“EV’s – Electric Vehicles”

I have written before about how renting a car can turn into an unwanted preview of the electric-vehicle (EV) experience. Whatever the rental companies may be saying, it seems reasonable to think that car renters are increasingly being “forced” into EVs whether or not they want them because EV manufacturers are finding it more difficult than expected to find enough buyers for their product on the open market. Signing up for a central-planning project can be like that. Spotting a way to get hold of cars at a discount price, the rental companies have stepped up.

I just returned from a half-day road trip. We tanked up twice and, both times, we headed for the building attached to the gas tanks. There, we had clean restrooms (complete with toilet paper) and, if we so desired, access to a bit of food and drink, too. Not great food and drink but, when you’re tired, hungry, and thirsty, good enough. All those things are lacking when you’re hanging out for an hour at a roadside charging station for your EV, and EV drivers are not happy. Heh.

For the president and his allies, what kind of automobiles we drive is not a practical question but almost a theological one.

Joe Biden has seen the future, and it is electric cars. Lots of electric cars. Electric cars — or else.

Donald Trump has seen the future, and it is a backlash against the mandate for the mass adoption of electric cars. The former president is promising to “stop this Madness, IMMEDIATELY!”

The Journal Nature published a study revealing that of the folks who were early adopters of EVs in California (between 2012 and 2018), 20% of PHEV drivers have returned to fully gas-powered vehicles and 18% of full EV drivers returned to gas-powered–with their subsequent vehicle purchase.

The Prices of Used Electric Cars are Freefalling

Used vehicle prices have been sky-high for years. But in recent months, there’s finally a bit of relief. And what’s more, the values of certain used EVs–such as used Teslas–are in freefall. Does this mean the electric vehicle’s honeymoon is over? Are early EV adopters selling for a reason? Or are we seeing supply and demand finally even out?

h/t DS and Mauser

Hurricane Idalia and subsequent floods have created an electric vehicle (EV) fire risk in Florida as batteries exposed to saltwater become susceptible to combustion, based on statements from one of the fire departments in the state.

“WARNING. If you own a hybrid or electric vehicle that has come into contact with saltwater due to recent flooding within the last 24 hours, it is crucial to relocate the vehicle from your garage without delay. Saltwater exposure can trigger combustion in lithium-ion batteries. If possible, transfer your vehicle to higher ground,” Palm Harbor Fire Rescue (PHFR), Florida, said in an Aug. 31 Facebook post.

Few Are Trading In Dangerous E-Bikes for Safer Ones, Despite Fire Risk

After a spate of deadly lithium battery fires in New York City, an e-bike trade-in program began to offer brand-new e-bikes certified to industry safety standards at discounted prices to delivery workers who brought in their old ones.

But the pilot program — which initially asked $1,900 for the new e-bikes — has yielded just three trade-ins since July: two e-bikes and an e-scooter.

The meager result illustrates just how difficult it will be to get uncertified e-bikes away from the public and put safer ones into the hands of their heaviest users, the city’s 60,000-plus delivery workers.

Electric vehicles flooded by a storm surge produced by Hurricane Idalia have spontaneously ignited in the Big Bend area. This underscores a lesser-known safety concern for the thousands of Americans who recently purchased EVs and reside in coastal regions vulnerable to flooding.

h/t DS

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Incentive and tradition are against it, but auto executives occasionally blurt out important truths. The now retired Bob Lutz, who served in top roles for Ford, GM and Chrysler, regularly suggested the government should stop its fuel-economy nonsense and impose a gas tax if it wants Americans to buy high-mileage vehicles.

The late Sergio Marchionne of Fiat and Chrysler correctly called the Obama fuel-economy rules an “electric vehicle mandate.” Not for public consumption, a Toyota executive complained the same rules were also a “second bailout for Detroit” due to a carve-out for U.S.-built gasoline-powered pickups and large SUVs.

Last year, a splenetic industry insider emailed me attacking a column by basically repeating my own argument back to me (a typical phenomenon): Americans want big cars. Detroit is incentivized by the so-called chicken tax to wring all its profits from large, gas-fueled pickups and SUVs while making “compliance” vehicles for the government that lose money.

More electric vehicles are being pumped out of car factories than ever before – but some dealers don’t want them.

Electric car inventory has been piling up on dealership lots this year as companies up their EV production, leading some dealers to say enough is enough. Some are telling automakers they don’t want any more until they can sell what’s sitting, several dealers told Insider.

“We have turned away EV inventory,” said Scott Kunes, COO of Kunes Auto and RV Group, which sells Detroit brands as well as Nissan and Mitsubishi in the Midwest. “We need to ensure that we have a good turn on it.”

This rush to market of a technology not yet ready for prime time is madness.

Ford CEO Jim Farley admitted he underwent a “reality check” when he tried to make a cross-country road trip in the Ford electric F-150.

“Charging has been pretty challenging,” Mr. Farley said in a video on X, formerly known as Twitter. “It was a really good reality check of the challenges of what our customers go through and the importance of fast charging and what we’re going to have to do to improve the charging experience.”

The majority of Americans say federal incentives are not convincing them to buy an electric vehicle – and some claim it has even put them off entirely.

Joe Biden has ambitions to make two-thirds of new vehicle sales electric by 2032. He also plans to build a network of 500,000 chargers across the country.

But an exclusive survey by DailyMail.com has found that this dream is falling flat.

The New York Fire Department recently reported that so far this year there have been 108 lithium-ion battery fires in New York City, which have injured 66 people and killed 13. According to FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh, “There is not a small amount of fire, it (the vehicle) literally explodes.” The resulting fire is “very difficult to extinguish and so it is particularly dangerous.”

Last year there were more than 200 fires from batteries from e-bikes, EVs, and other devices.

Having seen the way electric vehicles can set on fire easily and are near impossible to put out. Do you really want them around homes the way these arson attacks “wildfires” are going on pic.twitter.com/FzCWD51hoy

— leilani dowding 🌸🚜 ☮️ (@LeilaniDowding) August 11, 2023