Posted on 01/25/2024 11:18:00 AM PST by Red Badger
The nation’s recent deep freeze stranded many expensive electric vehicles (EVs) with drained batteries, often in front of charging stations equally disabled by the cold. Warmer areas like California, where some 39% of EV car owners reside, do not abuse their batteries with the harsh seasonal winters that threaten many regions of the nation and world. Electric vehicle sales were quite chilly even before the arctic blast, despite price drops and government subsidies. The cold weather troubles reveal why the market for this vaunted technology may continue to cool.
Car Conspiracy
The 2006 documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car?” explored the possibility that government and industry forces conspired to ensure the failure of the prototype electric vehicle of the mid-1990s: the General Motors EV1. EVs may have been viewed as a threat to oil or automaker profits, but automakers claimed the failure of the vehicles to succeed was primarily attributable to a lack of consumer demand. Current public displays of the sharp drop in efficiency of electric batteries in frigid environments will not boost popularity, instead offering yet one more reason for consumers to prefer the traditional gasoline engine.
EVs are relatively expensive, and many remain skeptical that charging stations and electric grids can support them – even in warmer temps. Growing awareness of the pollution generated in the mining of lithium and other materials in EV battery and vehicle manufacturing (and the eventual disposal of non-recyclable batteries) undermines the environment-sparing messaging used to justify the hefty price tag. And then there is “range anxiety.”
Range Anxiety
Range anxiety refers to the understandable concern of consumers that EVs lack the ability of gas-powered cars to travel long distances reliably. Indeed, concerns about vehicles that could, at that time, travel less than 100 miles per charge were likely part of the lack of consumer appeal for GM’s EV1 in the 1990s. Today’s models approach the three-hundred-mile range – until it gets too cold. Car batteries lose energy much faster when the thermometer plummets and the increased energy requirement to keep the driver and passengers warm certainly doesn’t help. It is estimated that sub-freezing temps can reduce EV range by 40% when the heater is on.
Many consumers will hesitate to buy a vehicle in which turning on the heat could leave them stranded on the roadside in life-threatening weather. In the recent cold snap, many EV owners claimed their cars would not charge at all or that charging stations failed to function. And while EV proponents claim gas stations too are vulnerable when the power goes out (and that future EVs will permit charging other vehicles), it is a familiar rescue to Americans when someone pulls a can of gasoline from the back of their truck to get “old-fashioned” motorcars back on their way.
Hertz Rentals launched an ambitious EV car rental program, purchasing 100,000 EVs and installing charging stations for its users. The plan has been back-pedaled as the company recently shed about a third of its EV fleet. Rental customer experience may have a lot to reveal about the broader long-term salability of EVs.
Americans often rent cars for long journeys, perhaps seeking a more reliable vehicle than their personal auto, or to spare it the extra mileage or risk of a far-from-home breakdown. Road trips are part of the American wilderness experience, a la Jack Kerouac. Such journeys tackle long distances over this grand American geography: Many people drive hundreds of miles a day, or even through the night, to reach their vacation or business destination.
Enter the electric vehicle rental. Depending on the departure location, there may or may not be ample charging stations en route. An app or other electronic access is also required before departure in order to use the electric charging stations, as no cash is allowed. The stop will not be a three-minute fill-up with coffee and donuts as in the gas station era, but likely a one-hour affair (if the charging stations are operational and available, and if it’s not sub-freezing). Some technologies (Tesla Superchargers) can accelerate charging times, but it is still far more time-consuming to juice a battery than to simply pump petrol: EV charging stations cannot recharge cars anywhere near as fast as liquid fuel stations.
A traveler hoping to drive 750 miles or more in one day to a family member’s wedding, graduation, funeral, etc., would thus have to make at least two lengthy stops with an electric vehicle rental, making an already-exhausting journey dangerous, perhaps necessitating a hotel and an extra day (or two, if returning) car rental. Better to take a gasoline-powered rig.
Hertz admits as much on its website:
“But if you’re keen to explore the many benefits of driving an electric car – low emissions, a quieter ride, and lower running costs among them – don’t let range anxiety stop you from giving it a go….
“So, while you won’t be able to drive from dawn till dusk, EVs are great for day-to-day driving and multi-stop road trips. Electric cars also offer better efficiency in city settings, thanks to regenerative braking: the ability to build up power reserves when stopping repeatedly.”
Many Americans want to drive from dawn till dusk, or even from dusk till dawn. Hertz also experienced higher repair and tire costs with its EV fleet. Repair costs for bodywork on EVs (especially Teslas) are generally substantially higher than for gas-powered vehicles; EVs go through tires 30% faster. All of these are negative factors not just for car rental companies, but individual American car buyers increasingly concerned about a wobbly economy in an even wobblier election year.
A subconscious instinct against dependency infuses pictures of EVs parked in darkness due to harsh, frigid elements. If there is a time consumers want dependability for their loved ones, it is in times of emergency such as a winter storm. Then there are the many consumers accustomed to the self-reliance of a woodstove or generator, who are also reluctant to relinquish that independence for the techno-enslavement of heat pumps. Like EVs, heat pumps decline in efficiency as temperatures drop. Even with improvements to this problem, there remains a complete dependence upon the electric grid for life-saving warmth. The Boy Scout motto of “Be Prepared” is pretty useless if all one can do is wait for the power to come back on to stave off hypothermia in a home or car.
Like a load of heavy, wet snow on a cheap tin shack, the numerous problems that accompany EVs promise to break the unfulfilled technological promises and dubious climate justifications concocted to prop them up. Winter storms reveal EVs stalled in squalls with dead batteries; summer EV driving threatens California with blackouts. Lithium mining and battery disposal eclipse the claimed environmental benefits of carbon dioxide reduction, and EV subsidies are “inequitably” regressive.
With such a fast-growing list of insurmountable problems, the EV appears to be killing itself.
EVs are exactly like the Ukraine War.
All based on payoffs to politicians and incessant propaganda.
And you’re not sure how long it will last or how far it will go......................
🥁👍
that is the plan
most will be on public transportation
“Hertz also experienced higher repair and tire costs with its EV fleet.”
Just read about a surprised (shocked?) EV owner who learned his EV with 7,000 miles on it needed a $1,500 new set of tires. EV tires carry so much more weight they have to be much more expensive to achieve even that ridiculously low mileage.
If tires don’t go up in price at all, that’s $21,428.57 worth of tires to drive 100,000 miles!
I'm not positive about this, but I think it may be that the batteries just won't take a charge properly in the cold.
EV tires need stronger sidewalls like trailer tires...............
I don't know about that. When it was time to replace my wife's old ICE crossover anyway 2 years ago we decided to replace it with an EV crossover and do most of our driving in it (26K miles per year, 16K of those miles charged at home) to save money since we drive a lot. (And there are other factors that make an EV fit for us, like we have 2 cars anyway so that one can be an ICE, the ICE is a pickup, we can charge the EV at home, we live in a warm climate, all of the road trips we like to take have good charging options, but if we have the ICE if we decide to one day take a trip with poor charging or up north during the winter, etc.)
Before buying it when I sat down and listed the pro's and con's of the next car being an EV or an ICE, like you I expected the tire costs to bigly increase in the EV. One reason I decided to get the EV is because I realized that the EV weighed only about 10% more than the ICE it was replacing. So yeah I'll have to replace the tires more often, but only 10% more often. Yeah that's an extra expense, but it's not a showstopper especially if I save more money elsewhere. Since the EV also reduces wear on the brake pads (because most braking is done with regen braking) I counted the savings in brake maintenance to about equal the increase in tire replacement. So far that seems right. (19 months and 48K miles later I've replaced the tires once and had no brake work needed, and I'm not sure how long the new tires will last, maybe longer, maybe the first set were cheap tires because they came from the factory, I won't know until I've driven it more and see when the new set need replacing.)
Don't get me wrong. EV's aren't for everybody. And there are definitely added costs that go with EV's. So if someone gets an EV to reduce driving costs don't do it unless you drive a lot of miles like we do (so the gas and oil change savings more than make up for the extra costs). But at least as far as my experience goes, the tire cost criticism is overinflated (pardon the pun).
Bravo! No many know that?
Or did Uncle Google help you?
Electric bicycles are a big success in our retirement communities here in SW Florida. The cars are good for around town, but the SUV rules the road.
“AOC” LOL yep, that would be a good one.
But what about her sister, “AEC”? She is the “All Electric Car.”
I read years ago a similar but different thing. That’s the car makers sell new cars they want to market at cheap prices to rental companies. Particularly if the rental companies with contracts from insurance repair (free rental while your car is being repaired, perhaps totaled). The idea is they want you to get your mouth wet for that kind of new car at a time that you might be in the market for one anyway.
“Volt”. A local TV reporter at the Denver Car Show that year was so excited about the new “all-electric” Volt. As he said that he was standing at the rear of the car and there’s an obvious exhaust pipe sticking out in the shot. I left him a voice mail giving him hell. “How is a car with a tailpipe all-electric?”, I asked. His reply: I just read what the Chevy people gave me.
I answered, “You call that journalism? Letting someone lie to you and then repeating it to the public?”
No answer.
I can’t help but think the reduced tire stories don’t hold water, but there was another one two days ago.
Some people are suggesting that the high-torque electric motors are stressing the tires in ways that ICE cars don’t. I DO see lots of jack-rabbit starts by people driving EVs.
“...she can charge her car “for free”.
My town of 2,600 has a “free charger”. The same car is parked at it every day.
I'll second that. I do probably scratch off in the EV more than I would in an ICE car of a similar type. Though admittedly I scratch off even more when I drive my ICE pickup (but that has to do with the pickup having no weight in the back if the reason I'm driving it is because my wife and I have to split up for the day and need 2 cars, but obviously not an issue if the reason I'm driving the pickup is to haul cargo doing pickup chores).
Good comment, but let us know how much mileage you actually get and how much the replacement tires cost. That’s where the rubber meets the road, pardon the pun. d;^)>
I think you are probably pretty accurate if your car is only 10% heavier than comparable ICE cars. Some EVs are 30% heavier than their ice counterparts.
Thanks.
EVs are the future, and always will be.
They had multiple sessions on “clean energy” and alternative fuels for motor vehicles, and there wasn’t a single mention of battery-powered cars. It was all about hydrogen fuel cells … because they know damn well up there that EVs are a major problem in frigid weather.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.