Maybe and I’m not running out to unload my IC cars and buy an EV but I think we’re currently seeing an inflection point, pushed by gas uncertainty, where EV’s are moving past a “cult novelty” to what’s becoming a realistic option.
Electronics development seems to progress like a landslide achieving a criticall mass and when it does it will probably happen sooner than we expected. The first cell phones were like an expensive brick that did nothing but make calls but once they reached that inflection point they rapidly became small, cheaper and more powerful to the point where in a short time the original alternative, Pay Phones, has completely disappeared.
Gasoline won’t disappear overnight and parts and mechanics for IC engines will still be available but they’ll begin to disappear and prices will go up, further encouraging an EV shift.
How fast? Who knows?
Not to start this again but I would suggest taking a drive. Somewhere around 4-500 miles where it would be beyond the charging range. While you are driving, think to yourself all of the thousands of cars, trucks, and buses on the road around you. When you stop to refuel, imagine if you will those same cars recharging whether for 15, 20, 30 minutes or whatever it takes to get them back on the road again. Do a little queue calculation to determine how many stations would need to be available to meet demand. We won’t even talk about the power plants needed to supply all that at normal and peak periods. And we won’t even talk about the trains, planes or manufacturers all using petro. If you look at it all realistically and from a logical standpoint, it is one of the most idiotic ideas to come out of the gov in a long time.
Now my BIL ordered one of those Ford Mavericks. He’s always been a Ford fan. Been waiting 6 months for delivery from Mexico and have no idea what he paid. But it uses battery power until 45 mph, then the engine kicks in. No charging with an extension cord. Can pull a 4000 pound trailer. So regardless of the cost, they have nice colors, and something like this is more practical for all those thousands of cars you would see on your trip. I’m still waiting for the jet pack or the flying car that I was certain I’d be able to use for my commute.
The Maverick seems to be a good vehicle that will meet many uses . We are looking at them now but I don’t think they have nice colors . The Cactus Grey and Alien are awful . The Blue is not much better . The dark Gray and Red are the only 2 we both like so it may be a while before we actyally buy one.
I think he said hot pepper red. I have to admit I didn’t see much use for it a year or so ago when we talked about it but I think he said with the tailgate it can accommodate a 4x8’ sheet. If it is not so big as those monster pick ups, it might have merit for the general population.
To be honest, a few weeks ago, someone posted a 1991 Toyota Corolla sedan on the local Craigslist for a cheap price, and in remarkably good condition. I am very familiar with that type of car, as my first car was a 1988 Corolla in the same body style. I toyed with the idea of buying it as a collectible car, but decided not to, for the simple reason that I only have space to park 4 vehicles, and one of those spaces is taken up by the Sundance that I hope to restore someday. Still, I can vouch that those old Toyotas are great cars and fun to drive too.
At some point,once electric cars become very common nationwide, and once the charging infrastructure is built out, the federal government will start declaring IC cars may no longer be driven on public roads.
Not necessarily. Once they are common, the number of ICE vehicles will be reduced to mostly collector cars, and those are typically drive only a few thousand miles a year, if even that much. It will be more of a problem for the owners of the ICE cars to find fuel when most of the gas stations shut down for lack of business.
Like my law professor used to say “there has never been a law passed that someone somewhere did not want”. We talk about dumb or ignorant voters being a problem but me thinks totalitarian/authoritarian voters may be more dangerous.
That’s the thing. Some think EV’s will overtake us quickly. I’m a little skeptical of that. If the EV vs ICE discussion was as simple as “hey, I’ll buy an EV next time because I will never have to buy gas again”, I think the take rate of new EV’s would be a lot higher than it currently is. As it stands, there are a lot more considerations.
As of January this year there were 41,290 charging stations with 113,558 outlets in the US. There are more than 2.1 million EVs in the US. It’s happening quickly.
Well yeah lets not get nuts. The latest is that supply problems are developing for the mined minerals to make the batteries with. Much coming from China with some issue about who the investors/benefactors are and child labor. Charging stations may not be the biggest issue as news tickles and trickles. Let the markets work without national coercion.
As apparently “chips” are in sort supply for every auto. I don’t have any issue with EV’s. If they’ll perform the same and cost the same (that’s the big IF), why would I care if it runs off of gasoline or a (most likely in most of the country fossil fuel charged) battery. My junk is old, so I wouldn’t have one for a while anyway. But I see a disconnect between what people are buying versus what auto manufacturers say they’ll be selling in the future. Kinda doesn’t add up, to be honest.
I think it adds up if you do a deep dive into who (individual or group) that has a financial stake. Always an answer behind the curtain.
Some years ago I got a call from the bank offering to re-finance my mortgage and drop a couple interest points. No hassle, no cost, pay it off whenever you want, all by mail, just sign the paper. Couldn’t figure out why but not stupid so I did it. Then I figured out why. They didn’t make any money on the loan but made money every time they rolled it over and sold it to the feds.
No body is making this big a deal over concern for the snapping turtles. There is always someone collecting the gold coins. We just don’t know for sure who and how much yet.
The cost of manufacturing IC vehicles is increasing, the Gov/EPA are increasing the fuel economy and emission requirements, this means 50 MPG hybrids. Domestic manufactures have responded by discontinuing production of sedans. There was a Gov order to postpone the tightening of these standards, but it was not well received.
IC vehicles will continue for decades but the people in big offices will add cost to them.
They aren’t building sedans because the market is shrinking. The only large non-luxury sedans are the Avalon, Chrysler 300 and Charger. The Detroit 3 don’t build smaller sedans because they could sell enough to justify production.