Colorado has become the 13th state – plus the District of Columbia – to embrace the fatuously titled “zero emissions” electric car tar baby.
This will ” . . . protect the quality of our air and safeguard against returning to the days of the ‘brown clould,’ ” warbled Governor John Hickenlooper – whose name sounds like a villain out of an Ayn Rand novel.
Actually, it won’t do any such thing.
What it will do is place another and probably insuperable obstacle in front of the Trump administration’s efforts to dial back federal fuel economy regs – which Colorado and those 12 other states plus the District of Columbia (and the EPA) now also characterize with a combination of illiteracy, dishonesty and halting effrontery as emissions regs.
Colorado’s Air Quality Control Commission – the Golem-like facsimile of California’s Air Resources Board (CARB) – decreed these new “emissions” standards for light- and medium-duty motor vehicles sold in Colorado beginning with the 2022 model year.
In other words, for both cars and trucks.
Especially trucks.
The claim is the new fatwas will “…reduce carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 2 million tons per year by 2030.” Italics added.
Indeed.
Carbon dioxide “emissions.”
In other words, not actually emissions.
Which are things like unburned hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide and particulates – things which the EPA (and other regulatory apparats) have statutory authority to regulate under things like the federal Clean Air Act of 1970.
But carbon dioxide isn’t dirty – and has nothing at all to do with clean air, much less Hickenlooper’s risible “brown cloud.”
To characterize C02 as an “emission” – i.e., to suggest it is basically the same thing or even a thing similar to unburned hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide and particulates or anything which in any way contributes to “brown clouds” is despicably dishonest as well as a usurpation of authority never granted legislatively.
That is, which the people never voted to approve. The regulatory apparats simply expanded their power – and decreed.
And mark the date: 2030.
If you do just a little digging, you will find that 2030 is a very significant date in “urban planning” circles – which circles have been working sub rosa to purify the roads of cars for a long time and – at last – see their end goal in sight. The year 2030 is the year by which they hope to have throttled the car – at least, our cars – and finally nudged most of us out of them by making them exorbitantly expensive to produce (see more below) and thus impossible for most people to afford – and nudged us into forms of transportation more amenable to being controlled.
Electric cars.
These aren’t being pushed because they are less expensive and more efficient or more practical than non-electric cars.
Ever wonder why they are being pushed?
EVs are less mobile.
They are much more dependent on facilities to plug them in. These are nowhere near as abundant as gas stations, which means people are tied – literally, via an umbilicus – to a restricted radius of action.
Also, electricity itself is easier to control – to just turn off.
EVs are also very expensive – in addition to being very inconvenient – which will automatically make owning a car economically or functionally impossible for millions of people who can currently afford their own (non-electric) car.
And EVs are much more amenable to being automated – partially or wholly. Such cars will be less and less under our control in proportion to the degree they are automated.
But despite all the nudging, most people “cling” stubbornly to their non-electric cars. Thus, a reason was needed to justify a firmer nudge, to get people out of them. The major reason, of course, has historically been tailpipe exhaust exhaust emissions – the real ones, at any rate. The ones that caused air quality and human health problems.
These were chiefly the byproducts of incomplete/imperfect combustion – emphasis on were.
While combustion isn’t yet perfect, it is very close. And emissions – the harmful ones – are now very slight. So slight that the government is parsing fractions of wholes.
There is no meaningful emissions problem anymore, in other words.
And without it, there is no longer any legitimate reason to further throttle cars that aren’t electric.
Thus, a new problem had to be invented. Voila, carbon dioxide as an “emission.” C02 can’t be eliminated – from the tailpipe – without eliminating the tailpipe. Hence, the strict regulation of C02 tailpipe “emissions” amounts to a de facto mandate for electric cars.
Turbo-boosting this evil business is the redefinition of mileage standards as emissions standards.
This happened by osmosis over just the past five years or so – and it wasn’t accidental. Gas mileage requirements (CAFE) used to about . . . gas mileage. Federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy fatwas set “x” MPGs each car company’s fleet had to average.
But it never had anything to do with emissions, C02 or otherwise.
And now, suddenly, it does.
The why is – or ought to be – obvious.
First, the original justification for CAFE – to “encourage” the car industry to build high-mileage cars because of an energy crisis and rising fuel prices – has gone away. Gas is abundant and cheap. There is no energy crisis. America is almost self-sufficient, barely imports any oil from the Middle East and is on track to export it within five years – largely because of the Orange One’s efforts, it’s worth a mention.
Second, even if the car industry managed to keep pace with fuel economy mandates – which are on track to ascend to 50 MPG – there will still be the manufactured “problem”of C02 “emissions,” now conflated with mileage standards.
It’s a way, in other words, to outlaw all cars except electric cars without technically outlawing them.
The CEO of the Colorado Automobile Dealer’s Association says the new fatwa “… will add $2,110 to the sticker price of new vehicles in Colorado, a tax that will be even higher on the SUVs and trucks that Coloradans prefer.”
Exactly. It’s the point of the thing, you see.
. . .
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CO2 is plant ‘food’.MJ growers make CO2.I saw plant growth is increasing in the world.Plants make O2,people ‘food’.What the hell is the downside to that???
I guess range is a secondary issue if it takes months to get your car repaired
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-25/repair-hell-tesla-owner-waits-nine-months-repairs
“If I knew that we would have to wait that long for repairs, I would never have bought a Tesla. You never know when you’re going to need repairs. When your repairs start, your nightmare starts. It’s exhausting, it’s frustrating, and I can’t sleep at night.”
Eightsouthman ,we think alike.My Bud made the silver generator for just a few bucks for me.VERY nice generous thing to do,eh?Wife and I are retired RN’s who dont drink the Medical Industrial koolaid AT ALL anymore.Good luck on the deer/hog,yumm!Ive made my own sausage too,and make all my breakfast sausage patties. Plus its harassing kitty,Its ‘Kill Bill’ time!
The Porsche Taycan will feature 800-volt charging for less than 20 minutes will add approximately 250 miles (400 km) to its range, and juice-up the battery to add 100 km (62 miles) of range in a mere four-minutes. , next-generation of battery technology being investigated by Porsche will further cut charging times and boost the range of the marque’s EVs to roughly 1000 km (620 miles).
================
Looks like range and charge is already being addressed.Bigly.
Hmmmm….going to have to move those range and charging goal posts again? Yup,we are only at the very beginning on whats coming.Currently we are at Model T on EV’s.
https://www.carscoops.com/2018/11/four-minute-charge-will-give-porsche-taycan-100-km-range/
Not addressed bigly, or at all: How long will the batteries last if they are frequently fast-charged, and how much will it cost to replace them when the time comes?
Hmmm, it looks like we are still at the point where these vehicles make no practical or economic sense whatsoever.
They will last 1000 years and lose 2% capacity,cost is 3.99 on black friday,or you know better, how, on Porsches technology?I sure dont,and im not making ASSumptions on that.Porsche thinks its viable,wonder what THEY know? More than you or I.
I have no doubt they will make it viable for people able and willing to shell out even more for an electric Porsche than for a gas-powered one. Whether it will be viable for those who are not as well-heeled is open to question.
What I do know is that I have been driving my primary vehicle for over 40 years. It was inexpensive to buy and today it has the same range as it had when it left the factory in 1972. It can be “recharged” in 5-10 minutes, and has not required any internal drivetrain repairs along the way. (The electric equivalent would be not having to replace the batteries in that period of time.)
Yes, it has required maintenance, but simple, inexpensive things that can be done at home with simple hand tools.
So I would say it is quite reasonable to ask that an electric car cost the same as a gasoline vehicle and have the same level of longevity.
I don’t know of any battery technology that cab withstand fast charging time after time. The Lipos I use for my planes can be charged at 5C ratings some even 6C and the Graphene packs I use are rated at 5-6C charge rate and claim 500 cycles,25-30 C continuous discharge rate but….there’s the caveat: You can’t push these packs to extremes every time.
Furthermore, in a typical EV battery pack the cell configuration is such that if one or two cells decide to take a dump, you’re f***, especially so if they decide to go south and begin to heat up and fire….they take the whole works with them. Cells wired up in series parallel are dependent on each other for stability.
One cell can go completely dead while the others remain usable in such configurations as with EVs takes how many cells? A thousand, more? each time a cells drops out the rest will continue but at reduced output and further stress on the battery pack.
Besides who to know the next time you plug in to recharge, that one or more of the cells may decide to chuck it in.
I’ve seen all kinds of mishaps and failures even with new packs.
Well there’s the kicker………800volt charging. Where the hell are you gonna get 800v from?
Yes it makes sense to me, as I know a little about electricity. And I said to myself a while back that the only way to make these EV’s charge faster is to do it with much higher voltage.
However, again, that is the kicker….. where?
Homes and most smaller commercial properties are 230v-single phase max availability.
When you get to larger infrastructure, you go to 230v or 460v 3-phase power. We then use transformers to reduce this to 110v for plugs, etc…. This 3-phase power allows for electric motor use of 5 to approx. 250hp.
When you get above that need, we go to what is called high voltage, or 4160v (typical) or sometimes 2100v, which comes from some power lines, but not all. The big boy towers you see are much higher voltage than that, not sure how much but I think 10,000 or higher voltages??
So again, where ya gonna plug in your car needing 800v? At the local power-line hub parking lot? Then take another 230v charged car home? haha..
Now keep in mind that some will say, but we can put an up-boost transformer to create 800v from 230v. Yes you can, at considerable costs and inefficiencies.
Your house wiring is rated to 600v.
Rated has nothing to do with the power that is fed through it.
More than likely your home is feed from a 440-480v transmission line above or under your street. This goes to a transformer to knock it down to 230v to your house.
We are running 2,000 HP electric motors on 480 3 Phase with Variable Frequency drives that can output 2070A continuously, 150% of that for 3 seconds and 110% for one minute. We turn the 480 3 Phase AC into ~670 VDC and ride the square wave that powers the motor on a 4kHz carrier wave. Most all VFD manufacturers can do this, it is everyday living on our world.
Also, 2100 – 4160 V AC 3 Phase is considered Medium Voltage.
Bill, yes I understand there are exceptions. I am no expert.
Although I’ve never seen 2000HP motors running on 480v !!! must be one huge drive !!!
My viewpoint was from a homeowners perspective, relative to typical distribution networks around single family homes, because we were debating car charging, and the cost to potentially bring 800v to a home. While it’s possible, I think the costs far outway the benefit. If it’s even possible on most home distribution networks?
And I think I spoke to soon saying it’s possible to up-boost 480 to 800, as I don’t think it’s even possible, as you mentioned doing 480 to 670 which would still be a big transformer/vfd.
How much did that drive cost? curious. the last 1250HP motor we did ran on 4160. I think the largest motor we’ve ever done on 480 was 500HP. And yes I know 2100-4160 is medium voltage and why I mentioned 10,000v although I’m not sure what the actual high voltage numbers are. never used over 4160.
Thx.
Hi Chris, Yes it is huge, multiple cabinets to house all the components, two cabinets minimum, that are 1200mm (47 in) wide, 800mm (31.5 in) deep and 2453mm (97 in) High. Two more just like that if you want a Wiring bay and an Option bay. Drive list price is in the neighborhood of $240,000.00. Add more if you want the Wiring Bay and Option bay. Then there is the cost of the motor, which is also thousands and thousands of dollars. And the cost of good, shielded VFD cable, fuses or breakers, etc. An installation like this will easily be well over 1/2 million dollars.
Yes, you are correct from the home owners prospective. I don’t know how you would get 800 VAC or VDC to a home without HUGE cost.
The drive converts the incoming 480 VAC to 670 VDC then pulses it in a square wave to be carried to the motor on the 4kHz carrier wave. These beasts are quite impressive.
Yes we also offer Medium Voltage drives, but those are not in my wheelhouse. Medium Voltage projects go through other specialists and are reviewed by the factory Medium Voltage team. Basically all custom on the medium voltage stuff.
If you really want to limit personal mobility why not bring back the steam car. Takes half an hour to build up enough pressure to move at all. That’s even less convenient than an electric. Lots of fun in the winter. I suppose you could build an electric-steam hybrid and combine the disadvantages of both. Hope the EPA is not reading this column.
Pat,
“combine the disadvantages”
A true phrase for the new century.
Pat, you should win the Eric Peters “Prediction Prize” for 2018. A surefire prediction.
Next year, just the same prediction but add those massive stone wheels like the Flintstones use on their cars. Another Planet Saving Idea!
Actually, a 1920s-vintage Doble steam car utilized a flash boiler that could fire up pressure in about 30 seconds. Leno has one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUg_ukBwsyo
Plus, in the winter you could bleed some steam into the cabin and have a sauna!
The problem with EPA regulation is the huge number of rules. So much so that no one actually understands said rules. That gives government ultimate control. Larry Burkette(Christian finance reporter) phoned the EPA and wanted a copy of said rules many years ago. They said it would take 10 semi-trucks for a printed copies of all the regulations of the agency.
That was in the 70s. I suggest when a law becomes so complex that the average person can no longer read it in a lifetime then the law has become unconstitutional.
I suggest the hybrid will soon take over the roads.
I live on the west side of the Kansas City metropolitan area. I once saw a Nissan electric for sale on the far eastern side. I thought at the time that were I to buy such a car I would not even be able to drive the thing home without an overnight stopover.
Washburn University in Topeka has a Gem electric utility vehicle. Sort of looks like the helicopter from MASH with a pickup bed. As long as it never leaves the campus, even for downtown Topeka, and someone plugs it in every night, it’s probably a practical solution for moving things around. But you’d never make it to Lawrence or Kansas City with it.
A typical shopping trip for us is 130 to 150 miles round trip. EV is a non-starter except for using around our own property, where it would be fantastic (IF it were a 4×4) except for the initial cost. I could probably buy gas for the jeep for the rest of my life for less.
Dont worry.When an honest 250 mile ev exists,’your’ normal shopping trip will be 300 miles.In minus 80F degree temps.With 12 foot snow banks.
Only ever lived in the city, eh? Total lack of life experience and an extra expanded sense of your own importance? I think you have an IQ around room temperature.
Best you got?Personal attacks? Bite me. Come back when you have something intelligent to add.Ive been watching the goal posts being moved on EV’s since the 1970’s,isnt going to stop any time soon.
Hi Fred,
Back in the mid-’90s, I was doing the same thing I am doing now – covering the car business, test driving new cars. The EV1 had the same flaws/issues as the current stuff. The only real difference then was that no mandates existed to force them down people’s throats, so they died a natural death.
Today’s EVs survive on blood, like Dracula and other dead and unclean things.
Hi Freedom,
Most of the people amen’ing EVs are, indeed, city people. Also affluent people. Musk himself is a good example of the disease, its etiology. For a guy like him, spending $40k on a car is like you and me spending $4 for a fancy cup of coffee…
Hi Fred,
Even if they manage 250 miles of range, the recharge problem remains. It is much less convenient because much more time consumptive.
And then there is the huge price premium to take into account. You pay (a lot) more to get a car that doesn’t go as far, and which takes literally 5-6 times as long (at the least) to get back on the road…
Facts.
Hence the need for mandates – and subsidies… these things are not viable without them.
Hence the need for mandates – and subsidies..agree on mandates,subsidies Im not sure of.They were for Tesla,lets face it.The big guys?I suspect they are just sucking on the teat because they can?IDK,nor do any of us on that.Tesla is a joke,the big guys are the real deal.EV’s ARE coming.Is it the end of private vehicular freedom?Could be.Wouldnt surprise me or many others on the Agenda 21 possibility.
“Don’t worry,” when you the planners coerce you to live in a 100 sqft apartment in a megacity your commute times will be much shorter.
Pat,the ev of a few years ago in no way relates to what they are doing now on range.This market is changing FAST.The big guys have serious technology and the ability to build it.Tesla is going to get swamped and be a toy for tech nerds who buy new cell phones every 6 months.As Eric constantly points out,and he is correct IMO,Tesla is just plain stupid.
GM,Nissan,VW…..get those guys on board (and it appears they are) we are going to see radical increases in range,making them that much more viable.The only roadblock then is ‘I cant drive 10,000 miles without charging’.That group,the goal post movers, is never going to accept it,so they will die off.Until a truly fast charge/battery tech comes into play that interstate dynamic range is going to be around.We just landed a Mars rover,you honestly dont think we cant build a better battery????
Hi Fred,
A better battery, certainly. Just not better than a tankful of gas!
And in re “swamped” and Tesla: I doubt it. For the same reason that no high-priced car is “swamped” … they are all low volume vehicles… because there are only so many people who can afford them.
That is one of the big problems with EVs.
Swamped by others as in passed by.Should have said Tesla gets drowned.
No, the roadblock is “I have a 9-10 year old car that needs a $10,000 battery pack to make it go again.”
Lifetime batteries warranted to original owner? Hyundai thinks so,though they are mum on what constitutes failure.Any other roadblock? I can fire up the backhoe and move those goalposts AGAIN. I can see 620 mile range and 20 minute 250 mile charge isnt registering because of ‘costs’ we have no clue about.
Like I said,no matter what,those opposed will remain opposed.Then you will die and we wont have to listen to it.Thats the play…..Tech IS going to march on.Period.
Hope that 9-10 year old car doesnt need a 10,000 dollar transmission to go again,hmmm?
Or that 9-10 year old car doesnt need,lets see,4 repairs at 2500 dollars per? Never mind,I forgot ,ICE cars dont need expensive repairs.Ever.
LS400.1998.Timing belt and water pump,1500-2000 dollars.Starter,+/- 2000 dollars.I cant do either one.Major teardown.Thinking at that point pick up an LS430?
I would say you are choosing poorly, or rather, deliberately choosing cars that represent the worst-case scenario. (Though Audi may be even worse.) That doesn’t mean those are the only choices, or even typical among the many people whose concern is low-dollar motoring.
I can replace my water pump for about $30 and a couple of hours work in my driveway. Starter might run $50. Thermostat less than $10, easy repair, just a couple of bolts. Etc., etc.
I know many people with vehicles that are 10-20 years old and more that have NOT required any expensive repairs specific to the ICE drivetrain. If you choose wisely you can buy a vehicle in that range that is inexpensive and is friendly to the shade-tree mechanic.
When there is an electric car that can provide that level of service at the same cost you may finally have a point.
fred, while you’re buying another expensive car, would you look for me a good 93 GM one ton 4wd extended cab 6.5 Turbo Diesel? I don’t need to specify a long bed since everyone hadn’t lost their goddam minds back then and that truck only came with a long bed.I haven’t figured out how to rig that gooseneck up on the Tesla yet….or the Prius nor any other car.
So what’s the down side for you? Do you ever get a hankering for a good steak? PS I’m not up for a cattle drive much past the gate.
LOL,Southman.I recently sold my 1998 Dodge Cummins Ram 4×4 to nephew for 2500 dollars in great shape,250,000 miles,Im a good Uncle.I dont need a daily driver that can handle blizzards anymore.
No steak tonight,its fried chicken.Used Lexus in the early models are very inexpensive and stupidly reliable.I have 247,xxx miles on mine and its better than any new car we ever owned at this point.Wife is always saying to me,you better keep this car running,I dont want any other car.
Though the LS430,not nearly as classically beautiful,is even a better overall car yet,and reliability is approaching LS400 levels.Theres a reason early Lexus known as the best used car you can buy,and why JD POWERS called the LS400 the best car EVER made,and how LS400/LS430 made their best car for something crazy like 13 times.
fred, I’m about to have some excellent tomato soup and then you triggered that (for me)Pavlovian response to the thought of fried chicken…….and mashed taters and brown gravy….wish I had a chicken thawed out.
Another LOL,that was last nights meal.Raising tomatoes is one of my hobbies.Though season has ended here.
Tomato soup was yesterday lunch here,(Vitamin C),.Im successfully fighting off a cold that was coming on after that shopping trip to ‘the city’.Thats 4 gms vitamin C,2 cups of blackberries made into tea (big immune booster),green tea with honey,and colloidal silver.Daily.Frequent warm salt water gargles.Nasal lavage.In 2 days literally knocked the snot out of that cold. 🙂
fred, I juice half a lemon into 16 oz of RO water, B 12 and 6, zinc and fenugreek. Been considering a colloidal silver generator. Right now Shiner Black Bohemian Lager is my dessert. Big doe after my kitty Two Tone this morning. We may have her for breakfast soon. For certain if I could catch that big black and yellow hog going by…..mmmmmmsausage.
I’ve done timing belt replacements numerous times. I think the timing belt kit for my Mazda was ~$100.
A “lifetime” warrantee to the original owner doesn’t mean squat once the vehicle hits the used car market and needs a new battery.
Just about everyone I know drives an older vehicle, most older than 9-10 years. None have needed a “$10,000 transmission”.
Tech may march on but that does not mean that I have to go along with it. I do not see an electric car in my future.
I do not see an electric car in my future…Jason,I dont see that 4 u either.You can take the bus when they legislate ICE off the road.Or pay the impact tax when you go to ‘the city’,or walk,whatever floats your boat.
LS400,I chose my DAILY DRIVER to list some ridiculous repair costs cars have.I budgeted those repairs into my purchase decision.Power brake booster,horribly expensive,like thousands!ECU,same story.Im betting any new 10 speed tranny is going to be prohibitively expensive on a car 10 years from now.
As for repair costs,my 1967 Jeep is dirt jeep to repair.it also has terrible brakes,choppy ride,and is a death trap over 55.Again,whatever floats your boat.The LS400 will run with the big dogs at 85mph all day long,in sublime comfort.And you pay for that,pick the manufacturer,you pay for that.
Dirt cheap,not dirt jeep.
So you admit that electric cars are really not economically viable and that it will take a cabal of murderous, gun-toting psychopaths to FORCE people into them.
That’s the whole point. Nobody here would have a problem with electric cars if they were adopted by in the marketplace on their own merits due to actually being a better choice. Some day they may be. However today they are not, so they are being shoved down our throats via violence and coercion.
From the standpoint of economical motoring you obviously made a poor choice. Most things on my Matador can be fixed easily and inexpensively.
The 10-speed transmissions you mention once again are not being developed to satisfy market forces. They are being developed due to edicts imposed by a criminal gang. I would agree that they are best avoided.
Best to stick with a robustly designed 3, 4, or 5 speed automatic and it is unlikely you’ll have problems with it, even if it means looking at an older vehicle. (You mention Jeep – check out the longevity of a Jeep 4.0 coupled with Aisin-Warner 4-speed automatic in a 1980s-1990s Jeep Cherokee. Still plenty of those around.)
Or opt for a stick shift and don’t worry about an automatic transmission at all. Just take it easy on the clutch.
Jeepster has the oddfire Buick v6 with the TH400,robust as hell.That jeep cherokee is a good vehicle,collector status has arrived.A nephew rock crawlered his out,a stocker is going up in value.
All this crap is being force fed to us.I dont like it either.But its adapt or die,they arent going to just leave us alone.Theyve gone dictatorial hyper nanny and feel they can dictate to us,and ‘they’ are.
I’m at an age where I still have some hope I’ll be gone before the worst of it hits, but we’ll see.
It may be a good sign that people in France are currently rioting due to carbon taxes and other taxes that are practically crushing the life out of them. Some literally cannot afford to eat, so much of what they earn is confiscated. So it is possible to push people so fast and so far that it provokes blowback.
the lexus IS economical,cheap to buy.But it will need maintenance.A timing belt every 80,000 miles at least.I wont live long enough to put 70,000 on the car when its due again.Its already had the starter done.Whole brakes,Alternator and power steering pump.All suspension rubber short of rear end (strut arms are they) New tires,new battery,In fact over 2500 dollars in just recent parts.Not including what lexus charged to do the work.Name it,its pretty much been done.I bought it from Lexus service manager who bought it used from a surgeon for his forever car.ALL work by Lexus techs its whole life.Service records out your ears.OCD fluid changes.He’s moving to snow country.His ‘forever car’ had to go.I got it for 2500,because NOBODY in Laguna Beach is looking for a car with 245,000 miles on it.Except me,who knew a hidden gem when I saw it.Miles dont matter,maintenance does on an LS400.
Fred,
Your problem is that you own a luxury car. Whether gas or electric, these cost lots of money – both to buy and to keep up. You are whistling past the graveyard if you imagine that a Tesla S (equivalent to theLexus LS) is going to be an inexpensive car to maintain.
Your argument is also fundamentally flawed. I will give you an example to convey why that is so.
I own a 2002 Nissan Frontier. The truck is almost 20 years old and still functions as well as it did when new. No degradation of its range or mileage. And its cost has already been amortized to the point that it effectively costs me nothing to operate except fuel, which is inexpensive. I could sell the truck right now and make money on my total ownership costs.
Nothing major has failed and isn’t likely to. No EV is going to go 20 years-plus without the certainty of a major repair – replacement of its battery at a cost of thousands of dollars.
I could rebuild my old Suburban or Jeep bumper to bumper for $10K, not that either one of them need all that.
As far as “goalposts” – they are what they are. It’s about sixty miles one way to the city limits by way of the mostly paved road from my place, so you farking do the math! It’s a little closer the back way if the road isn’t too muddy or snowy, but it takes about the same on gas and time, plus it’s hell on tires and suspension.
Also, please explain to me how to drive 700 miles in 10-12 hours in an electric car? (which we have to do about 4 times a year)
Our car is now parked for the winter (since 11-5) so it’s strictly the 4x4s to get around until probably April.
ALL your mileage needs are quickly becoming a reality.Porsche is working on 620 mile range,4 minute 60 mile charge,and 20 minute 250 mile charge.Its coming.Prices,who knows,thats the big ughknown as Chuck Yeager would say.
My lexus isnt going anywhere when snow hits,neither am I.Im all dialed in for that supplies wise.I recently started the permanent vacation part of life.However,if I do need a snow driver,the Jeepster is ready to step up.YES! You can do a HELL of a lot with 10G on a Jeep!
Hi Fred,
These “gains” you speak of come at enormous cost. Porsche is a toy, not a transportation device – whether gas or electric. And the recharge times touted are still multiple times those of refueling a gas-engined car. And the “fast” charger cannot fully recharge, either. So you automatically lose about 20-25 percent of the best-case range. And then you have the issue of charging in the cold… or rather, of not being able to charge (at all) in the cold…..
You are being disingenuous … or you just don’t understand the facts about EVs.
Fred,
I am “working on” six pack abs, too.
You and other EV people have this habit of touting claims and projections about things which are supposedly in the works as being real, in fact.
No EV in production or even close-to-production has a range even close to 620 miles, nor a 4 minute recharge time.
And even if it did – for the sake of discussion – it would only mean it achieved parity with a diesel-powered VW Jetta.
But it won’t cost $22k, as the Jetta did before Uncle outlawed it.
Tell me again what the EV upside is?
Tell me again what the EV upside is? …Its Uncle/NWO demand.Doesnt mean they wont get better and cheaper as other electronics do.I dont see any practical benefit.But I see them coming.Big time.That is all.EOM.
Eric, I’ve had six pack abs for decades but I’m shy and like to keep a cover of fat over them.
They didn’t feel too good today removing a huge amount of sand and skunk shit out of the pumphouse. I was getting sand on the mower filling a wheelbarrow so I changed to motor oil buckets. They weighed so much I got my upper back and chest fired up lifting them over into the wheelbarrow. Damn I love old age.
Damn I love old age….beats dying,maybe?
Are you trying to be funny, or what ???
A Porsche ain’t worth a damn out here (well maybe a few weeks in the summer if ya don’t mind beatin’ the hell out of it on the gravel).
When they start making a high clearance electric 4×4 with a decent range and recharge at a reasonable price, then maybe I’d be interested. I’ve got three old 4x4s and a car that I can’t drive about half the year.
Damn Anonymous, do you live on county road 212? I have to make that 60 mile drive tomorrow to get all that stuff I can’t get driving 30 miles. I dread it. Going crazy being a nurse when all that black gold is being found without me. It would be a boost just to load a D6 and spend the day making a delivery. Wound too tight to be at the house every day.
No, but we live a ways off US 12!
Damn I’ve lost track of all these replies, but we have one of those 4.0 I-6 and AW4 combos. Sure hope it does last “forever” cause they don’t make ’em anymore.
A Porsche ain’t worth a damn out here (well maybe a few weeks in the summer if ya don’t mind beatin’ the hell out of it on the gravel).
Oh, and the XJ has a SAK on the key ring in honor of Chuck Nolan – LOL
warranty is a financial calculation. They know the life of their battery pack, the length of ownership, and so on they calculate just how much margin needs to be in the selling price to pay for that warranty. To complicate matters they could factor in additional sales and profits due to having the warranty. The warranty doesn’t mean they think the battery will last 20 years. It means they will make more money all said and done with the warranty even if the batteries have a much shorter life.
This is how the government purposely twists these “regulations” into restrictions. Which is what they really are.
The response from any of these political hacks when challenged is to say, “We didn’t FORCE gasoline-powered cars off the road, in favor of electric cars.”
Actually, as you outlined, they did EXACTLY that!
On a similar note: Years ago, I remember seeing one military-industrialist being interviewed on television and trying to explain why the Pentagon purchases $600 coffee cups.
His response: “When you put all these rules into the product specifications, so that the product cannot weigh more than x ounces, cannot have walls thicker than y millimeters, and cannot tip over when exposed to 4g forces, you have to do a lot of testing until you get the product design exactly correct.” As he was saying this, he pulled out the 200-page product specifications.
Maybe the silver lining in the “brown cloud” is that the world sees how impractical electric cars, aka EVs, are in places with cold weather, snow, and mountainous conditions…like Colorado.
If citizens of Colorado adopt EVs en masse, as Colorado’s minor-league Uncles wish, one can expect stories of lots of people stuck when their EVs lose charge, or if the power goes out when everyone’s EVs are plugged in at night.
But maybe that’s a feature, not a bug…
Hi Bryce,
It took me a long time to come to this conclusion – but it’s the only way to make sense of this. That conclusion is – it’s deliberate. Intentional. The purpose is to get most of us out of cars, or into cars that are much more expensive/limited/amenable to being controlled externally.
Ahhh but I see a possible new form of service oriented product: much like the tow truck that removes a stuck vehicle, there will be trucks that have generators for recharging the vehicle’s batteries. They would have the capability to quick charge the battery pack to enable the vehicle to drive home. The driver makes the phone call to their insurance company for road side assistance and the charge truck drives to the stranded vehicle and quick charges the battery pack. Otherwise it’s the stinger.
Of course there would be a service charge for this but that’s the great thing about capitalism, when something new comes along it also creates possibilities for adjacent goods and services.
Ron Paul would approve.
Hi John,
That makes my teeth ache… it is of a piece with the idea that there will be more opportunities for doctors if the government breaks the legs of every third person…
They’re working on it: AGW.
Just don’t jaywalk.
Last year 50,000 people sent to ER for bad encounters with AGW.
I wonder what the generators on said trucks will be powered by…I don’t think they’ll have solar panels or wind turbines, that’s for sure.
The Political Terrorists are going to win – they are going to own you.
they have a money counterfeit racket they call a Central Bank, so there is nothing you can do.
Counterfeit Money Racket + Thieving Psychopaths = Slavery/Death.
Resistance is Futile.
Hi Djano,
I sometimes agree with you… but then, I remind myself: All hope is not lost until we’re dead. While we are alive there is always a chance, however slight…
Sometimes the only reason that I even stick around is to make things difficult for the Totalitarians and maybe take a few down with me.
BTW, CTD has a great ammo sale going and cheaper. 22 LR with many brands.
Buy that .22 now.Only a matter of time before its unobtainium again.Advice from this old guy,who got same advice from another old guy ‘crew’ when obummer came in.It happened fast.Glad I can listen when given good advice,for free yet.Thanks old guys,well done!
My understanding is that CAFE standards were frozen at 37 MPGs. 50 would require a D president.
This will all implode under the weight of its own contradiction a la Atlas Shrugged. Rand’s view that “businessmen” would be noble and depart to leave the Watermelons (green outside, red inside) to suffer and fall is wrong. The reality is that these corporate whores will sell out their customers to sleep with Caesar believing that he will eat them last.
As one that has four grandsons, I hope and pray that the collapse will be as peaceful as the fall of the Soviet Union. And, that what comes next is based on the Western/Christian idea of individual Liberty and doesn’t come with the post-millennial pietism that created the mess that we live with today. In other words, people will finally realize that “Progressive” thinking got us going down this path and reject those that think they can run the lives of others when they can’t run their own lives well.
I know utopia is not an option but, God only had 10 Laws (11 if you want to count Jesus’ command to love others as He loves them (John 13:34) perhaps the most ignored commandment of all) but Caesar never sleeps. Have you seen the Federal Register?
The ballot box hasn’t fixed things and I don’t think the cartridge box will work much better at this point. Hope and prayer would seem to be our only option.
The millennials will be disillusioned with politics soon. Once they realize that the Pelosi/Clinton machine holds all the cards in the Democratic Party and Nancy will continue on as Speaker (older than “the old man” Reagan when he left office BTW). Very hard to maintain their current level of outrage too. Oh sure, they’ll threaten to revolt, but someone will just cut ’em a check and they’ll be on their way. Or maybe someone will come up with a use for them and put ’em to work. But they’ll probably do what always happens: Jack up the tax bill in exchange for not having your society wrecked. Or just keep printing money so that they’re screwed in their old age. Maybe the treasury will start selling 50 and 100 year notes to take on student loan debt. Kick that can ever further down the line.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/treasury-seriously-studying-issuing-50-year-or-100-year-bonds-mnuchin-2017-02-23
Clinton is out of the picture. Forget her.
She’s the Democrats’ terminator. Just when they think they killed the beast the reserve power pack kicks in and she’s back at it. Now she’s on the paperback book tour for What Happened, and spending a lot of time on colleges.
I don’t believe she’ll amount to anything. I see her campaign going nowhere. Furthermore the rumors and evidence of what ever illness she is suffering may take care of it.
She can do whatever she wants.
People will simply get tired of the Clintons.
What would be interesting would be a debate between her and Ron Paul.
Doubtful if they would allow Ron Paul on campuses these days.
Even Milo has problems anymore.
IMO the clitoons are dead.Doesnt appeal to boomers,sure doesnt appeal to millennials,gen x? Get real.Thank goodness father time is putting all these fossils to bed.Im all in with letting the younger folks have free reign,Im personally tired of it and over it.
Give me Tulsi Gabbard.Thats the right stuff in my book.Young 37,intelligent and seems to give a damn.So she wont go anywhere unfortunately,but I can hope? 🙁
The younger Dummycrat idiots like Ms. Ocasio-Cortez already know the score. They were just agitating for plum committee assignments; they were never under any illusion that they could get this libtard gerentocracy to pass the torch.
To hell with a recall election…time for a LYNCHING, and I don’t mean “Loretta”!!
I’ve been thinking the same thing lately. And I think ReadyKilowatt is right too.
We built a small business over 20 years and are currently trying to figure out how to ‘shrug’.
Our state just enacted ‘sick pay leave’. Basically 5 more days paid time off. They just keep adding and adding taxes and bureaucracy little by little. We can’t take it anymore. We’re beyond the point of our efforts aren’t worth it anymore.
The only thing that matters much to me now is teaching our young adults how to survive the new world, but they aren’t really listening.
Hi Chris,
I sometimes think the thing to do is sell my place – which I love, but now that I’m here by myself it seems pointless sometimes – and use the proceeds to buy a small house on some acreage as far out in the Woods as I can handle… and just go dark. Being divorced and not having kids makes this feasible. I don’t think I’ll ever have the necessary interest in dating again to make it work; the scars run too deep. I’m just tired of it. Maybe bitter. But more tired and just don’t-give-much-of-a-damn anymore.
Interesting. I sold my last car (third generation Prelude) and bought a mule. Am now looking at acreage in the Woods. No reason to be bitter or fatalistic; look at it as liberation from the American mindless materialism. As you learn to live simply and be self-sufficient, you may become more interesting to women who see things similarly (there are some.)
You pretty much need to get beyond practical commuting distance to/from a “major” city (one with significant number of jobs). Otherwise you still live among city folk instead of true country people. It looks like Floyd is only about 40 miles from Roanoke?
We’re right at the fringe of that: here it’s not so much the miles as it is the bad roads and winter weather that can leave us drifted in for days. Then there’s the floods that close the bridge while the rain has the back way too muddy to navigate. There are a few that commute from our neighborhood but it’s mostly retired and self-employed.
If you’re not hag-ridden with alimony payments like yours truly, do what you must to find happiness. Of course, one can only flee for so long; the world, thanks to the fictional Boomhauer’s “Dang ol’ Internet”, is shrunken. Unless you have some blind trust account where your property taxes can be perpetually paid and it will sustain you to live ‘off the grid”, you will depend on it sooner or later, and they’ll find you to get their hooks on your wallet.
About those tax cit savings…….https://schiffgold.com/key-gold-news/about-those-tax-cut-savings/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Credit+Bubble+Bigger+Deal+Than+Gold+and+Silver+Manipulation+-+Peter+Schiff&utm_campaign=SchiffGold+Newsletter+%28Full+List%29+-+11-23-2018
SIL’s boss traded her Lexus for a 2019 Leaf.Trade plus 3000 cash bought the leaf.Bet Dealer happy having a Lexus to sell vrs a Leaf.Metro Denver,reckon range will work for her.I personally cant imagine doing that trade.
I suspect Virginia will be next. Especially if political trends hold and the leftist gain majorities in both houses next year. Insanity run amok and no treatment much less a “cure” in sight. I can see the new regulations coming in the future from the crazies. You can’t afford an EV, just pull out your combustible engine and cut out the floor board. If the Flintstones can do it, you can too.
Hi Allen,
I live in SW Virginia. Up here in Floyd – very rural (but getting less so) it’s still sane; down in Roanoke, the liberals run the show. They are exactly like the Northern Virginia Lenins I did my best to get away from.
If I were younger, had the energy and a family, I’d leave. But I am none of those things anymore and have decided to do what the Bismarck did when she found herself cornered by the Home Fleet. Pointless, ultimately, I realize. But moving again seems to be that, too.
Ditto, Eric
I live in Page county VA. We are seeing an influx of NOVA locusts moving in and repeating the same insane politics here that made them leave there. I’m starting in my early 50’s and would move but for the good job I have here. If only I could be in the news holding that big lotto check. Oh well….. one can dream.
Eric, you live in a beautiful area. I attended VT and have a son there now, more than 30 years later. I currently bite the bullet in NoVa (The wife has a good job and I own a small biz). However, I am counseling my 3 sons (age 17-22) to consider taking up residence under another flag (or at least establishing residence). There is no Utopia – all government are slouching towards socialism. However, a bunch of governments are weak and pathetic (relative to Uncle) and unable to enforce their stupidity. You can live an amazingly free life in places like Argentina, Panama, parts of SE Asia etc. Not sure if I will get there, although I have visited. But it may be an imperative for my kids. BTW, my VT son reads your blog, so there is some hope for the future!
Head on to the upper northwest, Eric. The climate stinks but there’s still some sanity hereabouts.
You know, there’re an awful lot of things one could do if one were only rich. Winning the lottery would win me a lot of freedom. How hard can it be to get the right numbers?
Hi Ross,
I have considered that. And if I had a wife or long-haul gf, I would consider it even more. But my friends are all here and my place, which is familiar and gives me comfort. I’m too old to start over and so will stand on the beach and await the tsunami…
Eric – to elaborate on your “Sinking of the Bismarck” analogy, just remember WHAT did her in…not the HMS Hood, which went down in 20 minutes with only 3 survivors, nor would have any of His Majesty’s proud fleet been able to catch, let alone engage, the pride of the Kriegsmarine as it rushed towards Brest, France. It was several Fairey Swordfish Torpedo planes, literally WWI-vintage ‘string bags’, which, due to their wooden construction, were all but undetectable to the Bismarck’s radar, able to waltz in and jam the great ship’s rubber with a few torpedo hits, so all it could do was steam in a circle and wait for the coup de grace. What makes the story even more ironic is that Hermann Goring and Karl Donitz hated each other’s guts, and Goring wouldn’t commit any Ju88 “Zerstorer” (Destroyer) aircraft, which had the range and firepower to provide effective air cover. The lesson? (1) Don’t underestimate the power of common stupidity (2) understand how technology can be used AGAINST you and (3) don’t put too much effort into living in the past. Had the Bismarck survived that day, it might have gone the way of its sister vessel the Tirpitz, which did manage to escape Brest in Feb 1942 and seek TEMPORARY refuge in a Norwegian fjord, but was damaged in several raids and finally capsized in November 1944 by several “Tallboy” bombs from RAF Lancasters. I can well imagine the Bismarck would have met a similar fate. As with our own BBs at Pearl Harbor, the HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse in Dec 1941 also, and the Yamato in April 1945 (Operation “Ten-Go”), the great battle wagons had their day, but by WWII were nothing but expensive, temporarily floating targets.
Chickenpooper is a big gun control fanatic as well.
We left Coloradofornia 21 years ago. It sucked already back then.
There was a time decades ago when Co. only screwed out of staters and this started in the late 70s. Before that it was open carry.
Their roads were primitive since there were so few people. It was enjoyable to visit.
I guess it was a combination of fedguv and Hollywood that screwed it up so badly. Probably the fedguv part could be applied to any state.
The TNM (TEXAS NATIONALIST MOVEMENT) addressed the guvsuckers who love the fedguv and said Texas would go broke without fedguv so TNM conducted a thorough audit of Texas as a country vs as a state.
The huge amount of money that would stay here instead of being stolen to support 19 other states would have people rolling in dough due to very reduced taxes, a great deal of which would be recouped from petroleum taxes. But the Don’t let facts get in your way bunch Screamed and cried foul and the lamestream media was silent. It has operated as such for most of my life.
War on cars gets some push back in France. Riots and protests against fuel tax increases.
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2018/11/24/pictures-yellow-jackets-clash-police-french-protest-macrons-fuel-tax-hikes/
Too bad most won’t even notice the war on cars until they no longer have one.
Hi Rich,
Americans often mock the French, but they do push back against the government. What do Americans do?
Watch tv and drink beer.
‘So where are all the bright people, willing to step in and save the day? We don’t have people like that in America. They’re all at the mall, scratchin’ his as, picking his nose and pulling his credit card out of his fanny pack to buy a pair of sneakers with lights in them. So I have saved my self this dilemma in very simple way, on election day, I stay home. I don’t vote.
…..so maybe there’s something else around here that sucks….like the public, yeah, there’s a nice campaign slogan: the public sucks, f***hope, f*** hope.”
George Carlin, why I don’t Vote
How long before they take the beer away, because CO2.
John, Hitlerys real power isn’t necessarily in office. She’s been a member of CFR for decades. That’s the group that does the dirty work for the deep state.
With the passage of the new “Cyber Security Act” passed while everyone was passed out from overconsumption at the dinner table. I’d guess right now at least 90 % of the population hasn’t the slightest clue it was voted in and only people with the best connections have a clue as to everything contained there in.
And like the things Mencken said people wanted, they may not have known about it and very likely didn’t, but they have no specifics of what it is and what it’s intended to do: hint, it ain’t good…well, for you and me…and they’ll get it “good and hard “.
I made my big mistake in 71 organizing war protests. No matter what I’ve done since, that file follows me much like GPS. I have a place at the cemetery but won’t use it and hopefully I’ll piss off everybody and their SJW dogs when my ashes are scattered from coast to coast. And no, you won’t be able to slap the smile off my face……cause it will hopefully be scattered at least, all over Texas.
Aussies do the same as Americans. Nothing except bitch and bitch.
Still waiting for Uncle to include “di-hydrogen monoxide” (H2O) as a “pollutant/emission”. lol
BlueGrey,
That would go along perfectly with the ban on CO2. Both are human emissions.
There are existing bans on possession of illegal blood, breath, or urine.
The true racists (those against the human race) are just getting started.
“We have come on behalf of our great Leader, him who governs our united planet with benevolence and wisdom. We have come because we need your help. Our planet is in serious environmental difficulty, far far worse than yours, it’s reached the stage where we will be unable to survive without immediate assistance. There are certain chemicals and compounds which we must manufacture, which alone can save our struggling civilization. And you can help us manufacture these and in return, we will gladly share with you the fruits of our knowledge.”
Anyone remember that?
Happy Lizard Day! V is the answer.
Hey Shock,
You win a copy of Twilight Zone “To Serve Man.”
LOL
Hey Eric, plan on moving someday anyway, but is Jersey one of the states effected or naw?
Agenda 21 folks, agenda 21
The politicians here in NJ are trying to match our emissions regulations with “Commiefornia’s”. Not to mention that all automotive gasoline sold here must have a certain percentage of ethanol in it; supposedly as an octane booster that helps engines to run “more efficiently”, and thus, “reduce emissions” (not really, of course). I guess the politicians got tired of people calling it “Doity Joisey (Dirty Jersey)”. ?
So yeah, I’m pretty sure that NJ is one of those states.
Like I said, I’ll be damned to live and die here
Got a few more years here, then it’s time to leave, just where will be the most free by then?
How well will these EVs hold a charge in sub-zero temperatures? Denver is clueless about the real-world conditions outside their dystopian city.
When I lived in Colorado, my area was almost always at least 20 degrees colder than Denver– some winters we went close to a month without ever getting above zero, and 20 below wasn’t anything too remarkable (and it sometimes gets to -40 and at least once hit -60).
My first car was electric, so I am not against them. But I’m probably more aware of their shortcomings than most. Granted, that was many years ago, but the problems I had then are still problems today. And cold weather affected my car’s range and performance significantly.
If I get more info on how the EV works in winter in Denver,will pass it on.Only FACTS,I wont make my own judgements.I dont reckon she has much driving to do.I went on an excursion in ‘the city’ last week and did 20 miles and hit 6 stores and dinner out.Im thinking in metro areas these things may work for plenty of folks.Also dont know what other vehicles they have,i suspect this isnt her only car,they are wealthy.Will they use it in winter?Cant wait to hear about it.
What i really want to know is the Leaf actually a well built car.EV aside,how is the rest of the car? 2019 car,I hope to get good info on a modern EV.This market moves as fast as LED lighting,could get interesting.
Hi Fred,
The Leaf is basically a Versa that costs more than twice as much and only goes half as far!
Eric,I will get you real numbers on what a 2019 leaf does if i can.We need the truth on the ‘latest,greatest’.
Hi Fred,
The best-case range is about 150 miles. This assumes optimal conditions (warm, low speed). In the cold and at highway speed, the range drops. The car’s cost is massively subsidized. If it had to be sold at what it cost Nissan to manufacture plus a 3 percent or so profit margin, the MSRP would need to be around $40,000.. for a Nissan Versa-like car.
Or maybe EV costs 2x as much BECAUSE of the rebates?We will know soon enough.Battery cost WILL fall,its the nature of manufacturing.Reach a certain level,prices fall.Get the popcorn out,we are all going to have a front row seat on how this plays out.
Hi Fred,
There are so many subsidies, both direct and hidden (CAFE is one) that the true cost of EVs is very hard to accurately peg.
I have been hearing this “battery costs will come down” line for decades… and so far, it hasn’t happened.If anything, they cost more... because of the subsidies… which have encouraged the idiocy of high-performance electric cars…
Hmmm,Im under the impression they have come down.Making them on high volume assembly lines has to be far cheaper than the handmade batteries we started with.Agreed,the interference in the market has made hard numbers hard to come by.As for Tesla,talk about the most ridiculous market ever,lets see what the big boys do when/if these things get produced in the millions.Look at the huge increases in Leaf range,even if its overinflated which I suspect it is very much so.Price didnt skyrocket with increased range did it? Im asking,IDK.
Hi Fred,
The saying – your mileage may vary – applies particularly to EVs in a way that it does not to non-EVs.
EV range is very much affected by temperature as well as use of accessories; non-EVs much less so. Also, EV range is weighted far more toward low-speed use than highway driving. An EV’s range on the highway – sustained driving – will be much less than advertised unless operated at a Cloverific pace.
Then there is the recharge issue. Not just the time it takes, either. The temperature it takes is a big factor. If it is below freezing and you don’t have a heated garage, you literally cannot recharge an EV. In parts of the country where it gets below freezing for weeks/months at a time, this could be a . . . .problem.
Im not defending EV’s.im saying its here,lets see it play out and be honest on what they do or dont do.And honesty on what markets they NOW work in,and where they dont.Im betting folks in metro areas,right now,these are viable on ability,if not on price.Thats MILLIONS of people,now.Just here in SoCal.I recently shopped ‘in the city’ and did 20 miles.I was surrounded by people doing the same.If they need to be phased in,then advanced on range as is being done now,get an infrastructure phased in and they are a done deal.Time will tell.I suspect the OIL cartel alone is going to be an impediment,we will see on that too.
Hi Fred,
Yes… and cancer is also “here.” Should we accept it, too? Or fight it?
Fight away.What we want doesnt matter,but fight?Im all for it!
Can’t speak for EVs, but I fly drones, which use the same battery chemistry. Flight times are greatly reduced by heat and cold. My large drone has a battery warmer that will preheat batteries by using some of the stored electricity to run a resistive heating element. Or the other solution is to take off, hover for a minute or so then land and watch the voltage. Either way works, but consumes a fair amount of power just to get the maximum flight time which will still be shortened by the cold. And of course they won’t charge if the temperature isn’t in the Goldilocks zone. And keeping a LiPo battery in cold for a long time will reduce the overall lifespan of the battery, especially if it is fully charged.
Finicky little buggers.
Indeed. I’v been flying electric R/C planes for nearly 20 years. Although the battery technology has increased greatly certain problems still persist.
I wen from using Nicd to Nimh and then to Lipos. Each had their own quirks.
Flew a Sig LT 40 on twenty round cells.
CAFE was a first draft at telling us what sort of vehicles we may have. It was specifically designed to rid the market of the large american automobile. No matter what they say it was for now or then it’s prime motivation was to get rid of the large comfortable car that many americans preferred.
If you take a mainline Ford or Chevy from before CAFE and put it next to a modern car it is huge by comparison. They have more space than today’s big luxury sedans. But those were ordinary cars that ordinary people could buy. They were to be done away with.
And even with CAFE it took decades without the major updates required before Ford finally removed the Crown Vic’s panther platform from the market. And even then it was still selling. It simply couldn’t be revised to the next round of government demands without a redoing the base circa 1977 design. For a car that suffered such neglect to be viable for three decades says something. What if it got the three or four or more generations it should have gotten had CAFE law not been there? And the other makes that axed theirs earlier to make manufacturing space for SUVs.
They’ve been looking to tell us what we may drive since the very beginning. It’s not about fuel economy or the environment or anything else. They want to command what we may have. Those are just excuses they can use. If it was about clean air or fuel economy their are non-control freak ways to achieve those.
Meanwhile….
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-24/tesla-fixes-cold-weather-issues-vague-software-update-causes-more-problems
Hi Alex,
Thanks for this… I think we all have ringside seats for the pending show… the implosion of the car industry.
It is quite funny – a number of guys I know on facebook are ranting about how pissed they are the the thing is using a ton of power for the battery to keep itself warm!! so basically in the cold it has to stay plugged in, or it will run itself down in a couple days trying to keep warm!!! Sure thats efficient and green…. !!!!
That isn’t even a software problem they were trying to solve. It’s a problem with their mechanical design and development which they have because they are run like a software company. This is nothing an appropriate environmental chamber test would have discovered and anyone who knows anything about these little motors and linkages and such would know to do it.
The thing with tesla is they are made like making an app or something. When I went to a tesla dealer some years ago to try a model S, i asked about how few dealers there are and what I will do if I have problems. The kid was like “oh we can automatically diagnose online and fix it” im like how on earth is that possible!! he’s like well there area many things that our engineers can remotely adjust and correct, etc etc….but he had no concept in his head that something can be a genuine mechanical problem that may need a guy with a spanner…
Furthermore, E-loon hardly does any testing of these cars – no beta tests or anything…. the are made on cad, and manufactured and handed to customers…. (ever seen a photo of a tesla in black and white camouflage) If any level of actual testing was done, these issues would be detected much before… part of his “brilliance” was he wont waste time or money on any of these useless costs like making dozens of models and testing like those old outdated auto manufacturers who dont know a thing do….
LOL. Teslas in cold weather.
I guess Elon didn’t bother to test them at Muonio like almost every other manufacturer does. Hell, Ferrari has been driving their cars there and back for the last few years.
How many days (weeks?) and recharges would it take to drive a Tesla from Maranello to northern Finland?
If a Lamborghini can handle cold weather and still have doors that open, when a Tesla can’t, it says a lot about the (lack of) thinking and testing that went into making a Tesla.
https://www.motor1.com/news/130550/lamborghini-huracan-superleggera-spy-photos/
The brown cloud is caused by temperature inversions and the local terrain around Denver. It has more to do with gas heat and natural gas turbine power stations then automobile exhaust. So by adding more electricity demand they’ll actually cause the brown cloud, since the wind turbines don’t do anything when there’s a brown cloud day (calm wind causes stratification and inversions). Oh and Colorado’s land mass is much larger than the area around Denver. We never had a “brown cloud” out here, although we do sometimes get smoke from wildfires and temperature inversions.
Hickenlooper was a mixed bag politician. He’s been term-limited out now and his replacement seems to be more a progressive Democrat. An owner of a microbrewery, he opposed recreational marijuana. Later he seemed to take credit for all the success of the pot industry here. A Democrat, he was very pro-business and happy to keep taxes low. And he knew where the real money came from so very hands-off when it came to oil and gas, letting the locals decide if they wanted fracking in their areas. He’s the best thing to happen to Colorado Democrats since Obama was anointed in Mile High stadium back in 2008. I’d guess he’s going to make a run for President in 2020.
The bigger question is why not promote something we’d all like to see happen, like shifting those massive subsidies to home offices and telecommuting? That might actually succeed at getting vehicles off the road and make our lives a little nicer too. But no, you need to come to work and sit in your cube to properly answer email. No way can you be trusted to file that report in sweatpants. For sure no way can you use that web camera in your laptop for a face to face conference either. That would just be silly.
Does that mean if I drive into the People’s Republic of Colorado with a VW diesel I could get a stoning?
I wouldn’t say get stoned as it appears the governor himself is stoned.
I would not feel so all alone
Everybody must get stoned.
There were a ton of TDIs out here for years. They were almost the perfect Colorado vehicle thanks to their long legs and the number of hippies who were fond of the brand. I still see a few around but not anywhere near the numbers pre-scandal. Although important to point out the fuel taxes on diesel were “harmonized” a few years ago and instead of diesel being cheaper than gasoline in the summer (when it wasn’t competing with home heating oil) it is always more expensive now, more so in winter. I’m sure that’s got more to do with their demise than the politics of owning one.
You bring up a good point that most of us have forgotten. Diesel used to be a lot cheaper than gas before they demanded the reduction in sulfur to ridiculously low ppm’s. This caused many problems with older diesels, and paved the way for the new stupid Tier 4 standard that is costing all of us a lot more money to run/operate.
It seems that the eco-idiots have waged an unnecessary “war” on diesel-powered vehicles for the last fifteen years. Just the decrease in fuel consumption overall AND the ability to get more diesel fuel than gasoline from a given barrel of crude would have far better impact on ‘sustainability” than any of these hare-brained schemes. The diesel lends itself VERY well to a “hybrid” vehicle, as diesel electrics were common for trains, some buses, and until nuclear power was made practical for marine propulsion, at least for the few nations that can afford them, SUBMARINES.
I’m convinced it’s about politicians usurping the consumer automobile market, just as they’ve all but done with health care, not that anyone is any HEALTHIER for the trouble. I suspect that the motoring experience for the average American will decidedly NOT improve, either.