Electric Vehicles: Sparse Commentary, But Still Worthwhile

Since August, I’ve been trying to find enough articles to justify an EV post, but not much is coming out.  We have news about Norway, with its shorter driving distances and politically liberal and freely government-obeying people, moving toward banning or restricting, maybe prohibitively, internal combustion ones, but those things don’t apply in the United States, so such policies can’t reasonably be seen as role models for us.  In the meantime, what’s the best of the slim pickings of second-half 2024’s published pieces?

The oldest was Jack Ewing’s “Electric Cars Help the Climate.  But Are They Good Value?” (July 29^th, The New York Times).  The author addresses “factors to consider, many of which depend on your driving habits and how important it is to you to reduce your impact on the environment.”  He wrote that “it’s hard to say definitively how long batteries will remain usable,” and although they “do lose range over time,” “the degradation is very slow.”  As for “resale value,” “on average, electric vehicles depreciated by 49 percent over five years, compared to 39 percent for all,” hurt by “steep price cuts” on new ones.  Fueling and maintenance, though, can both be cheaper, as, per the Environmental Protection Agency, one electric pickup truck model will cost less than half as much to fuel as its gasoline or diesel version.  Such vehicles also do not need oil changes, spark plugs, or muffler replacements, and overall “have fewer moving parts to break down,” although with heavy batteries they need tires more often.  Ewing, though, did not mention driving range, certainly a concern varying greatly between consumers.

I have advocated hybrid vehicles as the best of both worlds, so was surprised and disappointed to see “Why the hype for hybrid cars will not last” (The Economist, September 17^th).  The piece does not consider vehicles not needing external electric charging, dealing only with those here called “plug-in electric vehicles (PHEVS).”  As of press time, “carmakers have been cooling on (non-hybrid electrics) and warming to hybrids, which are especially profitable, with buyers thinking of them as “cheap,” as they need much smaller batteries.  The uncredited author expected that they will be less common as California and the entire European Union prevent, in the next decade, their sale.

Another advantage of electric cars we may not have anticipated is that “It Turns Out Charging Stations Are Cash Cows For Nearby Businesses” (Rob Stumpf, InsideEVs.com, September 24^th).  I passed along years ago the idea that if driverless vehicles took over, smoking would drop, as so many people buy cigarettes at gas stations – this is sort of the other side.  “EV charging stations aren’t just better for the environment; they’re also money printers.  And it’s not just charging network providers who see green – so do nearby shops.”  The facilities seem to be benefiting businesses as far as a mile away, with “coffee shops” and other “places where people can kill 20 or so minutes” doing especially well because of this “dwell time.”  Watch this trend – it will become more and more focused, unless, somehow, charging takes no longer than a fill-up does today.  And perhaps coffee consumption will go up.

Last, we have “6 Common EV Myths and How to Debunk Them” (Jonathan N. Gitlin, Wired.com, November 16^th).  How true are these actually seven areas of concern?  Gitlin wrote that “charging an EV takes too long” is invalid, since those unhappy with 18 to 20-minute times can be “curmudgeons,” and people can recharge at home while the car is idle.  However, “I can’t charge it at home” is reasonable, as “if you cannot reliably charge your car at home or at work – and I mean reliably (in bold) – you don’t really have any business buying a plug-in vehicle yet.”  “An EV is too expensive” fails since “75 percent of American car buyers buy used cars,” and “used EVs can be a real bargain.”  Weather concerns are no worse than with other vehicles, but he admitted that “I need 600 miles of uninterrupted range” doesn’t have “a good rebuttal,” though at least one electric model is now good for almost 500.  “They’re bad for the environment” does not apply to carbon dioxide emissions or in localities with little electricity coming from coal.  “We don’t have enough electricity” – well, yes, we do, for everything except artificial intelligence model creation.

Overall, very little has been decided about the future of electric and hybrid vehicles in America.  But, with time, there will be more.  Stay tuned.