I’ve never seen so many people care about what others chose to drive as I have with EV’s, and have noticed fear that EV’s are gaining traction in into only personal transportation but commercial and knocking at the door of industrial as well. Is part of the reason that these people have a (biblically based or not) apocalyptic view of the future where there will be a Mad Max world where they have to scrounge and fight to survive and they have their plans to loot unattended vehicles and equipment for fuel for their old school diesel that can burn anything from used motor oil to mineral oil in transformers and that EV’s are through their plans out the window and leaving them insecure about their ability to survive ?
No.
People just don’t like change.
No, they don’t like liberal things. And “green” anything is just NWO scaremongering.
I have a friend, sane in every other way, that hates electric cars.“I don’t want to drive an appliance!” I mean, seriously? I hate to tell him that pre-rural electrification, appliances were gas powered. Things change.
Some people are sent into a rage at the sight of Eco-friendliness.
I remember in the ‘70s, though I wasn’t driving then, that there was a lot of hatred for Japanese cars. I remember hearing [apocryphal] that Japanese cars owned by auto workers weren’t allowed to park at the Big Three auto makers’ parking lots. Today, there still seems to be a fair amount of animosity from Harley-Davidson riders toward HYKS riders. (Strangely, I don’t recall any animosity toward European cars and motorcycles, except VW Beetles.)
I haven’t observed much of what the OP describes myself, but I suspect that this is the main answer. It’s common for new technologies, especially if they threaten to replace older, widely used technologies, to inspire suspicion, fear, and hatred.
Plus, lots of people get emotional about their cars.
I only have two concerns about electric vehicles. Do I need to install something in my home so I can charge my vehicle? When I go on a road trip, where, how often, and how long will I need to charge my vehicle? (I’m driving a Toyota right now, and I expect it’ll last another decades at least. I’m figuring my next vehicle will be electric.)
Automakers can’t make enough EV’s and crossover hybrids. So the premise of the thread doesn’t match public demand.
They will proliferate technologically like cell phones did simply because they represent a better purchase.
My concerns are along these lines too - practical considerations. A couple of mine:
I dislike a lot of the design choices. I think touch screens in any moving vehicle is a bad idea, and the EVs seem to be all in on these. However, that seems to be true for gas powered cars too, unfortunately.
A Tesla owner was telling me about mandatory software updates and interior cameras. Not sure I like those either.
I’m fine with EVs in principle. I think my problem is that I’m old enough to dislike a lot of modern choices and trends in cars and other products.
Millions of Americans have built their identities around both cars and the parts and oil industries that support them. Detroit Iron is holy, foundational to their definition of America. Oil drilling has supplied millions of jobs and billions of dollars for more than a century. NASCAR is the chosen sport, with Monster Truck rallies not far beyond.
EVs are disturbing a religious belief. It doesn’t matter that you can now go 0 to 60 faster in an EV than in a gas car. EVs are currently made by upstart companies that don’t have long histories or name recognition. They aren’t tinkerable in intimate embraces in garages. They will ruin livelihoods. They are supported by members of a hated alien religion. They will obey sharia law. OK, maybe not that last, but you have to think of it in exactly that way.
EVs haven’t crossed the convenience line yet. They’re expensive, charging them isn’t as fast or widespread as fueling, the battery packs cost nearly as much as the car to replace, and they won’t be truly green until electricity isn’t fossil fuel powered anymore.
As far as post-apocalyptic scenarios go, you’ll probably be able to scavenge solar panels and a transformer as easily as you could hope to obtain chemical fuel.
In light of what officially happened today, maybe that last, or, they ain’t christian
Well, there are three relatively sane reasons not to want one.
- Lack of support infrastructure. Public chargers are nonexistent, mostly.
- Lack of mechanics.
- If the batteries go bad in a Used one–well, new batteries cost more than the car, or used to.
The mindless opposition to EVs delays fixing these issues.
Partially, yes.
The main thing is that oil companies tell Fox News what to say, and Fox News tells their viewers what to think, so now it’s become a tribalist badge of pride for conservatives to be as pro-gas, anti-climate as possible.
However, pro-apocalypse views are part of it for some people. There are many fanatical Christians who believe that the Rapture is coming any minute now. Some of them use that as a rationalization not to worry about the future, and some of them actually believe it’s their duty to accelerate the apocalypse so that Jesus can return as soon as possible.
(I am merely describing the beliefs of others, so don’t explain scripture to me, because I don’t care.)
Yeah, same with me. I want an EV. I do not want a car that feels like a $60K plastic Saturn run by an iPad. I do not want touch-screens in my cars, I do not want my car to have “apps”. But I don’t reckon I have much choice if I want to get off the gas wagon.
I have a plug-in EV, which I consider to be the best compromise right now. It gets 24 miles on electric, so most normal shopping can be done without touching the gas. It also gets 50 mpg so a tank lasts forever. We bought it just before COVID so it was almost magically perfect for the new normal.
It charges overnight on normal house current. It would charge faster on a 240 line, but those aren’t anything special: houses everywhere already have them for other appliances.
The length of charging is definitely an issue, but it’s a ten-year horizon at most. The US already has 47,000 public charging stations but the big problem is that only Tesla has built up a network of fast chargers.
Touch screens are a personal issue, but my lowly Kia has one and I adjusted to it in the blink of an eye. I’m not sure what you mean by “apps” but I’m sure I can add any that I want, although I never have. And others are built in.
I went to church once when I was a kid. They had something of a performance. One of the songs went something like:
Eat, drink, laugh and be merry
Live for the moment, the limit’s the sky
Make your own rules and never say die, and
Crucify him! Crucify him!
Of course I’m probably wrong about the lyrics. I was about six years old when I heard them that one time, and I can’t find anything on google. But it’s what I think of when I hear ‘Jesus is coming! We have to use everything up!’
A lot of reasons brought up in the thread explain why people won’t switch or prefer ICE cars, but don’t explain the vitriol or hatred. This isn’t about not liking touchscreens or whatever. This is about frothing in the mouth hatred.
A lot of people aren’t expressing a preference. And even though nobody is forcing them to buy or drive one, they will absolutely let you know they hate EV cars. No, it’s not logical. Hatred of change is part of it, but not the whole story.
I think it’s a case where EV supporters are saying that their choice is better than ICE supporter’s choice. ISTR when Priuses were taking over, South Park showed one with the license plate PIOUS. Vegans, vegetarians, conspiracy theorists, environmentalists, and so on and so one can be rather EVangelical. Anyone with strong beliefs may be seen as saying, ‘I know better than you do.’ Nobody likes to be wrong, and they often become fearful, hateful, and hostile when someone comes along and challenges their beliefs. So a subset of ICE drivers become hostile because they feel their Way Of Life is being attacked.
I guess, but it really isn’t. It’s not like there’s a bunch of EV drivers out there emitting a cloud of smug.
Just say “EV” (you don’t even have to own one or even plan on getting one) and some of the mouth breathers down here (in Texas) will go off on a 5 minute rant at you with no prompting. It’s really bizarre.