10 mo. ago • 90%

Don’t Give Up on the Electric Car Dream | The Tyee

thetyee.ca Don’t Give Up on the Electric Car Dream | The Tyee

In defence of key weapons for fighting climate change, EVs and renewable energy.

27 comments

Fuck cars of all types. Our entire capitalistic hellscape is built around the automobile.

28
- Japan manages to have a capitalistic hellscape with many fewer cars...
  
  Cars are a problem, but they definitely aren't the only problem.
  
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  I think the "fuck cars" movement has latched on to one particular symptom of a problem and are laser-focused on it, which probably isn't the best way to address it in the long run.
  
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  they definitely aren’t the only problem
  
  Who's even claiming they are, though
  
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Why not? It’s just a distraction from real dreams of not having my city clogged with pedestrian maiming cars.

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- Yeah, those cars. They always jump right up onto the sidewalk, striking without warning from the shadows.
  
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  I can't tell if this is sarcasm or not. Cars absolutely do jump onto sidewalks and hit pedestrians and cyclists. A curb is nothing to stop a drunk or distracted driver in an SUV.
  
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Want to save the electric car dream? Subsidies aren't enough. Large EVs are far more expensive than conventional large vehicles, and road-tanks like the F150 represent a threat to the kind of small vehicles that we should be supporting. Subcompacts, e-bikes, and new things filling the space in-between (eg enclosed electric motorbike-class vehicles like the Arcimoto) are an important part of the post-fossil-fuel future, but they're not safe to take on to a road full of gigantic motor bricks. I drive a Prius Prime and the darn thing's roof is lower than the hood of some jacked-up pickups.

I'm not saying that pickups and similar vehicles should be illegal, but we need stronger disincentives for people buying such things. Like rate vehicles based on various objective criteria - bumper-compatibility, mass, front cross-section, front visibility, visual obstruction to other drivers, etc. and then classify the more dangerous ones as "high risk vehicles", and give those ones stricter licensing requirements (like a class D) and stricter penalties for infractions. Need a pickup for your job? Then you're a professional, and you can deal with professional vehicle licensing requirements.

I mean, if you need one to pull a boat? Well, you can afford some extra fees (or fines for infractions), and to go through a stricter licensing process.

Also, PHEVs are a seriously underrated option. I think we leapfrogged something important with this jump to full BEVs. I love my Prius Prime - I live in Hamilton, which is built as an old-fashioned streetcar-suburb, and daily commute rarely hits the gas-engine.

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- PHEV is nice (my wife has one) but it adds mechanical complication to the car. I still like it and only rarely need the gas engine except to run the heater or if i drive 100km to the Big City.
  
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  I agree they're a trade-off, but they're a necessary middle-step in the process of getting off of carbon fuels while the battery industry develops enough to fully convert the rest of the auto industry.
  
  I'd rather see every passenger-vehicle made after 2020 be a PHEV than a handful of guys driving around in Teslas and Lightnings with bloated batteries while 95% of new cars on the road are still gas-burners.
  
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Electric cars sound great, it just sucks that they are all luxury vehicles right now. Like there’s no $3000 used electric car out there for regular people to buy. Hell there isn’t even a new $20k electric car.

Most people won’t do mass transit because they’ve been socialized to see it as gross. And it is gross. In my town there are always crazy people riding the bus harassing the driver because they are lonely, and the bus smells like pee. And the bus never gets you there faster than a car, so why ever ride it.

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- Mass transit is not a bus. Buses are one of the lowest tiers of transit.
  
  Many people would use mass transit if it was well maintained, clean, easy to use, and as fast or faster than a car. That level of transit service is rare in Canada.
  
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- When there finally are $3000 used electric cars, the batteries will be completely shot and they'll have a range of 10 miles.
  
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  Yep. There will be no affordable used electric cars, all the cost is in the battery.
  
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- I do think the "used cars not around" criticism is a little silly. Cars have to be new before they're used, and used cars will come down the pike eventually.
  
  More availability on the cheaper end would be nice. Tesla really missed the boat on that, I think, focusing on the Cybertruck instead of working on a light vehicle for the Asian, European, and Indian markets. As a result, BYD may eat their lunch.
  
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- Thankfully in Vancouver public transit is quite good, though intercity options aren't that great. If only conservatives weren't allergic to bike lanes... the city has the potential for great transportation projects. Mass transit is still in its infancy here, it needs to grow.
  
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- Welcome to 2010, there's no good 3k$ used cars anymore!
  
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  I used that number because I just sold my used car for $3k.
  
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Electric bikes is where it's at. Cities has to be built with bikes in mind though

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- How am I supposed to carry my 40-count toilet paper pack for my big fat American ass? I'll have to use my daily commuter tractor trailer
  
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