bidens incredible transition to electric cars

redpoint5

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I'm with you on all that. I don't own an EV yet because the value hasn't been there to justify one. I'd only use an EV for local errands and commuting, but not longer trips. If I didn't have a company issued car, I'd have purchased a used EV 5 years ago. There's no commute with my job either, so that means we only need 1 car most of the time.

Most people with multiple vehicles and a means to charge would benefit from 1 of those vehicles being EV since it costs on average about 3 cents per mile for electricity, and they need minimal maintenance.

Clearly EVs aren't ready to replace petrol vehicles because the batteries aren't good enough yet. People aren't willing to accept the limitations a battery imposes on them at the price point they are at.

Renewables likewise aren't ready to replace other electricity generation because they are non-dispatchable (don't change output with demand). Some people incorrectly argue that renewables are cheaper than conventional generation sources, but if that were true, the letter my utility sends me would ask if I'd like to pay less on my bill to accept renewables. Instead, the letter asks if I'd like to pay more on my bill to support renewables. We're just not there yet.
 
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mcapeed

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View attachment 133824
Car is a 2014.
Has 60K miles on it.
Used they paid 11K.
Owner (17 year old) had car for 6 months before it wouldn't start.
Taken to dealership...batteries are dead. 14K to replace.
They no longer make those batteries for that car.

When will somebody come up with an internal combustion engine conversion for these vehicles? LOL


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My neighbor across the street is a liberal...tries hard to 'act' normal, but he can't. So he was throwing a fit about how much him and his wife were throwing money away to 'big oil' and it pisses him off every time the has to give his hard earned money to them. He drove a 2014 GMC Truck. Nothing fancy, just 2wd extended cab. So in a fit, he flew to some state up north and bought a EV VW 'suv' (IDK exactly what it is) and drove it home. A few days ago he seemed a little down and told me that their combined car payments are over $1500 a month now. On top of that, just as everyone here has seen a large increase in their electric bills, he did as well WITH AN ADDITIONAL $100 a month now, charging his EV. So from one car payment (truck was paid for) and about $500 a month in gas, to his current situation. That's a big nope for me.
When we arrived home from Lowe's last night, my daughter said, 'Look Dad, Mr. * has a new VW' I was like right, whatever lets get the stuff in the house, as it's damn hot outside. When I went back out side to lock my truck, sure enough, he had a brand new VW PassPort ATLAS sitting in his drive way. And yes, it has tail pipes. So much for the EV and not paying big oil.
 
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jrbeddow

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When we arrived home from Lowe's last night, my daughter said, 'Look Dad, Mr. * has a new VW' I was like right, whatever lets get the stuff in the house, as it's damn hot outside. When I went back out side to lock my truck, sure enough, he had a brand new VW PassPort sitting in his drive way. And yes, it has tail pipes. So much for the EV and not paying big oil.
Photo please of this VW PassPort, as I am unaware of this model :).

Honda Passport maybe, or perhaps a VW Atlas Cross Sport?
 
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Photo please of this VW PassPort, as I am unaware of this model :).

Honda Passport mayby, or perhaps a VW Atlas Cross Sport?
I am VERY SORRY. You are correct, it is a VW Atlas. Damn, I should know better! I was actually thinking of getting my wife one a few years ago....before the 'pandemic' hit.

1658363717101.png

This was his Electric VW 1658363833832.png
 

tigerwillow1

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Battery Replacement Of Family's EV Ford Focus Would Cost More Than Car Itself | ZeroHedge
Sorry EV haters, I see this as just a non-representative scaremongering story, the same sort of thing the political left likes to use. I think the headline is fraudulent by not disclosing it's about a used car. Cost disasters like this happen to petrol cars too. An example is the high pressure fuel pump in VW/Audi cars. They have a habit of self destructing, and the repair bill at the dealer is $12k to $14k. I'm tuned into this because it happened to a family member last month. Somebody could buy a perfectly running one of these cars, then the HPFP could go at any time, even a minute after driving it away, with the repair cost more than the value of the car. We have a gasoline powered 2009 Audi, and there are a number of somewhat common mechanical problems that would total the car. I don't get the EV debate at either end. I think they're a great solution in a lot of situations, and a government foisted disaster in other situations.
 

TonyR

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I don't have any issues with EV's either...it's the way the government is going about it.

Instead of a sensibly planned migration over to EV's they just cut our oil production, which has caused skyrocketing fuel prices and increased our offshore dependency.

At a time when the electric grids in major population areas are dangerously overloaded and are having rolling brownouts/blackouts, the government wants you go buy a $40K EV, have a $2K to $4K charging station installed at your house or pray your apartment complex has one you don't have to share with 4 other occupants and are at the same time asking you to raise your A/C thermostat to 80 degrees F.

A planned, organized improvement of the country's electric grid to handle not only existing loads but also the increased load for the coming EV's should have been implemented as well, staged in parallel with such an effort to wean the U.S. away from fossil fuels. You'd have to be a fool to think you can expect overnight compliance and migration to EV's just because you mandate it...if there's no clear path, it's more than punitive...it's frickin' insane and our current WH Admin is going to be responsible for a Red Wave at the mid terms...and like Hillary, the Dems will be writing books a lot like "What Happened?" :headbang:
 

redpoint5

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Scott Adams is always saying the biggest oversight by the left is not factoring in human motivation.

Any good plan has got to factor in real people and their motivations. It certainly must start with an analysis of the problem, and an estimate of how that problem will be alleviated by the solution, along with the cost. How often does that happen? What cost/benefit analysis was done to justify the billions of EV tax subsidy? How much CO2 has been reduced because of that subsidy? How much has humanity benefited by the outdoor thermostat being set so imperceptibly lower because of it?

As I told my liberal aunt, I'm more progressive than anyone, the only difference is the results matter. A dumb plan isn't progress just because it's different. Few plans are better than existing, because improving thousands of years of experience is difficult.
 

Gargoile

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So I see the numbers for people joining AAA to go up. Just drive till you run out of juice and then call AAA to have them tow you to the next charging station further along on your road trip. The highest level ( Premier $119) membership will tow you up to 200 miles for a one time tow per year and (4) 100 miles tows per year. The price to cover the fuel used if you use them 5 times will be much more than $119 since the tow truck with load will get 6 to 9 MPG. They may even decline someone that becomes a habitual user of this practice. So I see AAA will lower the number of tows per year and raise the yearly memberships to cover the loss.
 

TonyR

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So I see the numbers for people joining AAA to go up. Just drive till you run out of juice and then call AAA to have them tow you to the next charging station further along on your road trip. The highest level ( Premier $119) membership will tow you up to 200 miles for a one time tow per year and (4) 100 miles tows per year. The price to cover the fuel used if you use them 5 times will be much more than $119 since the tow truck with load will get 6 to 9 MPG. They may even decline someone that becomes a habitual user of this practice. So I see AAA will lower the number of tows per year and raise the yearly memberships to cover the loss.
Which will piss me off.
I've been a AAA Roadside member for 36 years (since '86) and have used them for a tow in '07, '15 and '19, a lock-out in '17 and a dead battery in '18.
Over a 36 year span with 2 drivers of 2 vehicles I wouldn't call that habitual but if what you stated transpires I'll drop them like a hot rock. Tired of subsidizing other people's issues.
 

TRLcam

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I think the future belongs to electric vehicles. But getting people to make the switch by raising the price of fuel seems to me the wrong approach. High fuel prices will just drain the average Americans bank account to the point that they will never be able to buy a EV. The change must be from a strong economy position. A logically planned approach would be to design and enhance the power grid with power sources that are available 24/7. Right now EV's are burning coal and natural gas. With wind and solar providing power intermittently, the grid still needs to be designed with 24/7 power sources. Putting billions into wind and solar make no sense. Without an always available grid, the grid will be in jeopardy. Then, after that is done, maybe technology will have found a more environmentally friendly method of storing power. Currently the United states has one lithium mine. There is a reason for that. Do a web search to see what a lithium mine looks like. It's the same if not worse than a open pit coal mine. Plus the process of making batteries is not very green. Same with the process of battery recycling. So, with lithium and other materials for batteries coming from other countries, we are in the same boat as we are now. The US will be begging other countries for the materials to make batteries or for the batteries themselves.

Just my 2 cents worth. I could be wrong.
 

sebastiantombs

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My feeling is that EVs will not become truly feasible and useable using the current battery technology. I had hopes for hydrogen generators, but they're not power efficient, IE they need more power to refract water to get hydrogen and oxygen than the hydrogen and oxygen can produce. Maybe a small, tiny, nuc will be the ultimate short term answer but even there, there's the problem of safe, environmentally friendly, disposal. Lithium based batteries are dirty through every phase of their life, mining, production and disposal, which makes them environmentally unfriendly and most EV "boosters" either don't know that or choose to ignore it. The same is true of solar cells and wind mills/turbines. Both of those are difficult to dispose of in an environmentally friendly manner and solar cells, in particular, require dirty mining techniques to get the selenium, for one thing, that they need.

One of the other problems that could be addressed to make the current EVs more feasible would be to standardize battery packs and charging stations. Maybe even make the battery pack a quick swap style like a battery drill or saw. It would take some specialized handling equipment, like a lift truck, but it is doable. The way things are now, each car has a proprietary battery pack and each car brand has a proprietary charger, right down to the type of plug used plus different charging protocols. That makes charging a challenge when it doesn't need to be.

Yeah, I'd love to see EVs, but only if they're practical in every situation, not just the city driving, running around town or short commuting. The Ford Lightning test towing a trailer shows another, serious, weakness. In the mean time I'll stick with my gas powered F150.
 
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TonyR

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The way things are now, each car has a proprietary battery pack and each car brand has a proprietary charger, right down to the type of plug used plus different charging protocols. That makes charging a challenge when it doesn't need to be.
I installed a EV charging station for city-operated RAV-4's for the inspection dept. in 2002....TWENTY YEARS AGO....and still no standardization!
In the mean time I'll stick with my gas powered F150.
Same here with my F-150! :headbang:
 

Gargoile

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Which will piss me off.
I've been a AAA Roadside member for 36 years (since '86) and have used them for a tow in '07, '15 and '19, a lock-out in '17 and a dead battery in '18.
Over a 36 year span with 2 drivers of 2 vehicles I wouldn't call that habitual but if what you stated transpires I'll drop them like a hot rock. Tired of subsidizing other people's issues.
I am a member myself and have been for many years. I had to call on then this year for a tow, and last year for a lock out. But if this take on it will be like other industries impacted. Like how Home Insurance companies in Florida are becoming insolvent due to too many people making claims (for roof replacements) and not taking the personal responsibility of paying it themselves. I had to do this and my carrier stated back in June that (7) companies have gone under due to this scam.
 
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