supply imported gasoline for the transportation needs in Northern California communities"
so… probably not a positive effect on gas in your area either
accounted for ~9% of Californias oil refining capacity
Oh, I assumed it was all the same place.
The ship docs are pretty crazy, so many of them and they are basically a couple giant pipes out into the shallow bay, and the ships pull up and pump out.
They were 2 separate oil refineries, that in 3 months, will be 0 oil refineries lol
but, if you combine them together, that actually would be larger than that Motiva refinery that’s #2 on that list above… so yeah… pretty big.
850-900 acres each
See how close they are. I thought they were the same. You can see the pipes sticking out into the bay, 6 ports or so, there are two right near the bridge on each side,and the bridge there, one is traffic and the other is train and more pipes.
100% agree, live in Michigan and have a ‘23 Model Y. Also have a solar array we installed in 2021-22 which made the car decision easier, and we made the solar jump since our house is 100% electric with geothermal.
If your daily driving is 150 miles per day or less then it’s a non-issue, you never have to supercharge (if you own your home with 240V). In fact never having to stop at a gas station is one of those small benefits - when I have to fill the other car I just hate filling up.
When the edge-cases come up with long distance travel it’s still not a problem. Went to Cleveland last weekend, in the bitter cold. One 20 minute stop on the turnpike each way - I would have done that anyway just to stretch my legs. If I really care, I can still drive our Subaru.
For power efficiency, even with our horrible price per kWh, I still come out on top. With solar array it means I essentially drive for free, hundreds have come off my monthly expenses. Also have the heat pump version with octo-valve, it works great and yes heating the battery cuts into efficiency, I still don’t really notice it.
EV’s aren’t for everyone, but they are for way more people then they realize.
This is something that surprised me. I’m not sure this is a “small” benefit. It really changes your perspective when you leave the house ever day with a “full tank.” Instead of thinking about refueling each week, I ONLY really think about it on road trips, which is only a few times a year. One of the further places I do visit every couple of months I need to charge 10-15% to ensure I have a bit in the tank when I get home. But there’s a Chick-fil-a with a charger in the parking lot. So I plug in and grab a sandwich. By the time I’m back to the truck I’m ready to go. So even on road trips I’m not even “worried”. It did take me a year to stop worrying though.
If you need to tow, I think EVs aren’t really for you yet. The configuration of most charging stalls mean you’d have to unhitch, which sucks. (Or you’d be THAT guy preventing everyone else from being able to get to the chargers.) We need more pull-throughs before towing is even in the conversation.
I do think if you routinely drive more than 150 - 200 miles in a day, they’re not for you yet.
I love it, but I’m not sure the current offerings are ready for most “truck guys” where towing and range are still big considerations.
Still love the frunk.
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The frunk is a game changer. Have leftover Indian food, put it in the frunk and you won’t smell it in the cabin for the next week!
Agreed on towing as well. I have a hitch on mine, but that is more for the bike carrier, although a small trailer for the odd landscaping or Home Depot run works great. Also, the last stall on the left of any Tesla Supercharger site where you have to pull in - that is for someone with a trailer so you don’t have to unhitch. Not many people know it, but it is good manners to keep that stall for last in case someone trailered needs to use it.
More of them in my area are including the pull through (Although you end up pulling through the opposite direction.) But many also still have the shorter cables, meaning they can’t reach the charging port. (Nose in its on the wrong side, Back in and the cable can’t reach the charging port.) Admittedly I think they’re updating most of the chargers to be more compatible.
I saw one that had the “pull through” charger on the end of a parking lot row. If you used that one you jammed up all traffic in that part of the lot! 
. Seems poorly conceived.
Superchargers are also my second choice. I’ve found the EVGo 350s to charge my truck faster.
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We bought a chevy Bolt EUV in 2023. That car has been an amazing value. It is so nice just plugging it in at home and never going to a gas station. The maintenance schedule is basically rotating tires for 150k miles. It is a pleasure to drive too. Quiet and quick.
We bought a VW ID.Buzz EV minivan in August. We are EV only now. It is very capable of doing our ski trips and road trips. It can even fit a full sheet of plywood in the back. We mostly use it for carrying kids and their friends around, including hockey practice. In a few years, there will be a few available used for a lot less than we paid and I would highly recommend those. They have been in Europe for a few years now.
Most of my complaints about EVs would be solved as soon as they gain enough market share. Road tripping is easy, but if half the cars were EVs, there would be much better stations with better ammenities along the major highways.
The second row of complaints is from people who are just biased against them. I just got told from a windshield repair place that he doesn’t service EVs. All I want is some epoxy in a hole. Why does it matter that it doesn’t have a gas tank?
The leaf’s batteries lose capacity because they are air cooled. No other modern EVs (that I know of, including the new leafs) do that anymore.
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The other point I make all the time is that recycling is a pain. But I always recycle my cans because it is good for the earth. But owning and driving an EV is so much better than ICEV. I don’t care how the incentives work out (but it would be nice if they paritied gas subsidies). EVs are inevitable. They are accelerating fast and already a better choice for most people.
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I would 100% swap to the lightning. I am convinced I could easily find someone willing to do a straight swap as well. In this state though, we would both have to pay a sales tax on the value of the truck at the time of the trade. That would be a hefty bill to consider, but a few missed gas station visits would cover that real quick.
I just saw a blue and white one yesterday they look really good in real life. I have liked them since I saw the pictures but in real life…so nice. If you can bring it to RMRRF so I can take a closer look.
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My SO and kids are coming, but not the whole time. So we will be bringing both, I assume. I’ll schedule a car wash between now and then.
Have you seen the silverado EV? It has a huge range, and a good range when towing. Our local govt purchased a few as work trucks for park rangers, etc.
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As of 2025–2026, Australia has only two major operating oil refineries, with others converted to import terminals. These remaining operational refineries are the Geelong Refinery (Viva Energy) in Victoria and the Lytton Refinery(Ampol) in Brisbane, Queensland. Former refineries, such as Kwinana (BP) and Altona (ExxonMobil), have largely ceased refining operations.
That’s with a geographical area similar to the US ( but a tenth of the population)