The downsides of electric cars

[T200]

Of course, but if, say, what I suggested, a battery that can charge as you drive, how does that impact the multi-money makers? IMHO they would see twice as many cars, the only drawback is the battery itself.
Unless, of course you mean that people would give up the gas guzzlers and that would impact the oil companies.

The batteries would have increased longevity, enabling people to keep their cars longer. Instead of getting a new EV in 6 years, that new purchase may be pushed out to 10 or more.

[MightyGiants]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmxg-pFzMG8

[MightyGiants]

These are the sort of stories that will put a dent in EV sales


https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/dead-teslas-oak-brook

[Jolly Blue Giant]

EVs are here to stay, but they aren't the ideal solution for people who travel a lot or have long distances to work. The U.S. is a lot different from European countries that are not as big as some of our states, let alone 50 of them. I've talked to a lot of folks from Europe who are shocked at the size of this country once they get here. They just assume if they visit NYC, they can drive for an hour or two and see the Niagara Falls. They are used to driving across their entire country in less than 8 hours...not several days that is the norm for the U.S.

One of the things that stuck in my craw a few years back, was a (I'll just call him a "high level" politician) who said, "sometimes you just have to put engineers backs against the wall to make them find solutions faster". Well, that is NOT how engineering works. They are already highly motivated and extremely intelligent

EVs are still ahead of their time. They solve one problem whilst making new problems. The whole switching to a new source of energy to drive a country's economy requires transition time and extreme planning...it can't be forced. And stopping our own production of fossil fuels, and turning around and buying our fossil fuel needs from other countries does NOTHING to change the world's carbon footprint - it only makes us reliant on other countries for our energy needs, which in turn, hurts our economic strength and putting our money into other countries' economies...makes no sense!

You want to motivate engineers to find faster solutions...dangle cash at a finish line. That will work ten times faster than political hucksters (who have never engineered a thing in their lives) using legislation in a pathetic attempt to drive genius

[MightyGiants]

EVs are here to stay, but they aren't the ideal solution for people who travel a lot or have long distances to work. The U.S. is a lot different from European countries that are not as big as some of our states, let alone 50 of them. I've talked to a lot of folks from Europe who are shocked at the size of this country once they get here. They just assume if they visit NYC, they can drive for an hour or two and see the Niagara Falls. They are used to driving across their entire country in less than 8 hours...not several days that is the norm for the U.S.

One of the things that stuck in my craw a few years back, was a (I'll just call him a "high level" politician) who said, "sometimes you just have to put engineers backs against the wall to make them find solutions faster". Well, that is NOT how engineering works. They are already highly motivated and extremely intelligent

EVs are still ahead of their time. They solve one problem whilst making new problems. The whole switching to a new source of energy to drive a country's economy requires transition time and extreme planning...it can't be forced. And stopping our own production of fossil fuels, and turning around and buying our fossil fuel needs from other countries does NOTHING to change the world's carbon footprint - it only makes us reliant on other countries for our energy needs, which in turn, hurts our economic strength and putting our money into other countries' economies...makes no sense!

You want to motivate engineers to find faster solutions...dangle cash at a finish line. That will work ten times faster than political hucksters (who have never engineered a thing in their lives) using legislation in a pathetic attempt to drive genius

I am mindful that when private automobiles first appeared, there were internal combustion engines, electric, and steam.  Eventually, ICE became the standard.   Plus, the technology tree has plenty of dead-end branches.  I really think that hydrogen may ultimately prove to be a more practical and better replacement than EVs unless there is a major breakthrough in battery technology.

Right now, it seems smarter to continue to buy ICE autos or as Lenn suggested a plugin hybrid.

I mean, if I owned an EV as my only car and I wanted to spend a weekend down in, say, Wildwood (a popular destination here in NJ), I would have to drive in the heat (the AC will drain some of my range) 150 miles to Wildwood from home.  I would then need to find a charger somewhere down in Wildwood (taking away precious vacation time) so that I can recharge my car for any trips down there plus charge it up near full for the trip back home.

Now compare that with an ICE auto.  I drive down and fill up the tank at some point while I am down there (taking all of 5 or 10 minutes), and that's all I have to do in terms of thinking about or caring for my vehicle.  The two experiences simply don't compare.

[Ed Vette]

I think there will be EV vehicle discounts coming soon. I lobbied for Hydrogen 20 years ago but they didn't listen to me or Arnold.

https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/zero-emission-vehicle-and-infrastructure-statistics/hydrogen-refueling

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a42796089/2024-honda-cr-v-powered-by-hydrogen-details/

[MightyGiants]

I think there will be EV vehicle discounts coming soon. I lobbied for Hydrogen 20 years ago but they didn't listen to me or Arnold.

https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/zero-emission-vehicle-and-infrastructure-statistics/hydrogen-refueling

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a42796089/2024-honda-cr-v-powered-by-hydrogen-details/

On one of my walks, I walked by a relatively isolated industrial property.  In the past, it's been used by car dealers to store the overflow of vehicles.   A few weeks ago I walked past it, and there were 7 acres of Teslas.

I think there will be EV vehicle discounts coming soon. I lobbied for Hydrogen 20 years ago but they didn't listen to me or Arnold.

https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/zero-emission-vehicle-and-infrastructure-statistics/hydrogen-refueling

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a42796089/2024-honda-cr-v-powered-by-hydrogen-details/

Hydrogen cars take 3 to 5 minutes to refuel and have a range of 300 - 400 miles.

[MightyGiants]

Here is a good article comparing the two.  If we (the US) focused on building out the hydrogen infrastructure and the economy of scale kicked in, hydrogen is the clear winner as it has the best long term potential

https://energy5.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-hydrogen-fuel-vs-electric-vehicles

[Ed Vette]

On one of my walks, I walked by a relatively isolated industrial property.  In the past, it's been used by car dealers to store the overflow of vehicles.   A few weeks ago I walked past it, and there were 7 acres of Teslas.
Hydrogen cars take 3 to 5 minutes to refuel and have a range of 300 - 400 miles.

They emit vapors. Hydrogen can be produced by by separating oxygen from water. Actually Rich, ICE vehicles can run on hydrogen with some simple modifications.

https://www1.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/tech_validation/pdfs/fcm03r0.pdf

The issue here my friend is big money invested in Big Oil and Natural Gas. It's not a partisan issue either. It's the ones pulling their strings.

[MightyGiants]

Here is an interesting take on EVs from Toyota

https://energyminute.ca/news/toyotas-1690-rule-the-case-for-hybrids/