Comments on: This is the decade when electric cars replace gas cars https://gregladen.com/blog/2021/05/10/this-is-the-decade-when-electric-cars-replace-gas-cars/ Wed, 19 May 2021 21:33:32 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.6 By: dean https://gregladen.com/blog/2021/05/10/this-is-the-decade-when-electric-cars-replace-gas-cars/#comment-928293 Wed, 19 May 2021 21:33:32 +0000 https://gregladen.com/blog/?p=33814#comment-928293 I still suspect both electric and autonomous vehicles will get there first major use case as fleet cars for businesses in large cities like London, new York, etc.

]]> By: Christopher Winter https://gregladen.com/blog/2021/05/10/this-is-the-decade-when-electric-cars-replace-gas-cars/#comment-928290 Wed, 19 May 2021 20:04:29 +0000 https://gregladen.com/blog/?p=33814#comment-928290 Approximately one-quarter of U.S. households are apartments. This poses a problem for those who want to drive EVs: How can they charge the vehicle at home?

Companies are beginning to address this. CleanTechnica has some information.

https://cleantechnica.com/2019/09/10/apartment-ev-charging-ownership-may-be-easier-than-you-think/

]]> By: Christopher Winter https://gregladen.com/blog/2021/05/10/this-is-the-decade-when-electric-cars-replace-gas-cars/#comment-928289 Wed, 19 May 2021 19:44:44 +0000 https://gregladen.com/blog/?p=33814#comment-928289 Ford begins touting the all-electric version of its famed F-150 pickup truck, announced perhaps a year ago. (They also have an electric Mustang.)

President Biden says the F-150 will help us compete with China. He drove one at the plant and declared, “This sucker’s quick!”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-ford-infrastructure/2021/05/18/efa05bdc-b7f6-11eb-96b9-e949d5397de9_story.html

]]> By: Greg Laden https://gregladen.com/blog/2021/05/10/this-is-the-decade-when-electric-cars-replace-gas-cars/#comment-928203 Tue, 18 May 2021 13:01:10 +0000 https://gregladen.com/blog/?p=33814#comment-928203 In reply to Michael Haubrich.

That may work with cars, but I think we’ll see that technology deployed with tractors and airplanes.

]]> By: Michael Haubrich https://gregladen.com/blog/2021/05/10/this-is-the-decade-when-electric-cars-replace-gas-cars/#comment-928150 Mon, 17 May 2021 17:06:22 +0000 https://gregladen.com/blog/?p=33814#comment-928150 I think that one way to address the recharge issue is to make the batteries modular, so that service stations along the highways and byways could exchange them relatively quickly. You know, pull off, drive into the bay, go to the can and grab a snack and return to a car with a different but fully charged battery, yell at the kids to put on their seatbelts and hit the road. You know, like we do propane tanks. Pay a deposit for the first one (when you buy the car) and then pay for each “refilled” one.

And yes, I’ve assumed that future batteries will resolve the mining issue, but it’s a problem that those opposed to EV’s often bring up.

]]> By: Greg Laden https://gregladen.com/blog/2021/05/10/this-is-the-decade-when-electric-cars-replace-gas-cars/#comment-928145 Mon, 17 May 2021 16:07:46 +0000 https://gregladen.com/blog/?p=33814#comment-928145 In reply to Michael Haubrich.

Lithium, Cobalt, etc. are elements, thus, recyclable. The bigger mining issue is with Cobalt because of where it is mined. But, you can chose between Cobalt in batteries or Cobalt used in petroleum processing!

In all cases, though, future batteries will use neither, or very little. A good electric car purchased now will at some long time in the future rewire new batteries. They will be cheaper than the batteries made now, use fewer or none of these minerals, and have perhaps double the range.

To me the bigger issue is as you mention the chargning. Electric care lovers keep arguing that this is less of a problem than people thing, but it really is a problem. But it is a problem being solved.

There are two steps to solve this problem. 1) Build out an infrastructure where there are electrical wires in a giant web everywhere and 2) hook chargers up to the web.

Step 1 is basically done. To see where this is done, look for street lights and traffic signals. Sept 2 is taking too long. To make step 2 go faster, replace most of the existing elected officials at the municipal level, because they are the ones not doing their jobs.

]]> By: Christopher Winter https://gregladen.com/blog/2021/05/10/this-is-the-decade-when-electric-cars-replace-gas-cars/#comment-928103 Sun, 16 May 2021 19:53:26 +0000 https://gregladen.com/blog/?p=33814#comment-928103 In reply to Doug.

“The problem at home might be getting a 240V outlet in a secure place where your vehicle(s) can be charged but no one can sneak in when the charger is not being used and charge up their vehicle at your expense.”

This is a valid concern. The solution would be to put a breaker for that outlet inside the house, and turn it on only when you charge the vehicle.

Of course, for those renting their house this would be difficult.

]]> By: Michael Haubrich https://gregladen.com/blog/2021/05/10/this-is-the-decade-when-electric-cars-replace-gas-cars/#comment-928013 Sat, 15 May 2021 18:32:15 +0000 https://gregladen.com/blog/?p=33814#comment-928013 I have a hybrid (NonPE) and am very happy with it, and largely because of the fact that I don’t have to worry about charging stations. Moving from AZ to MN I ran into very few charging stations in northern AZ, UT, CO and Nebraska. Those are a lot of miles to go without knowing if you will be able to reharge or be stranded. There are features on hybrids that do help reduce emissions, the main being the fact that the gas engine shuts down when it’s not needed. I liked the Kia Soul that I traded for my Niro HEV, but as a commuter in Phoenix, found myself idling in the morning and evenings during my commute (along with the other thousands of cars on the 51 and the 101 and the 202 and the 303 and I-10.) Five days a week, I wonder how much carbon was being pumped into the air above the already polluted Valley of the Sun, while people were checking their Facebook statuses and waiting to drive 10 feet at a time until traffic cleared. At least in a hybrid, the engine shuts down and uses no fuel while waiting for the next chance to move a few feet.

I don’t understand the mechanics that prevents gas engine cars from doing the same. At least then the guys who need V-10 Trucks to feel good about themselves could save on some fuel, right?

But, I do understand that with lithium batteries there is an issue with mining and extraction. It’s environmentally very dirty. Is it dirty enough for the environmental cost of lithium extraction to be higher than oil extraction, transportation, refining, and eventual burning in a car? That’s something I don’t even know how to google to find and answer on the relative costs.

Yeah, we need to move to electric cars. There’s just so many questions to resolve along the way.

]]> By: Greg Laden https://gregladen.com/blog/2021/05/10/this-is-the-decade-when-electric-cars-replace-gas-cars/#comment-927841 Wed, 12 May 2021 19:35:35 +0000 https://gregladen.com/blog/?p=33814#comment-927841 In reply to doug.

I’m sure that is coming into play as we speak!

]]> By: doug https://gregladen.com/blog/2021/05/10/this-is-the-decade-when-electric-cars-replace-gas-cars/#comment-927812 Wed, 12 May 2021 05:46:25 +0000 https://gregladen.com/blog/?p=33814#comment-927812 I wonder how much influence the hacking of the largest US gas pipeline, and the consequent shortage or at least the threat of a shortage, will have on future electric vehicle sales. Car manufacturers would be smart to make this a selling feature.

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