85
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 19 Feb 2024
85 points (89.7% liked)
politics
19239 readers
2234 users here now
Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!
Rules:
- Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.
Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.
Example:
- Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
- Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
- No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
- Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
- No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning
We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.
All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.
That's all the rules!
Civic Links
• Congressional Awards Program
• Library of Congress Legislative Resources
• U.S. House of Representatives
Partnered Communities:
• News
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
I can't wait for the EV future and even work for a manufacturer building them... But this post is the reality in the US market right now.
The cars are too expensive, the charging infrastructure is not there for people living in apartments (which at least where I live, accounts for the majority of new housing construction), our local power grid is already sagging because we haven't built a power plant in decades... And a significant amount of people have commutes totaling or exceeding 80mi (round trip) because the jobs are in the city, but don't pay well enough to live there, so they have to rent in the more rural towns and rely on the interstates to get around.
Could we, in America, make the 2030 deadline? Perhaps, but only if the government actually did something about it. We would need a massive infrastructure investment, we would need some regulations that define the cars requirements that are something other than "doesn't blow smoke". We would need a more aggressive subsidization program (like most of the other countries that are attempting to push heavy EV adoption)... And above all, it needs to be affordable to everyone, not just the person looking to swap out their BMW or Lexus for the new hotness. It's gotta be affordable to the blue collar hard worker that is currently driving a late 90s pickup truck, or an early 2000s Camry. It's gotta be affordable to the family that is buying a four-owner minivan. And it can't be just because you point out "But the electricity is cheaper than gas! You'll save in the long run..." Because they'd rather pay for the convenience and peace of mind that comes from knowing there's a filing station every 10 miles, vs having to plan their existence around 30min charging stops.
If battery tech improves and range anxiety disappears, along with better rapid charging? None of this will be an issue anymore. Because that's what everyone I've talked to is worried about: range and charging time. They want their replacement car to be BETTER than what it replaced. As would everyone, no? Especially when dealing with Americans, asking them the assign value to 'being efficient/good for the environment' doesn't work. So yes, you've spent more up front, you've reduced the total distance you can drive on a full tank, you made refueling a hassle, and have to also hire a contractor to wire up charging capability in your garage. But you are now personally less responsible for carbon emissions!
...it's a hard sell. What's also a hard sell: I am one person. I do not need an SUV. I drive a coupe Civic right now... Where's my compact econobox EV? Do I have to buy a big luxury sedan or SUV (or truck! Though I appreciate Ford and Rivian for making those options available) just to have an EV?
This is my main problem with EVs today: They don't make one I actually want. I have a small wagon and a hatchback, and those body styles aren't available in an EV.
The prices will eventually come down, but will they ever actually make an EV I want to buy? Will that EV charge me a monthly fee for features? Will it track all my data and send it back to the car company? Like you said, I'll buy an EV if it's even a modest improvement, but the ones I see are actually worse that both cars I have now.