Posted on 07/18/2021 11:51:22 PM PDT by Cronos
Many observers are forecasting that the world’s transition to electric cars will take place much sooner than expected. Now, BBC is also joining the fray. “What makes the end of the internal combustion engine inevitable is a technological revolution. And technological revolutions tend to happen very quickly … [and] this revolution will be electric,” reports BBC‘s Justin Rowlett.
Rowlett points to the late ’90s internet revolution as an example. “For those who hadn’t yet logged on [to the internet] it all seemed exciting and interesting but irrelevant — how useful could communicating by computer be? After all, we’ve got phones! But the internet, like all successful new technologies, did not follow a linear path to world domination. … Its growth was explosive and disruptive,” notes Rowlett.
So how fast will electric cars go mainstream? “The answer is very fast. Like the internet in the ’90s, the electric car market is already growing exponentially. Global sales of electric cars raced forward in 2020, rising by 43% to a total of 3.2m, despite overall car sales slumping by a fifth during the coronavirus pandemic,” reports the BBC.
According to Rowlett, “We are in the middle of the biggest revolution in motoring since Henry Ford’s first production line started turning back in 1913.”
Want more proof? “The world’s big car makers think [so]… General Motors says it will make only electric vehicles by 2035, Ford says all vehicles sold in Europe will be electric by 2030 and VW says 70% of its sales will be electric by 2030.”
And the world’s luxury automakers are also getting in on the action: “Jaguar plans to sell only electric cars from 2025, Volvo from 2030 and [recently] the British sportscar company Lotus said it would follow suit, selling only electric models from 2028.”
Rowlett spoke with Top Gear’s former host Quentin Wilson to get his take on the electric revolution. Once critical of electric cars, Wilson adores his new Tesla Model 3, noting, “It is supremely comfortable, it’s airy, it’s bright. It’s just a complete joy. And I would unequivocally say to you now that I would never ever go back.”
what are all the delivery tractor trailers that carry your farm food to the stores or your supplies and clothes going to run on..electricity? Will they only be allowed gas along with airplanes and their fuel?
People outside of metro areas aren’t going to buy these cars . this isn’t some small Euro country.
the batteries for these cars cost thousands. like cell phone batteries and ALL batteries regardless of how much you charge it, over time you’ll need a new one. Mark it.
The range is still a big limiting factor as I take a lot of long drives to see family and take vacations. 400 to even 2,000 mile trips are routine for me and I can usually get 600-700 miles done in a days driving on these trips.
No electric car has that kind of range. And once you get outside your home area, finding a charging station can be a stressful experience. Using a standard plug will only gain you a few miles of range per hour which will mean a full day or more of charging - so you need those fast chargers to make a long trip feasible and you also need to know they will be available. Otherwise, it's a long wait for a tow to a charging station and none of the roadside assistance networks (like AAA) offer that service.
I'm sure the automakers will figure it out eventually but until a full charge get you into the 600 mile range (and the recharging can be done overnight), I'm going to take a pass and stick with my gas powered autos.
I use my Mule to haul everything from deer and hunting blinds to a sprayer full of round-up and diesel fuel and gas.
The same people hawking electric cars are the same ones that are too stupid to know meat doesn’t come from the grocery store.
Anything that has already taken 40 years is hardly a “revolution.”
Not crazy about electric cars, but in my 70s, I have an open mind about the future of self-driving cars. Scary now, but maybe the future will bring better things.
I’m saving that one :)
We have 2015 electric hybrid and love it. First 20 miles on electric and then gas. Plug it in at home using solar. Live in rural South Dakota so do put on plenty of miles.
There are many applications where an electric vehicle can be useful- urban commutes, for example. But even in those cases, there really is no net benefit. Assuming that battery technology is vastly improved, laws of nature are indisputable- fossil fuels carry an energy punch much greater than electric battery power. In order to charge a battery, it takes some other form of energy and there is some loss in the transfer.
Solar. If you run out of gas and your area doesn’t have any for whatever reason, then what do you do?What if? - what if? You have all the question but only pie in the sky answers.
How many acres of solar panels, how many batteries and how much time would you need to recharge your dream car sitting there in your garage. Or sitting dead along side the road "for whatever reason"?
Let me know when you can get a can of electricity to refuel your car.
You want a battery powered car? Who's stopping you? But don't pretend everyone needs the same nightmare because you say it's a good thing.
An example of this was during the last solar eclipse. There is not a huge demand for superchargers in Wyoming and Idaho. Tesla cars were able to make it to the viewing sites without many delays because arrival times were staggered. The huge charging delays happened when the eclipse was over and everyone left at the same time to head back to the west coast.
Home generators of even the richest folk cannot power an EV charger other than the “take forever” 120v ones.
I am an EE.
The utility grid cannot take more than 5% of all vehicles being charged at once before it collapses. You’ll have rotating blackouts like in CA and rules as to WHEN you can charge your EV.
Loss of freedom will be unimaginable.
Control of gov. will increase exponentially.
“but just can’t summon the wherewithal to drag out the two cycle chainsaw and cuss it for an hour or so to get it started. At my age, by the time I get it running I’m too tired to work.”
Get a newer model small chainsaw and ONLY use ethanol-free fuel with stabilizer. It will start right up even if it hasn’t been started in a year.
I'm retired and am already poor.
Once I figured out that the more income I made, the more I owed Uncle Sam in taxes, I started minimizing my income. It's a fallacy, promoted by financial advisors, that you need a big income to retire. The less the better.
My cattle farm loses money every year and that is a good thing. We sell our calves every year and that money covers any property taxes we owe.
We live more comfortably financially now than we did in our careers earning the big bucks.
The two 15 and 17 year old car and a truck we drive now will last until we move into the family cemetery on the farm. At our poverty stricken level, we would never be able to afford some EV anyway.
To this day, I have never seen a charging station anywhere around here or even in the big city 40 miles away. The Marxist dreamers still have a long way to go before this county embraces the EV as something other than a liberal novelty.
This and more is why our so called government officials don’t seem to make a lot of sense.
Until you realize The People are not part of the overall plan.
only the elite will have access to things we take for granted.
Plains,trains and automobiles.
But also,consistent and continuous access to good and services. Food, basic supplies.also use of cell phones and other devices will be limited and or restricted for most of the population.
“Electric mowers are available now but I wouldn’t have one. I
know people that have them and they like them mainly because
you don’t have to keep gasoline for the power.. A couple of
rechargeable batteries and you are ready to go.”
Works great for lawns the size of a postage stamp, now country lawns that are measured in acres not so much.
When they build one that goes 300 miles on a charge at night in sub-zero weather (lights, heater, wipers), recharges in ten minutes or less and has recyclable batteries that last 100,000 miles, I’ll be interested.
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