Thanks! 
This thread is what “OK, Boomer” was created for
1 Like
In February, 2023 EVs accounted for 8.5% of all new vehicles that were leased or sold. This has been spurred on, in part, by tax credits of up to $7,500 for certain new electric cars.
Yet, used EV prices are plummeting while used gasoline powered car prices are quickly rising. Odd.
There is a great deal of complexity to this market.
2 Likes
Somehow that reminds me of the fellow whose wife insisted he switch to a Green vehicle, so he came home with a green Corvette.
7 Likes
No dispute regarding the articles you posted.
But if you haven’t already, do some reading about the mining of cobalt and lithium.
1 Like
You brought this up earlier in this topic:
I already have researched this. This has been going on well before EV batteries. Look at the LL1948 transformers we purchased for our MK1’s They have Cobalt cores. Small example of what we have been mining for years. Now battery technology is getting better and eliminating some of these materials. It will only get better as research continues. There is no perfect solution however we should pick the lesser of the evil’s until we come up with better solutions.
This is what I was talking about:
2 Likes
Diamonds gold and now batteries
1 Like
“Like” is not apropos, but thanks for posting.
1 Like
Yes. This is illegal and the US is doing everything in its power to prevent this. Most all automobile manufactures in the US & UK do not support this behavior. This includes Tesla, GM, Ford, VW Group along with many others. This sin has been going on since cell phones and laptops have been manufactured. This very topic has been discussed many times by Tesla and these groups.
This is another reason battery chemistry is changing. They have already cut Cobalt content in half.
1 Like
My 1985 Mercedes Turbodiesel wagon has 417,000 miles. As I am driving less and nearing retirement, maybe I won’t have to buy another car until it is outlawed, or my kids take the keys away. There is a definitely a relationship now knowing I’ve kept it going in the 230,000 miles I have been its caretaker. Maybe like an old cowpoke and an horse? And I certainly wasn’t a mechanic to begin with. My knowledge and tool collection grow. It’s good to problem solve as we age, I think.
Traded our first version Tesla (a gift) for a TR2. More enjoyable problem solving that keeps me out of trouble and provides an alternative to buying more stereo gear.
3 Likes
THIS is what automotive manufacturers should be doing worldwide, not EVs…
Listen to what Mr Bean has to say. He’s spot on.
3 Likes
To me he was Blackadder, and Inspector Maigret. Both roles were magnitudes better than (IMO) the ridiculous Mr. Bean.
No doubt, there are hurdles for EV to climb… but… The history of the steam engine train has some insight into what may face. Engineers and investors could see the value of the steam engine over horses, but the tech took a while and in some inclines, used teams of horses to pull up the engines up the hills. Passenger aircraft needed government help through tarriff setting to allow companies to generate enough cash and business to refine the vehicles. The telephone system… another great example of government help… granted a monopoly to ATT to ensure standardization, interoperability, and profit to fit out the entire country (the government kept the monopoly too long but that is another story).
Two of my closest friends purchased Teslas, my nephew just picked up a Model 3 for 40K… given his long Atlanta commute, he figures he saving over $225 per month is gas (after paying for electricity). I personally dislike the cars, but I know electric is in my future some day. And I love my manual transmission Porsche 911. The EVs I drove are just no fun.
Anywho… It appears the good ole’ USA has more Lithium reserves in a single place to supply global need for a long long time.
The guy who led Tesla’s battery development left Tesla to start up a battery recycling business… he notes it is cheaper to mine the components, but he is betting that will change as they invent the new technologies.
We are still in a very nascent industry… but the road ahead is clear like it was for steam engines… we just need a little help. If our government doesn’t assist, the Chinese will become the world leader in technology, assembly, and supply chain. In a way, there really is no choice… we live in an aggressive global business environment and it we don’t get behind it, will be behind.
1 Like
Has anyone here forgotten about the incredible social, political, fiscal , health and environmental costs of the oil and gas that powered ICE?
Thought so,
2 Likes
Good point… but there is a scary side to the move to EVs beyond all the child labor stuff that will go away. EVs have roughly 2/3 less parts than an ICE car. Think about it… no need for those companies, employees, etc… that make valve springs. EVs will bring a huge disruption in labor markets and local economies. It will be pretty darn devastating to many people.
But… if you look back on the demand for labor, before say 1900, the biggest employer industry was agrarian… even New York City had black smiths, horse breeders, and the poor sods that shoveled the crap and removed the rotting carcases in the hot summer sun. Skills needed? Show up and work.
Then came the industrial revolution and rise of the blue-collar worker. Skills needed? Training. Blue-collar work peaked at the end of WWII in 1947 and has been in steady decline ever since. Seriously, folks don’t realize that when you look at percentage of the population employed, blue-collar work has been in decline since 1947. Yea, it wasn’t the Asians that ruined industry. What pushed these folks out of work?
Automation was the huge disrupter but anyway, came the rise of the white-collar worker swapped with blue-collar at 50/50 around 1955. Skills needed? Training and college education. So here we sit? Nope.
Now we have a new demand by industry… called the knowledge worker. A person that requires continuous education, and as they work, shift from doing different tasks to other semi-related tasks. Skills needed? Usually a graduate degree and a life course of learning and reeducation.
So… should we fight the change? I dunno… read Grapes of Wrath… hmmmm… The most fabulous scene in the movie was the smoking, chugging, bulldozer that smashed the Joad’s farm house.
Peace
Bruce in Philly
1 Like
I thought that everyone was going to be come a coder.