Posted on 09/02/2024 9:18:11 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Every time I write about electric cars, there is an explosion of hostile comments online in which readers angrily denounce electric vehicles and the people who drive them. Much of this animus rests on a plausible yet mistaken assumption — that EV owners are all passionate environmentalists, sanctimoniously swanning around in their zero–emission vehicles while disdaining the ghastly, planet-killing masses burning dinosaur juice.
Let me disabuse you of this. That stereotype was perhaps partly fair when applied to the Toyota Prius — although even then I suspect it concerned only a minority of owners. In the case of fully electric cars, however, I would be willing to bet there is no correlation between tree-hugging beliefs and EV ownership — if anything, the correlation runs in reverse. The modal electric car buyer does not give a damn about the planet: they are buying electric cars because they like technology, or because they like cars, or both. You may imagine they are eyeing your tailpipe with disapproval — in truth the typical electric car driver doesn’t care what car you drive: they are too busy enjoying their own car, and for entirely selfish reasons. This is as it should be.
There is an Aesop fable called “The Farmer and His Sons” in which a dying landowner tells his sons not to divide the family land, since a treasure lies hidden somewhere beneath it. After his death, they dig over every inch of the land in search of the promised riches, but come up empty–handed. Only when the resulting crops grow abundantly do they realize they have been tricked into doing the right thing for the wrong reason. All the while they had been greedily searching for treasure, they were inadvertently plowing the land.
A certain section of the environmental movement is obsessed with obtaining environmental ends by signaling self-sacrifice and general hair-shirtedness. That may be necessary at times, but (as Aesop’s farmer knew) it’s best not to appeal to sacrifice and self-denial until you have exhausted the possibilities of self-interest first. It is the consequences of a behavior that matter, not the motivation.
And nearly all technological change is driven in its earliest stages not by high-minded purpose but by the selfish pursuit of novelty. (If you sell products on their environmental credentials, it may backfire, since people assume there are trade-offs, and infer that any detergent that is “kind to the planet” is correspondingly worse at cleaning your clothes.)
So if you want to sell electric cars, don’t try to appeal to George Monbiot — try to appeal to the inner child, to the simple fact that they are fun.
Recently I was lent a Microlino to drive — a tiny Swiss two-seater electric car modeled completely on the Isetta bubble-car of the 1950s, with the same potty single door opening at the front. It has a range of seventy miles and a top speed of 56mph. My verdict? Well, first of all, as a city car it is quite superb. It is also spectacularly fun — not only for the driver but for spectators. In fact, so much happiness did it bring to people on the street that I felt compelled to drive it around gratuitously out of a sense of pure altruism. It is insanely cute. You would attract less attention in a Lamborghini.
I had always grudgingly accepted my friend Stephen Bayley’s argument against electric cars — that there was an aesthetic quality to gasoline cars which EVs could never match. Having driven the Microlino, I’m not so sure. In its miniaturized form, an electric car can be truly delightful. Indeed, Stirling Moss’s last ever car was a Renault Twizy.
Besides, if there is one old technology worthy of preserving for aesthetic reasons, it is not the internal combustion engine. It is the steam locomotive.
When we were on the east coast, they were everywhere. The winter before, they had a snow storm that backed up traffic for ten miles and most of the Teslas had to be towed because they ran out of power keeping people warm. Son said that there were stories of people with full tanks of gas letting the Tesla folks and ICE folks who had run out of gas get in their cars with them. No bringing a bucket of electricity for the Teslas. I had a read a story on FR about a person who charged their Tesla for about an hour with little or no no net increase in their charge because most of the energy went to keeping them and their car warm. I’ll be damned if i’m going to spend $80 for virtual signaling.
Pursuit of novelty? Electric cars were invented more more than a century ago.
“”Youtube shadowbanned””
Can you put it on Rumble?
Multiple Mega-Dittos!
“the typical electric car driver doesn’t care what car you drive: they are too busy enjoying their own car,...”
Almost every EV owner I know says “1st and last”
Not for what they cost, it isn’t the “disposable razor of transportation”. Either in initial price or the cost of replacement batteries. Yes, they may have some advantages, but if you are looking at cost, as many of us must, they are way expensive for many of us.
Nearer to two. Centuries ago, that is.
Two unconnected Scotsmen each independently invented his own electric car in the 1830s.
Yes, EIGHTEEN-thirties.
That would make it a hundred and ninety-ish years ago. And it still ain't ready for prime time.
They even sink the ship that's carrying them.
They care about status, and status comes from being green and eco conscious. Status also comes from being an early adapter of new technologies and a consumer of expensive and stylish things, but I doubt car-loving motorheads or gearheads are going big into electric cars. They are more likely to see through all the hype.
I copied the original on a thumb drive probably a decade ago and misplaced it since. Sadly Xtranormal went out of business about that time too. I have a few more Bush/Hussein vids up there but they are shadowbanned too.
My 19 yearold granddaughter was a know it all until she leased a Nissan EV. She had taken a trip about 200 miles from home to visit a friend and left for home shortly before dark.
She realized she needed to stop halfway home to charge her vehicle. At the first charging area two of the chargers weren’t working and the others were being used.
So she took a chance and drove to another town where she could get it charged but by now it was late in the evening and the charging lot didn’t look safe but she had no choice and had to stay there until 4am to have enough charge to get home. She now can’t wait until her 18 month lease is up to get a hybrid vehicle.
I switched to Greenworks,chainsaw, blower Then a line trimmer joined the gang for weeds around the structures that the riding lawn mower won’t get. I love the lack of fumes and the ease of battery changes takes 2 seconds to push the release and pop a new one in. I just got the 300 watt inverter that uses the same packs it will run all my cord tools like drills, sander,sawsall,jig saw, dremel off the same power packs it’s genius. I even ran my bullet blender for blended frozen drinks at the park with it; it’s small and light enough to backpack it to the park. I was going to get the greenworks hedge trimmer then it dawned on me just put the inverter in my backpack use a short 3 foot extension cord to plug it right to the male plug on the trimmer handle bingo portable cordless trimmer with four power cells.
I have a mini 700 watt generator the size of a twelve pack it is a 2 cyl and a royal pain to start, clean, mix fuel with additive since everything is E10 here now. I have my eyes on a 1800 watt four pack inverter that can and probably will replace it for larger tools away from plugs or the vehicles since I already own a 3000 watt pure sinewave that’s 12V-24V input the F250 or the Expedition both have large enough alternators to run a 1500 watt load continuously. I’ll never use gas tools again that’s better left in the 20th century. Tesla needs to put V2X on the NACS port then you would have 30-50 amps of 120/240V AC on tap anywhere the vehicle is. It would be simply a matter of software the onboard AC charger is already a rectifier which with software reversing its function and current flow is an inverter.
All fine until the power goes out. Even with plenty of electricity, the electric power tools do not stand up to gas powered ones. I have a 20 inch gas chainsaw, and I have an electric one just for pruning. It’s ok for pruning, but don’t try and cut an 20’ x 18” oak log.
My Greenworks 18” made short work of the black oak limb that the storm we had a month ago brought down it was near 18” across since the blade was only a little longer than the big part of the limb. It made a 3 foot by 3 foot by 6 foot pile of wood that’s gonna age over the next year into fine BBQ fuel. Took two 6ah packs out of the 4 I have. They charge in 30 ish min each and with four you always have two or three in reserve. Didn’t have to touch the gas powered one that’s the max workout a chainsaw with me is ever going to get. Anything more and I’ll call an arborist and be done with it. I love my Greenworks it just works, no fumes,no pull pull curse, prime,prime, curse some more and maybe something starts.
Did the full article deal with the number one myth about EVs? Namely, that they are fit for every purpose?
Not sure about Jesus, but the disciples preferred Honda. They were all in one Accord.
Well, I guess they have come a long way then since I last used one.
For sure the 80V versions are two or three hp chainsaws they even have side by side ATVs and dirt bikes. There are full sized car hybrids that are only 48V, 80 volts can be serious juice. This will only get better with the newer 500at/kg cells coming to market in manganese, or Graphene , aluminum Graphene is 900+at/kg in gen one with a theoretical energy density greater than gasoline on a kg for kg basis it’s triple valent only Fe3+ is triple valent at three times the mass. Lithium is 1+, sodium 1+, calcium 2+, magnesium 2+ aluminum is less mass than any of then per unit of energy density. High density solid cells with nanoglass or ceramic electrolyte is just leaving the prototype stage and into limited high end think military and space production it will trickle down to consumer soon enough just like lithium did. EVs are a small market compared to personal electronics, medical devices, drones ect. High power cells are the only reason smart phones, tablets can exist for this reason alone these third and fourth generation cells will.get to market.
Do you have one vehicle for every propose? I have five one of them is an EV. For those that only have one vehicle rentals are always an option. People with sedans even ICE ones have to rent a truck or call movers if they want to move large items or tow something. Fringe use case is not a valid argument for the once or twice a year that someone needs to move a heavy load. The average person goes on a 400+ mile trip twice a year that’s it. You can rent a car for less than the depreciation on the vehicle and tire/ brake wear.
My EV sees the most use why because it’s ten times cheaper per mile than the luxury sedan that sits next to it in the steel building. I have taken the Tesla as far as Florida so I know it can do 1800+ mile trips. Tesla has supercharger every 50 miles or so on every major hwy it takes 15 min after three hours in the seat to out three more hours of drive time in it. With a 335 mile range that’s 150 miles radius out and back with range to spare. Only in far west Texas is there anywhere in Texas more than 150 miles out and back to a HVDC charger.
Open this up filter to 50kw then drop a 150 mile radius on all the red ,purple and blue pins there is two small area’s near big bend that are outside that range no where else in the entire state is.
https://chargefinder.com/us/search
I have never had an issue with a Tesla supercharger the car let’s you reserve a spot even so no one can take it before you get there if you have the $$ to pay for it don’t be a poor is the moral there..
My ICE Volvo is paid off that’s the only reason I keep it sunk capex, the Tesla is less per month even with inflation vs what I paid per month for the S60 so the Tesla is cheaper per mile every mile on a capex basis. Unless it’s on a road trip it’s charged from the sun I can flip a switch and go off grid too my solar system is large. It’s why I own the EV that and FSD for road trips, hands off for hundreds of miles.
Yes I own trucks they do truck things and truck things only. They tow my boat which a lot of people don’t own boats, they take me off tarmac in west Texas where you have to have 4x4 to get to the job site. They tow caravan rentals to the beach or fly fishing grounds too. The large SUV is a people mover triple row seating and 4x4 too it has a tow package for the trailer with motorcycles or side by sides. Again truck doing truck things it never does commuting, the cost per mile is stupid to pay for that in fuel and also depreciation.
Point is if people commute they should own a commuter car and rent for edge cases once or twice a year. People here are not typical of urbanites nor commuters there is a skew to rural and older people it’s an echo chamber that’s not in touch with the 75% of the population that lives in urban MSA zones. Those 75% drive less than 30 miles per day with half being under 6 miles per day that’s urban life.
EVs suck. It is a fad.
By what measure?Is it sitting next to a Ferrari or a Ford? How long are you keeping both cars, and what is their resale value? Cost per mile is a lot more than gas vs electricity costs.
have never had an issue with a Tesla supercharger the car let’s you reserve a spot even so no one can take it before you get there if you have the $$ to pay for it don’t be a poor is the moral there..
A big part of the ongoing electrical car debacle ( the big three are losing billions) is the assumption that EVs are the right answer for everyone. They aren't, not by a long shot. It's great that it works for you and I am happy for anyone who likes their vehicle.
But mandating them for everyone and jacking up the price of every new car to try to cover the insane cost of an electric F-150 is clown world stuff.
Some people have no problem dropping six figures to save $100 a month on gas but that is not really an economic decision. And most people can't do it, at least not without a repossession in their future.
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