Posted on 03/17/2023 6:05:36 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
What's going to happen when they all have EVs?
And therein lies the conundrum that effects so much of the modern world of devices which provide technical challenges to the population. You are hitting a nerve with me this morning and I am going to get a little sidetracked.
Extremely inexpensive OBD2 (On-board diagnostic) Bluetooth scanning tools are now available for communicating with the computers that control recent vehicles.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011NSX27A/
Of course, I started out like many others using the first on-board diagnostic programs which didn't get standardized until the late 80s into OBD1. Before that every make had their own system often varying from model to model. I can remember using a paper clip to get the car's computer to blink out a code on a dash light that was helpful in diagnostics. Things have come along ways since then.
One might assume with the modular nature of the electronic systems in modern vehicles that technically savvy young people would be more capable now than they were in the past of troubleshooting their own vehicle's issues. Many times the scanner will retrieve a code that indicates which sensor or component has gone bad and then you can watch that sensor or component perform in real time while the car is running on your phone to confirm that it has a problem. You then look it up on Amazon, or other online auto parts retailers, or just go pick up the replacement sensor or component at an auto parts store. Then watch a YouTube video that shows how others replaced it, follow their instructions and you are back in business. Pretty easy but most youngsters especially cannot or will not do this. They want someone to buy them a different car.
Obviously, some problems are far more difficult to take care of than others but after performing repairs from my youth on vehicles without any electronics vs several generations of improvements of electronic control systems... there is not a lot more actual thinking involved with these modern systems. Yet our youth especially seems to have less understanding by far than in previous generations about how to fix any of the malfunctions that plague more modern devices. And the ones who do typically have absolutely no clue about how to work on pre-electronic vehicles.
My wife and I belong to a club where people own vintage military vehicles. Not to make fun of other people's difficulties, but I can't tell you how many owners of vintage vehicles have had no idea what a choke is for, how to find it and how to use it. And they complain vociferously that the vehicle they purchased will barely run until after they get it warmed up. And their mechanic friends often know nothing about a manual choke either. Some of our friends have owned multiple vintage vehicles without ever knowing what a manual choke was and how to use it. It is crazy.
The fire department that I used to work for had a beautiful restored fire engine from the 1920s that we used in parades. When I was working there were about a three of us out of hundreds who even knew what the term "double clutching" meant, let alone knew how to do it. We tried to pass on this knowledge, but at this point I am told that no one on the department knows how to downshift this vehicle. We live in a hilly area where this is an important skill, so the engine now just sits unused.
But back to your observation... The general trend is that people are becoming less and less capable of working on their own vehicles or anything else. Most of them have little interest in this to begin with. A funny aside; many don't even know what an iron is for. My wife and I were looking at a Real Estate ad; the description said that the house came with a lovely small narrow folding table with some type of padding on top that you could use for anything that you want. And there was a picture of an ironing board in the ad which the young Realtor had obviously never taken an interest in before. I am assuming that his/her mother didn't use an iron when they were growing up.
My assumption is that it will be a long time before the intricacies and limitations of an Electric Vehicle will be understood by the general public or the politicians who want to mandate them.
My wife and I live in an area that is a dumping ground for new arrivals. Most don't speak English. They are terrible drivers and they throw trash everywhere. Our stores are going out of business because of rampant shoplifting. Our taxes have gone through the roof to support them. When we look around at the mall or a store we are now very much the actual minority. I think that most people in this country have no clue what is coming.
Paring it down substantially incentivizes the communist revolution.
Agree. No state east of Kaliforniastan has more than a couple of these plugs. Now at the main Interstate 20 mall near us, they have a plug, actually 4 plugs. How long does it take to recharge the damned thing? Lines will be backed up I20 for miles and miles, waiting in line. Be #50 in the line on Friday p.m. and you get to the recharger sometime next Tuesday or Wednesday.
You and I think a lot alike. I think EV’s vs ICE’s should be a free market decision. No forcing it, no tax incentives, no guilt tripping with accusations of destroying the environment. If the only people spending extra money to buy an EV are the ones who think it’s best for their particular driving habits, then most of the people who buy one will do their homework.
IMHO the problem is not the EV’s themselves. I like having a variety of car options. The problem is the Dims making EV’s part of their cult worship practice. I chose to eat meat offered to idols without doing the idol worship (1 Corinthians 10:23-30).
With the computing power that even the cheapest of vechicles have these days, merely pressing the CHECK_ENGINE light should do all the displaying of trouble shooting data that any owner would ask for.
coming?
sounds like it is already here!
Only two questions!
1: Who wipes the dust off all those solar accumulators?
2: What is the repair and maintenance cost for an installation like that?
Aussie parking ticket.
...it is necessary to ‘educate’ the public.
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