Posted on 03/07/2021 8:08:35 PM PST by MinorityRepublican
Car dealer Brad Sowers is spending money to prepare for the coming wave of new electric models from General Motors Co. He is installing charging stations, upgrading service bays and retraining staff at his St. Louis-area dealership to handle the technology-packed vehicles.
But when he considers how many plug-in Chevy Bolts he sold last year—nine, out of the nearly 4,000 Chevrolets sold at his Missouri dealerships—it gives him pause.
“The consumer in the middle of America just isn’t there yet,” when it comes to switching to electric vehicles, he said, citing the long distances many of his customers drive daily and a lack of charging infrastructure outside major cities.
As auto executives and investors buzz about the coming age of the electric car, many dealers say they are struggling to square that enthusiasm with the reality today on new-car sales lots, where last year battery-powered vehicles made up fewer than 2% of U.S. auto sales.
Most consumers who come to showrooms aren’t shopping for electric cars, and with gasoline prices relatively low, even hybrid models can be a tough sell, dealers and industry analysts say.
Auto makers are moving aggressively to expand their electric-vehicle offerings with dozens of new models set to arrive in coming years. Some like GM are setting firm targets for when they plan to phase out gas-powered cars entirely.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
If the Texas electric grid couldn’t handle winter weather then how is it going to handle a million electric vehicles?
Don’t worry, by Republicans sitting out the Georgia Senate runoffs (to ‘teach the GOP a lesson’) and thereby handing the Senate to the Democrats, dealers won’t have much trouble selling electric cars, as that will be all that will be permitted. And, just in case that’s not enough ‘encouragement’ for the conservatives who thought they ‘taught the GOP a lesson’, they’ll also start the process of scrapping existing gasoline vehicles.
In 15 years, the days of fossil fuel vehicles will (along with legal gun ownership) will be over*.
*...but we did ‘teach the GOP a lesson’, right?
They are in mine. I see a Tesla or three every time I drive more than a mile or two.
Or did you mean golf carts/cars? Now those are everywhere. Even in my garage.
No electric Semi trucks until star trek times.
And I bet you will pay for those less fortunate to pay their electric bills.
They’ve been brainwashing us all that we need to live in densely pack “smart” city liberal peoples paradises.
BLM, Auntie Fa, and Rona destroyed that pasty hallucination.
My Escape has 400+ miles per tank and fits my bugout gear.
Ding Ding Ding
1 gallon of gasoline = 32KW of kinetic energy
30 mpg at 30mph = 32KW of energy needed to drive to work and back 15 miles each way
276 million cars in USA
32x10**3 times 276x10**6 = 8,832x10**9 KW of energy needed per day in USA, or 8.8 Terawatts (Trillion watts) of new electrical power needed
We assume this is additional electrical energy needed beyond the daily lights & heat we use today
A 1 square mile Nuke Plant can generate 1,167 Megawatts 1,167x10**6 or 1.2x10**9
That means we need (8,832x10**9 divided by 1,167x10**6 divided by 24 hours a day to charge all these cars) or 7.568x10**3 or 31,534 new Nuke Power plants at 1 square mile each of ~32,000 square miles of space.
The USA is 3.797 Million square miles so we need .8% of the total land in the USA to build 760,000 new nuke power plants.
So who wants 32,000 Nuke Plants in their backyard?
I assume that per square mile Nuke plant is the most efficient way to go versus a wind farm.
Years ago, the Tennessee Valley Authority made similar calculations and began construction on several small nuclear plants, Small meaning not as large as Watts Bar and Sequoyah.
Locally the Phipps bend plant had the cooling towers and much of the new transmission lines constructed. All the plans were cancelled.
However, Nuclear is the only renewable energy source that will be able to support the theoretical growth of electric vehicles. The technology exists to have a breeder reactor that will produce the fuel required. Such a reactor was or maybe is in existence in Oak Ridge.
I wonder why there is not development of many regional or local nuclear plants that are not as expensive or extensive as the mega plants of the 70’s
Even if they were free; they could STILL not overcome the physics involved.
12,000 pound towing
far short of my needs
My mom and her husband live in a mid size retirement community on Florida and of course, have a battery powered golf cart.
While we were there at Christmas, they took us over to The Villages. (what a zoo)
That area is too big. Everyone’s got propane or gas powered carts. EV’s don’t work for something as simple as a golf cart, let’s use it for our basic transportation instead.
Using your model of just driving 10-20 miles a day, why would you bother to drop $35000 on a econobox when you could buy one for $15,000. Your fuel cost to electricity ratio would never come close to equilibrium of the extra car cost.
When the Chevy Volt came out, I did the math compared to a Chevy Cruze (same platform)
The equilibrium point is about 300,000 miles and doesn’t take into account buying new batteries. (A GM engineer buddy ran the numbers too and came up at 300,000 miles as well)
Because batteries are such an expensive part of the car, resale value is about zero.
If you only do 10 miles a day in town. a small used car is a far better option, unless you want to be admired for your earth saving skills, until you figure out that your car is powered by burnt coal.
The question is why do THEY want you limited to 100 miles a day.
EV vehicles are about control not efficiency.
I’m fine with hybrids
And the foursome that awaits your cart when you hit the 19th hole?
Will they get 36 as well?
Dang!
Did I pay too much for a dry lake bed near Silver Peak, NV?
We used to plug in our phone to recharge it; but now we just set it on something.
Scale this technology up to car size.
“When was the last time you drove more than 500 miles in a day?”
Several times each year. Who the hell are you to say I shouldn’t??
“Who can go 500 miles without a rest break? Recharging in 20 minutes gives you time to go take a leak”
We’re not so stupid as you think. We know a 20 minute charge doesn’t take you another 500 miles.
W=I*E
900 kw=240v*4amps*60minutes
or 240V*30amps*8minutes
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