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.”
My next vehicle will for gasoline powered. Do not want electric. A roundtrip to town is more than 100 miles. I do not want three lithium firebombs sitting in the garage.
In less than a month, I am taking a 4k mile road trip. Electric? Good luck with that.
I’ve seen more gas shortages than blackouts in the last 20 years. The prospect of powering my car indefinitely from home equipment is appealing.
And where will the power come from to power all these wunderwagens? Once we close all the coal and NG plants we won’t have enough electricity to keep the lights on. We won’t have any to waste on personal transportation devices. Bicycles anyone? That’s a great way to control the population. Limit their ability to be mobile.
At a friend’s house and need to charge up? Imagine the arguments.
Hey, mind if I charge up?
Well yes actually I do. We live week to week and that charge is going to cost ten bucks. We already had four people charge their cars here this week alone.
No they won’t. We are near the upper limit of lithium. Unless there is technology that is sitting in the labs that can be commercialized, we are nearing the end of what we can do with batteries.
What the pro battery people refuse to understand is that hydrocarbons are infinitely recycleable. Hydrocarbons are burned and it’s by products are reused by nature. 100% recycleable.
Ding ding ding
Recharging roads are a great idea...until men and women realize their gonads and ovaries have shriveled to the size of a pea.
(Disclaimer: My statement above was not an effort to assign ownership of said “gonads and ovaries” to any particular sex. Human beings can be whatever sex they desire...and possess either gonads or ovaries...or both (or none).”
Solar panels won’t create enough electricity to power your house and your car. Which are you going you choose? And if you can only go as far as you have electrons to get home from that really restricts your mobility. Can electric cars work as urban grocery betters, sure. But unless we have a lot more electricity and much greater range, electric cars will always be a niche market. GM and other big auto makers saying that’s all they’re going to build doesn’t change the physics.
Can’t work your farm? So what? You are probably a Trumpster and therefore deserve your upcoming poverty.
There are no unintended consequences. The Left intends them all.
Yep.
Government doesn’t force EVs on an unwilling public for the general welfare. They are, without doubt, intended for the purpose of control.
Just keep voting.
Calif is already calling for electric car owners to NOT charge their cars due to power shortages.
Let’s also talk about recycling the lithium, not done yet. Let’s talk about the mass destruction of the land around a nickel plant. Let’s talk about the massive use of H2O in the Chilean desert when mining lithium. So the save the planet crowd are not asking about these issues!
Lastly is that 40% of electricity generated in California comes from…... natural gas!
So Tesla, let’s work on the Cradle to grave plan. Oh for those who do not know, Germany has a law addressing End-of-life-vehicles and their recycling.
Exactly. The government is forcing this crap. And China owns the rare earth production. And the politicians will get their kick backs. And Africa will be ravaged for the resources. Vestas will make more billions with stupid windmills. It will be paradise.
It will be fun watching these during a north European winter. I got stuck in a two hour jam from a wreck right when the hottest of this heatwave kicked in. It was probably 105 out. There were several Teslas that had to be pushed off to the side of the road with dead batteries while I happily idled away with the AC running. I would probably bribe someone for a couple gallons with a Benjamin but where are these fools going to get a spare battery pack?
“Electric Cars Will Be “Biggest Revolution In Motoring” Since 1913”
Wait.... what.... they’re bringing back Tesla’s Pierce Arrow?
This is going to be the Mother of all Cluster You-Know-Whats.
I am still looking into the electric cars. I do like the idea of nearly zero maintenance and maintenance costs. If the range could get a little higher and charge times a little shorter, while prices come down, I might be a player.
They are not electric vehicles. They are coal, natural gas, nuclear, etc cars. The electrical grid will be a limiting factor as they are learning in CA. Also, I understand that some folks in CA could not get out of the path of a forest fire since their elec vehicle batteries were dead with elec shut off. Had to be rescued by fossil fuel vehicles.
I have faith in technology and capitalism.
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.