EV's are practical for some use cases. But the only situations like that I can think of involve people who can set up charging at home, not depend on road-side chargers for routine local driving.
Roughly half of the charging stations in our cities are now DISABLED by theft of their charging cords, yet ONLY NOW the media reports on it? One would think that the media is HIDING the downsides of EVs...but no, they would NEVER do such a thing.
I predicted this would be a problem.
I’m not sure why the charging cable doesn’t stow with the vehicle. Stevie Wonder could have seen this coming.
“The charging companies say it’s become clear that the thieves are after the copper that the cables contain.” Ya Think!!!
I’ll stay with internal combustion.
Need security guards, 24/7. Create some jobs.
Of course, what will end up happening is that the crazy environmentalists will lot allow the mining, yet at the same time demand that we switch to EVs, and so we will be stuck in a catch 22.
By that time “fossil fuels” will be completely “canceled” leaving us with absolutely nothing but major shortages of energy and food and essentials. Time for pitchforks and torches what little good that will do us.
“Remember who got us into the mess” is what we will be saying.
The gas-station business grew with private ownership, whether small business, oil company owners, or franchisees, etc... Therefore, there were people manning the pumps and stores, who had a strong incentive to not allow theft.
I don’t own and EV, but charging stations I have seen are on the edge of parking lots, in parks, outside government offices, etc.... who owns them? Who watches them?
A couple stations were installed in our local county park with some Fed.gov grant. I’ve never seen an EV plugged into it. If someone stole the wiring at night, no one would even know until the next day. And who would come to fix it? Seems like another silicon valley and woke collectivist fantasy, which will need to adjust to reality.
Why not make the charging cables from aluminum wire?
Prominently labeled.
In several languages.
And hope potential thieves can read.
How many people in metro NY, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington park on the street?
All that the US needs to do is outlaw reselling catalytic converters and copper cables except through licensed government providers.
Then there is this:
Thieves Steal Miles Of Copper Wire, Leaving LA’s Sixth Street Bridge In The Dark
Copper thieves continue to run rampant in Los Angeles, striking the Sixth Street Bridge again and leaving certain areas of the bridge in the dark. The famed East Los Angeles bridge was found by residents with exposed electrical boxes and missing wires. Neighbors who frequent the bridge were worried about the dangers of stealing electrical wire from the fuse boxes. “I think it’s a pretty bad idea. It’s also really dangerous for them too, they are not electricians – there is a reason why this stuff is covered up,” said Hector Pereira, a neighbor who walks on the bridge. Another neighbor, Billy Avellan, said he’s been documenting the vandalism and that the issue has been going on for months. “I first reported it to 311 six months ago,” said Avellan. “It’s sad. I walk this bridge every day, I can’t take a regular walk that you tax me for every time – because it’s too dark. It’s not safe.“ Earlier this year Los Angeles city leaders called for action against the ongoing copper theft in the city, stating that it was costing taxpayers millions of dollars to replace. At a press conference back in January, city leaders called for a $400,000 plan to create a “copper wire theft task force” to help curb the crime. “I’m tasking our bureau to figure out a better way to reinforce you know it’s not a question of if they come back it’s a question when they come back - it’s almost virtually impossible for them to steal it,” said Councilmember Kevin de León.
NBC 4
Remember how often you’d pull into a gas station only to find all the hoses on the pumps stolen?
IF they changed the charging system thus:
An ‘UMBILICAL CORD” system carried in the vehicle by the vehicle owner.
It plugs INTO the VEHICLE & into the charger-—2 “male” ends-—remove & take with vehicles when you are done.
Current system invites vandalism.
I don’t understand. Copper is $4.45 per pound. What are those cables worth for copper? Like $10? Maybe they sell the cables rather than sell them for copper.
EVs are about as practical as having a 747-400 for grocery shopping and buzzing the kids to school.
Lack of public safety distorts the market.
An EV housing it’s own charging cable apparently doesn’t make sense.
I went to all the charging stations in my city and photographed all the chargers with clipped cords. The photos were posted on my Facebook page. Our mayor is one of my friends. I hope he got an eyeful.