The Associated Press is out with a poll today showing that EV adoption might continue to be slow given that, at most, 4-in-10 Americans would at least be somewhat likely to buy an electric car. You know what people seem to be open to? Plug-in hybrids.
Is this disappointing news or good news? The AP piece accompanying the poll seems to indicate it’s bad news. I’m less convinced. If people are hesitant to buy an electric car it’s not entirely a surprise given how slow every company that’s not Tesla has been to roll out chargers.
And then, of course, there are stories of automakers like Fisker. A recent deep dive into the company seems to indicate things looked even worse from the inside than they did from the outside.
If there’s good news today it’s that Volvo has issued a passport for its car batteries using blockchain technology, which is a hell of a sentence.
How Many EV Buyers Were You Expecting?
The big polling news of the day isn’t over the presidential election, or the upcoming UK election, but over electric cars. It comes via the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, which is a name so long you’d think it was a Land Rover product.
You can read the AP piece about it here, which gives off very ‘Biden is too far ahead of the population’ vibes:
The poll results, which echo an AP-NORC poll from last year, show that President Joe Biden’s election-year plan to dramatically raise EV sales is running into resistance from American drivers. Only 13% of U.S. adults say they or someone in their household owns or leases a gas-hybrid car, and just 9% own or lease an electric vehicle.
Caleb Jud of Cincinnati said he’s considering an EV, but may end up with a plug-in hybrid — if he goes electric. While Cincinnati winters aren’t extremely cold, “the thought of getting stuck in the driveway with an EV that won’t run is worrisome, and I know it wouldn’t be an issue with a plug-in hybrid,″ he said. Freezing temperatures can slow chemical reactions in EV batteries, depleting power and reducing driving range.
The article is very much the classic AP formula for covering anything (find a diverse mix of voices that don’t proportionally represent the AP‘s own polling data) and includes fun characters such as: Guy from Texas who doesn’t believe in global warming but has three EVs to save money and Florida lady who suddenly cares about the mining of precious metals and child labor but only in the context of electric cars for some reason that isn’t explored.
Let’s look at the actual numbers, though, because I think there’s some important context here. Right up top, 78% of respondents believe climate change is happening, which is the highest since the AP started doing this poll, with more than half of respondents saying climate change was caused entirely or mostly by human activities.
That’s pretty good considering the last eight years of a pandemic, cable news, and Facebook turned everyone’s minds into mush.
It’s the first year that this poll has asked if people have a gas-hybrid vehicle and it seems 13% of people do, followed by 6% who own a plug-in hybrid (slightly down from 2023, but within the sampling error), and 9% with an electric vehicle.
Here’s the big question, though:
Again, we’re in the margin of error here, with more people saying they’re extremely/very likely to purchase an EV compared to 2023, but slightly down for “somewhat likely.”
More interesting is the reason why people wouldn’t consider an EV, which is that 59% percent think cost is a major issue (they’re not wrong). Another 47% list range as a major concern, and 38% of people say they don’t know of any charging stations nearby.
Perhaps the most interesting question is about Chinese EVs. The AP asked the following question:
Suppose you were planning on purchasing an electric vehicle and you had the choice between buying a vehicle made in China and one made in the United States. The U.S. made vehicle costs $__ more than the Chinese-made vehicle, but they are otherwise similar in performance and appearance. Would you purchase the less expensive vehicle made in China or the more expensive vehicle made in the U.S.?
The biggest surprise is that 22% of respondents would buy a Chinese car if they saved even $500. The scale slides until you reach 37% of Americans saying they’d buy a Chinese car over an American one if they could save $5,000. Even with double the tariffs, a Chinese automaker might be able to sell a car that saves that much money, though I think the sweet spot is $1,000.
So what’s the takeaway here? If you’re the AP it seems to be that people aren’t embracing EVs in spite of all the rhetoric. I have the exact opposite take. People still feel roughly the same as they do about EVs in spite of all the bad news, the anti-EV rhetoric, and the lack of great EV choices. If cost is the biggest factor, as the AP suggests, then this is a problem that’s eventually solvable. (It’ll be interesting to see how well the Chevy Equinox EV does.)
Still, if 40% of people actually did buy an EV for their next vehicle that would be an enormous win for the industry which, at this point, probably can’t even make that many electric cars (at least ones that will qualify for an EV tax credit).
The Federal Government Has Committed Billions For Chargers And… Eight Stations Are Now Open
Federal, state, and local governments in the United States are bad about encouraging the building of things that are not planes or bombs and, even then, they’re not that great at planes either. Some look at this as a problem of government itself, even though most other modern countries seem to build infrastructure without as many issues.
The building of an electric charging network is one of those projects that goes to show just how complex this all is, with a total of eight chargers built out of hoped-for network of 500,000 by 2030 (encompassing both public and private chargers, currently there are 174,000 plugs online).
Some of this is the expected typical process of having to go through rounds of approvals, get power, clear regulations, et cetera. Wyoming has few EVs, and estimates show that the most popular charging station would probably charge fewer than six cars a day, so the state government isn’t in a hurry. Some reasons, according to this thorough report from Automotive News, are more unique:
“It just doesn’t really translate to EV charging,” she said.
Other issues include delayed proposal timelines and a lack of coordination between the state and the power company, she said.
ChargePoint shares those concerns and has been wary of states that cap charging operators’ earning potential. Minnesota, Iowa, Kentucky and North Carolina say the annual return on investment cannot exceed 15 to 25 percent, depending on the state.
To make things even more fun, Tesla walking back its Supercharger program after being approved for government funds is probably going to cause some delays. If there’s a silver lining it’s that, as a subsidy, the cost offset of federal funds is likely to make sites that do get built profitable on a much faster timeline.
Fisker Reportedly Took Parts Off Henrik Fisker’s Car, Had Suppliers Fly Parts In Luggage
The great Sean O’Kane over at TechCrunch put out a whopper of a story on what happened at Fisker, and it seems to underline the idea that Fisker was not a well-run business.
The road to Fisker’s ultimate ruin may start and end with its flawed Ocean SUV, which has been riddled with mechanical and software problems. But it was paved with hubris, power struggles, and the repeated failure to set up basic processes that are foundational for any automaker.
“The lack of processes and procedures was kind of mind-blowing,” Sean O’Grady, a former regional sales manager at Fisker, told TechCrunch. “The same excuse that I kept hearing all the time was, well, if you’ve never worked for a startup before, this is what it’s like, it’s chaotic.”
The article is full of cringe-worthy anecdotes, but the one that stuck out to me was that the company allegedly didn’t stockpile extra parts because, as Henrik Fisker’s wife/CFO/COO Geeta Gupta-Fisker reportedly put it, the build quality at Magna was “superior” so the Ocean was unlikely to run into many problems and need extra parts.
There were so few parts that Magna engineers allegedly flew parts to the U.S. in luggage and pinched parts from the production line, which was not sufficient:
So the company started cannibalizing cars that had been returned, or ones that the company had on hand for marketing purposes, according to multiple employees. This included the Ocean SUV that Henrik Fisker used. Employees removed his car’s steering wheel, some interior panels, and even his driver’s seat cushion for use in customer cars.
Employees also salvaged parts from the Ocean that former Chief Accounting Officer John Finnucan used, weeks before he left the company.
Matt DeBord, a guy who worked briefly with some of us at Jalopnik, is now the VP of Comms there and he said, on behalf of the company, that these claims are false.
Volvo Is Giving Its Batteries Passports
Cars are complex and made of parts from all over the world. This has always been an issue and the sourcing of parts comes up for various reasons, often either logistical or political, on occasion. Now that governments are looking into battery sourcing before handing out incentives or tariffs, the sourcing of car parts has never been important.
How do you prove where a battery comes from? Volvo’s idea is a passport (though, a passport for stuff is usually called a carnet) for its batteries. The EX90 SUV, built in South Carolina, will be the first vehicle to get such a passport. The passport was developed by UK-based company Circulor.
Circulor’s system traces battery materials from the mine to individual cars, piggybacking on suppliers’ production systems to track materials throughout the supply chain and checking suppliers’ monthly energy bills – and how much of their energy comes from renewable sources in order to calculate a total carbon footprint.
That’s cool. I like this. Also, the passport will include data on the battery’s health.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
It’s the second most important song called “Creep” from the ’90s, but it’s been in my mind since church this weekend when the gospel lesson was from the third chapter of the book of Mark. In this story, Jesus goes into a synagogue and sees a guy with a messed-up hand. The Pharisees wait to see if Jesus will heal the dude on the sabbath, which he does, and they get mad about it and tell on him. I’m a fan of this lesson, but I was immediately distracted by my wife, in her best Scott Weiland voice, leaning over and whispering in my ear “Take time with a wounded hand ‘Cause it likes to heal.” I stifled a laugh, but now the song has been stuck in my head for a few days.
The Big Question
Has your view of EVs changed in the last year?
“which is a name so long you’d think it was a Land Rover product.”
This is the kind of writing I come here for. BRAVO
My EV adoption is on hold for the following reasons. In order.
A VW Golf sized EV with 250 Mile (winter) range would pretty much cover all of my use cases. The OG Leaf was kind of close, but sketchy tech issues were a concern. That and, well, Nissan.
I’m glad I don’t need a new vehicle today, but if I did, I would likely suck up my irritation at the rear door handles and goofy dashboard and go with a PHEV Prius.
You just described a Chevy Bolt, other than maybe the goofy styling part. It isn’t as attractive as a Golf, but it’s also not as ugly as a Leaf.
I stand corrected! I hope by the time I’m ready for a new vehicle it’s still around or not totally bloated up.
We share a name and ideas about EV options. I just bought a Bolt EV with only 13k miles. It is bigger than my Honda fit with less room inside (the Fit was a damn TARDIS) but is a better driving car than anything else i was interested in at the price point, any power source.
Rivian needs to get the R3 out the door ASAP, because it’s likely just what you’re looking for.
Or a Volvo EX30
“which is a name so long you’d think it was a Land Rover product.”
This is the kind of writing I come here for. BRAVO
My EV adoption is on hold for the following reasons. In order.
A VW Golf sized EV with 250 Mile (winter) range would pretty much cover all of my use cases. The OG Leaf was kind of close, but sketchy tech issues were a concern. That and, well, Nissan.
I’m glad I don’t need a new vehicle today, but if I did, I would likely suck up my irritation at the rear door handles and goofy dashboard and go with a PHEV Prius.
You just described a Chevy Bolt, other than maybe the goofy styling part. It isn’t as attractive as a Golf, but it’s also not as ugly as a Leaf.
I stand corrected! I hope by the time I’m ready for a new vehicle it’s still around or not totally bloated up.
We share a name and ideas about EV options. I just bought a Bolt EV with only 13k miles. It is bigger than my Honda fit with less room inside (the Fit was a damn TARDIS) but is a better driving car than anything else i was interested in at the price point, any power source.
Rivian needs to get the R3 out the door ASAP, because it’s likely just what you’re looking for.
Or a Volvo EX30
Part of the issue with polls like these is that we do not know where people are on their respective EV knowledge journeys. Someone who may be EV-curious might look first at the available offerings, be shocked at the price tags, and then immediately cease to be curious; that person probably won’t look into EVs any further. The 38% who said they “don’t know of” charging stations nearby could have done exhaustive and proper research into the matter or they could simply assume there aren’t any because they don’t see them on their regular routes.
It would be nice to have weighted responses, calculated on the level of legitimate knowledge the pollees possess, but that would be self-reported and thus not reliable. (Many of us have met/seen/heard people who claim to have all the facts but get their info from dubious and unverifiable sources.)
Part of the issue with polls like these is that we do not know where people are on their respective EV knowledge journeys. Someone who may be EV-curious might look first at the available offerings, be shocked at the price tags, and then immediately cease to be curious; that person probably won’t look into EVs any further. The 38% who said they “don’t know of” charging stations nearby could have done exhaustive and proper research into the matter or they could simply assume there aren’t any because they don’t see them on their regular routes.
It would be nice to have weighted responses, calculated on the level of legitimate knowledge the pollees possess, but that would be self-reported and thus not reliable. (Many of us have met/seen/heard people who claim to have all the facts but get their info from dubious and unverifiable sources.)
For the last year I’ve felt like an EV will probably be the car after the next car for me. I still feel that way. I’m car shopping now and I’m not shopping EVs. I’d happily go PHEV, but not a lot of options available for what I’m looking for right now.
For the last year I’ve felt like an EV will probably be the car after the next car for me. I still feel that way. I’m car shopping now and I’m not shopping EVs. I’d happily go PHEV, but not a lot of options available for what I’m looking for right now.
EVs face 2 barriers to entry for me and it’s not so much an arbitrary range target as a specific use case. I would have to trust it to make it on the 3.5 hour journey to my parents place on a single charge with a little left over, both for piece of mind and so I had a little range left for running around once I’m there. There are cars on sale today that check this box.
The far more insurmountable hurdle is a car both desirable enough (to me) and affordable enough. This is a challenge due to my aversion to buying new cars as well as having pretty specific wants. The number of new cars I would consider buying is pretty low regardless of ice vs ev, and I wouldn’t feel great about a used battery pack at this point in time. I guess I’m stuck in the ice age for the time being.
EVs face 2 barriers to entry for me and it’s not so much an arbitrary range target as a specific use case. I would have to trust it to make it on the 3.5 hour journey to my parents place on a single charge with a little left over, both for piece of mind and so I had a little range left for running around once I’m there. There are cars on sale today that check this box.
The far more insurmountable hurdle is a car both desirable enough (to me) and affordable enough. This is a challenge due to my aversion to buying new cars as well as having pretty specific wants. The number of new cars I would consider buying is pretty low regardless of ice vs ev, and I wouldn’t feel great about a used battery pack at this point in time. I guess I’m stuck in the ice age for the time being.
Nope, views haven’t changed. Tesla still makes the most useful mainstream EV’s for North America while everyone else is playing catchup. They still need to be cheaper but they’re getting there. Also, my state of NY is doing a decent job encouraging more chargers, especially L3 chargers. Too bad they’re CCS and need a $100ish adapter to use with a Tesla.
Back in 2022, I was set on getting an Acura MDX Advance, which would have been $68k OTD. I changed my mind and after testing driving a Model Y, decided that while the interior wasn’t as fancy as the Acura, everything else about the actual driving so so much more pleasant and the power was awesome. It also ended up being about $10k cheaper than the MDX. To date the Model Y is the best car I’ve ever owned.
Nope, views haven’t changed. Tesla still makes the most useful mainstream EV’s for North America while everyone else is playing catchup. They still need to be cheaper but they’re getting there. Also, my state of NY is doing a decent job encouraging more chargers, especially L3 chargers. Too bad they’re CCS and need a $100ish adapter to use with a Tesla.
Back in 2022, I was set on getting an Acura MDX Advance, which would have been $68k OTD. I changed my mind and after testing driving a Model Y, decided that while the interior wasn’t as fancy as the Acura, everything else about the actual driving so so much more pleasant and the power was awesome. It also ended up being about $10k cheaper than the MDX. To date the Model Y is the best car I’ve ever owned.
I noticed last week that I now a significantly more people who own EV’s, I can think of over 20 people just off the top of my head, then most people here. This could be because I’m just the most popular around here. Or the people I know are primarily competitive cyclist and people who work in the medical field. Which tend to run wealthy and liberal. I would argue though, my location right on the Gulf of Maine is the main reason. The Gulf is warming quicker then about any other large piece of ocean leading to very noticeable changes. Primarily, we just got rid of winter along the coast. Winter was never that cold, and we hovered around the freezing mark, you would get snow on the ground for four-five months. This last year, maybe six weeks of actual snow on the ground. I rode a bike to work all “winter” just fine. And because we don’t have winter anymore, we get like six straight months of Mud Season. Which sucks major ass. And we had like none stop Nor’easters for like a month, which also sucked even more ass. So, global warming is very evident and directly negatively impacting our daily lives.
Someone in idk, like Ohio probably isn’t feeling the effects. Thus is less motivated for actual change. As the hands of time heat us up, I would imagine more people become interested as theoretical becomes noticeable.
I’m not that far away, on the north coast of MA, and seasons have changed significantly in even the last 15-20 years here, too. Prior, they were pretty consistent (I’m 47). Used to get a lot more snow, rarely had nasty swamp-ass days that we now get a lot of in the summers, and the seasons have shifted down a month or so.
Same here in western MA. When I bought my house 17 years ago, I had to think every winter about where I’d pile the snow because my driveway is tight. Now, we haven’t had enough snow to pile in probably 4 years.
I live in the Louisville, KY area and we are definitely feeling the effects too. Spring is almost non-existent, we get a few weeks of normal temps then straight to 80+ by early May or April. I’m only 31 but even I can tell that our winters are very different than they were when I was a kid. These days, we only get snow a handful of times a year and usually very small amounts. Instead of snow, we just get rain and temps in the 40s. I talked to my fiancees dad, in his mid-70s, who has lived here most of his life. When he was younger, you often needed chains to get around in the winter. Definitely not the case now. Summers are getting hotter with temps/heat indexes at 100+ for longer periods of time than we’ve seen before. Plus more severe storms that produce tornadoes. Tornado Alley is expanding eastwards and has been for the past couple decades. Last year a small tornado touched down less than a mile from our house, though it only did very minor damage. Another one touched down within 10 miles of here just a few weeks ago. While it’s not unusual to see the occasional tornado in this area, we’re seeing more than ever.
It’s getting to the point where just about everyone, everywhere, is feeling the effects of climate change in one way or another.
I remember growing up in Brewer, Maine and having snow piled up over 4 feet at the edge of the driveway every year. The snow and ice was so dense by February, I could walk on top of 3 feet of accumulation without fear of sinking in.
Now your telling me that winters in that part of Maine are no longer that brutal?
Brewer/Bangor is like right on the line of significant change being further inland. It would pretty noticeable change, but still edges into brutal. If you’re in Ellesworth, it’s very noticeable. If your on MDI, it’s damn near Martha’s Vineyard with hills now.
I noticed last week that I now a significantly more people who own EV’s, I can think of over 20 people just off the top of my head, then most people here. This could be because I’m just the most popular around here. Or the people I know are primarily competitive cyclist and people who work in the medical field. Which tend to run wealthy and liberal. I would argue though, my location right on the Gulf of Maine is the main reason. The Gulf is warming quicker then about any other large piece of ocean leading to very noticeable changes. Primarily, we just got rid of winter along the coast. Winter was never that cold, and we hovered around the freezing mark, you would get snow on the ground for four-five months. This last year, maybe six weeks of actual snow on the ground. I rode a bike to work all “winter” just fine. And because we don’t have winter anymore, we get like six straight months of Mud Season. Which sucks major ass. And we had like none stop Nor’easters for like a month, which also sucked even more ass. So, global warming is very evident and directly negatively impacting our daily lives.
Someone in idk, like Ohio probably isn’t feeling the effects. Thus is less motivated for actual change. As the hands of time heat us up, I would imagine more people become interested as theoretical becomes noticeable.
I’m not that far away, on the north coast of MA, and seasons have changed significantly in even the last 15-20 years here, too. Prior, they were pretty consistent (I’m 47). Used to get a lot more snow, rarely had nasty swamp-ass days that we now get a lot of in the summers, and the seasons have shifted down a month or so.
Same here in western MA. When I bought my house 17 years ago, I had to think every winter about where I’d pile the snow because my driveway is tight. Now, we haven’t had enough snow to pile in probably 4 years.
I live in the Louisville, KY area and we are definitely feeling the effects too. Spring is almost non-existent, we get a few weeks of normal temps then straight to 80+ by early May or April. I’m only 31 but even I can tell that our winters are very different than they were when I was a kid. These days, we only get snow a handful of times a year and usually very small amounts. Instead of snow, we just get rain and temps in the 40s. I talked to my fiancees dad, in his mid-70s, who has lived here most of his life. When he was younger, you often needed chains to get around in the winter. Definitely not the case now. Summers are getting hotter with temps/heat indexes at 100+ for longer periods of time than we’ve seen before. Plus more severe storms that produce tornadoes. Tornado Alley is expanding eastwards and has been for the past couple decades. Last year a small tornado touched down less than a mile from our house, though it only did very minor damage. Another one touched down within 10 miles of here just a few weeks ago. While it’s not unusual to see the occasional tornado in this area, we’re seeing more than ever.
It’s getting to the point where just about everyone, everywhere, is feeling the effects of climate change in one way or another.
I remember growing up in Brewer, Maine and having snow piled up over 4 feet at the edge of the driveway every year. The snow and ice was so dense by February, I could walk on top of 3 feet of accumulation without fear of sinking in.
Now your telling me that winters in that part of Maine are no longer that brutal?
Brewer/Bangor is like right on the line of significant change being further inland. It would pretty noticeable change, but still edges into brutal. If you’re in Ellesworth, it’s very noticeable. If your on MDI, it’s damn near Martha’s Vineyard with hills now.
Kinda funny you should ask this today.
On my way in, I decided on a new, ideal, 3 car garage.
I’m on the precipice of a major home remodel, in the 6 figure range. I’ve NEVER been one to spend more than 4 figures on anything besides my home. But, we also are on the precipice of needing a new car. Somehow, this process has broken my brain into thinking I can actually afford a car payment too. So, I’ve been looking, and my wife and I have actually stopped at car dealerships.
So, here it is:
tldr; One of each technology.
Kinda funny you should ask this today.
On my way in, I decided on a new, ideal, 3 car garage.
I’m on the precipice of a major home remodel, in the 6 figure range. I’ve NEVER been one to spend more than 4 figures on anything besides my home. But, we also are on the precipice of needing a new car. Somehow, this process has broken my brain into thinking I can actually afford a car payment too. So, I’ve been looking, and my wife and I have actually stopped at car dealerships.
So, here it is:
tldr; One of each technology.
My views on EVs hasn’t changed.
Eventually, I’ll probably end up in one, but right now there isn’t one out there that is appealing enough to justify the cost increase compared to my current ICE vehicle.
I do not put on the mileage required or need the size to justify it, and if I’m going to pay more for aesthetics – it’s going to have to really wow me. And just a center screen on the dashboard isn’t going to cut it.
This is pretty much my take as well. I work from home now, but if I have to commute it’s 100 miles return and half the year is Canadian winter. I need charging and range, not 500 hp, a bamboo and synthetics interior with a big screen offering all my life choices crossed with anime styling. The charging infrastructure is still bad in this area. EV’S are grossly overpriced and have IMO idiot design decisions in terms of asthetics, materials and over the top performance specs. The next car/suv is likely a CRV or RAV4 PHEV for my wife. After that. I’m going to sit it out until the market catches up with reality or buy an old 60’s jalopy and hot rod it.
We need a block chain with AI to square the circle. Jeeze, get over it with the money wasting tech posing.
In my case, the ICE car that was a contender was almost $10k more expensive. So I bought the EV and have no regrets. I adjusted really quickly to the center screen and regen braking.
My views on EVs hasn’t changed.
Eventually, I’ll probably end up in one, but right now there isn’t one out there that is appealing enough to justify the cost increase compared to my current ICE vehicle.
I do not put on the mileage required or need the size to justify it, and if I’m going to pay more for aesthetics – it’s going to have to really wow me. And just a center screen on the dashboard isn’t going to cut it.
This is pretty much my take as well. I work from home now, but if I have to commute it’s 100 miles return and half the year is Canadian winter. I need charging and range, not 500 hp, a bamboo and synthetics interior with a big screen offering all my life choices crossed with anime styling. The charging infrastructure is still bad in this area. EV’S are grossly overpriced and have IMO idiot design decisions in terms of asthetics, materials and over the top performance specs. The next car/suv is likely a CRV or RAV4 PHEV for my wife. After that. I’m going to sit it out until the market catches up with reality or buy an old 60’s jalopy and hot rod it.
We need a block chain with AI to square the circle. Jeeze, get over it with the money wasting tech posing.
In my case, the ICE car that was a contender was almost $10k more expensive. So I bought the EV and have no regrets. I adjusted really quickly to the center screen and regen braking.
Build an EV I’d actually want (me and 500 other people)—analog as possible and not a damn CUV or sedan form factor, basically a GRZ with an EV drivetrain, something actually innovative (the Aptera, but a real, available car), or a large personal coupe that rides like a cloud. Hell, I might even be tempted to buy a Chinese one . . .
On that note, I like the Volvo passport idea of tracing the origin of components, like buying certified wood, especially on a Chinese-built vehicle. Don’t know if the information could be trusted, but I think it’s a step in the right direction.
Build an EV I’d actually want (me and 500 other people)—analog as possible and not a damn CUV or sedan form factor, basically a GRZ with an EV drivetrain, something actually innovative (the Aptera, but a real, available car), or a large personal coupe that rides like a cloud. Hell, I might even be tempted to buy a Chinese one . . .
On that note, I like the Volvo passport idea of tracing the origin of components, like buying certified wood, especially on a Chinese-built vehicle. Don’t know if the information could be trusted, but I think it’s a step in the right direction.
Um, a “whopper” is a lie.
Seeing as the story was not unusually large, is this what you are inferring (or implying, not sure which is accurate here)?
Whopper also can mean large or big, but I agree that the use here leaves a certain amount of ambiguity.
I’d hate to see this place run like the place most of them came from, with no proofreaders or editors. They’re getting my input for free. For now.
Could spin it as “a story with huge implications”?
Have you been to that place recently? This is just an ambiguous word choice. Over there it’s intended and they double down when called out. I don’t think we’re in any danger of that here.
I don’t go there much, since I either forgot my password and couldn’t find a way to reset it, or or they threw me off of the comment section (possibly for something I said on some other commonly owned site).
I sometimes go just for the hot takes. It really has fallen from what it was a few years ago, as have the related sites.
Well, yeah… everyone worth reading came here. 🙂
Yeah when I hear whopper I think of the burger at Burger King, which is so named for the size, not because it is a lie. I don’t think I would have even thought about it meaning a lie without it being pointed out.
Same here. A “whopper” is not automatically a lie.
I read it as a big (impactful) story. But I can see how there is a bit of ambiguity.
Um, a “whopper” is a lie.
Seeing as the story was not unusually large, is this what you are inferring (or implying, not sure which is accurate here)?
Whopper also can mean large or big, but I agree that the use here leaves a certain amount of ambiguity.
I’d hate to see this place run like the place most of them came from, with no proofreaders or editors. They’re getting my input for free. For now.
Could spin it as “a story with huge implications”?
Have you been to that place recently? This is just an ambiguous word choice. Over there it’s intended and they double down when called out. I don’t think we’re in any danger of that here.
I don’t go there much, since I either forgot my password and couldn’t find a way to reset it, or or they threw me off of the comment section (possibly for something I said on some other commonly owned site).
I sometimes go just for the hot takes. It really has fallen from what it was a few years ago, as have the related sites.
Well, yeah… everyone worth reading came here. 🙂
Yeah when I hear whopper I think of the burger at Burger King, which is so named for the size, not because it is a lie. I don’t think I would have even thought about it meaning a lie without it being pointed out.
Same here. A “whopper” is not automatically a lie.
I read it as a big (impactful) story. But I can see how there is a bit of ambiguity.
My view on potentially owning an EV hasn’t changed.
Not against it if my use case supports it, and it sort of does. The tempering factors are purchase price and longer term concerns (availability of parts considering pace of tech advancement and major part pricing and resale value). Lease might be an option with the right terms.
My view on potentially owning an EV hasn’t changed.
Not against it if my use case supports it, and it sort of does. The tempering factors are purchase price and longer term concerns (availability of parts considering pace of tech advancement and major part pricing and resale value). Lease might be an option with the right terms.
There are worse songs than Creep to have stuck in your head, whether by Radiohead or STP. My daughter and nieces got past the Baby Shark phase and it still took over a year for that auditory holocaust to finally leave my mind.
I’m hoping to keep my current non-hybrid ICE car for another 7 years or so. When I do replace it, it will likely be with a full EV or PHEV. It’ll depend on exactly what I need from that next vehicle and what lines up with the budget as my kid heads off to college. If I end up keeping my current car for another 12 years then you’ll know that college took a bigger bite out of the budget than I had hoped for.
My inability to endure the horrendous music of kid entertainment (which I hated even when I was a kid) is legitimately one of the reasons I never had any (though not a top one).
BRUH. Same. Mostly the having to keep working to support a being that may or may not hate me OR join a cult. But also the entertainment.
Yeah, that you can’t pick them is a bigger one. I’m sure we’ve all known good people from shit families and shitheads from good ones with siblings who are decent people. Some people are just born jerks, whiners, or losers and whatever the parents do can’t change it, but it can give them a lifetime of frustration for which they blame themselves. Anyway, it’s just not for me. I have no instinct for it, never imagined it—can’t imagine it—and only considered it very briefly because a woman I really liked wanted kids and I knew my position meant it would be over, but not only do I know I would only be miserable and the relationship would very likely fail, anyway, it also wouldn’t be fair to some poor kid to have this 3-headed dog as their father. Orthus, OTOH, would make a great parent, but I suspect it’s easier to get things done and make decisions with only 2 heads.
There are worse songs than Creep to have stuck in your head, whether by Radiohead or STP. My daughter and nieces got past the Baby Shark phase and it still took over a year for that auditory holocaust to finally leave my mind.
I’m hoping to keep my current non-hybrid ICE car for another 7 years or so. When I do replace it, it will likely be with a full EV or PHEV. It’ll depend on exactly what I need from that next vehicle and what lines up with the budget as my kid heads off to college. If I end up keeping my current car for another 12 years then you’ll know that college took a bigger bite out of the budget than I had hoped for.
My inability to endure the horrendous music of kid entertainment (which I hated even when I was a kid) is legitimately one of the reasons I never had any (though not a top one).
BRUH. Same. Mostly the having to keep working to support a being that may or may not hate me OR join a cult. But also the entertainment.
Yeah, that you can’t pick them is a bigger one. I’m sure we’ve all known good people from shit families and shitheads from good ones with siblings who are decent people. Some people are just born jerks, whiners, or losers and whatever the parents do can’t change it, but it can give them a lifetime of frustration for which they blame themselves. Anyway, it’s just not for me. I have no instinct for it, never imagined it—can’t imagine it—and only considered it very briefly because a woman I really liked wanted kids and I knew my position meant it would be over, but not only do I know I would only be miserable and the relationship would very likely fail, anyway, it also wouldn’t be fair to some poor kid to have this 3-headed dog as their father. Orthus, OTOH, would make a great parent, but I suspect it’s easier to get things done and make decisions with only 2 heads.
I’m not surprised. Anyone who doesn’t have a garage to keep the car in probably isn’t all that interested. The value in electric cars now is through home charging; without a garage it’s a lot more of a pain. That eliminates a huge portion.
Price explains a lot of the rest. There’s still quite a premium for electric now. It’s gradually getting better, but not ther eyet
I have no garage, although we do have communal carports. I have no easy way to charge, hence no EV. Also I drive 8K miles a year, at least 4-5K of which is an annual big vacation, also hence no EV.
In the SF bay area, gas and electricity cost nearly the same, so I’m not saving any money on charging my EV at home. But the convenience of just plugging in at home can’t be beat. That, and the only maintenance I’ve done in 2.5 years (Model Y) is rotating the tires twice. The Model Y was cheaper by $10k compared to the car I was originally going to buy.