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-Great Cultural Revolution
The False Promise of Electric Cars
2023-01-21
[National Review] ’The more the state ’plans,’" wrote Hayek, "the more difficult planning becomes for the individual." This may resonate with the driver of an electric vehicle (EV) who has pulled up at a charging station in the middle of nowhere, only to find it broken.

In January last year, Carlos Tavares, the CEO of Stellantis, the world’s fifth-largest carmaker (it was formed by the merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot), described electrification as "a technology chosen by politicians" and said it was "imposed" on the auto sector. By contrast, the triumph of the internal-combustion engine (ICE) over a century ago was organic. Human ingenuity and the power of markets led to a product that swept almost everything else off the road. EVs (which first had a moment around 1900) were not banned, and neither was the horse. In due course, ICE horseless carriages for the Astors were followed by the Model T and its kin. The automotive age had truly arrived.

The surge in demand for EVs (albeit from a low base) in Europe and the U.S. could be seen as evidence that, with the assistance of some taxpayer cash and nudges from government, EV technology could flourish without state interventions to either close down or hobble its wicked rival. But some policy-makers, faced with what they claim (and some may even believe) is a climate "crisis," have clearly not been persuaded that EVs, for all their loudly touted wonders, should be relied on to overtake conventional autos. That has left coercion, and with it the opportunity to redesign much of everyday life in ways more in keeping with the standards of those who know best. The switch to EVs will lead, in the end, to a shrunken role for the car, a machine long resented by a certain type of authoritarian for the untidiness it creates, for the space it takes up, and for the autonomy it offers.
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Posted by:Besoeker

#6  I encountered a dude down the highway from me that has a F150 Lighting electric version. He has a Northstar 8K watt generator bolted into the bed, next to the toolbox.
I asked him, "So why did you buy a truck?" Flipped me off.
Posted by: ed in texas   2023-01-21 17:23  

#5  Honestly, I really like my electric car. It's a Chevy Bolt, and I have yet to receive my recall battery. Zippy and fun to drive. No maintenance and I charge it in the garage.

But I'm retired and live in Vegas. I never drive over one hundred miles in a day. If I was going to take a road trip, I would get a Cadillac or SUV from the Enterprise down the block.

Posted by: Penguin_of_the_Desert   2023-01-21 12:42  

#4  It’s clear that EVs are just a way of ending middle class car ownership.
Posted by: Hupolunter de Medici7308   2023-01-21 12:35  

#3  Much of the false comparison has to do with the sheer size of the country. When some rube says "Japan and South Korea have faster broadband than the US (not true, in any case) they are making a false comparison. The land mass of the US is such that expecting any infrastructure that serves a country the size of Japan or South Korea to apply to Texas, let alone all of CONUS is a bad joke. Now, people who never drive more than 15-20 miles a day have no concept of someone who drives hundreds of miles a day routinely. Much like Pauline Kael, they say "I don't know anybody who does that! Who even needs to do that?"

And you can't argue meaningfully with someone who is seeing the big picture through a drinking straw.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2023-01-21 08:14  

#2  A 2kW generator for charging an EV is like 'p*ssing in the wind', Skid. Might get you to the nearest crossroad...or not.

Most EVs average between 3 to 4 miles per kWh of charge (kWh = 1 hour at 1kW) and require a 30-amp to 40-amp 240-volt hookup.
Posted by: Mullah Richard   2023-01-21 07:41  

#1  How to charge a Tesla or an EV with a generator?

See Power Grid
Posted by: Skidmark   2023-01-21 01:32  

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