September 12, 2021

"It's a Tesla! It's a Tesla!"

35 comments:

tim in vermont said...

Should have challenged him to race 400 miles.

Temujin said...

It's a Chevy! It's a Chevy!

Love Camaro drivers and especially Corvette maniacs. Growing up in Detroit I could not drop from my brain that, after all the curvy designs and oohs and aahhhs...it's still just a Chevy. A Chevrolet that, in the case of the Corvette, you've just paid tens of thousands for the privilege of driving. And its not even a good ride. Both cars tend to tail out when you do push them. (as you saw in the video). Because.....?....

It's a Chevy.

Achilles said...

Electric vehicles are superior to gas vehicles in many ways.

People on both sides that participate in tribal animosity towards one or the other are just dumb.

Electric vehicles are the future. But not really the present. They are just better from a maintenance and operation standpoint. They could define the mainstream now if we had enough nuclear reactors to power them.

rhhardin said...

Wheels that are skidding with respect to the pavement have no directional properties. Think of them as just posts sliding on the ground The posts want to be at the front of the car's motion with the weather-vaning still-turning wheels at the back, flying like an arrow with the feathers at the back.

If you don't happen to be skilled at keeping the skidding wheels at the back with small well-timed corrections, you wind up going backwards through the nearest fence.

The small corrections are easy to learn but you do have to learn them. Drive a real-wheel-drive car on a snow-covered parking lot for a few minutes, deliberately spinning it out.

It's not per-se dangerous.

Scot said...

Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. ~Prov. 16:18

mikee said...

Tesla owners don't seem to have the same "smug" which once held Prius owners in such a firm grip of self-righteousness. And I'm not just saying that because the new Tesla plant is being built in Austin, 15 miles from my home, and there will be Teslas humming across Austin soon.

Camaro owners have always been like that guy. It is part of the appeal of Camaro ownership that you become that guy, if you weren't before buying one. See also all BMW owners.

Once again, Althouse, good social media product placement in your blog. I'm just not sure whether I want a Tesla now, or the Camaro. The abyss stares back at me, I guess.

daskol said...

Oversteer is a bitch, much like that Camarillo driver.

daskol said...

That’s my new nickname for Camaros.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

With the exception of Trump, nobody is hated more on Reddit than Musk.

Trying to make sense of it, i remembered YouTube pushing this short clip of Joe Rogan and Jordan Peterson on my phone app Link to video - The Danger of compassion
And, tangentially, a post with a lot to unpack "When acceptance is the highest value..."

The YouTube shorts seems to be a response to tick tock.

JAORE said...

Electric vehicles are the future.

Sure, if:
Range increases greatly,
Charging stations blossom like weeds in a springtime lawn,
Our electric generation and distribution grid is expanded by many multiples, and
Rare earth materials are found to be hiding in plain sight in quantities yet to be imagined.

Duty of Inquiry said...

I think the brown spot on the road near the end of the video is the result of either the differential, the transmission, or the engine blowing up.

That Camaro isn't going anywhere under its own power anytime soon.

Gahrie said...

Let's go back to 1900:

Internal combustion vehicles are the future.

Sure, if:
Range increases greatly,
Gas stations blossom like weeds in a springtime lawn,
Our paved road and highway system are expanded by many multiples, and
Petroleum found to be hiding in plain sight in quantities yet to be imagined.

Robert Marshall said...

I believe that some folks react negatively to Tesla's because Tesla owners are mostly rich elites being subsidized in their Tesla purchase, by the Government.

Original Mike said...

Blogger JAORE said...
"Electric vehicles are the future.

Sure, if:
Range increases greatly,
Charging stations blossom like weeds in a springtime lawn,
Our electric generation and distribution grid is expanded by many multiples, and
Rare earth materials are found to be hiding in plain sight in quantities yet to be imagined."


You forgot the biggest one (IMHO): If charging times drop by 10x

JPS said...

Achilles,

"[Electric vehicles] could define the mainstream now if we had enough nuclear reactors to power them."

You may be right. I hate to think of the second- and third-order effects of making enough batteries to power our entire vehicle fleet, but that's a known problem that inventive people will surely mitigate.

JAORE:

"Rare earth materials are found to be hiding in plain sight in quantities yet to be imagined."

Yes, and that's a big if, but there's a lot of research into non-rare-earth alternatives. I'd bet it will pay off sooner or later.

gilbar said...

Hey!
the Fact of the Matter is: Electric cars are just five years away from being Everywhere!

It was true 10 years, ago; it was true 5 years ago; it's true Now, and in 5 more years...

It's not like ANYONE, EVER wants to drive more than 4 hours (75+75+75+75). Once you've driven 4 hours; you WANT to stop at a charging station, for the next 30 min (you could eat while you wait! (if you want to eat at a charging station, and you want to eat every 4 hours).
Of course, the 30 min supercharge doesn't charge you clear full... So your next stop will be sooner. But HEY!

If you're driving from iowa to wyoming, to go fishing... You don't mind spending an extra 2 (or 3) hours! right? i mean, right? So your 12 hour trip is now a 15 (or 16, or 17) hour trip... You can always just break it into a few days

Iman said...

A little known fact: this run of teh Camaro had an “Asshat Mode” button located just below the rackaframous.

Mike of Snoqualmie said...

Electric vehicles are just toys. Toys for the rich. They're great for tooling around the local neighborhood, but try taking one on a cross country trip. Filling the tank for a gas vehicle takes less than 5 minutes; I timed it once and it was only about 2:30. Recharging an EV takes at least 30 minutes if a supercharger station is available, much longer if not. That's if there's power available to run the recharging station.

The greens are pushing to get rid of those evil fossil fuel and hydro power plants. They want to cut down forests to erect an artificial forests of wind mills and deserts of photo-voltaic panels. Not to mention the huge pit mines required to mine the rare earth metals required and the huge landfills required intern the remains of their "green energy" power plants once they wear out after only 25 years.

madAsHell said...

Did the Camaro end up in the bike lane??

Yancey Ward said...

JPS,

There aren't rare earth alternatives, though. It isn't like you can invent new elements with new fundamental properties for commercial application.

I have never been convinced that electric vehicles are the future- I think it far more likely we figure out how to make hydrocarbons out of water and CO2 on a commercial scale with the application of nuclear power. And if we don't start building nuclear power plants right now, the electric car fleet will never become more than a niche product- we barely produce enough electricity for our present needs with building more capacity being hamstrung at every turn.

Original Mike said...

It's my understanding that rare earth minerals are plentiful but widely dispersed. The impact of refining enough for the world's fleet would be an ecological disaster of biblical proportions. It's for that reason that I think alternatives will have to be found if the EV advocates are to realize their dream.

cassandra lite said...

Camaro driver wanted to show the Tesla driver that he, too, came equipped with Ludicrous mode.

loudogblog said...

When I was a kid, in the 1960s, it seemed that only senior citizens drove little electric cars. I like the idea of electric cars, but you have to have a lot of money to buy a nice one. Plus, I don't like the fact that only Tesla can do work on Tesla vehicles and sometimes the Tesla repair shops have trouble getting the parts. It's a really good idea for a commuter vehicle if you have a short commute and a place to charge the vehicle at home. (outdoors) Another weird thing about electric cars is that electric motors have much better initial acceleration than gasoline motors.

rehajm said...

Some of you are going to be surprised by the proliferation of EVs in the next 12-18 months...

(Full disclosure: I got mine on order.)

Achilles said...

I am not against extracting fossil fuels from the planet and putting them back into circulation.

I actually think that at some point in the near future we are going to be burning fossil fuels just for that purpose after we have better energy sources.

Our environment needs that carbon circulating in the atmosphere. Oxygen as well. It has only been relatively recently that CO2 levels are consistently below 1000 ppm. Most plant types grow faster all of the way up to 1500ish ppm CO2.

I think the long term sequestration of Carbon/Oxygen in this manner could push CO2 levels below the point that plant respiration can occur and all life on the planet ends as a result.

MountainMan said...

Mines, Minerals, and "Green" Energy: A Reality Check

0_0 said...

Electric cars are great for some. Like me. And I am nowhere near rich.
I have a garage for home charging and a job in electric range. Plus 120V charging available at work (takes forever but the 20 miles/ 8 hours gets me back home).
The car is quick and nimble, my brakes are near new at >60,000 miles, no fluid changes needed yet, and power is much less than gasoline (no $0.48/gallon tax).
It works for me.

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

Mike of Snoqualmie,

EVs are fine for road trips, though charging does add some time. We have taken our Tesla from Salem, OR to the SF Bay Area (and beyond, to Gilroy at least) and back several times. Generally the first stop is at the Black Bear in Grants Pass, and the next is within CA. IOW, we have a line of charging stations, and we generally skip one or two between charging stops. (There is now a Tesla supercharger in Salem, as there was not when we bought ours; then Springfield, then Grants Pass IIRC.) There are more charging stations all the time; our coastal Bay Area route has improved considerably since we bought ours, 8 or so years ago.

One trip we encountered a huge number of other Tesla drivers (one from Ontario!), going to a Tesla confab in Nevada, and that did make things awkward, as so many at once made it hard to get into a supercharger. But that was rare; almost always when we reached a charger, there was a place to put the car.

"Toys for the rich"? Not this one. Basically it can go wherever we want it to, charges overnight in the garage (OK, YMMV if you are in CA!), and can lug fantastic amounts of stuff, like half a dozen cellos and the odd double bass. I'm not gonna carp about it.

Joe Smith said...

'Some of you are going to be surprised by the proliferation of EVs in the next 12-18 months...'

Not really, as the rollouts are government mandated. It is not an organic shift to EVs.

But they are inevitable and in some ways they seem like a good idea.

Our next car will probably by an EV, but I will hold onto at least on ICE vehicle for as long as I legally can...

Joe Smith said...

'"Toys for the rich"? Not this one. Basically it can go wherever we want it to, charges overnight in the garage (OK, YMMV if you are in CA!), and can lug fantastic amounts of stuff, like half a dozen cellos and the odd double bass. I'm not gonna carp about it.'

What make/model?

Original Mike said...

Thanks for the link, MountainMan. There is a Part 1 for that paper here. Worthwhile reading for those who believe EVs, wind, and solar will replace fossil fuels. Physics begs to differ and Scotty's not coming to the rescue.

Original Mike said...

"But in the universe that we live in, the cost to store energy in grid-scale batteries is, as earlier noted, about 200-fold more than the cost to store natural gas to generate electricity when it’s needed.[48] That’s why we store, at any given time, months’ worth of national energy supply in the form of natural gas or oil.

Battery storage is quite another matter. Consider Tesla, the world’s best-known battery maker: $200,000 worth of Tesla batteries, which collectively weigh over 20,000 pounds, are needed to store the energy equivalent of one barrel of oil.[49] A barrel of oil, meanwhile, weighs 300 pounds and can be stored in a $20 tank. Those are the realities of today’s lithium batteries. Even a 200% improvement in underlying battery economics and technology won’t close such a gap."

Original Mike said...

"For a snapshot of what all this points to regarding the total materials footprint of the green energy path, consider the supply chain for an electric car battery. A single battery providing a useful driving range weighs about 1,000 pounds.[15] Providing the refined minerals needed to fabricate a single EV battery requires the mining, moving, and processing of more than 500,000 pounds of materials somewhere on the planet (see sidebar below).[16] That’s 20 times more than the 25,000 pounds of petroleum that an internal combustion engine uses over the life of a car."

MountainMan said...

@Original Mike: Thanks for providing Part 1 of Mark Mills excellent work on renewable energy. I think I may have linked to that one in another discussion on this blog some time ago.

In a similar vein, Glenn on Instapundit linked to this article from India about how a government mandate to shift to total organic agriculture in Sri Lanka, with chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides completely banned, has wrecked the economy and the country's food security. Not too dissimilar to where our economy is headed if we follow the false prophets of green energy.

Tina Trent said...

O_O don’t count on avoiding gas taxes for long. Since they are used for maintaining the roads electric cars use, states are in various stages of creating an odometer-based tax for electric cars.

So you can pay your fair share, which I’m sure you want to do.

Nuclear power is the future for all of this, of course. Electric cars run on coal at this point, since that is how electricity is made. Until we go nuclear, we should call the “coal cars.”