Vice article on e-guzzlers

[zipzag]

Agreed. An argument (or even a plea) to be made for all of us to live... smaller, less impact, etc. for homes, cars, businesses, etc. I feel like most electrification efforts are helping us move in that direction, even if still catering to some of our desires for not just enough but more than enough. As proven by earlier entrants, purpose built to be better for the planet while sacrificing some amenities (and looks) didn't swing enough buyers.

Some time ago, I bought all-electric (Ego Power Plus) yard equipment not because it was electric (most prior attempts from traditional makers were ICE conversions that sucked) but because they were better tools for my purposes. Less impactful was an important justification to buy a better (and more expensive) option. And here we are. I remember my first day with the lawn mower. A neighbors friend came over and upstaged me with their new Tesla - envious as hell, I was. I sent them a photo of my mower with its LED headlights on jokingly saying "Let's see your Model S mulch, buddy!"

A counter argument to maximizing EV efficiency today is the massive amount of investment and innovation created by the expectation of shortages in all carbon reduction products. There's a lot of capital in the world chasing good ROI. The issue has been sufficient investment in what will be needed to transition off carbon.

And while Rivian and Hummer are inefficient, these vehicles in operation still get Prius-like per mile fueling cost.

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[MinnR1S]

Did I miss the part of the article where he mentioned all the EVs that were too small or short of range and had trouble selling? I recall the Fiat EV with its small battery, low cost and short range was short lived. People didn't want them, and were dumped back at the dealers when all the leases ended.
Maybe he should have also mentioned the Bolt and how it wasted so much on batteries to install them twice.
Build it well, and keep it a long time. That is the best strategy for saving resources.

 

[E.S.]

Look at the article this guy wrote the day before....
https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgd...l-fuel-gas-station-now-runs-on-electric-power

Huh, would have been even more interesting had that ship been able to make use of solar panels to recharge the batteries in mid-travel. Something that large has the space to deploy such large pannels.

 

[ads75]

There's not enough cars in the world for everyone who needs one... That's why we are making more cars. Dumb article, dumb premise.

I think the authors point is you can make more cars if you are using smaller batteries in more efficient vehicles.

 

[ads75]

Can't wait to read his article about the Tesla Semi.

The Tesla Semi market isn't actually aimed at your basic car driver who uses a car for commuting and running errands.

 

[EBEG]

We are hardwired to consume. We are also hardwired to solve problems and adapt. There is no chance we will voluntarily reduce consumption in any meaningful way. We can only hope that technological solutions to the climate crisis materialize fast enough to make a difference before we have to make major adaptions to our way of life. Worrying about the personal consumption difference between an R1T and a M3 is the most marginal of marginal rich society consumption concerns I can imagine.

 

[COdogman]

That is a pointless article. If one wants to make a "what's best for the planet" argument, then it's far fewer vehicles, including the M3 and MY. Sustainable mass transit is really the only possible option that would solve the problem they are complaining about. If every single one of us drove a MY or M3 there would still be clogged highways made of asphalt and concrete (also bad for the environment) and a car that isn't 100% recyclable at the end of it's life.

The R1T is definitely overkill for me. But I do need a truck because I often haul items I can't fit (or don't want to fit) in the back of an SUV. So until there is an ultra efficient EV pickup I will get one of the EV pickups that exists now....

 

[MountainBikeDude]

The Tesla Semi market isn't actually aimed at your basic car driver who uses a car for commuting and running errands.

Exactly. The author is comparing two completely different vehicle types, a commuter vehicle, to larger utility vehicles and expecting to see the same range and battery sizing/efficiency. While I would side with the argument that an electrified Hummer is more of a publicity stunt, than a practical use vehicle, the remainder of his article is written from a place where he personally doesn't see a use case for anything beyond a car, and that undertone is apparent throughout.

What's also poorly thought out is the comment (summarizing here) to the effect that "we shouldn't make large, inefficient vehicles until they are equally as efficient as their smaller more streamlined counterparts". Sorry, What?!?

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

[ Aggressive wanking motion.gif ]

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