Brazil is ALL-IN on Renewable Energy and Electric Vehicles

I think if I could drive my truck anymore while I wouldn't be able to afford an electric car. And they probably won't really have much of a used market also probably couldn't get insurance on a used TV just because the battery is so dangerous. I'd probably switch to horse.

That would actually be more practical. And on the cost of charging it if you don't have a charger at your home which I don't then I can't it would probably be cheaper to have a horse.

 

The article is misleading and deceptive. 80% of Brazil's electricity comes from hydroelectric power.

Some of these hydroelectric dams have been very controversial with bad effects on the environment and flooding large areas, displacing indigenous population.

This doesn't really represent any amazing switch to renewable energy.

 

I have a friend who used to bag on EVs some. For the most part he didn’t really care about them but didn’t understand their allure.

Then he drove a Tesla another friend purchased. Now of course he wants one too.

Just like most things in life, not every tech or product fits every need.

 

I think when most people are bashing EVs in political discussions, they're not so much really bashing EVs themselves, but rather government initiatives to push them, force them, and subsidize them. As long as the buyers are completely aware of all the possible disadvantages and problems unique to EVs, there is no problem. EVs might be desirable to certain people in certain situations. Or like your friend, just because he likes the look or feel of an EV, and for no other reason.

Most conservatives have no problem whatsoever if YOU want to buy an electric vehicle.

And the real big irony here is that the majority of persons who would like to force EVs on society don't personally own one!

 

Yes, good points.

 

I'll address this 1st sentence. Did the writer read the lead article in this thread? It has a link showing that Brazil's EV and plug-in hybrid sales are up 60% Sales of all-electric vehicles around the world are up substantially. Many countries are rapidly approaching a status of majority EVs on the road.

 

Most government incentives are out of necessity. The major cities throughout the world are often out of local and regional compliance standards for pollutant levels. It is their job to act. That's why so many are going to electric or natural gas powered buses.

We used to drive a Smart car. We were on the interstate, and a large SUV crossed 3 lanes, cut us off, making us enter the shoulder of the highway, and sped off. Our Volt was recently bashed in at a Wal-Mart parking lot. The damage was high on the car, indicating a large vehicle hit it. The police looked at the parking lot video, and it showed a large pickup truck enter the area, but two large SUVs blocked the actual recording. I'm not refuting your statement, but just relaying some of my experiences. There is big money at stake in the petroleum and automobile industries. Keep in mind that EVs have no transmission, no fuel injection, no exhaust system,etc, etc. Vehicle repair stations subtly bad-mouth EVs. Auto parts stores, parts manufacturers, oil refineries, gas stations, and even those who dispose of hazardous wastes from refineries.

Can't speak to the status of the number of advocates who actually own EVs. Personally, I would never go back to an ICE for reasons stated above - too many parts and systems. EVs are simple. Also, in my experience, everytime somebody bad-mouths EVs, I ask if they ever drove one. I have never gotten a YES answer.

 

I'm not interested in whether they're a better or worse country.

 

Yes, that's true. For example, I would NOT recommend an EV to somebody who lives in the Arctic, Siberia, Iceland or Greenland. Like ICEs, EVs are very inefficient in extreme cold, but ICEs will be more effective at successfully getting you to your destination.

EVs are great in most areas, mainly because of their simpicity (no transmission, no fuel injection, no exhaust system, no points, plugs, pistons or cylinders, etc., etc.). So now that EVs are starting to cost less than ICE cars, and you factor near-zero-maintenance, they are a huge saver of money.

 

It's a long way to there we don't even know if it's possible

 

It's true that it is a long way. In Norway, the largest per capita EV market, nearly 9 out every 10 cars sold are either EVs or plug-in hybrids, and still only 20% of the cars on the road are EVs. But at that sales rate, this will change rapidly.

 

So how many are actually hybrids versus electric cars?

I imagine the electric cars sales will completely vanish when they realize you can't use them in the cold.

 

Agreed. Hopefully that will change in the future but as of now it’s pretty dicey depending on one exclusively where I live. For folks with an ICE backup it’s fine.

I’m completely out of the market now just because the vehicles (excluding motorcycles I guess) I depend on just require too much energy to perform needed tasks.

They certainly have the potential to be low maintenance.

Disclaimer: Occasionally I post opinions based on my experience as opposed to usual content based on solid evidence. The following is just that. My opinion based on experience.

I have doubt’s manufacturers and dealers are willing to give up the revenue they are accustomed to from parts and services. I’m open to evidence EV owners will pay less in maintenance over time compared to ICE. It may happen but I’m a bit cynical about folks giving up revenue streams that are that lucrative. Very simple machines can be engineered to require expensive specialized maintenance. I’m sure you’ve seen it from the engineering side of the fence.

Probably my biggest concern is simultaneously introducing “self driving” technology at the same time as EV technology. I’ve been using self driving tech for decades and it adds a huge layer of maintenance and reliability problems to vehicles. I’m concerned reliability issues related to self driving will sour some on EVs who otherwise would be happy.

Time will tell. Certainly an exciting time to be alive and experience the new technologies 99.9999% of (known) humanity never even dreamed about.

 

The idea of self-driving vehicles scares me too. Just today, I saw this video on self-driving buses in Guangzhou, China. Maybe I'm a little less skeptical...

 

At least at the individual vehicle/driver level, safety will be much better with self driving/autonomous. There is just so much human error, distractedness and substance use/abuse that is eliminated with self driving it’s inherently safer.

The problem I see is layered navigational and safety features that rely on components with short lifespans or just poor quality control at manufacture. Because failure of one single component results in safety shutdown of the entire system, excessive downtime will result. And if failure happens in congested high traffic areas all other vehicles in the vicinity will have to shut down or evade resulting in downtime for the whole traffic system simultaneously. All over failure of a component that is probably just a redundancy anyway.

Because it’s impossible to hire help anymore I’ve gone to using self driving tech for things I never had to before. It’s inevitable that it will happen in things like your video etc. It’s just too valuable to not be utilized in all kinds of situations.

http://www.politicalforum.com/index.php?posts/1074317245/

 

Climate denialists idea of what an electric car looks like

 

LOL. However, I do think that EVs could have polychrystalline solar panels on the roof. They have regenerative braking, so the circuitry mechanism to feedback current to the batteries should already be there. The solar panels are probably more hardy than the metal used today. I have hail damage on my car, but none on my solar PVs at home. It wouldn't generate that much power for the individual driver (probably only 1 or 2%), but as an energy savings feature for the country as a whole, it would be huge.

 

I have always said there is a niche market for EV's as local runabouts. Most multi-car households have one for local use and one (usually bigger, more powerful) for road trips and possibly for hauling/towing. The EV is a reasonable choice for the former but not for the latter.

 

Definitely a good option for some households. However, there are many who are successfully utilizing EVs as their only vehicle. The latest charging technologies produce a 80% charge in 12 minutes. Not widely available yet, but it just goes to show how fast the technologies are evolving in this industry. Much of the innovation is coming out of China.

 

Range and charging time (even at the claimed 12 minutes) remain unsuitable for longer road trips.

 

They can be a good option if your lifestyle fits it. Got no problem with that.

My problem with them starts when they become a political vehicle that's pushed as hard as our government is pushing it to try to ridiculously ban internal combustion engines.

Then there's a serious problem for our society.

 

I've posted a number of links. Nobody is trying to take away your freedom to drive a gas guzzler.

 

I've worked for the government setting exactly that up.

You're simply wrong.

Dead wrong.

 

Then you'll have no problem finding a link. Go ahead, and I'll follow up with the Fact Check.

 

Here you go. From the leftists favorite news source to boot.

https://www.npr.org/2023/04/12/1169...les-emission-standards-tailpipes-fuel-economy

Go ahead and fact check that if you can.