Pop quiz –
When did electric cars first appear on the roads?
A) 1960’s
B) 1980’s
C) 1990’s
D) 1880’s
In 1912 about what percentage of cars on the road were electric?
A) 0%
B) 2%
C) 1%
D) 38%
When I was 18 years old I was excited to be able to buy a Corvette. I’ve had one ever since. This one was a 1968 convertible – red with a black top. A week after I bought it I realized why it was so cheap – $6800. It burned more oil than gas!
I was still thrilled to own a sports car (after my upbringing) – it was a thrill. In high school I read Hot Rod and Car Craft magazines, and I wasn’t afraid to start taking engines apart. Having no choice and no money (left), that is what I did. I rebuilt the engine and put it back in the car. When I turned the key – it started!
Since then I have felt I knew more than the average person about engines. I love internal combustion!
When my son bought a Tesla, I thought it was strange. People reject things that are new and unfamiliar.
When he moved to Utah he was selling the car, and so I bought it. It reminds me of him. He’s my buddy. We spent so much time together riding ATV’s and dirt bikes since he was 10 months old.
Today I have the Tesla and the 2019 Corvette Z06 in my garage (and a 2016 Chevy pickup truck of course, and a 2019 Chevy Impala). Most days I drive the Tesla. I am used to it now. It’s fast, (probably faster than my Corvette Z06!) easy, quiet, all-wheel drive….so many fewer moving parts – and so efficient without so much friction from those parts or radiators to take the heat energy (that you paid for with the gas) away as waste.
When I get into an internal combustion car now I feel like it’s so antiquated – a relic of the past.
It will be cool when there are a wide variety of cars and trucks on the road that work like a Tesla. We are getting there.
I’m not one for forcing the issue – that everyone has to drive an electric vehicle by a certain time – but it will happen.
I love my gas-burning vehicles including dirt bikes (I have an electric dirt bike on order), but I know, the future is electric.
(Maybe they will make an electric Corvette! Then you don’t have to worry if the engine is in the front or rear – just get rid of it!)
The answer to both questions is D!
I commend you for getting in the drivers seat and taking the time to know the product. Generally those who do never go back.
My son-in-law and I were talking about this. He just graduated with a 4.0 as a mechanical engineer from Oregon tech. I think that the current stepping stone is going to be a diesel generator in the front charging a battery, until battery capacity through solid state are more of a thing. Sodium and graphene are on the cusp. Making this generator swappable with other fuel sources would be ideal in case hydrogen makes a breakthrough before they master containing radioactive waste in diamonds. Diesel engines when idling at the perfect RPM produce a lot less carbon emissions while having a very decent energy output. Say goodbye to rang anxiety. The electrical grid needs to catch up as well before we could all just charge from it.
Hydrogen and i’ve heard amonia internal combustion generating electric like large ships i believe is the future. But then again i restore i.c.e. for my business.
I had the opportunity to do a walk around of a Tesla Plaid. That’s one sexy car! Getting back in my car, the number of gauges, knobs, numbers, dials, and switches seemed ridiculous, almost comical, compared to the simple elegance of the Tesla interior.
I’m afraid you might be right but I sure do love the sound of my V-8! Electric vehicles have some massive negative aspects right now that prevent me from owning one. However, if (when) technology is able to fix those few things then they will easily take over, at least for our everyday commuter vehicles. I just hope that the internal combustion engine isn’t completely outlawed at some point because I sure would miss the roar of those engines!
When in a old snap, like most of the nation is in now, the heaters in those electric cars soak up the juju. Then the juju delivery places are all frozen over. We gotta do better to move forward.
living in cal, I like ICE. Maybe a few more years. I am impressed by the cars mostly.
No heat an a cold day no good.
David
Electrification is the future! Love it or hate, it’s upon us. I’ve been a lineman my whole career and plan to start a HV construction company. At my utility alone, we need to instal 30k miles of UG cable, 15K miles of OH wire, and 200 new substations to support EVs and Zero Carbon initiatives. Almost triple our load capacity, it’s an exciting time in our industry!
Great post, there are plenty of red blooded Americans that a getting into EV’s for all of the right reasons. I bought my first Tesla in 2015 (Model S P85D) because it was the coolest, fastest thing I could get with seven seats and AWD for my large family. A couple years later we added a Model X for my wife, and I’ve upgraded to a Plaid S. Is the environmental impact everything that it’s cracked up to be? I don’t know. I do think that there is enough evidence to say that it’s better, but the degree to which is certainly arguable. That said, they are just great cars… and I love all cars from my big block ’66 Buick Wildcat, to my Silverado, had a nitrous fed Camaro, a rotary Mazda Rx8, and many more.
Its really unfortunate that there is so much misinformation from both sides when it comes to EV’s… Being located just north of Chicago (Milwaukee) and driving through nine winters I’ve had zero issues. A little bit of common sense is all that’s needed.