Don’t be fooled. They are still coming after your car. More accurately, they are still determined to use the regulations that are forcing electric cars to be the only kinds of new cars available as the vehicle to reduce both car ownership – via the cost – and driving – by limiting how far you can drive and more-than-quintupling the amount of time it takes to be able to resume driving.
They’re just going about it a little more subtly – and slowly – and hoping you won’t notice. Like the frog in the pot who isn’t noticing the water’s getting warmer.
The much-in-the-news dialing back of the forcefulness of the regs that are forcing the car manufacturers to build more rather than fewer electric vehicles generally touts – and omits – a key tell everyone interested in this business ought to know about.
That tell – or clue – being the resurrected up-talking of hybrids.
Of partially electric vehicles.
Not that there is anything wrong with them. Or at least, not that there is everything wrong with them – as in the case of entirely electrically-powered cars.
Hybrids work because they aren’t entirely electric. The onboard gas-burning engine cuts the tether to the power cord and eliminates the wait for electrical power that renders EV ownership an endless exercise in planning around how much range is left and how long it will take to instill more. A hybrid refuels just as quickly as a vehicle with just an engine and typically goes much farther than a vehicle with just an engine before it is necessary to stop for a few minutes to get more fuel.
These are advantages many are willing to pay extra for. As opposed to the deficits of EVs that people must be paid (as via tax credits) to overlook.
But never forget that hybrids arose for the same reason, fundamentally, that EVs arose. Both are compliance cars – meaning, they are made to comply with federal regulations, especially those pertaining to how many miles-per-gallon every car company’s “fleet” must average. Every 50-plus MPG Prius sold by Toyota, for instance, offsets the 18 MPG posted by a V8 Tundra.
Which, by the way, is why the Tundra no longer comes with a V8. Why it now comes only with a hybrid-assisted V6, instead. The same as regards the Ram 1500 – also now hybridized and sans the V8 that used to be available.
It is also why the Toyota Camry is no longer available without a hybrid drivetrain – and no longer available with the V6 that used to be optional. Similarly over at Honda, where you can’t buy a V6 Accord anymore – but most Accord trims are hybrids.
You may be noticing a trend.
The much-in-the-news “dialing back” of the mandates that have been pushing EVs will be pushing more hybrids because it is only hybrids that can comply with the latest round of “less strict” regs. Because while the regs temporarily allow for the continued burning of gas, they require the burning of much less of it. The regs do not say that two-thirds of all new vehicles must be EVs by 2032. But they do say that all new vehicles must average about 50 percent higher gas mileage by then than they currently are obliged to average.
The federal gas mileage mandatory minimum – the so-called “fleet average” – is on schedule to increase to 50-plus MPG by 2032. Only hybrids- partially electric vehicles – stand any chance of meeting this requirement. That is why everyone – most notably Toyota – is going hybrid.
The problem is they’re continuing to go along.
Going hybrid is not a victory over the EV pushers. It is an implicit affirmation that the pushers are in the right. It is an implicit acceptance of their insistence that it is necessary to “electrify” vehicles – else why partially “electrify” most vehicles? Doing so amounts to a giving of ground and for that reason, more will be taken. If the premise is accepted that it’s necessary to force more hybrids into showrooms then it has already been accepted that it is necessary – eventually – to force more and eventually, only, purely electric vehicles into showrooms.
This is extremely clever of the reg writers. They are far from stupid. But they think you are.
They think you will believe they have backed down because they are allowing more partially electric hybrids to be made rather forcing more entirely electric vehicles into production. But they are doing both – and hoping you will not notice. Hoping you will not understand.
It is easier to understand if you consider the similar-in-principle case of taxes. Once it is accepted that the government can take some of your money, it has been accepted it can take more.
And it always does.
Similarly, the government – via its regs – allows the manufacture for now of partially-electric hybrids as a kind of sop to the people who think they’ll still be allowed to avoid fully electric cars in the future. But as time goes by, it will become more and more difficult for the car companies to sell even partially electric hybrids, which won’t be able to average 64 MPG”e” rather than just 50 MPG (sans the “e”) and thus will continue the transition to purely electric vehicles.
In other words, nothing has been stopped. It has been obscured – for now. But it will become clearer, as more time passes. In particular, time enough for the temporarily laying-low pushers of these things (and other things) to get safely re-elected.
And then the time will have come.
. . .
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The thing is, there is about a hundred models of all electric cars coming out in the next couple of years. They are still going to build too many of them, hoping some of them will sell. It will be a bloodbath for finances of the automakers as they try to get them off the lots. The regulators have really let them out to dry.
Are there that many hybrids in the pipeline? I know Chrysler and Toyota probably do, but GM and Ford probably don’t.
But Eric is right, hybrids are still a step towards all electric. They may have lost a small battle, but there is still a war on personal cars. They intend on winning even if 2030 slips to 2040. The engines will continue to get smaller and smaller until they are gone. And there is no electric tech in the pipeline for quick charges or longer ranges or lower prices, so you will still end up with low range, expensive, long charge electric.
We don’t win until there are mass market V6 and V8 cars again and most electric are discontinued.
I love this cross country skier. Perfect example of young person with an opinion but not even smart or articulate enough to justify his position. When asked, immediately resorts to “duh I dunno old guy” attitude. Apparently this lazy position has gotten him through life thus far.
Morning, RS!
This kid is an Olympian skier and so likely well-off financially, via endorsement deals and such. Thus, he can posture at no cost to himself about things that will cost others plenty. He is a “little Obama” – another rich asshole who doesn’t care about others being made poor. He probably has an expensive new car and home – just like Obama has an estate om Martha’s Vineyard, mere feet above the supposedly rising seas. With several thousand gallons of propane on site, too.
This kid is good at skiing. But he knows nothing about science or even the scientific method. He’s not old enough to remember whether there was more (or less) snow on the slopes 20 years ago. He has no idea how much C02 is in the air, either. Yet he is brought forth to “testify.” He is an example of the American Red Guards – politicized youth who have been taught by truly evil people to believe they are doing the right things – whether it’s for “the environment” or “trans” people or any of the usual you-know-what scams.
Worst than that, this skier is an Alaskan. He was there to give testimony on his observations being a professional skier.
This is my first year in Alaska. I’m from the South. I’ve been paying attention to the snow and this dude has the bazongas to say he has witnessed “climate change” when Alaska’s largest city has seen RECORD snowfall this past winter. Over 119 inches total. What a douche nozzle.
…..resurrected up-talking of PHEV’s….
That is pretty funny….seeing as they just found out they are the most unreliable vehicle on the market….
Are they that brain dead?….or….it fits their agenda…vehicles that are….more expensive, more unreliable, more unsafe..more boring/lifeless….more of a nuisance….to turn people off cars altogether…so they will be happy walking around in their 15 min/city/prison…
turn people off cars altogether….they are winning this one….real car enthusiasts would not buy any new car now……they are all compromised/ruined….
and they will ban all the old cars….the end….
They just discovered….PHEV’s are the most unreliable vehicles on the market now…EV’s are a close second….
Diesels…. get better fuel economy then PHEV, cost less, are 5X more reliable, last far longer, depreciate less, don’t have a very expensive lithium ion battery to replace at 100,000 miles, you can park it in your garage because it doesn’t have a lithium fire bomb battery to burn your house down….diesels are lighter…damage the road less…diesels are far safer to drive around….because no lithium fire bomb battery in them….
An ice only vehicle is quicker then a hybrid model because it is lighter….The new Porsche Cayenne base model has an ice V8…it has about the same HP as the V6 hybrid version…but is quicker because it is lighter…no battery….
The new Porsche Cayenne base model has an ice V8 again…..it was changed to a V6 turbo…..but sales dropped….people like V8’s….it now has a V8 again….sales increased….proof….people love V8’s…..
this might be the only example of a manufacturer replacing a V6 with a V8….
And….. The new Porsche Cayenne Turbo is the quickest Cayenne….powered by a V8 Turbo only…..no hybrid bs…the quickest SUV on the planet…it just set a new Nurburgring record lap time for SUV’s….
A new replacement battery for a Rav4 hybrid runs about 3000 USD. An affordable cost to keep on movin’. They’re good cars.
The Lunar Rover had zinc-silver batteries and metal wheels. One Lunar Rover cost 38,000,000 dollars. 90 kilometers of range, then the batteries were dead. 4,000,000 dollars per kilometer of distance.
Dr. Paul Ehrlich predicted that there would be worldwide famine during the eighties and nineties and hundreds of millions would die. The prophet of doom got it all wrong, but he still profited.
Paul Ehrlich is a biologist, however, he doesn’t know squat about human ecology.
People can solve problems, do it all of the time. It is how stuff gets done.
You look and see what is wrong, identify the problem, then find a solution.
It is doubtful Paul Ehrlich can do things like that. All he has ever done is point with pride and view with alarm, wrote it all down, hundreds of pages of crying wolf.
Horses and a Fresno shovel, you can dig ditches and build a road, you can excavate a canal. Build a machine like it with an internal combustion engine, you can build a dam!
You don’t cut down Sequoias with a hatchet.
Some <a href="https://paleofuture.com/blog/2014/12/11/weve-been-incorrectly-predicting-peak-oil-for-over-a-century"Peak Oil predictions have been wrong, never been right.
"In meeting the world's needs, however, the oil from the United States will continue to occupy a less and less dominant position, because within the next two to five years the oil fields of this country will reach their maximum production and from that on we will face an ever increasing decline."
— October 23, 1919 Oil and Gas News
In 1937, the prediction was 15 more years of oil, then it'll be gone. Didn't happen.
M. Hubbert's prediction of peak oil in the year 2000 was also wrong.
Peak Oil is when production reaches a maximum and in the subsequent years, there will be a continuous decline in production.
Edison was a peak oiler, everybody was scared after Titusville.
There are hydrocarbons available for use as fuels, gas and diesel.
You can go buy some right now.
https://paleofuture.com/blog/2014/12/11/weve-been-incorrectly-predicting-peak-oil-for-over-a-century
Made a mistake, not paying attention at times.
Yet at the same time the era of cheap fuel is gone and never coming back. Peak Oil isn’t about oil running out but when it’s no longer worthwhile to extract oil and refine it. If politicians cared about private transportation they’d get behind making synthetic fuel viable.
Hi Gil,
The “era of cheap fuel” is only gone because of decisions taken to make it expensive, as by restricting exploration/drilling, etc. “Peak Oil” has yet to materialize in fact. Instead, predictions have serially proved to be wrong – of a piece with those regarding the “changing” (as a result of human action) “climate.” It’s all about inducing energy scarcity. In order to impose a new iteration of communism with a “green” rather than red veneer.
So why doesn’t Russia have cheap fuel then?
Why does gas cost about $1 per gallon in Venezuela?
The country Libertarians say is a Socialist train wreck?
Non sequitur.
You asked about inexpensive gas; I gave you an example. The gas is cheap because it’s abundant. As it was, here – only four years ago.
Apparently they do, since they are selling enormous quantities of it world wide.
Rough calculation I did seems like average Ruskie pays about $3.00 per gallon. That seems to be on the cheap side, esp. compared to California prices – and – that’s probably for non-ethanol.
I got to thinking how 15-minute cities are being built in Russia, too. Could partly be why they don’t have $1.00 gal. gas?
You have to remember that Russians earn less; $3/gal for them would be like $12/gallon for us. The average annual salary in Russia is $14,771, while it’s $59,384 here.
Good point, however; if someone in the U.S. making $14,771 yr. thought $3 gal gas was cheap, where’s that leave things?
Also, what about the cost of living, taxes & damage from crime? ~
“I should also point out how incredibly cheap Russia is.” …
https://www.schiffsovereign.com/trends/boots-on-the-ground-from-russia-150273/
Russia
VAT….. tax 10% to 20%
Income tax 13% to 15%
Some G7 countries have income tax rates up tp 50%+
Hi Helot,
Current fuel prices in Moscow, Russia:
95 octane: 55.23 rubles/liter (about $2.2/gallon)
98 octane: 68.66 rubles/liter (about $2.75/gallon)
https://fuelprices.ru/en/
(current exchange rate is about 95 RR/$)
The reason gas prices are not low in Russia is simply due to economics. If they were low, refineries wouldn’t be able to make profits and would stop. The further refineries are from sea, which is the cheapest source of crude oil (which is transported by tankers), the higher the cost of their crude, eroding their margins. Most refineries in Russia are located very far from the sea, making them economically ill-placed compared to other places (like Asia, for example).
Hi Yuri,
$2.20 or so a gallon is about $1 cheaper than the cost of regular unleaded in most American states. Put another way, the cost to fill up my little truck in Russia would be about $33. In my state – Virginia – the same fill-up (15 gallons) costs me about $48 ($3.20 or so per gallon). So, $15 more to fill ‘er up here, each time. If I fill up four times each month, I’m paying an extra $60 per month (vs. Russia). Which is the equivalent of paying for two additional tank-fulls (in Russia).
You guys are lucky that your leaders don’t hate your people.
Hi Eric,
I don’t disagree with you. Gas prices are indeed cheaper in Russia, but this has nothing to do with whether the leaders love their people. They don’t.
Morning, Yuri!
Yes, agreed. But – my impression and I concede it may be a false one – Putin seems to be a nationalist and his interests correlate roughly with “Russia” and so the Russian people. It is obvious the people who control this country regard its people with open contempt and are actively hostile toward their peace and prosperity. I see Putin as an authoritarian hard-ass, certainly. A kind of Russian Franco or Peron. While I’d much prefer a Jefferson type, that is not the choice before us – or Russians. Horrible as it is, the choice is binary. It is either a resurgent variant of communism (hiding behind a green rather than red front) with all its attendant “wokeness.” Or it is an authoritarian reaction to it. I have a much deeper understanding of the horrible choice Germans faced in the early 1930s. Hitler – or the communists. There was no other choice. Which to choose?
God help us.
Venezuela gas price about 13 cents U.S. per gallon….
A small apartment there is about $14,000….rents for about $100 to $200/month…
There is a strong car culture there …they love classic cars…
Bad government…but….the whole planet has the same problem…has the same gang running it….
gas prices…
https://www.globalpetrolprices.com/Venezuela/gasoline_prices/
‘The problem is they’re continuing to go along.‘ — eric
A Mickey D’s franchise owner in Commiefornia plays the loser’s game:
‘Kerri Harper-Howie, a Los Angeles-based franchisee who owns 21 McDonald’s locations across the state with her sister, says her profits will tank while trying to keep up with the [$20 per hour] guidelines from the California Fast Food Council, which Newsom created in 2023.
“We, as business owners, are not opposed to minimum wage increases,” she explained, noting that many of her restaurants are located in low-income cities, such as Compton and Inglewood.
“One of our primary objections is that this wage increase only applies to us,” she continued. “Why isn’t everyone getting an increase if, fundamentally, [the current] wage is not adequate for people to live? Who then are the customers that are going to be able to afford to pay for the food?”
https://tinyurl.com/yun4hpa5
Sorri, Kerri — once you concede the principle of a minimum wage, you’re in the same position as the woman who agreed to sleep with a guy for a million dollars, but bridled when he cut his offer to ten. ‘We’ve established what you are,’ etc.
Government has NO authority under the Constitution to regulate wages. Just because Franklin Democrat Roosevelt cowed the hacks in black into okaying it 85 years ago doesn’t mean we shouldn’t demand a retrial today.
For a judge they murdered
And a judge they stole
Now dat judge he gonna judge her
For all dat he’s-a worth
— Rolling Stones, Sweet Black Angel
It’s soooo funny. I remember when people were cheering the epa on when it’s mandate was to clean up the air. So far they have eliminated most manufacturing and with it most jobs. Today they’re eliminating the atmosphere itself. (roflmao) About the only manufacturing left,,, besides bombs,,, is the auto industry and they’re eliminating that as I write. I’d mention the Aero industry but DEI is finishing off that area.
Today we are importing everything,,, including people. Now they’re telling us anyone from the worlds deepest shitholes that arrives illegally has the right to vote, to carry weapons, receive $2200 per month of your taxes, free travel and free healthcare as American citizens watch themselves go quietly into the night with barely a whimper.
Hi Eric,
In reality electrification is a lesser problem than safety and chrash test requirements. I would build my own car without road safety requirements. Thats what killed ability of small shops of making cars. Good cnc machines are able to make a petrol engine out of block of metal. Electric cars might not have range but can be more simple in design.
Look at this article
https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2010/05/the-status-quo-of-electric-cars-better-batteries-same-range
Man here is ecologist but not of a globalist kind.
Its insane how good range electric cars had 1905. If I could drive a car described here In a city full of trafic jams I probably would.
There is also a good article here about old petrol cars being more efficient.
https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2008/06/the-citroen-2cv-cleantech-from-the-1940s/
None of this is allowed today petrol nor electric
Article on Lew Rockwell this morning recasts the struggle from libtards vs conservative to insane vs insane. It’s worth the time to read.
Pull quote: “ The insane do not believe any of the theoretical bullshit they want to force you to swallow. They don’t care about climate change. It’s just a cudgel they use to beat everyone over the head so they can steal your stuff.”
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2024/03/james-howard-kunstler/wake-up-call/
Zero Hedge on the Hertz EV meltdown
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/hertz-meltdown-reveals-scale-ev-debacle
Jeffrey Tucker shreds the EeeVee pushers:
‘The Biden administration’s EPA has revealed its ambition: to phase out gas-powered cars in favor of electric vehicles (EVs). Incredibly, this announcement comes as we are flooded with overwhelming evidence that EVs are a market loser.
‘Indeed, the artificial boom and then meltdown of the EV market is a modern industrial calamity. It was created by government, social media, wild disease frenzy, far-flung thinking, and the irrational chasing of utopia, followed by a rude awakening by facts and reality.
‘CEO of Hertz Stephen Scherr has been booted out due to a vast purchase of an EV fleet that consumers didn’t even want to rent. The company has now been forced to sell them at a deep discount. Only last year, the company bragged: “This morning, [Hertz] was recognized by the White House for our efforts to expand access to electric vehicles across the country. Demand for EV rentals is growing and we’re here to help our customers electrify their travels.”
‘Why in the world would anyone want to rent one of these things rather than a gas-powered car? You might be better off with a horse and carriage. Did Hertz think of any of this before they spent $250M on a fleet? Nope. They were just doing the fashionable thing.’
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/hertz-meltdown-reveals-scale-ev-debacle
Ouch, Jeffrey — that Hertz! Kick ’em when they’re down. Then give ’em a whiff of bear spray.
Can’t imagine the stress level trying to get an EV charged with enough time left to get back to the airport without missing your flight. Good luck with that.
This compliance has got me. Hemi with MDS suffering lifter failure. Many people blame the design of the system that shuts off 4 cylinders to save gas for this failure, which turns out to be pretty prevalent.
If I only knew.
So now I am faced with replacing the engine to one without this self destructive system, or buying something that doesn’t have it.
Here’s the rub – most 8 cylinders sold in recent years have a version of this, along with failure issues in a certain percentage of those engines’ lifters.
So, if you tow a lot, get rid of your gas saving light truck and go for a heavy duty while you can.
Hi Dan,
I am eyeing a ’93 JDM (export, right hand drive) Toyota LandCruiser with the in-line six diesel. 30 MPG and unkillable. The only catch is I can’t write a check for it and that violates my prime directive (see my recent article about debt). If only I didn’t have to pay property tax on the house and land I paid off (so I thought) 20 years ago, I could accord to stroke a check.
I often think sullenly about how well-off all of us would be if government would just leave us alone.
[I often think sullenly about how well-off all of us would be if government would just leave us alone.] Eric
How about it just leaves…. period….
Nope, if bumrushin sheeple off a cliff scares em, tyrant falls back to good ol’ time tested totalitarian tip toe.
Luckily I started withdrawing cash out of the bank when they decided it was a good idea to offer 0.0 something % interest on savings. Been doing that for years and had plenty to walk in with a backpack full of cash and get a silverado hd.
No turn off cylinders on the 6.6
I saved and paid off the house several years ago and kept that extra money aside. Never had as much fancy stuff as others, but I would rather be debt free.
If not for taxes, I could have got a new one.
Sorry to hear Dan. From what I remember from listening to AGCO Automotive’s podcast customers that went with extended oil change intervals had this sort of problem with Chevy’s version, fleet customers who went with a shorter oil change interval did not. Probably the same with Dodges. Depending on engine design 5,000 mile oil changes work better than 10,000 mile changes.
Landru,
I did get it used off lease, so can’t be sure how long between changes. I never went over 7000 before changing oil. Heck, I even kept up on transfer case, diffs, transmission, even brake fluid changes.
I have seen the 5.3 ecotech is starting to get hit with it. I will never touch another “compliance” engine.
Hi Dan. Toyota’s 2.4 liter engine was really good until they went with low friction rings; that combined with 10,000 mile oil changes ruined it. They did apparently offer some sort of compensation and reworked it. Funny thing is those same engines worked OK on 5,000 mile intervals. I got this from a third party Toyota repair shop.
As for CVT’s look into changing fluid at half the recommended interval because when they go it’s not worth fixing or keeping the car.
One thing that has become increasingly obvious over the past 3+ years of the Biden regime is that it’s doing the bidding of the WEF, the Deep State, the globalist/ technocratic elite, the billionaire class, the establishment, or whatever one wants to call these sociopaths who consider themselves GOD. The regime is certainly NOT doing what’s best for AMERICANS. For example, the WEF still wants to eliminate private ownership of automobiles among the masses. These psychopaths also wanted to eliminate bodily autonomy via COVID vaxx mandates until the narratives involving the COVID jabs crumbled to dust and governments, corporations, and schools had to drop any mandates they had. However, these evil people will likely STILL push mandates for some other experimental pharma product, particularly if the WHO gets its wet dream of a “Global pandemic treaty” later this year. And to think there are people who want “4 more years” of Joe Biden, who’s the WORST President in our lifetimes if not the entire nearly 250 year history of this country because they’ve fallen for (and STILL believe) the HEAVY propaganda from corporate media involving Orange Man, and (required disclaimer as deranged Trump Haters will likely accuse me of being a Trump Bootlicker) I say that as someone who’s had his own issues with “Orange Man”.
Just yesterday I was driving my 1994 Honda Accord around town. I love that light weight go cart. I have driven many full electric cars and enjoyed them for what they are. I own a high performance Porsche plug in hybrid. It is an amazing piece of engineering, and quite complex. In the years that I have driven it the only recall was for a PCV valve. That is impressive. I do have a fairly heavy right foot at times, and it is enjoyable when I put it down. The government does need to get out of the nanny business. My car has plenty of those, and they are all turned off. I like to Drive my cars.
All things being equal, I prefer a vehicle that gets better gas mileage than one that doesn’t. The old A3 TDI (RIP) comes to mind. But it was too good… even when it was “cheating” it was still a far better automobile than any hybrid or EV. And the number of poor asthmatic children suffering as I powered my way across southern Utah due to the dread NOx emissions? I’m going to go out on a limb and say zero, considering there were no children out there in the desert. Perhaps the coyotes and mule deer suffered respiratory illness, but I doubt anyone bothered to investigate.
Yesterday I changed the oil on my Cherokee. 5000 miles is about as far as I’m willing to push it, even full synthetic. The old TDI, because it ran at much lower temperatures, could easily push out to 7K between changes, which for me was about 6 months of driving. A few people would install high bypass oil filters that allowed 10-15K between changes, just like big rigs, making for a once-a-year event. Just one less thing to think about.
I like the idea of the F150 hybrid, with the 220V 30A inverter panel in the bed. It could easily become the best way to pull a midsized travel trailer, or run a fiberoptic technician’s splicing trailer, saving a significant amount of weight of a big Honda generator, and opening up that space for more storage too. And having 20A AC outlets in the cab means you can run high power laptops and Starlink satellite radios too. But realistically the hybrid drivetrain adds significant complexity to the system, and taking it off road means exposing batteries to rocks and other hazards if you high-center. I’m sure there’s a lot of protection under there, but in the game of rock-paper-steel, rock tends to win.
Fuel economy is only one factor. And saving the planet, well, after all the other goals have been met, sure, why not? But making the “existential threat” (such as it is) of climate change the primary goal of everything? Well, can we start with shutting down things we don’t need, like Washington DC? Imagine the amount of CO2 generated by centrally micromanaging the educational system, for example? How about closing all those useless military “bases” in congressional districts that have no strategic benefit aside from getting the budget passed? How about eliminating the bureaucracy that’s built up around the TSA, Real ID implementation and the whole top layer of the DHS?
I had a 96 VW Passat TDI wagon 5 speed. It got 40+ MPG in town, and often over 50 MPG on the highway. Loved that car, and wore it out,,kidding, it only had about 120k when I sold it. Kick self.
I certainly like that last bit, ReadyK.
Also, endlessly roving patrol cars…
I was thinking about the supposed purpose of government this morning, about how those who argue for the governmental apparatus and tell everyone to pay their “fair-share” (which is a percentage of your income, for some reason, rather than a common sum, which is how costs are generally shared for everyone else) would eventually cite protection against foreign military invasions as reason for the Washington Leviathan.
Foreign invasions have been a nuisance for Afghanistan for many years, but that country still exists, and eventually the invading countries paid THEIR “fair-share” so that the Afghanis might defend themselves, firstly with AK-47s and RPGs, as well as gifted Stinger missiles, and later with $Billions in military weapons and equipment just left there, as if to say “Thank you for your service”.
They never had any F-15s or F-22s. No Leopard-2 or Abrams tanks. Yet, repeated invasions were ineffective at doing anything except making war-profiteers rich and draining the bank-accounts of the citizens whose countries did the invading, whether they were behind the effort or not.
And yes, ALL of that CO2 from all of those tanks, fighter jets, bombers, Humvees, enormous transport planes such as the C-130 and its gunship counterpart, the AC-130… ALL the CO2 produced from manufacturing all of those things, along with the ammunition that they use. All of that carbon dioxide was just needlessly pumped into the atmosphere.
But give up your V8, swine.
[I was thinking about the supposed purpose of government this morning, about how those who argue for the governmental apparatus and tell everyone to pay their “fair-share” ] Ba
A interesting article on ZeroH.
“The taxpayer must render to Caesar what is Caesar’s, but no more,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the unanimous decision.
Property Taxes are outright disgusting. Tax liens even more so. You can never own ANYTHING so long as anyone can take it, especially government slugs which do nothing for the economy. Hell,,, let’s face it,,, they do nothing… period.
Arizona is taking / selling land worth approx half a million while the leaser gets ZERO over a $1600 tax debt.
What a crock! Work your ass off buying property then some parasite takes it / sells it when you run into some hard times.
The best government is no government.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/despite-supreme-court-ruling-states-are-still-confiscating-peoples-homes
Hey Ken,
“…Work your ass off buying property then some parasite takes it…” Yep, and that’s what the aforementioned government slugs DO. They ARE parasites, vampires feasting on the life blood of those with the gumption and fortitude to make a living and earn their property. Those slugs do NEGATIVE work, siphoning energy off the machinations of others. If only they WOULD do nothing.
“The best government is no government.”
It always makes me giggle a bit when Congress threatens that there will be a “government shutdown” if they don’t pass some legislation. No. Don’t threaten me with a good time; DO IT. Shut it down! Let’s see what follows.
Let’s not forget that when the government services aren’t effective, and people take on the task themselves (neighborhood policing, for example …or self-defense in general), the reaction from the government is to suppress or eliminate the threat to their livelihood, not improve their services.
That’s the case, ReadyK. Can’t tolerate any threat to their monopolies. Even filling in pot-holes (for pennies on the dollar) is vigorously attacked.
Here is the deal with PHEVs (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles):
‘EPA is delaying the phase-in of the revised PHEV utility factor from MY 2027 until MY 2031, to give manufacturers ample time to transition to the new [stricter] compliance calculation for PHEVs.’ — page 44 of 1,181
‘PHEV Utility Factor
‘A fleet utility factor accounts for a PHEV’s operation using electricity, known as the charge depleting mode, with respect to the total mileage that a PHEV travels.
‘Typically, a PHEV with a larger battery will have greater charge depleting range. The second important factor is the driver’s propensity to charge the battery. SAE J2841 assumes that a PHEV is fully charged at least once per day.
‘Current utility factor curves overestimate the fraction of driving that occurs in charge depleting operation. Vehicle operators are not charging their vehicles often enough.
‘EPA is finalizing its proposed change to the light-duty vehicle PHEV Fleet Utility Factor (FUF) curve used in CO2 compliance calculations for PHEVs but delaying its implementation in
recognition of the benefits of providing additional lead time for manufacturers to adjust to this change.’ — page 263 of 1,181
Did y’all catch that? You’re not charging your PHEVs every day, as you are supposed to. BAD, BAD drivers! Therefore, you are going to be punished with a stricter FUF curve.
PHEV drivers to EPA: FUF YOU, REGAN! Imo curve you up, suckah.
Of course that’s the real reason why plug-in hybrids aren’t on the list. Because there’s no REQUIREMENT that you plug in. It’s optional. Sure, many Volt drivers would plug in every night, especially if they had a short commute, to the point where their gas would start to go bad. But what about those people who aren’t?
Of course that’s one thing the bureaucracy is good at, assuming people are lazy, stupid and forgetful. They’re not exactly wrong. After all, what you say of others, you say of yourself…
When PHEVs are an option, for the most part the people who would buy one are self-selecting. They want to plug in. There are going to be a number of people who intend to plug in, and maybe they do for a while, but forget, or maybe they move and no longer have access to the charger. Or just maybe they got sold a bill of goods and don’t understand that in order to make best use of the vehicle you need to plug it in. There are a lot of people in that last category, far more than I like to think about. We got to see them in action during COVID. These are the people who complain bitterly about the WiFi speed on their phones when they’re not even connected to the WiFi, or click on phishing email links, then demand “someone” do something to fix it. They’re unwilling to read manuals, have no curiosity about how anything works, just go about their miserable little lives consuming whatever is put in front of them.
And when they get too fat for their legs to support their own weight, they seek out people who are happy to tell them it’s not their fault, just take this pill or go on disability. Oprah Winfrey built an empire on enabling these mid-wits, and continues to earn millions off their idiocy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0N0zCnnOeg
Perhaps Oprah can give away all those unwanted devices to fjbs growing army of “newcomers”
A hybrid Camry will have a shorter practical service life than a non-hybrid Camry because, at some point, the cost of replacing the battery, despite being less than replacing an EV’s power source, will be something the owner cannot justify.
Hi Roscoe, wait till they start pushing hydrogen fueled cars. I suspect they will be even more expensive to buy, refuel and repair.
10 years out. . . .
And not that much when you go with a 3rd party model:
https://greenbeanbattery.com/toyota-camry-2012-2017-hybrid-battery-replacement/
While charging issues may not be an issue with Hybrids, price and repair cost still are. Thus while not inflicting as much pain on us, they are still inflicting pain. To no purpose other than making operating a vehicle painful. None of those alive have experienced “climate change”. The end of the Ice Age was “climate change”, and thank God for it. The Sahara turning from savannah to desert was “climate change”. Several years of hot, or cold weather is NOT climate change. In other words, they inflict pain because they profit from it, and enjoy it. I hate them almost as much as they hate me, simply because I am not capable of such hate.
If I recall, the way the EU handled it for most of history was to let car companies make whatever they wanted to—but gasoline was heavily taxed. Some EU countries, namely Italy, levied a tax on engine displacement. (That’s why Ferraris have V12 engines of 3 liters.) But for the most part, Uncle EU didn’t tell car companies what to build. Yeah, you paid more for gas, but you could drive what you want.
Here we have the worst of all worlds—Uncle tells car companies what to build, puts a gas guzzler tax on certain cars, AND taxes gasoline.
How Reganmandias hangs collaborationist auto makers with their own fool confessions:
‘On August 5, 2021, many major automakers including Ford, GM, Stellantis, BMW, Honda, Volkswagen, and Volvo, as well as the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, expressed continued commitment to their announcements of a shift to electrification, and expressed their support for the goal of achieving 40 to 50 percent sales of zero-emission vehicles by 2030.
‘In September 2022, jointly with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), GM announced a set of recommendations including that EPA establish standards to achieve at least a 60 percent reduction in GHG emissions, consistent with eliminating tailpipe pollution from new passenger vehicles by 2035.
‘In July 2023, manufacturers reiterated their continued commitment to electrification. Ford, for example, stated “Ford is all-in on electrification. We are investing more than $50 billion through 2026 to deliver breakthrough electric vehicles (EVs),” and expressed support for a 2032 endpoint of approximately 67 percent PEVs.’ — page 22 of 1,181
https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2024-03/lmdv-veh-standrds-ghg-emission-frm-2024-03.pdf
Wokester sellouts like ‘EeeVee Mary’ Barra and Jim ‘Lightning’ Farley shit their bed. Now let them lie in it. They work for the US fedgov, not for us.
‘Stellantis stated it “is unwavering in its commitment to an all-electric portfolio and building an EV dominated market” including a 50 percent EV mix for passenger cars and light trucks by 2030.
‘Volkswagen expressed its goal of 20 percent BEV sales globally by 2025, and more than 50 percent by 2030.
‘Honda restated its commitment to selling 40 percent zero-emitting vehicles by 2030 and 80 percent by 2035. Hyundai noted their support for selling 50 percent PEVs in 2030.’ — page 23 of 1,181
We have written confessions from every defendant, establishing their guilt. Now I pronounce the sentence:
Death by oogaboogah!
Pete Buttigieg — with a gleam in his eye, reaching for his zipper — asks: ‘Can I help?“
At some point saner people will realize that the power generating capacity does not exist to completely electrify America or any where else for that matter. If you consider power production from the standpoint of 24/7/365 uptime it can never happen with wind farms and solar cells. If you believe that it can you may be interested in some bridges I have for sale.
If this wasn’t bad enough just consider the particle pollution from EV tire wear.
If this is really about saving the planet just build better quality cars and then pollution will drop because fewer cars will need to be built but it’s all about the money and that’s why they are doing it.
“If this is really about saving the planet just build better quality cars…”
The kinds of cars that we REALLY need to save the planet are well-built, small, light, simple cars. Think new and improved Chrysler K-cars, VW Beetles/Rabbits, and the like.
A K-car built with today’s technology and build quality could last 10-15 years, cost around $15K, actually drive and handle well, and get an honest 50+ miles per gallon.
It’s not that we CAN’T build them, it’s that we WON’T build them.
We won’t build them because first, there’s no big profit margin on them; second, because they wouldn’t be “safe” to drive; and finally and most importantly, it’s not about controlling pollution or the climate, it’s about controlling mobility.
K cars do actually last 10 to 15 years. I know this to be true because I know a guy who’s entire family drove them. He got them for next to nothing and just fixed them up with used parts.
One of the bigger problems with older cars is that the electrical systems begin to fall apart with age. The other day my mechanic comments that the sh*tbox truck he’s working on still has electrical issues. I told him that since a new F150 4X4 was about $60,000 plus taxes spending a few thousand on a 2008 was probably still worth it rust and all.
Electronics technical skill has been successfully cancelled. Most remnants residing in retired recalcitrance.
“Electronics” is a term that defines a legacy department or classof disposable product from legacy brick and mortar reality to those under 45.
See ham radio.
“One of the bigger problems with older cars is that the electrical systems begin to fall apart with age”
After about 50 years….the wiring harness becomes defective….an expensive headache to fix…
“the power generating capacity does not exist to completely electrify America”
It can barely keep up with heating and air conditioning, and sometimes doesn’t.
Don’t worry John. I’m sure it will all work out. They are experts! At what I’m not sure but they re all experts.
It probably does have enough capacity to run HAVC, even during high peak periods. But too often that would mean keeping standby sources spun up and ready to go. Or storing fuel oil on site at multi-fuel turbine stations, something that requires tying up money for a future event that might not even happen. And it means lower ask/bid spreads for the energy traders. Get the ISO to cry uncle and you make bank!
Can’t make money when there’s plenty.
There’s a pretty well known story in energy circles of a massive potential outage in the northeast due to a mixed fuel station not having their reserve fuel tanks filled during a cold snap. The plant got fuel oil from the river, which happened to freeze over. Whoops! So the Coast Guard had to send an icebreaker up the river to get the tanker through. Crisis averted, but if the operator would have done the right thing instead of betting they could save a few bucks, the cold snap would have been a BAU non-event. The old timers who ran the station knew this, but it got bought out by a consolation company, and got rid of the old management in favor of young turks who were willing to take on unnecessary risk to get their quarterly bonus.
‘Going hybrid is not a victory over the EV pushers.’ — eric
C’est vrai. Victory over the pushers means throwing Red Guard Regan’s 1,012-page greenhouse gas manifesto into a freaking BURN BARREL. Ten Senators get it:
‘Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) led ten of their colleagues in filing an [unsuccessful] amendment to the minibus spending package that would have prevented funding to implement, administer or enforce the EPA’s recent finalized rule, “Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards for Model Years 2027 and Later Light-Duty and Medium-Duty Vehicles.”
“First, the Biden Administration tried to bribe Americans to buy EVs, and now they’re trying to mandate that we all do—years before we have a supply chain that we can rely on. While I do not oppose electric vehicles in the marketplace, I am completely against the federal government telling us what type of car or truck American families can buy. This is not the American way.” said Senator Manchin.
‘Joining Crapo and Manchin in introducing the amendment are Senators Jim Risch (R-ID), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Mike Braun (R-IN), John Barrasso (R-WY), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Steve Daines (R-MT), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Mike Lee (R-UT).
‘Crapo introduced the Choice in Automobile Retail Sales (CARS) Act, S. 3094, on October 19, 2023, to prohibit the EPA from moving forward with its rule or any similar future rules that would limit the availability of new motor vehicles based on that vehicle’s engine type.’
https://www.crapo.senate.gov/media/newsreleases/crapo-manchin-colleagues-file-amendment-to-block-epa-de-facto-ev-mandate
Crapo’s amendment failed in a midnight session of the Senate a few hours ago. But to paraphrase Ahhhnold in The Terminator, ‘We’ll be back.’
And on a pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Reganmandias, King of EPA;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
— Percy Bysshe Shelley