I disagree. Car culture isn't strictly defined by the internal combustion engine. There are so many other aspects of a vehicle that can be modified to give it character. I love my gas guzzling truck as much as the rest of you but I actually think EV tech is cool and has a lot of potential.
Please don't burn me at the stake.
Hey, we need some more kindling wood over here!
I have been "interested" in EV for over 20 years, thus I have done MUCH research. As of right now, unless you live in a city and have tons of $, the cons still outweigh the pros by far. I could type PAGES on this subject, but I'll just throw out the short, short list. I don't want to have to be questioned about every point, or again, we will be back to the PAGES of response.
- Both Car-and-Driver and Road-and-Track had 6-10 page articles 3-4 months ago about driving an EV cross country from West Coast to East coast. Conclusion by both: NO BUENO!
- One of them just did another article about a 250 mile trip. SOOOOO many issues on this trip, the writer was amazed how difficult it was (FUNNY!) Conclusion again: NO BUENO!
Several issues/concerns about EV's overall:
- Toxic rare materials in batteries
- Expensive battery materials
- US just made it impossible to mine these materials domestically, making China/Russia the main sources
- Disposal of said batteries is highly toxic and requires $ fee to get rid of your EV
- Battery performance declines quickly from the day EV is purchased
- Potential buyers are bribed with "rebates" (taxpayer funded subsidies - paid by your neighbors)
- There is a MAJOR lack of charging stations nationwide (that alone will not solve all of the charging issues)
- Incompatibility of charging stations
- Often out-of-order charging stations
- Slow charging stations (often do not charge at a higher rate, but are limited for many reasons)
- Charging stations are many (most?) times out of the way of intended route and often REQUIRE OVERNIGHT STAY during charging
- Charging stations are fueled by coal, nuclear, diesel, etc., SO, NOT SO "GREEN"
- One article even had photos of an EV charging station that was attached to a big diesel generator - which ended up using $70 in diesel fuel during the charge cycle ----- LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
- Many (most?) EV's have a shockingly short range so as to be unusable by the average person unless driving a very short distance from home
- Almost 90% of EV owners DO NOT have at-home charging stations and thereby require use of public charging stations which can often be difficult to find, have few stations, have limited time restrictions, etc.
- At-home EV charging stations are very expensive to install and usually require electrical upgrades to a home. Everyone CAN'T have their own EV charging station in an apartment building.
- If everyone had an EV tomorrow, there would be a MASSIVE shortage of charging stations. There ALREADY is now.
- EV cars cost an average of $60,000 to $80,000. There are a few cheaper ones, but range is SEVERELY limited.
- Everyone can't afford a Tesla.
- If you live in FL, TX, AZ, etc, running A/C in the car severely depletes the battery, thus the range (obviously, but it's amazing how many people don't understand this)
- AAA will bring gas or tow a broken down combustion engine vehicle. There is no service to bring electricity to a stalled EV, as one auto magazine writer recently found out. Most auto service companies will NOT tow an EV.
- Batteries are EXPENSIVE to replace, not to mention the disposal fee for the old ones.
I can probably go on some more, but getting tired. Typing all of this off the top of my head, this is no copy and paste job. I'm sure I'll remember a few other points as soon as I post this.
Bottom line, EV's are NOT there for the masses to completely eliminate combustion engines, probably not for 30-50 more years.
Ford had an EV back in 1902. Yup, 120 years ago! A technological marvel. Yes, it could beat most other vehicles off the starting line, but troubled with many of the same issues as today's EV's.
