Subscription services irony

[6ft3Aussie]

As for fuel economy, my Toyota Corolla (1800cc 6 speed manual) achieves approximately 39 MPG (European gallons) which equates to 32.9 miles to the US gallon, that sitting at 110 to 115 kmh (70 MPH = 112 kmh). I'm happy with that.
1 European gallon = 4.5L and 1 US gallon = 3.785L.
EVs are really only practical around town, I'd hate to think how long it would take for me to drive an EV to say Sydney, which is about 950 km or 590 miles. I have done it in my Corolla in 10.5 hours, cruising at the legal speed limit of 110 kmh, as there's plenty of speed cameras including point to point cameras...
There was a test done recently driving a new BMW740 and the EV equivalent from Melbourne to Sydney which is about 875 km, the petrol car got the whole distance easily on less than a full tank, while the EV version had to stop 3 times to recharge, and the cost of the electric recharging was higher than the cost of the petrol by about 10%.

As for subscription services and cars, I have heard that (in the USA) that it won't be long before the car stereo is doing away with conventional broadcast reception in favour of paid subscription streaming or satellite radio (which, as far as I know only exists in the USA as the 2.3 GHz frequency it uses is used everywhere else for mobile phones), and some other functions etc are also dependant on subscription services over mobile data, such as sat-nav mapping and traffic information.

[crfriend]

2) There's too much money involved -- with much of that in the hands of very corrupt and influential people who all want MORE money. This is not sustainable,

You're talking about Big Oil, right?

Actually I was speaking of what the cost is going to be for the "little people" who are going to have to replace what they already have that works and is somewhat affordable with something that'll be much less affordable, likely more trouble (think "subscriptions" and "bricking"), and all of that money will go to the billionaire class and will be removed from what little remains of the Middle Class.

Electric cars worked quite well when trips were short; this is the role in which they were quite popular at the turn of the 20th Century;

You may be one of the few people who travel far enough for it to be a problem. The vast majority of people don't travel very far. But the US just has stupid city layouts making people drive much further than necessary.

As for New England, if Norway can do it, so can you. But what you or I think doesn't matter much anyway. In time the economics will drive the changeover anyway.

Yes, the "economics" will be the driver (it almost always is), and the main requirement will be the mandatory phaseout of the internal combustion engine in favour of the relocated emissions vehicle produced (and procured) at great expense to a population that cannot afford it.

On the difference between Norway and New England, I rather suspect Norway is slightly more compact and the police force acts as public servants instead of an Army Of Occupation.

[Barleymower]

I've had loads or cars. Not because I'm a big car nut but since buying a merc in 1989 with a load of miles on it (a 200D) and it was really good. So I have bought high mileage mercedes for next to nothing ever since. I've had a few engine problems mostly from a w123 230ce that liked to overheat in traffic. Right now I have a 320e estate which serves the family well and generally runs somewhere between 30 to 45 mpg.

[moonshadow]

Simply put, I can't afford an EV.

The cheapest base models can cost an upwards of $30k-40k.

So you buy used... okay, then the clock is ticking on that battery which will gradually wear down and in 5-8 years will need to be replaced to the tune of anywhere from $5k-20k.

I live in an RV park with 30 amp service... how am I supposed to charge it??

I paid $3,500 for Jax and have had him since 2018, I have put 40,000 miles on the vehicle. I have had to replace the fan clutch, thermostat, clutch master cylinder, and... a battery (just a regular 12v battery). I also put some new tires on the vehicle and of course my oil changes. Not counting the tires I have probably spent under $500 in maintenance on the vehicle since I've owned it... in six years times. Roughly $84 per year.

Even the cheapest battery lasting a full 8 years puts us at $625 per year!!!

Sorry Ray. We're getting ripped off. But consider this, it's not the electric I have an issue with. I have no problem with an electrically driven vehicle. Even the freight trains that cross cross the country are technically electrically driven (they just use onboard diesel generators). It's the storage of that electric (the battery). It's expensive, an environmental disaster to produce, VERY dangerous, not only to work on but just sitting in your garage. Fire departments have a hell of a time trying to extinguish an EV car fire. A shade tree mechanic really takes his or her life in their hands tinkering under the hood of one of these things.

But all the politikin' aside, all of the "science", all of the "save the planet", all of the money being funneled to Musk... the bottom line... MY bottom line... I just don't make enough money to own one.

If the devil danced in empty pocket's, he'd have a ball in mine Ray.... I'm an American, and I'm broke.

[pelmut]

Just to add to the fun: Lithium batteries mustn't be charged at low temperatures.  A vanliife forum is now reporting that people are having to buy batteries with built-in electric heaters -- and some are buying diesel heaters to keep the batteries warm.

[Midas]

If all you do is tootle around your home town then an EV will never be worth the cost, either financial or carbon. If you want to drive the length of the country or further, you will have to use a service station or other public charging point.

Like windmills for power generation, EVs are a third rate solution to a perceived problem and will make things worse until a proper solution is found.

And don’t get me started on heat pumps…..

[rode_kater]

So you buy used... okay, then the clock is ticking on that battery which will gradually wear down and in 5-8 years will need to be replaced to the tune of anywhere from $5k-20k.

You've got old figures. Battery warranties are at least 8 years/100,000mi. EV batteries are expected to last well over 200,000, which is way longer than most cars are on the road.

I live in an RV park with 30 amp service... how am I supposed to charge it??

That's more than enough, most EVs are charged at home plugging into an ordinary home grid connection.

But all the politikin' aside, all of the "science", all of the "save the planet", all of the money being funneled to Musk... the bottom line... MY bottom line... I just don't make enough money to own one.

Can we all agree not to buy Telsas? They're terrible cars.

But you're right, they're expensive right now if you buy them (even if they are cheaper to run) and it will take time for the second hand market to grow. If you can't afford it, don't buy one.

Many European readers will now have bruises under the chin resulting from those jaw-dropping figures -- even allowing for the smaller size of the US gallon.

Yeah, that the funny part. Americans complain about the higher petrol prices in Europe, but due to the crappy milage we're paying about the same per distance travelled. Except in America the bulk of the money goes to Big Oil and in europe to the government.

Like windmills for power generation, EVs are a third rate solution to a perceived problem and will make things worse until a proper solution is found.

I'm super curious what "proper solutions" you're thinking of.

[moonshadow]

I live in an RV park with 30 amp service... how am I supposed to charge it??

That's more than enough, most EVs are charged at home plugging into an ordinary home grid connection.

I'm going to need some figured on that one. A quick google search reveals that first, there is no "standard" for EV chargers (lovely...) But from what I can gather, this "level 2" charger seems to be popular in homes and it requires around 40-50 amp 240 volt service.

I am limited to a total of 30 amps on a 125 volt RV park power supply (shore power). 80% load indicates that I can use a steady 24 amps without worrying about possible overloads and melting down components (like one of my neighbors did over the weekend)

Even if there was a halfway decent EV charger available for 120 volts at 25ish amps... that leaves no power available to actually run the RV.

If you can't afford it, don't buy one.

Well, the government is mandating it. So "don't buy one" basically means being left behind with no means of transportation within a few decades. And given the state of homelessness, our "healthcare" system (if you can even call it that), lack of any real consumer protection laws, among other issues plaguing this nation (the USA), I'm pretty well convinced that "the government of the people" doesn't give a damn about the people.

In fact, whenever the US government does anything, I break out the Vaseline, grit my teeth and prepare myself... it's gonna hurt like hell.

[Grok]

The whole newspaper / magazine industry is in a total mess right now. Good journalism costs money to produce and, unfortunately, too many people have become used to not buying news publications and instead getting content for free over the Internet (that Berners-Lee guy has a lot to answer for ) . Not enough people are buying hard copies and publishers can't fill the funding gap through advertising on their websites.

Regarding the old style ink-on-paper print media.... I expect that the periodicals that still exist to be largely gone in, say, twenty years.

I recall somebody commenting that Craigs List was the last nail in the coffin for newspapers.

In response to the decline/demise of Sports Illustrated, people have recently talked about the decline in magazine sales.

In general, electronic media has excelled in immediacy compared to print, and has become very capable in general.

What may survive? Maybe old fashioned books. You can still buy paper maps-maybe those will survive as a niche product?

[Grok]

BTW, this fits with my belief that we are in transition into a new era. Not only new things appearing, but old things disappearing.

[Myopic Bookworm]

You can still buy paper maps-maybe those will survive as a niche product?

It took me quite a while to find anywhere that would sell me a new road atlas, in these days of satnav, but I did eventually find one.

[pelmut]

You can still buy paper maps-maybe those will survive as a niche product?

It took me quite a while to find anywhere that would sell me a new road atlas, in these days of satnav, but I did eventually find one.

There were many excellent road maps on sale until a few years ago -- but one notoriously bad one was published by the AA (Automobile Association). It was difficult to use because the road colours and widths were illogical and the place names were badly located, sometimes obscuring important details. They were also sued for copying parts of the Ordnance Survey maps without permission.

They embarked on a marketing campaign which put all their rivals out of business, so now, as far as I have been able to discover, theirs is the only road atlas you can buy.