Unofficial Off Topic Thread

[sk47]

A billion-dollar Kentucky battery plant went bankrupt, got fined by the DOJ, and is now owned by the contractor it never paid

Hello; This story hits on several things which have occurred since the big EV push which appears t be faltering. Some interesting twists and an uncertain outcome in terms of lithium battery recycling.

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[HoosierDaddy]

A billion-dollar Kentucky battery plant went bankrupt, got fined by the DOJ, and is now owned by the contractor it never paid

Hello; This story hits on several things which have occurred since the big EV push which appears t be faltering. Some interesting twists and an uncertain outcome in terms of lithium battery recycling.

Well the dumb "push" is over but more Tesla model Ys were sold than any other vehicle world wide every year for 3 years and counting. Push was never needed (other than for stock holders). These things sell themselves to majority of people who try one.

https://www.autoweek.com/news/a73250059/ev-owners-love-cars-says-jd-powers/

 

[sk47]

Electric Vehicle Sales and Market Share (US - 2026 Updates) - CarEdge

Hello; I did search for EV sales percentage but only came up with the above after one try. Seems EV sales are just over 5% of total sales in the USA. The link does say that Tesla sales are up but that EV sales in general are down, apparently due to the taxpayer supplements going away.

I get that you have and like an EV. I do not mind the fact. I am pleased the taxpayer supplements have gone away hopefully to never return. Let me say again my beef was not with others having an EV, it was the taxpayer monies dumped into them in various ways plus the "war" on fossil fuels.

I do have some gripes about EV's to be sure as a personal vehicle. A number of gripes with price above an ICE being one of the biggest.
Next being the need to have expensive electric panel work done to charge an EV at my home. I may have the extra breaker space in my panel, but I would need to run a charging cable some 75 feet from the box to my carport. I will not be having an EV in my basement garage for the fire concerns.

The majority of my trips are under 50 miles. A big share of those under 20 miles. However, I do need to make a 200-300 mile run from time to time. I also often haul 16 to 18 five-gallon buckets of dirt & stone away a few times a month. I will need to have a pickup for the foreseeable future.

So, like you an EV would be a third vehicle which makes little sense as I think i can buy an ICE for less money and not have the range issues. Anyway, if I get a third vehicle it will be a Mustang.

On that note let's explore the options for a Mustang for a thread break. I am not at all happy with the tech on the new Mustangs. In particular the touch screens, no manual parking brake, A variety of tech which I would like to be options I could delete but are become "standard" equipment. I like the idea of new so as to have a warranty for three years on that stuff.
I also have come to think some of the problems with new Mustangs are the result of the company having to squeeze maximum MPG's out of the drivetrain as well as meet the emission requirements.
I hold a slim hope the MPG & emission requirement will continue to be relaxed long enough for Ford to make the Coyote and transmissions less finicky.

The other option is to buy an older Mustang. In my younger days such would be a good option. As i approach 79 years of age in ten days that sort of rebuild wrenching is not so appealing. There is an older GT 500 with low miles for sale in Knoxville with low miles on FB. I like the idea of it but the asking price is $49K.

 

[sk47]

Marketplace - 2007 Ford Mustang · Shelby GT500 Coupe 2D | Facebook

 

[Balr14]

I disagree with your position on EV subsidies. Fossil fuel subsidies dwarf those given to EVs and it's a finite resource that continues to get harder and harder to extract, with tremendous damage to the environment. EV technology needs to be supported. It's our best hope.

As for older vehicles, a Cadillac CTS-V from 2010-2014 would be my choice. These engines do not have any of the fuel saving and other "improvements" that have been added to new engines. They are simple, cheap and easy to fix and work on. They are good for 200k miles with no major issues. They also hold their value very well.

 

[sk47]

I disagree with your position on EV subsidies. Fossil fuel subsidies dwarf those given to EVs and it's a finite resource that continues to get harder and harder to extract, with tremendous damage to the environment. EV technology needs to be supported. It's our best hope.

Hello; best i can recall the EV subsidies and fossil fuel subsidies comparison was posted about to some extent on this forum in past threads. I do not recall the details but have an impression some things cited as taxpayer handouts for fossil fuels were the general sort which all big companies can get.
There are at least three categories of people with regard to vehicles. Those who drive ICE. Those who drive an EV and those who do not drive. Those three categories can be further divided into those who actually pay taxes and those who do not. That onerous taxpayer funded handout up to $7,500 to help buy an EV hit actual taxpayers of all three categories. Non taxpayers, as is the usual, got to skate and also in some manner had their needs met by those same taxpayers. A non-driver in a big city helped pay a portion of the $7,500 if they actually pay taxes.
I do not personally know of a program were taxpayer monies got handed to buyers of an ICE vehicle. That i do not know of such a thing does not mean such never happened.

Hello; I happen to agree that petroleum is a finite resource in a real time sense. By that I mean we are using it up very much faster than it naturally can form. Same as we deplete the underground aquifers and topsoil's very much faster than they can form naturally.
So yes, i can picture a time when petroleum supply will not meet demand. That potential fact does not however mean we hitch our future onto EV's & green energy which cannot do the overall job.

Hello; Green energy & EV's have their own destructive environmental impacts. We on this forum have delved into this in some detail. That there is no tailpipe on an EV is not the measure of an EV's impact.

Hello; EV technology needs to be allowed to flourish or fail on the merits. Not on a bunch of financial crutches. The tech will either be viable or a small niche in the transportation world. Shop for a battery lawn mower vs. an ICE sort and compare the prices.

Hello; Our best hope is to keep all options available for the future of energy production and transportation. Saying only EV's can be the future is a form of tunnel vision. We recently emerged from such a scenario where so much opportunity cost was lost due to a very narrow focus on less than adequate EV & green technologies. The billions of taxpayer monies shoved down those rat holes are now a part of the near 40,000,000,000,000 (40 trillion) national debt. Ford, GM and others used limited funds chasing EV's and lost money.

 

[Balr14]

Your arguments sound like a nicely worded rationale to resist change. You consistently overlook rapid progress in electric technology.

I don't know about a new lawn mower, as I have a commercial grade zero turn mower, which isn't offered in electric form. But all of my other lawn equipment is now electric. They all run on 56 volt batteries and once you have paid for a couple of those the tools are pretty cheap and perform as good as any ICE tools with no maintenance or fuel costs.... 2 stroke fuel is damn expensive.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Your arguments sound like a nicely worded rationale to resist change. You consistently overlook rapid progress in electric technology.

Beating a dead horse. You'd have better luck converting a flat-earther.

 

[sk47]

Your arguments sound like a nicely worded rationale to resist change. You consistently overlook rapid progress in electric technology.

Beating a dead horse. You'd have better luck converting a flat-earther.

Hello; I am not fascinated by clever electronic gadgets. In the end we are discussing a vehicle not a TV nor a video game. Cars are analogue.
Sure, lots of computer enhanced stuff can be grafted onto a vehicle. Such does not necessarily make a car a better machine. I like the engine control computers & sensors have allowed but the rest of it seems mainly gadgets.

My first fuel injected car was a 1972 Porsche 914 with a k-Jetronic FI system. Car still had points. I like the way my 2001 car & 2004 truck run with Fuel injection & electronic spark both run by computers. Those two systems are about as far as i deem needed in a car. The rest can be analogue. Except maybe for a CD player.

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