Skepticism toward first automobiles
 

https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/...t-automobiles/
Thought this article was fitting for the discussion about purchasing a new car with electric vs gas or hybrid but didn't want to hijack that thread. It seems to be human nature that we are suspicious of new ideas and prefer to stick with what we know, good or bad. There are many stories regarding the fear and suspicion that met the gas powered engine. For myself, I'm not sure what I would chose for a new car, probably a hybrid but I'm not in the market right now. I think that the electric vehicle will get better with time and I am not a climate denier for sure.

I am too tired to change the world. I'll use what is available for me to use whether it is new energy or old. My input at my stage of life has no influence how the future will be.

Excellent questions Tartan. I think it is human nature to be skeptical of new things and I think that that is healthy. It protects you from just going with things that might not be good for you. Just accepting what someone else tells you because they are a supposed authority is rarely a good idea. It can take many tries before something is actually safe and reliable. Even then there are some new things that are great and some that are not so good.

I'm wondering what happens when there are brownouts or blackouts which seem to making the news recently.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

I've wondered about that. We recently had an area that was out of electricity from 7 one evening until 8 the next morning.

I would like to know how many hours to 'recharge' these things. If one is traveling- where are the plugs & are reservations needed???? What is the cost? How many miles will the thing go, or will hills & elevation kick in to reduce ones travel??? How much to get a plug into the garage & will the electric box need to be upgraded? Will marginal electric suppliers- con ed or tva or cal electric really have the capacity to deal with the influx of 'needs'?
So far, many questions & a certain someone high in DC has very little as to answers.
sewverybusy1

My husband was saying that since new batteries for most of the EV's cost upwards of $12,000 and since all of the EV's use specialized batteries, new batteries might not even be available, the cars are probably going to become disposable cars. So that after 10 years, no one will want them and they will be useless which would create a huge mess as far as what becomes of all that plastic and electronics? Talk about a disaster for the environment!

Sewverybusy, as far as travel, I'm thinking the American road trip will be dead. I heard that they had tested one of the new full size trucks and when towing, it got 85 miles per charge. I can't imagine having to stop every 100 miiles and spend an hour or so recharging your vehicle. And what happens when you get to your remote destination? I'm not sure how many chargers you're going to find in the mountains or a park. As far as the chargers for your home, I think one fast charger comes with the vehicle. I have no idea how it's installed or what the capabilities are needed for it. It very well could be that you'll need to upgrade your electric system or at least install a different box. I think the slow chargers work off of your regular electric but take hours to re-charge.

Interesting question. Makes me wonder if our gas pumps work during a power outage. I think they require electicity.

Unless the power outage is wide spread like after a storm, they do work. Even sometimes after a hurricane, the gas stations around us will have operable pumps. The credit card machine usually don't work so you have to use cash, but can get gas. Ordinary brown outs don't affect the pumps. One of the advantages of gas as a fuel is that you can store it. Before a storm we fill up all 5 cars (2 of which are very easy to siphon from) and have enough to last til things come back up. Electricity isn't stored except in the battery of the car and I have no idea how long before those batteries are dead.

The last few years have made me very cynical. If someone is pushing for XYZ, I always look for the money behind their so-called motives. There are *always* unintended consequences to every so-called advancement and they're usually worse than the consequences behind the original way of doing things. I don't understand why stuff has to get shoved down our throats and be made mandatory. EVs and hybrids aren't exactly what I would call "new" ideas, but they definitely need time to work out bugs.

I agree I do believe they require electricity. However this is the very reason we keep quite a bit of gas at home in gas cans - we rotate out but we always keep them full. The last few years have taught me not to rely on anyone or anything except ourselves.

I have been in the electric car bandwagon for some time, but my husband raised an interesting question recently. He said % our gas taxes help,to,pay for roads, etc. if we all went electric, where would the money come from to repaid roads? Taxes somewhere else? And I’m curious about the small amount of driving time on an electric car plus where are the places to charge and how is it paid for the electricity? So,e vehicles run only short times before charging and some run much longer but none of them will even get me to PA (from NC), to way upstate NY or out to CO without recharging which for some models can take hours. I have yet to read any comments from good sources regarding these questions.

Thanks,
Sandy in Mooresville, NC

I pay a $100 a year surcharge when I renew my tags for my hybrid Prius. I believe that is to offset the loss of taxes received.

solar panels on the roof....and/or maybe bring along a horse & some oats...then you could do the road trip
:)

Will we have to go to EVs, or hybrids in OUR lifetime? Doubtful. But we need to look beyond ourselves and help prepare for future generations. Working through the issues now will make these more reliable and sustainable for our children and grandchildren - and beyond. Why is that such an unacceptable thing for so many to consider?

So true, we need to think beyond our own lifetime. In fact, true planning looks ahead seven generations. When will greed end and people stop behaving as though it's just about "me".

There are lots of scare sites promoting the idea that batteries are wrecking the earth and full of limited commodities, therefore we should stick with oil and gas. Big red flag to that argument is that oil and gas are limited as well but that fact is conveniently overlooked to make the argument.

As with any other vehicle, you get what you pay for with electric vehicles. Pricier options go farther per charge. Batteries last about 17 years and there is virtually no maintenance since there aren't the same moving parts as in an internal combustion engine. Here in BC the government has made sure there are charging stations everywhere. I live in the north and we have them in all the communities as well as at highway rest stops. Cars have the same kind of batteries as your electronic devices which can charge pretty quickly.

Here is good information from the US government; a reliable source.https://afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/ele...batteries.html

One day I hope to own one.