The Driving Thread

https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2022/04/01/tailpipe-pollution-fuel-efficiency/

The Department of Transportation released tailpipe pollution standards Friday that would require average fuel efficiency of new cars and light trucks to reach 49 miles per gallon in less than four years. Biden administration officials said the new standards, which largely reverse a Trump-era rollback, would help cut greenhouse gas emissions and save consumers money at the pump.

 

It would be nice to get there. Doubt that we will.
I wish they'd improve the range of electric vehicles. My hubby did have a Prius C (Hybrid) for this last five or six years of the work commute and he loved it. He got about 62 miles per gallon.

 

Those are good points about “green” electricity here in the Evergreen State. Besides all the hydroelectric power, there are plenty of solar panels and wind turbines east of the Cascades generating energy.

I’ll echo @Mngwa about the limited range of AEVs being a problem here in the West. If you’re living in metro Seattle or Portland they might work, but the more”affordable” all-electric vehicles can only go 100 to 150 miles without recharging. It would take two full charge-ups to get from Spokane to Seattle.

 

Sort of true, but a couple of base model electrics under 40K - the Chevy Bolt, and the Hyundai Kona, for example - both have ranges exceeding 250 miles.

The average new car transaction in this country is $45000. So let's not just compare the cost of an EV to another EV, but let's compare it to the cost of mid-trim F250 or Suburban, which is what a lot of people are buying.

There are also lots of fast-charging stations in Washington along the Interstate corridors.

And most people for most trips most of the time don't need anything like a 250-mile range.

 

I think that's probably largely true, but for us it's not unusual to take it two or three hour drive. Tat's 120 to 180 miles one way. We would have to find a charge. That said there are tons of charging stations in Florida, so you can probably adapt to it. I would actually love to have a Tesla.

 

Almost all of the driving I do at this point in my life is recreational. I have absolutely no remaining argument against an electric vehicle, and will likely purchase one the next time I need to buy a car.

 

The two major things holding back EVs from widespread acceptance remain range and charging time. Range has gotten better, but it's still considerably lower than ICE vehicles. That wouldn't be as big of an issue if it didn't take so long to charge them. Even fast chargers take two or three times as long as a quick gas stop. If you're running late for work and haven't charged up/filled up, would you rather take 5 or 10 minutes at the gas station or 20-30 minutes at a fast charger?

I have no problem with the concept of EVs. I'm sure they're a good solution for a lot of people.
I do have a problem with the way they're being forced upon the public. It's not the right solution for everyone.

 

Meanwhile, San Diego's city government seems to be trying to kill as many people as it can by introducing a brilliant concept called "advisory bike lanes."
Basically, they split a two-lane street into three lanes, with two of the lanes being dedicated bike lanes. Cars have to share a single center lane with two-way traffic and veer into the bike lanes to avoid head-on collisions.
The genius who came up with this is probably making a six-figure salary.

‘You're Playing Chicken': Mira Mesa Neighbors Caught Off Guard by New Street Striping

 

Through subsidies and hidden costs and the building of huge networks of infrastructure, we've incentivized internal combustion for more than a century. We've deformed our entire society and economy around it.

So in the current climate crisis I don't mind if government tries to nudge us in the direction of electrics. (Likewise mass transit.)

Might turn out that fuel cells are a better answer - thus I'm also in favor of a gigantic, Manhattan Project-style government research and development program to find out.

 

It is no longer odd to see a Tesla around suburban Boston. They're hardly as plentiful as Toyotas, Subarus of F-150s, but it's not like it was even a couple years ago, when it was akin to saying, "hey, there's a guy in a '53 Studebaker!" Of course, this is an affluent area where many can stand the gaff of the Tesla price and also loaded with tech folk proud of early adopting ANYTHING, but the increase is plain to the naked eye.

 

Cheapest Tesla is $47000.

Just about on the nose for the average car transaction.

Base Suburban - and its 17 mpg combined - is $53000.

 

You can also get a Camry or a number of other mid-size sedans for around $30,000. I bought a mid-level trim Mazda 3 last year for about $26,000. That's the better comparison for a Tesla.