The problem with EV's

I was listening to talk radio yesterday, and the guy they were interviewing was obviously an oil-man. The same arguments were quoted as always, EV's catch fire, EV's can't go the distance, EV sales have fallen since Musk did his Nazi salute, but the one thing that never comes up is why we are forcing the move to EV's, and that is to save the planet. The ICE people only look at themselves, their personal situation, and could care less about the planet they live on, or their children's children's children.. No thought about what happens when Earth can no longer sustain humanities growing population.
We are all seeing the effects of global warming, and how it is accelerating.
Oil has got to go, it is a huge target and I am very happy some countries are pushing for its adoption, even if there is massive pushback from those that do not care one bit about this planet.
Keep the zero emission targets.

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Roundandroundwego · 61-69

Public transportation can cut emissions, expenses and crash deaths. That's why it's terribly unlikely for Americans to try it. Not really.

samueltyler2 · 80-89, M

@Roundandroundwego no one will disagree with that statement, but consider just how huge that investment would have to be. BTW, are you speaking about all of the Americans or only US?

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swirlie · 31-35

The adoption of EV's isn't quite that simple, James. In Canada for example, we are too far north to make EV's a viable option because the average winter temperatures are too low. This causes the EV's range to drop off dramatically when the temp falls below the freezing mark and then gets worse the lower you go below freezing 32*F/ 0*C.

Fully electric vehicles were designed to be operated at temperatures of 59*F/15*C at 'standard' barometric pressure which is what ALL data is based on from every EV manufacturer. Nobody provides range data on a -30* day because that information would tank the industry faster than Musk himself can do!

In Scandinavian countries for example, the winter temps are very low of course but the distances are short no matter where you go in Scandinavia. There are also a lot of recharging stations everywhere you look which are solar powered, especially in remote areas!

Therefore, this isn't just about appeasing the oil-man, this is about approaching a problem that is too early in EV's infancy to bring all cars in line with EV technology at this time.

What grossly lags behind EV technology is the infrastructure that must support EV technology, to recharge all these EV's which simply are not in place yet.

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swirlie · 31-35

@samueltyler2
...the medical term is called "My Gut".... but I don't know what the layman's term for it is. I'll look it up in my Medical Encyclopedia if you want me to...

samueltyler2 · 80-89, M

@swirlie there is something that looks very strange in your right lower quadrant.

swirlie · 31-35

@samueltyler2

you sound like a MAGA when you pose that question.

The thing is sam, I'm trying to stay neutral in all of this. I'm a liberal by political stripe but anything that comes from conservative thinking could also come from liberal thinking. Not all things done by Republican are bad, but not all good things came out of the last Democrat Presidency under Joe either.

The thing is, Trump cannot dictate what the US auto makers will make. Trump is not a brilliant specimen of human existence, but I doubt very much that Trump is behind a reversal of the EV market in the USA, nor are the oil companies.

If anyone is deciding that fate, it will be the US auto manufacturers themselves because they hold all the cards, not Trump and not big oil. If the auto sector decided to end EV production for the US, they would have to do it collectively as an entire industry, which may occur if there simply isn't any money available to build the EV re-charging infrastructure which is so badly lacking.

When we keep in mind that the launch of EV's in the USA was done totally ass-backwards compared to more successful launches in Europe for example, it's very clear to see how the US auto industry put the cart before the horse... they built the car then decided later how it might get re-charged.

In Scandinavia, the entire re-charging infrastructure was built FIRST, before the very first EV rolled off the assembly line and was certified for use in Scandinavia.

kodiac · 22-25, M

It's great til your battery pukes ,hope you have a cool 20 grand laying around

samueltyler2 · 80-89, M

@kodiac what statistics do you have to show how many EVs on the road need new batteries? What are the savings in routine maintenance and repairs obtained during the years the EV live before needing new batteries?

SomeMichGuy · M

The EVs which caught fire were Tesla's, right?

PicturesOfABetterTomorrow · 41-45, M

And then the US and Canada shoot themselves in the foot and tariff Chinese vehicles because apparently corporate welfare in Detroit trumps (pun intended) being competitive globally.

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PicturesOfABetterTomorrow · 41-45, M

@whowasthatmaskedman Probably. I mean Detroit is about 20 years behind. But you will still have the people who will buy American just because like Harley riders.

But Europe has none of the same tariffs and about 25% of EVs are from BYD in Europe now.