What is the Future? (1 Viewer)

There are too many poor people in our world that can't get on the electric car wave.... right now it's a plaything that woke, green, above middle class families are trying.
A cheap electric car won't suffice for someone who has to travel great distances for work or those living in extreme climates. I can't wait to see what NJ salt does to these things in the coming years.
Also, every local garage that I know that has had a broken down Tesla towed in has had a "cease and desist order" from working on the car from the company, and the cars get yanked out to a dealer ...even for simple bodywork!
 
The big risk in electric cars is when they catch on fire. I've got a friend who is a firefighter and he told me that if they come across an electric car on fire they're told to let the car burn and protect the surrounding area as most fire trucks don't have the special stuff needed to extinguish the battery fire.
And...I remember reading a while back that some drag strips will not allow electric cars to race for the same reason.

Funny story...I was waiting for a draw bridge to close with a Tesla a couple cars in front of me. When the gates opened to traffic everybody moved except the Tesla, the guy gets out and starts waving cars around him. When I pulled along side him I asked him if I could help, and offered him a jump start, he didn't take it well and gave me the finger as I drove away.
 
There are too many poor people in our world that can't get on the electric car wave.... right now it's a plaything that woke, green, above middle class families are trying.
A cheap electric car won't suffice for someone who has to travel great distances for work or those living in extreme climates. I can't wait to see what NJ salt does to these things in the coming years.
Also, every local garage that I know that has had a broken down Tesla towed in has had a "cease and desist order" from working on the car from the company, and the cars get yanked out to a dealer ...even for simple bodywork!
For those people who electric doesn’t suit, they will still have gas options for a while to come.
Mileage will increase, and charging times will decrease. I don’t believe it is unreasonable that we will have 1000 mile EVs that charge in 15 minutes within 10 years. The charging network is expanding rapidly and most populated areas have more than enough options for charging.


I couldn't care less about watching SILENT race cars of any kind. People who advocate such things evidently have no idea what it is about racing cars that we all like so much. A big part of it is the SOUND of the engines. Get a clue, folks.
So then don’t, the same way people don’t watch .90 cars. Compare the interest in Ford’s Mustang EV in the NHRA exhibitions to the Super Gas final at the US Nationals. Which one gets a better crowd reaction? Which one has more people looking at them in the pots?
Say it with me - EV cars will not replace nitro. They will be in addition to, and that is a good thing if drag racing wants to embrace manufacturers and get ahead of the times, instead of behind them.
 
Mileage will increase, and charging times will decrease. I don’t believe it is unreasonable that we will have 1000 mile EVs that charge in 15 minutes within 10 years. The charging network is expanding rapidly and most populated areas have more than enough options for charging.

Exactly. Right now, the biggest obstacle to climb with EVs is the range and charge times. If whomever can come up with a system where the charger can make the car go from 10% to 100% in 15 minutes or less it will really help EVs get a foothold on the marketplace.

BTW... I forget his name but there is an EV racer who said that thanks to the lack of engine noise he hears things on the car that he didn't hear before that helps out a lot.
 
I like the torque of EVs for everyday driving. You’d be nuts to buy one anytime in the next decade bc the technology changes so quickly that the car would be worthless in 3 years. Your 200 mile range won’t appeal to anyone who can now get 800 miles. That will even raise lease prices bc residuals would be so low. Self charging technology will be coming.

As for racing, it’s ok as a supplement but will become less novel over time. The plan has to be to keep combustion legal for racing only machines. No one will go to an all electric show. In fact, as gas cars disappear from the street, the race tracks will become more popular as they will be the novelty. Gonna be expensive though.
 
My take on electric vehicles are the good, the bad and the ugly.
GOOD: EV are good for short trips and I wouldn't even mind having one for running around town only. They are quite, a nice change from all the traffic noise. However, I have driven an EV and I miss the vibration of the engine that tells me the car is still running when I'm at a traffic light. They help with pollution, but they have a bad side effect on that issue (more on that later). The technology to be developed for longer ranges and shorter charging times for EV's will probably trickle down to other things like cell phones and computers.
BAD: Expensive charging. You have to have your house rewired to charge at home. When you're on the road and there are charging stations at a rest stop, somebody has to pay for that electric charge, it's not free and what I understand it varies quite a bit. Different charging plugs. For example, Tesla's are different from GM. If your driving a GM EV and there only Tesla charging stations, what do you do? There needs to be a standard plug configuration like the ones for your house. The batteries themselves create more pollution to produce than about 8 years of a internal combustion engine usage. Then what do you do then when they no longer hold a charge? Recycle or landfill?
UGLY: Race cars. Particularly drag cars.
I'm sure there are many other good and bad arguments (discussions) about EV, but as it stands today, the bad outweighs the good. Like them or not, they are the future of automobiles.
 
Looking forward to seeing EV's in stock, superstock and comp. Who knows, maybe a hacked Tesla could run in Super Gas(Electricty).

Pretty sure the Model T fought through the same kind of fear of the future.
 
I live in Chicagoland, in the summer the power grid can barely handle air conditioners on a hot day, what will happen when millions of cars need to be charged?
How many trillions will it take USA to rebuild the power grid? Who will pay for it? The consumer, of course via electric bills that will stagger the imagination. How will we dispose of waste or fight fires? What would happen in a week long (or even one day) blackout situation?
 
And how prepared are we? Here's a smart man, with his take.

Alan


Very interesting article. Great points by BOTH Tasca and Fiorito. And great points by the Nitromater members. An excellent thread Alan !
 
When the wife & I take a trip to Sedona or Flagstaff, we always stop at Cordes Junction on I-17, pit stop, etc. There are a number of Tesla charging stations there. Used to be we saw nothing, now there are always a few Teslas charging. Post above mentioned what do you do if you have a GM car? Can't charge at Tesla. Also, we never see a charging station in Sedona or Flagstaff, so where do Teslas charge up? My 2 cents is that i don't trust Tesla, too many fires. I don't hear much about fires w/ BMW or Chevy Bolt, or the new E Mustang. Also people trying to let the Tesla drive itself & they crash. Well, I suppose the technology will get better but am not a fan of Lectrics. BTW, I do like seeing the electric drag cars, maybe cuz they are a novelty, but also cuz I wanna see how fast they can run.
 
My take on electric vehicles are the good, the bad and the ugly.
GOOD: EV are good for short trips and I wouldn't even mind having one for running around town only. They are quite, a nice change from all the traffic noise. However, I have driven an EV and I miss the vibration of the engine that tells me the car is still running when I'm at a traffic light. They help with pollution, but they have a bad side effect on that issue (more on that later). The technology to be developed for longer ranges and shorter charging times for EV's will probably trickle down to other things like cell phones and computers.
BAD: Expensive charging. You have to have your house rewired to charge at home. When you're on the road and there are charging stations at a rest stop, somebody has to pay for that electric charge, it's not free and what I understand it varies quite a bit. Different charging plugs. For example, Tesla's are different from GM. If your driving a GM EV and there only Tesla charging stations, what do you do? There needs to be a standard plug configuration like the ones for your house. The batteries themselves create more pollution to produce than about 8 years of a internal combustion engine usage. Then what do you do then when they no longer hold a charge? Recycle or landfill?
UGLY: Race cars. Particularly drag cars.
I'm sure there are many other good and bad arguments (discussions) about EV, but as it stands today, the bad outweighs the good. Like them or not, they are the future of automobiles.
You touched on what to me is a HUGE question that nobody seems to discuss: Is this EV movement really a net benefit to the environment? I don't know the stats, but I've seen pics of Lithium mines and it doesn't look like it's too eco-friendly. There are so many unknowns, yet all the automakers are just piling on. I think they have a place, just not sure that they should 100% replace gas vehicles. Wish I knew more. I caught a little piece on a business show the other day stating that Bitcoin mining leaves as much of a carbon footprint on an annual basis as I believe, 1.2 million cars. That's crazy if it's accurate. I only throw that in because I wish there was accurate information available that gives the real impact of some of these actions. Maybe there is and somebody here can share.
 
What is hard to understand is why the infrastructure for this is not in place since the Government is pushing this so hard. Instead of a Sunoco station with Regular - Midgrade - Hightest & Diesel there could be an Edison or PG&E or whoever station with multiple connections for different Voltages or Plug in's. All vehicles that actually charge at the same voltage could easily have a standardised plug. If the voltage is the same an adapter can be made similar to what trailers use. Also since there is "Roll out Solar Panels" that are now avaliable why don't all the roofs on these cars have solar chargers built in. We will never be able to change the misguided Government but the Hot Rod and Racing community can inovate things to make Electric vehicles better like they have been doing for close to 100 years.
 
we can listen to our national news in this country all day long spouting green this, carbon footprint, ozone, carbon emissions.......
petro-china, aramco, royal dutch shell, exxon, etc.......be happy we have hybrids that are the best of both worlds........there is no shortage of fossil fuel on this planet,
contrary to what mite be reported. ........ not to start something else, but you do realize that once the election was over and the trump bashing stopped, then moving past covid,
the gov't./media's next huge focus is now on climate change (recently called global warming).......it will be pushed in our face now and for unforeseen future.......what will actually change
IMO will be very little, except gas prices :(
 
You touched on what to me is a HUGE question that nobody seems to discuss: Is this EV movement really a net benefit to the environment? I don't know the stats, but I've seen pics of Lithium mines and it doesn't look like it's too eco-friendly. There are so many unknowns, yet all the automakers are just piling on. I think they have a place, just not sure that they should 100% replace gas vehicles. Wish I knew more. I caught a little piece on a business show the other day stating that Bitcoin mining leaves as much of a carbon footprint on an annual basis as I believe, 1.2 million cars. That's crazy if it's accurate. I only throw that in because I wish there was accurate information available that gives the real impact of some of these actions. Maybe there is and somebody here can share.
I don't know about nobody, because in my feeds, anytime someone brings up EVs, someone else always counters with the indirect impact from electricity generation, material sourcing, etc. It's a complicated situation that doesn't have a straightforward answer right now because it's impossible to truly predict how much of a long-term upside it has. In the short term, it's probably a wash or even slightly negative. However, many technological gains require sacrifices early in the development for them to be a net positive, and it's possible EVs are no different. What we do know is that petroleum is a finite resource, and eventually something will have to replace it. Regardless of what it ends up being, it's best to have many years of R&D with infrastructure in place than to be caught with your pants down in the future.
 
I don't know about nobody, because in my feeds, anytime someone brings up EVs, someone else always counters with the indirect impact from electricity generation, material sourcing, etc. It's a complicated situation that doesn't have a straightforward answer right now because it's impossible to truly predict how much of a long-term upside it has. In the short term, it's probably a wash or even slightly negative. However, many technological gains require sacrifices early in the development for them to be a net positive, and it's possible EVs are no different. What we do know is that petroleum is a finite resource, and eventually something will have to replace it. Regardless of what it ends up being, it's best to have many years of R&D with infrastructure in place than to be caught with your pants down in the future.
Electric cars for racing are cool. They can be very quick and fast. Nothing wrong with that. But........
There are theories that describe how the earth makes its own oil. It very well could be possible that oil is not a finite resource at all.
Electricity storage needs a quantum leap forward in order to have EV’s get close to the convince and cost of gas or diesel.
If clean burning is what all the hippies with no common sense want then why aren’t they pushing for hydrogen or natural gas powered cars harder then they are electric? They are much cleaner.
Make no mistake this isn’t about electric cars or cleaning up the environment....it’s about controlling you and your freedoms! There’s no doubt about that!
 
Serious question, what does it cost to recharge an electric car? If you use a roadside charging station, how does it bill you?

Alan
 
Serious question, what does it cost to recharge an electric car? If you use a roadside charging station, how does it bill you?

Alan
I don't know excatly, but the one I saw in the "Jelly Belly" factory parking lot in Fairfield Ca had a slot for your credit card. It may be one of those deals that if you have to ask you can't afford it.:)
 
I read this this morning before I saw this thread.
Kind of interesting...
Also, I had talked to a friend who sells cars about the electric cars available probably 10 or so years ago, and the comment was made that you might not want to look at those because he toured an overseas plant that made the batteries. Said it was like a toxic wasteland. It scared him...

 
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