Bye Bye Chevy Volt

[Music Lover]

I'm one of the few people that have zero interest in an SUV. I drove trucks for years and then bought a Subaru Impreza. My current car is an Acura TLX and it's the perfect vehicle for me....it has AWD for our winters and a trunk big enough to keep my golf clubs or musical gear out of sight.

[Midpack]

And it's been like this for many years, presumably getting even worse (until the next oil crisis). Note volumes, not just % change...

[ShokWaveRider]

When I drive to a destination (Florida to Canada for example) I like to get a good 1st day of driving in. That is way over the ~300 mile limits of today's Electrics. I do like the Tesla, but it still cannot cut it. I miss my BMW 328d that averaged 47mpg to Canada. I went for a gas one this time (330i) and it really is nowhere near as good. I think I can get one more diesel lease in when this one runs out, before they get really hard to get and maintain.

[Red Badger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack And it's been like this for many years, presumably getting even worse (until the next oil crisis). Note volumes, not just % change...

There is a trade name for all those F-150's (and similar PU's) parked in the cities and burbs. Air haulers.

Owned trucks over the years, but once all of our gardens and decks were complete, last PU got swapped out for a Miata. Much more practical.

[misanman]

Quote:

PU got swapped out for a Miata. Much more practical.

o

I have a Miata but there's no way I can relate to this statement!

[ncbill]

tl;dr

A recent CNN item pointed out that plugin EVs like the Volt haven't proved popular.

People are either buying pure EVs or non-plugin hybrids.

[Caskem]

Now that SUVs and trucks are getting the mileage the sedans do, it's a no-brainer. Even my "toy" car, a V6 convertible, gets 27 MPG, which is what my Subaru gets.

[Music Lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caskem Now that SUVs and trucks are getting the mileage the sedans do, it's a no-brainer. Even my "toy" car, a V6 convertible, gets 27 MPG, which is what my Subaru gets.

Mileage is good these days. My 2015 V6 Acura with 290 HP gets 40 US mpg on the highway, although it's a lot less if you're heavy on the throttle in the city.

[Koolau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by skipro33 Within another 10 years, self driving cars, electric most likely and for California mandatory, will be the standard. I imagine within 20 years all new cars will be electric and self driving. The gas powered car is on it's way to extinction.

I wouldn't dispute this (and most likely will not be here to confirm/deny) but if this is correct (all cars full electric in 20 years) then our electrical infrastructure will have to change dramatically. IIRC, the US uses something like 9 million bbl of oil a day just for gasoline. ERD50 (and others) could probably give you a back-of-the-envelope conversion to Megawatts on that but it's a heck of a lot. Imagine the number of windmills, solar panels and carbon-based power plants that would require to produce. I'm not saying it's impossible, I'm just saying I don't think it's going to happen in time unless we start the change now. YMMV

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by skipro33 Within another 10 years, self driving cars, electric most likely and for California mandatory, will be the standard. I imagine within 20 years all new cars will be electric and self driving. The gas powered car is on it's way to extinction.

This reminds me of the prognostications of the coming "paperless society" that were popular in the late 1970's. Pundits were forecasting the demise of printed material before the end of the century, saving the lives of millions of trees. Forty years have passed and while we may have reached the "less paper" society, we are nowhere near paperless.

I suspect a similar future for ICE powered cars - they will decline but it will take far longer than a decade or two for them to disappear entirely.

[gstillson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red Badger There is a trade name for all those F-150's (and similar PU's) parked in the cities and burbs. Air haulers. Owned trucks over the years, but once all of our gardens and decks were complete, last PU got swapped out for a Miata. Much more practical.

If we meet head on, I would rather you be in the Miata and me in the pickup truck.

[Mr. Tightwad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo This reminds me of the prognostications of the coming "paperless society" that were popular in the late 1970's. Pundits were forecasting the demise of printed material before the end of the century, saving the lives of millions of trees. Forty years have passed and while we may have reached the "less paper" society, we are nowhere near paperless. I suspect a similar future for ICE powered cars - they will decline but it will take far longer than a decade or two for them to disappear entirely.

Disappear entirely will take awhile, if ever. But between consumers gradually converting, car companies eliminating ICE production ( Volkswagen just announced their schedule, becoming the 3rd to do so) and governments offering tax credits and banning ICE cars purchases (6 nations so far), would you agree its pretty obvious what the future holds for vehicular transportation?

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Tightwad ...would you agree its pretty obvious what the future holds for vehicular transportation?

No, I don't think I can agree. While it may appear obvious, the future has a sneaky way of turning out differently than we foresee. Who knows what new technologies will be available in a few years?

[Sunset]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Tightwad Disappear entirely will take awhile, if ever. But between consumers gradually converting, car companies eliminating ICE production ( Volkswagen just announced their schedule, becoming the 3rd to do so) and governments offering tax credits and banning ICE cars purchases (6 nations so far), would you agree its pretty obvious what the future holds for vehicular transportation?

It will be bicycles for places with arbitrary rules set by govt.

All those gov'ts will back track once everyone realizes you need to build thousands of nuke power plants to generate enough electricity for the increase in electric cars.

As more people switch over to pure E cars, (which is attractive at the right price and driving range), the demand for oil will drop, leading to a surplus inducing environment, so the cost of gas will drop or stay very low, possibly lower than today.
This will reduce the demand for E cars.

[Music Lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Tightwad Disappear entirely will take awhile, if ever. But between consumers gradually converting, car companies eliminating ICE production ( Volkswagen just announced their schedule, becoming the 3rd to do so) and governments offering tax credits and banning ICE cars purchases (6 nations so far), would you agree its pretty obvious what the future holds for vehicular transportation?

The demise of ICE cars has been predicted for decades and the best electrics can do even with massive subsidies is a tiny percentage. End the subsidies and their market share will plummet.

It doesn't matter what California decrees or what Volkswagen announces...the vast majority of people will continue to buy ICE until they determine that it's advantageous to buy an alternative.

[braumeister]

Screen Shot 2018-12-05 at 4.04.43 PM.png

[REWahoo]

^ ICE, electric, fuel cell, or nuclear powered?

[Music Lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister Attachment 30078

The first thing I thought of with flying cars was that too many people already can't even handle level driving safely...think of the mess if up and down was added.

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo ^ ICE, electric, fuel cell, or nuclear powered?

Foot powered

[Mr. Tightwad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Music Lover The demise of ICE cars has been predicted for decades and the best electrics can do even with massive subsidies is a tiny percentage. End the subsidies and their market share will plummet. It doesn't matter what California decrees or what Volkswagen announces...the vast majority of people will continue to buy ICE until they determine that it's advantageous to buy an alternative.

I phrase it "the vast majority will continue to buy ICE until the federal government bans it. See China, India, France, UK, Germany and Norway."

Otherwise I agree.