…but “fuck off and die” no.
I refer here, of course, to this push to make us all give up our regular gasoline-powered cars and replace them with fucking Duracell* vehicles.
Here’s one tale of woe.
And here’s the problematic infrastructure.
So fuck ’em.
Come to think of it, we could always switch to horses, except that those assholes at Peta will probably throw a hissy about that too.
I think I need to go to the range (he said, apropos of nothing). Those guns aren’t going to shoot all by themselves, you know.
*And I mean no disrespect towards Duracell, who make excellent batteries. I’m just not going to use them to power my car.
Gasoline engine? honestly I’d rather have my 2002 Tacoma back. I like my 2019 Double Cab TRD Tacoma but I’m sure toyota is recording stuff when I plug my phone into the 2019. As long as I can connect my podcasts to the radio then I’ll enjoy the truck.
Electric cars? Not unless I am going to ride around a sporting clays course or take up golf. Either way, I’d much rather walk and rest as needed.
JQ
What I find interesting is the other issues that had to be fixed, like a leaky drive motor and the software glitch that made it stick in slo-mo. I have a friend that got his second Tesla. Damn thing had all sorts of issues. I myself have sized up a few of them, and I can tell you that other than the interiors, I’ve seen KIAs with better build quality.
None of them, I’ve seen, are what I’d want in a luxury car.
And BTW – My friend is retired. Drives very little, so it suits him.
Me? I traded my 2012 RAV4 in on a 2000 Excursion with a V10. Love the sound of the motor.
When I close on the house sale Friday, I’ll be looking for a Jetta TDI. Another thing I’ve wanted to find, and probably can’t, is an old toyota pickup – pre “Tacoma” pre “pre-runner” with a 22r 4 cyl and manual gearbox.
Duracell used to be good, now they ruin everything that uses a alkaline battery, by leaking their guts out in less than 3 months. Energizer only, and a plus is that buying a energizer in NC, is that your dollars stay in state.
The only thing I haven’t lost to a Duracell is a fire detector, and that is because I noticed what was happening, and conducted a full Duracell removal party.
In a city, and if you can afford two vehicles, have both a electric and a gas. If you can only afford one car, get the gas one. You won’t regret the electric one for most trips around town. No oil changes, full tank every morning, no convenience store stops, and quiet as a church mouse, even when accelerator firmly planted, in front of the po-po, and with electric traction control, no attention grabbing wheel spin. It’s all the go (and more!) and no show.
Yes, you will still have to change oil in the gas one periodically, but it is alot less when you only put on 500 miles a month, and the time you save visiting convenience stores is incredible.
I think the real issue is non-Teslas having to use EA chargers. For all Tesla’s issues, their charging infrastructure is robust as hell. Fortunately it’s being opened up to other vehicle manufacturers which will help tremendously. Although I’ll never own an EV or hybrid personally I know a lot of friends with them who love them. Great for city driving and day use, but if you travel long distances more than once or twice a year then yeah, it’s annoying. Figure on long trips, those of our age will need a bio break every 3 or 4 hours, so a 30 minute recharge while you take care of business, grab some grub and take a break from driving isn’t horrible. But if you’re stuck hoping and praying that the EA network will function as indicated then it’s no fun at all.
Floating around on Twitter is a picture of a quote for a battery replacement in a Chevy Volt – $22,000 (yes, $22,000 real American dollars)
On Youtube, there are 2 videos of people who need to replace the battery in their Ioniq 5 after getting road damage, both were around $60,000 Canadian.
You can buy a working car for that kind of change. Twice.
Contrast that with replacing a rusted out gas tank (I’ve had to do just one in more than 60 years of car ownership) on most cars at a dealer price of $1,000 – $2,000 installed. Much less if you DIY.
And if you value your life, don’t ever dream of taking an EV into the desert like some of those lying bullshit TV ads show.
You could take one into the desert if there are charging stations. A desert would be a great place to have solar fueling stops.
That is the inconvenience of electric: you have to plan your “fuel” stops.
But if you are in the city, unless you just live a miserable life of driving over 200 miles/day in the same city, electric is the way to go, if you can afford to have a gasser to leave the city.
You can leave the city on electric, but you have to think about the problem, vs. not think really hard with the gas, as long as you can afford gas. And I do mean think — just because where you are heading has a charger, doesn’t mean that charger can deliver a 80%/hr. When I first took my Bolt out of town, I discovered this issue. All chargers are not created equal, even those provided by power companies, ON THIER OWN PROPERTY!
The only thing I’d trade my Bolt for is a big pickup, but since I have both, I am AOK.