Posted on 07/18/2021 11:51:22 PM PDT by Cronos
Many observers are forecasting that the world’s transition to electric cars will take place much sooner than expected. Now, BBC is also joining the fray. “What makes the end of the internal combustion engine inevitable is a technological revolution. And technological revolutions tend to happen very quickly … [and] this revolution will be electric,” reports BBC‘s Justin Rowlett.
Rowlett points to the late ’90s internet revolution as an example. “For those who hadn’t yet logged on [to the internet] it all seemed exciting and interesting but irrelevant — how useful could communicating by computer be? After all, we’ve got phones! But the internet, like all successful new technologies, did not follow a linear path to world domination. … Its growth was explosive and disruptive,” notes Rowlett.
So how fast will electric cars go mainstream? “The answer is very fast. Like the internet in the ’90s, the electric car market is already growing exponentially. Global sales of electric cars raced forward in 2020, rising by 43% to a total of 3.2m, despite overall car sales slumping by a fifth during the coronavirus pandemic,” reports the BBC.
According to Rowlett, “We are in the middle of the biggest revolution in motoring since Henry Ford’s first production line started turning back in 1913.”
Want more proof? “The world’s big car makers think [so]… General Motors says it will make only electric vehicles by 2035, Ford says all vehicles sold in Europe will be electric by 2030 and VW says 70% of its sales will be electric by 2030.”
And the world’s luxury automakers are also getting in on the action: “Jaguar plans to sell only electric cars from 2025, Volvo from 2030 and [recently] the British sportscar company Lotus said it would follow suit, selling only electric models from 2028.”
Rowlett spoke with Top Gear’s former host Quentin Wilson to get his take on the electric revolution. Once critical of electric cars, Wilson adores his new Tesla Model 3, noting, “It is supremely comfortable, it’s airy, it’s bright. It’s just a complete joy. And I would unequivocally say to you now that I would never ever go back.”
Looks like the government will force electric cars on us. If the grid is out then we are ****ed.
They will be as revolutionary as they were in 1913.
If thus were true governments wouldn’t need to mandate them and outlaw their competition.
Do they come with the diesel generator standard in the trunk...(you know, for those California road trips during brown-out season)?
Most people don’t need Range in their daily life.
With Agenda 21 implemented and urban travel “perfected” autonomous vehicles, even more people aren’t going to need their own car to leave town.
With a larger fraction of the population not interested in achieving as much personal freedom as possible, the automotive market may quickly transform.
I think it’s beyond governments now. The momentum for electric cars is huge - the newer models and the lower prices and the increased availability will drive more people to it as the obvious choice.
it will be like how apple’s smartphones destroyed Nokia.
Or like how solar panel prices crashed and more and more people decided it made sense to put some up on their garages.
If the grid is out then you use your own electric generator.
The argument “if the grid is out...” is just like saying “if petrol runs out in my area...”
Things will get fun when the charging systems for electric cars start behaving like nest thermostats in Texas, where they ‘automatically’ raise their setting to 80 degrees during ‘power emergencies’ (i.e., when the wind don’t blow or the sun don’t shine). In the case of electric cars, people may just wake up in the morning and find their car didn’t charge...but then again, who buys an electric car to drive it?
bookmark
The demand on the electrical grid is an unknown factor. Wind and solar power just won’t cut it.
Some people will have to replace their electric panel to meet the requirements of several cars being charged at the same time.
Even steam cars were better in 1913 than electric. By far.
I have 0 desire for a electric car, I suspect many others feel the same way.
Me neither. I want my next car to run on gas.
If the grid is out then you use your own electric generator.What would you use to power "your own electric generator"?
Sorry you don't see the failed logic in your wishful thinking for battery powered vehicles.
I like to road travel. That’s out if I have to be stuck with a useless electric automobile.
You can have my supercharged gas guzzler when you can pry me from the hot smoking wreckage....
There’s no substitute for cubic inches
so the saying goes.
I dare any EV to keep up with me
(while I’m driving my 5.0), from
Houston to Albuquerque, at night,
during a rain storm, at an average
speed of 70 mph. 699 miles.
It’ll take me 10 minutes to fill
up, also ordering a couple gut
grenades. I’ll punch the pedal
not having to worry if I’m going
to run out of juice. Ozona is
close to half way. They do
have comfortable hotel rooms.
By the way, where are you going
to plug in?
It's not the grid that's the biggest problem. These vehicles will make full use of navigation technology and will be web-connected like nothing before. The government will use that to restrict our mobility even if the grid stays up. Posted a comment somewhere about avoiding a vaccine? No interstate travel for you. Critical of your governor or other state politicians? Guess who won't be driving anywhere near the state capitol.
Most of those who buy them do it to be seen driving them.
1. The experts say there will not be enough electricity generation to accommodate everyone driving, and therefore requiring, electric power to charge everybody's cars.
2. Electricity generation still requires fossil fuels.
3. Batteries require materials that are not abundant in nature. What happen when they are depleted?
4. What happens when your battery goes bad and you have to replace it. How much will that cost? And amortized over the life of the car, how much will that affect the overall value?
5. The nature of getting refueled will completely change. Instead of a quick ten minute stop at the pump to fill the tank, one would require an hour or more to recharge the battery. What about the backup at recharging stations waiting in line for your 1-2 hours charge? The devil's in the details.
6. What happens when the electric grid goes down? What happens in a thunderstorm and the power goes off? Are you and others just stranded at the charging station?
7. What happens to the electric grid when everyone is trying to charge their cars overnight or at the same time? Will there be blackouts or brownouts?
8. How will electricity distribution change? What will the priorities for electric use between cars and residential and commercial usage be?
9. I live and work on a farm. An electric vehicle would be worthless to do heavy duty work that's required.
10. The unintended consequences of a not so well thought out idea by the Marxist Left.
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