Gas Cars Defying Extinction, Will be Around For a Long Time
One element of the Democrats’ Green New Deal is almost certain to fail. They keep talking about getting gas-driven vehicles off the road. There is a bit of flexibility in the timing, but for the most part, it is somewhere between 10 and 30 years from now.
In the meantime, Democrats are using the power of the federal government and the presidential bully pulpit to get folks to convert to all electric vehicles. California Governor Gavin Newsom’s Air Resources Board has issued an order that bans the sale of gas cars in 2035. Note that that is not a law passed by the legislature but an authoritarian edict by the Newsom administration. That is insane at a lot of levels, but then again, we are talking about a woke disciple nutcase governor.
(If you think that appellation is too harsh, you need to remember his high-speed rail fiasco and his more recent plan to give Black Californians $1 million each in reparations. But I digress.)
President Biden is using the carrot and the stick to ween folks off of gas cars. The carrot is to have Uncle Sam (you and me) subsidize the purchases of all-electric vehicles – as much as $12,000. That does not include Tesla – the brand with the largest world market share. That is because Tesla is a non-union shop … is producing cars in China … and Biden hates Elon Musk. Your pick.
There are several sticks being used to increase the price of gasoline by cutting exploration and refining – taking away the United States’ recently achieved oil independence. This has been so effective that Biden has had to go begging for oil from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro to temporarily fill the gap in American production that Biden created.
While Biden brags about the growth in the increasing number of electric vehicles on the road, he does not talk about the fact that all that extra electricity is being produced by increasing the output of fossil fuel generating facilities. He also fails to point out that at the current rate of market expansion, the left’s more optimistic date for an all-electric American cannot possibly be achieved.
And the trajectory for an all-electric America is getting worse, not better.
The most telling statistic is the polling that shows that 28 percent of electric vehicle owners will not purchase another one. The problem seems to be that they are just too much of a hassle.
According to the JD Power survey, price is a major concern for potential buyers. The manufacturing of the most affordable electric vehicle, the Chevy Bolt, has ended production. The others range in the $60,000-plus sticker price. Even Biden’s government subsidy does not bring those down to middle class affordability.
But the price is not the only problem. Infrastructure is the number two concern. Charging at home is inefficient – and there are not a lot of charging stations. Walmart announced plans to expand its network of charging stations – and Tesla plans to open some of its charging stations to non-Tesla vehicles. These moves have not assuaged public concerns, according to Power.
The time it takes to charge is another drawback – especially folks who take longer trips. Among other concerns are “range anxiety,” power outages, inadequate repairs and maintenance, and poor performance in extreme weather conditions – not to mention an occasional bursting in flame.
The problems of electric vehicles were best summarized in a joke. “Nine out of 10 electric vehicles sold in America are still on the road. The rest made it home.”
Anecdotally, I am among those who have no desire to purchase an electric vehicle. I am perfectly happy with my 2009 Chevy Impala. It has served me well for 14 years, and I hope to drive it until either it dies or I die.
Despite Biden’s efforts, I believe the gas car will be around for a long time. I suspect that it will still be an option during the lifetime of most folks living today. Maybe longer.
So, there ‘tis.
Larry, First off, let me say I am shocked that you would not buy an electric car-you the maestro of the avant garde. I don’t have an electric car now either, but when I do decide to replace my 27 year old car (and I do expect to need to replace it at some point-at 250000 miles it is probably living on borrowed time, but I don’t drive it much-just filled it up, was 18 months since my last gas purchase), I will definitely purchase an electric car. As per usual, you have not researched your story. Of course you can easily spend $60000 or more on an electric car, but prices are going down (despite inflation, tesla has made a number of notable price reductions lately), purchase prices start in the low $40’s. And while I am sure there are people who do not like their electric cars, I don’t know anyone in that category. They love the performance that is impossible to achieve with a gas engine, and they love saving money on fuel. Currently, recharging is a bit of an issue-however most people set up their home system to use 220V for charging their car (the cost of which is also tax deductible), so home charging is not really a problem-with 220V your car will be fully charged overnight…There is one other thing that you have not considered, and that is the technology will likely improve in the future. Electric cars on a mass scale have only been available since 2012 when the Tesla Model S was introduced. Range has improved dramatically since then. They are currently working the details on switching out battery packs (which would make a ‘recharge’ as quick as a fill-up, as well as batteries that would generate a lot more power). You do point out that most electricity is generated from fossil fuels, which is currently the case, however renewable energy is on the rise, and will become increasingly cost effective as it is further developed. The bottom line, you are looking at this issue through a very narrow scope (what a shock!) in an attempt to denigrate liberals for advocating this technology (another shock!) Perhaps if you started to live and do research in the 21st century you would end up with a different (more accurate) viewpoint….
Ten years after people are forced to purchase electric cars, even the old clunker you have that runs on gas will go up 4 fold in value.
There are just times when an electric car will not do the job.
People who push electric cars JUST GO TO WORK, their job does not require any vehicle for their job.
If you sit in an office all day I can see how this looks like a great option.
Very Very Near sited individuals.
My next vehicle will be electric just for the fun of it.
As usual, Larry’s economics are woefully out of whack. There’s no way I will pay 60 grand for electric vehicle. Ford F150 Lightning starts in the 40s. Autos are even less. Ford may be leading the price back, but the rest will soon follow.
Plus Larry conveniently leaves out that there’s at least a $7500 tax credit which I guarantee I can get.
When I add on top the expected lower maintenance cost, I do really expect the total lifetime cost to be less for the electric vehicle. I do need to validate that, but that’s my going in take.
Yes, I will keep my 30 year old F150 with V8 350 triton engine, crew cab stepside till the end of time. It still looks brand new, although I’m thinking of getting a paint job, again, just for the fun of it. Heck, after I added the extra springs and put rally quality, extra heavy shocks on it, corners like a sports car now.
But for every day, around town, I think the time is come to go electric. Just for the fun of it. But, like my hybrid, I will be darn sure that my lifetime costs will be better than if I purchase a fossil fuel vehicle. The maintenance cost profile looks like they’re getting closer and closer to making that a reality.
F J B he can take all the Electric cars and trucks then shove them all up his behind !
I will never have an electric vehicle !
Cuz you can’t afford anything but used?
Do you use oil lamps?
Never is a long time. Surprised you gave up the mule….:
Frank Stetson. You attack Thomas with your usual arrogance. You make up stuff. How do you know Thomas cannot afford a new car. You state he cannot as a matter of “fact.” Your habitual invention of facts is a form of arrogance that undermines your credibility on almost every issues. I had to laugh when Tom said your responses are based on research. You response are based on invention and sarcasm. Not the highest form of intellectual exchange.
And you missed the FJB up his behind?
Fair nuff, I apologize. shoulda dropped some usual Horist weasel words again to self inoculate. Again. Usual. You can, at times, really be as big or bigger a dick than you accuse me of. Just skip the embellishment, I would have apologized. Earlier if your posts didn’t stealth in.
Spiff; 5-8 year warranty, 10-20 year expected life. So they say. My gas/electric hybrid is 12 years on it’s battery. I skipped the insurance figuring if it goes, I go gas, and will do same on my full electric. But the cost to teplace was extreme on my gas/electric hybrid. Plus might need the pope to recycle it in NJ. 😁
I have a specific question which nobody seems to want to ask OR give a definitive answer to. We talk a lot about the ability to recharge electrics and the fact that there are only a limited number of charging stations, etc., etc., etc. But I’ve always had the question about the battery packs in the cars themselves. As with any rechargeable battery, these will sooner or later wear out. The best information I’ve gotten about this is that it takes several hundred charges to deplete their effectiveness and thus REQUIRE the owner to purchase a new battery set. What is the cost of the replacement battery pack? I’ve heard estimates of anywhere from $2000 to $10K. I suspect the true cost is somewhere near the higher end of that estimate.
I’d likely purchase a small electric for driving around town if a decent one was available for a decent price. But I don’t see long-distance travel in them being fully feasible yet.
I worked as an engineer for my entire professional life. My specialty was Civil Engineering, so I can’t tell nuts and bolts about electical engineering and design, though I’ve worked closely with many other engineers in other disciplines. One thing I know for certain is that you really cannot put a target on a date by which overall development of a particular technology will be finished. There are just too many unknowns in any such endeavor for anyone to reliably predict when the necessary breakthroughs will occur to finish the job. The fact that the work is ongoing is encouraging and I think will ultimately give us the new technology we need. But to arbitrarily pick a date by which all gas-powered vehicles will be outlawed is stupid in the extreme. If such a thing is allowed we will likely be walking a lot before the golden goose is discovered. I know from personal experience that you cannot go to work one day and declare, “Today, I’ll be brilliant and come up with the magic formula for the ultimate gizmo!” It seldom works that way. But, what DOES happen is more often than not, the brilliant idea comes from an unexpected direction. But it is NEVER completed on an arbitrary date.
Yeah, I’m sure that certainly the electric car or other means of transport will be solved. However, we have to have a power source that doesn’t pollute more than the current ones to provide the electricity. I’ve said for decades that the really safe, reliable, and CLEAN power source that could provide that has been seriously neglected and limited by the scaremongers who say that NUCLEAR power is dangerous. It really isn’t. The Navy has powered ships with it for decades without serious incident. All of the “disasters” come down to two.
Fukushima was due to the worst earthquake in the area in 1200 years, and if the emergency generators had been 25 feet higher above the sea, it wouldn’t have happened. Chernobyl was a fiasco caused by a government where screwing up things of high technical complexity seems to be endemic. And, of course we will be asked, “What about that disaster at Three Mile Island?” Well, it was NOT a disaster. It was an incident with very little radiation leakage. It was also a place where the safety systems WORKED!!!
There ARE steps being taken to help us increase use of nuclear power, such as town-sized units similar to those used aboard Navy ships. They may be as little as five years from the first ones coming on line. So, there is hope.
I’m all for more wind power, more solar, and more hydroelectric, tide power and such. In fact I’m proud of the fact that my home state of Oklahoma is one of the leading states in the percentage of our power grid which relies on renewables. We got lotsa wind farms here and provide I’ believe over 20% of our grid is wind and solar. And increasing each year.
Spaceman spiff …. You ask a lot of good questions and make a lot of good points. I think we are making a huge mistake by ignoring the potential of nuclear power. Regarding the electrification of things — including vehicles — do not think it is a bad idea as much as an idea that had not reached the level of technology to replace fossil fuel. Too may serious problems.
It takes engineers to ASK those questions. Nincompoops like AOC are the ones gumming up the works by setting arbitrary target dates that can’t possibly be met. While I salute her concern for environmentalism, she is in truth pretty clueless about how soon the necessary technology can be completed. As for the small Nuclear reactors, there is a firm in Ohio that is actively working on this idea and is driven with the known success of naval ship-sized reactors. A standard design should be used and then multiples of the best sizes should be mass-produced. THAT is something that can definitely be done.
On the subject of how much new batteries cost for the cars, even if it’s only $2K, that still raises the cost per mile of electric vehicles by a sizeable amount. This whole thing makes me wish I was 43 instead of 73 with a chance to get involved in something like this at DARPA. It’s a worthwhile idea to keep doing research. You never know where the next great idea my come from.
Not too late! Think how mad the Democrats would be, if a conservative were to solve their problem for them…