Viable or impracticable
I was thinking about power the other day and more specifically electric vehicles. It's not something I think about much because, at this stage, an electric vehicle (EV) is not something that would work for me; I drive a big four wheel drive truck as my personal vehicle and it runs on dinosaur juice, fossil fuels, and considering the purpose of use I have for my vehicle an EV variant won't work for me for many reasons - and it doesn't exist anyway.
So why was I thinking about electric vehicles?
I recently stayed in a hotel when travelling for work and made an observation that they had a single EV parking/power bay where an owner of an electric vehicle could park and charge. One single bay.
I asked at the hotel about how many rooms they had which turned out to be 200 in all and they were at capacity. That means that on any given night only 2% of the patrons staying at the hotel could charge their electric vehicle, 1 in 200. That's not very good odds especially considering this was in a regional town many hundreds of kilometres from a major city about at the mid-point between Adelaide and Melbourne. I think the lack of EV infrastructure doesn't bode well for a country that is looking to ramp up EV sales with marketing propaganda campaigns.
I'm not sure what it's like in your area but that's typical here; there's simply not enough EV charging infrastructure in place to accommodate the "expected" number of EV's, and I'm pretty sure there's not enough for what's on the road currently.
I noticed one of the manufacturers (Mercedes) are offering a complimentary home-charging install with certain vehicles but a charging bay at home isn't going to be much use when one isn't home and for those who travel...well, Australia is a mighty big place and with so little in the way of EV charging infrastructure...I wonder about the viability of it all.
I found some figures for vehicle sales today for the period of 1 October to 31 December 2023 and noticed that 82% were ICE vehicles (internal combustion engines) which is up almost 1,500 on the previous quarter and only 7.07% were BEV (battery electric vehicles) which is down by almost 1,200 on the previous quarter. Those figures are quite telling and I think an indication of the poor state of the EV infrastructure and the consumer's lack of confidence that it will improve anytime soon. (Source of these figures is the Australian Automobile Association.)
I'm a little dubious about the future of EV's, certainly in this country, and am inclined to think it's a convenient agenda that certain groups are pushing, a money-spinner also, that there's probably limited scope for it (in its current format) and the benefits to the environment are also negligible considering manufacturing and ultimately disposal of batteries, not to mention the roll-out of infrastructure. In my State, South Australia, one can get in a car and drive for 1,800 kilometres and still be in the same State, much of which is in country areas with little to nothing around. In other parts of Australia one can drive for days and see nothing and no one...so I wonder how electric vehicles will be viable or if they're simply impracticable. I wonder what your thoughts are and how you feel the EV Design and create your ideal life, tomorrow isn't promised - galenkp [Original and AI free]
juggernaut agenda will work in your location or generally. Do you feel it is viable or do you believe another path must be found to address the fast-dwindling supply of fossil fuels. Feel free to comment if you'd like to.
Image(s) in this post are my own
Many people won't think this deep to underscore the unanticipated problem associated with new inventions. We just roar in jubilation of the advent of electric vehicle but we never thought of how we would be able to charge it effectively so that we can use it as we expect. Putting the horse before the cart could mean preparing charge infrastructures first before acquiring them. That was great reasoning, thank you.
The agendas people/corporations/governments push are often just taken on face value because some "expert" says it or it's backed by another organisation (who often stands to gain) support it. The
peoplesheeple lap it up an swallow it whole and that's all she wrote. People seem reluctant to question anything when what they should do is question everything.There are many charging stations along the roads these days. But not enough for the amount of EV's
They sit lined up milling around pacing. Waiting to save the planet with the 80+% coal fueled power plant electricity they think magically appears like the food off the shelves that they are gnawing on as they pace around staring at their cell phones while the lithium cells replenish slowly painfully and very thermally (hot)
I often wonder if they wait several hours in line. Before they plug in for the jolt of ⚡
Saving the planet takes time I guess. I am doing it one kitten at a time.
Saturday I saved 5.
Yeah man, bonkers right?
We don't have as much EV infrastructure as you American folks...there's 325 million of you and only 27 million of us so it's no wonder. I don't see things ever levelling out as far as infrastructure for EV charging as the economy is no all that good currently and there's not enough EV sales because the lack of infrastructure and not enough infrastructure because the lack of sales and not enough EV sales because the lack of infrastructure and not enough infrastructure because the lack of sales and not enough EV sales because the lack of infrastructure and not enough infrastructure because the lack of sales and...oops, I'm stuck in a space -time continuum. 🤣
The girl just saw your images...she asks, "are you going to keep them?"
She's also saying "aww."
She's a crazy cat lady you know.
We love that girl.
No keepers. We are over the limit with 6 stay at home and the two that ride with me makes...
8 IS ENOUGH!!
And that sounds like a cheesy 80's sitcom title about dealing with way too many children to me.
Altho the 2 that are 1 orange 1 light brown and white are gonna be hard not to keep.
She says, "I wish I could have them."
Its understandable though, one can't keep them all.
Lol, that sitcom...blast from the past!
Well, that’s certainly true some places but where I live (Minnesota) coal is dying. About half of our electricity is from our two nuclear plants, wind power is growing by leaps and bounds, and natural gas is the go-to backup for when the wind isn’t blowing.
There isn't as much push for EV in the Philippines. I've seen them as displays inside the mall. I think the only benefit given to owners are supposed immunity to some traffic coding, as well as free charging in some areas. I think some of the malls have 1 charging station available, which isn't enough if owners increase. I'd like to think EVs can be good for the environment. They just need to improve the life of the batteries.
Is it a money thing, as in the average punter can't afford one and the government can't afford the EV infrastructure?
Yes. The EVs are still priced pretty high compared to ICE. There are Hybrids that are being bought more though. As for the infrastructure, I think the lack of EVs make building the infra too early. The ones inside malls should be enough for now.
My work car is hybrid, seems to work ok I guess but is more costly to buy albeit less costly than an equivalent EV. Something's got to give I guess, just what that will be is unknown.
I think at the moment it's not viable but this can change in the years to come. It will also involve the government to help fund the EV infrastructure but in a way that will also involve the people cause they have to vote for the people in charge or vote for the props to pass. Not sure how it works in Australia or other countries but when I was in California, people in the state could vote for their governor and the changes in the law like legalizing weed etc.
For my current country Malaysia, I think it will be a slow progress. Currently the market for ev is quite small. To really make it work, I think ev cars need to be more affordable and the infrastructure needs to be there to support it. Until this happens I would say it's not viable for Malaysia
As for addressing the fossil fuels, I think for humanity yes we should. We should care about how our other future generations will live on Earth. We shouldn't make the world a worse to live in my opinion. We should look at ways to conserve our non renewables resources and try to utilize renewable resources so we can maintain life on Earth. I think a lot of previous generations didn't care much about what happened to the planet but now people in the last two-three decades are starting to make changes after seeing the effects of pollution, global warming etc.
Yep, everything can change in the years to come, but will it and will the change be positive? Much change in the world (over history) hasn't been for the good.
I agree with you that it's not viable and cost of EV's, lack of infrastructure and the slow take-up is probably to blame...also loads pf people don't actually believe it's all that much better for the environment, here at least. Time will tell of course, but change can take time, positive or negative, and time is on short supply for a human (and humanity in general).
We can only hope for it to be positive unless we are able to actually invent something or make a movement that can actually impact the certain change. I'm always down to help the world become better by volunteering and doing what I can and I hope others can contribute as well. If they can't with their time hopefully with their money.
Sometimes just the human nature of greed can take us off course but I believe despite the hiccups we are still moving forward. I'm just happy that I live in a generation where there isn't as much war as before. I don't have to be sent to the army. I would say there's more freedom and choice then the past generations where I've seen parents and grandparents have to sacrafice/suffer a lot but they did great at giving their children a better life. Sadly, there are still come countries that still lack a basic standard of living (no clean water etc). Anyways we need to have faith that people will have an interest to make the world a better place and not just to selfishly live for their own sake.
Yes but that's how most technology start I feel. In the past, the first cars probably weren't the most affordable. Same with desktops and phones were super expensive as well. It will take a few iterations to get it down to where the mass can buy evs. Hopefully by then, the governments in each country will allocate the funds to build the infrastructure. Or who knows there might be a new form of transportation. I'd be down for real life teleportation I know it's still a thing from movies or tv shows but it could happen (maybe not in our life time :( ). I guess something more realistic would be massive improvements in some of the potential alternatives like solar power or hydrogen power cars?
hopefully I made sense haha
Hope is one thing, one must have some...but action is what makes change.
Definitely! Action will be the key to the outcome of the future
There is a lot of work to be done by the EV manufacturers. Can I know how much time an EV requires to charge in full? That hotel should have at least 20 charging points for EV vehicles, but wait how many people in that hotel have had EVs?
I have no clue how long it takes to charge and EV although it'd depend on the battery capacity and kW output of the charger I imagine.
I had the same concerns and even when I gave up my pickup truck, I could not envision going full EV but I do not regret it. Now with my Cybertruck I could not be happier as I get the best of both worlds. Sure, I rely on the infrastructure but at the moment it is very reliable so I can enjoy both the resourcefulness of an EV and the utility of a truck.
It's good that it worked out for yo and I assume it has for a few others also. Here though, I'd die a lingering and agonising death in the outback somewhere if i decided to drive an EV out there...that's if it even got there in the first place as it's like to run out of juice after only 500km or so and there's bugger all infrastructure out there.
As you know, I don't know much about cars, but I think that the situation is the same here and everywhere.
It may well mean big business for some, with lots of profits but in reality I think it will make little difference to the environment, as many preach. That's just the excuse. There is an economic background for a few and I don't think it is viable for the common citizen.... one of many things they do for the same reason. Money.
Yeah, you're not a car person, I get it. You're not a gun person either so my very next post will put you to sleep also.
There's a few people getting rich off the EV agenda and more will too...but in reality is it truly viable? Hmm, not so sure. It's like how that fucktard Greta Thunberg (I call her Thunderberg) got so rich of pretending to give a fuck about the environment. What an asshole she was, and is.
No, I don't think it's viable, not at all, but they make people believe it is and people believe it, that's the worst thing. Meanwhile others get rich.
No, I will not fall asleep, I will be attentive, translating!
We'll see...I bet you'll fall asleep reading it. 🤔
I'm sure that no.... if I fall asleep, you'll know because there will be no comment.🤣
I feel the same as you. In the US things are quite spread out like they are there in Australia. It just doesn't feel feasible to me right now. I think if you lived in a big city and you never ventured too far from there, then it might be one thing, but for the rest of us in Middle America, it just doesn't work. I need to be able to tow my travel trailer and that requires a 3/4 ton pickup truck. I tried doing it with a 1/2 ton for several years and it was dangerous. Dangerous for me and dangerous for everyone else on the road, it was too much trailer for that truck. I am interested in the hybrid technology. Something between a gas vehicle and a full EV might be worth looking into. Unfortunately as you said, they seem to be leaning fully EV or bust!
I'm not surprised you say this and I agree, and have similar needs. My truck has a 3500kg towing capacity and a range (on dinosaur juice) of 1000km, which is only just acceptable for what I need; I'll put in a long range tank for an extra 700km eventually. An EV just won't cut it.
Maybe one day I guess, but not this day huh?
No, not at all. My old truck had a tow capacity of about 3500kg, but our newer travel trailer weighed about 2700kg alone, then when you add all our gear it was pretty close to the limit. I felt more like the trailer was pushing me versus me pulling it. Lots of white knuckle driving. My new truck can handle about 5900kg and it's like night and day. You hardly know it's back there sometimes!
Yep, it's important to have the right capacities for sure. We get all the same tracks as you guys (maybe not the full range, but the basics) and there's some who need the increased capacity; I don't so I don't spend the money on them as they are vastly more expensive. As it is mine cost me $100,000 AUD to buy and I've spent another $20,000 on accessories. That's ample...way too much really! 🙄
I've never owned a brand new vehicle, so I saved some money there. I think my truck had maybe 60k miles on it and it was $30,000 USD, so still pretty expensive for being used. She's a beast though and I love her.
The EV agenda is a complicated issue; it depends on which side you're on, those who benefit and those who want to be trendy or the average driver. In recent years, manufacturers have made some progress, but it's not enough to say that EVs are the future, as you've clearly exemplified. I still have reservations about this technology; I think it still has a long way to go to meet the marketing campaigns we see today.
In my country, something curious is happening: electric vehicles aren't very popular yet, except for small ones like tricycles and motorcycles. But when the owner needs more range, they either add makeshift batteries (which often fail dramatically) or install a small combustion engine for more range, turning them from electric to hybrid.
Moreover, with blackouts of up to 8 hours in many cities, it's almost impossible to consider buying an electric car, not to mention the prices. It's madness, really. I believe there are a thousand ways to contribute to the environment that aren't this; EVs still have a lot to develop.
I think the concept is sound but it has a long way to go and I do not think there's as much of an environmental benefit as there's purported to be. It's also not viable in countries like your own and others where infrastructure is almost non-existent. That's probably part of the problem, it's not universal so those countries with it sort of bear the brunt of the cost and that cost is high. I'm no expert though.
I think there's a lot of smoke and mirrors and the full picture is not being given as often happens in situations like this...and billionaires become trillionaires.
I’m planning on getting a model Y sometime later in the year…or early next year. I’m still driving my 05 Highlander. Lol
I assume you have a more established and broad infrastructure for charging there so it probably makes some sense.
Here, in a large city where a person uses a vehicle locally (and charges at home at night) that's workable...in the vast open spaces of Australia when people are travelling...not so workable. Maybe it'll get better, or maybe we'll all get Flux Capacitors like Doc in Back to the Future. Time will tell.
Yeah there’s a pretty good system in place here. Plus I’d just install a home charger. Eventually I hope to see more expansion and ease for those who wouldn’t be able to charge at home.
Hi Galen, the situation of the electric car in Spain is very similar to that of Australia, there is a lack of infrastructure, but I think that in Europe the electric car will eventually prevail. In Scandinavian countries, there are differences between them, there are already more electric cars for rent than gasoline. Here, in Spain, I think it is only a matter of time. I agree that there is a program driven by interests that we do not know. This is the reality that I perceive in Europe. Best regards
I think the push on it will eventually prevail here but vehicles need to get cheaper and the infrastructure better. Although, I still wonder if the stated benefits to the environment are real, or as strong as suggested. Time will reveal all.
On environmental costs, I just wonder if toy batteries are so polluting, what about car batteries?
Greetings Galen it's already Wednesday
Yeah, that's exactly right...seems the agenda they push conveniently leaves out that part.
Hi Galen, since we are in agreement, I just want to thank you, best regards
😂🤣Those planing to acquire EV might have are think after reading this your post. But this is really true. That means countries with insufficient charging infrastructures should introduce it to avoid causing unnecessary dreadlocks.
It's in its infancy I guess, to some degree, so will take some time to develop and may eventually become cheaper. We'll know soon enough, and also will come to understand the impact on the environment as well.
An excellent solution for scooters and bicycles 😁
Until the auto industry invents universal quick-change car batteries, I think that mass electrification and mass electric cars have nothing... Honestly, I'm waiting for some scientist to discover an engine powered by water 🙂 (salty fom sea) and thereby lead humanity to a new industrial revolution.
The quick change battery is a good idea, also smaller batteries that last longer I guess. Technology will advance over time but currently it's not a very viable thing...a novelty only I guess.
Here in New Zealand they are well on track for charging stations at least one every 75km.
Many servos like Z and BP for instance are adding charging stations which goes in line with my idea that they’ll make a tonne of money because of their cafes. After all a service station makes nothing at the pump. 5c per litre is the best they’ll make. A charging station would allow them to make more money because if you have to wait half an hour to get an 80% charge then why not have a cuppa.
Hell, small town New Zealand exists because of range anxiety anyway. First with horses, then with petrol cars, and now with EVs.
Yeah, seems to work there, good for NZ.
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