Your EV Update...

Well now, since "THAT'S" over with, we need something to talk about until November 6th...

So here we go.  Those of you who follow The Chuckmeister, your go-to guy on all things automotive, know by now that new cars cost double what they did a decade ago.  And that the monthly payments to buy them have increased by 55% over the past 3 years, equalling almost $900 now.  And that car insurance is up more than 50% in some areas.  And double if you own an EV.  And that your Gubmint has issued a diktat (the way they spell it in Russia) that you WILL drive electric vehicles (EV) by 2030!  If you want to drive at all!   

Face it:  Electric cars are the answer to a question only very few are asking.  I guess every generation has to have something to be afraid of.  When everything's A-okay.  

As I've written, for some, "The Sky is Falling!"   

The Mumbler-in-Chief issued this proclamation, despite the fact that we're sitting on a river of oil that the USGS (U. S. Geological Survey) has told us will last for more than 200 years.  Plus three other U. S. oil formations bringing that total to 900 years!  

You know that the U.S. was a net exporter of oil and gas while The Donald was POTUS, right?  And that gas averaged $2.80 a gallon the day he left office.  It isn't anymore.  It's $3.89 nationally, and $5.60 here in Taxifornia.  Where it's so dayummm Blue that they don't even pretend neutral governance anymore.  Did you know that 47 of Taxifornia's 54 counties are owned and controlled by Democrats?  And that they can pass any ridiculous laws they can come up with?  Including a new law requiring other cars to beep at you if you're speeding!  Including paying hamburger-flippers $10,000 a year more than military enlistees?  

On the strength of this unilateral "Executive Order" (no legislation supports it), the auto makers began to gear up to manufacture grossed-up golf carts.  And to dedicate vast sums of $Cash in the changeover.  Ford even required dealers wishing to sell EV's to pony up $500,000 for the opportunity.  

Imagine:  You're a Ford dealer and you have to pay Ford to sell Ford products.  Hmmm...    

The auto makers were happy about this turn of events, as EV's have far fewer parts (1,300 vs. 33,000, on avg.).  And they're easier to design around (the battery is under the floor).  So they were willing participants in this folly.  They were gung ho, despite the fact they knew making EV's to try and fix Global Warming is a Leftoid's pipedream.  They were in it for market share.  And PROFIT!    

What they didn't count on was the American People.

Some "early adopters" bought EV's, to be sure.  Up to 6.7% as a total percentage of cars bought last year were plug-in EV's.*  Especially those located in the big cities where commutes tend to be short.  Many bought them as 2nd cars for just that purpose.  17.3% of all new cars bought in Taxifornia last December were EV's.  Mostly Teslas, BTW.

And 92% of EV owners have a second, gas-powered car.  As a backup, no doubt, knowing that their $expensive little toy will fail them when they need it most.  

If it's very hot out?  Won't work.  If it's very cold out?  Won't work...

And then last November the sales stopped.  Dead.  In their tracks.  For the reasons I'd forecasted a year ago.  It's called the "Cuisinart Effect."  Cuisinart was a food processor.  It burst on the scene in the '80's.  Would-be chefs had to have one.  And they bought one.  Until the day when everybody who wanted one, had bought one.  And then that $100 Million Dollar, Publicly-Traded Cuisinart Corporation went bust!  Couldn't they foresee that there was a limited number of chefs? 

Couldn't they see there were a limited number of those wanting a growed-up golf cart?  You're watching it happen again...

Ford's CEO Jim Farley stated recently that it had stopped construction on its Michigan battery plant.  And halved production of EV's.  And stopped production of its F-150 Lighting model pickup.  The one with oodles of horsepower.  A pickup that can burn rubber for blocks.  Exactly what people looking for a pickup tend to desire.  A $70,000, tire-shredding pickup  

Whu...?

That same CEO said Ford had lost more than $5.6 Billion, with a "B," on its  EV's last year.  He said they lost...get this...more than $133,000 on each EV they sold in 2023.  So on waaay overpriced EV's, they lose $133,000 each!  Are their stockholders reading this?    

And GM lost $2.7 Billion in the same period.  And although GM's CEO says its still committed to EV production, it's trimmed back its production schedule by 45%.  

Face it, EV's suck for most of us.  "Range anxiety" is still a hugely limiting factor.  It's sometimes tough to find a place to charge them.  And 20% of chargers are out of commission at any one time.  And if you choose "Supercharging," it can be as expensive to charge them as buying gasoline.  And their range is still limited.  Especially when it's very hot or very cold (figure a loss of 30% either way).  And it sometimes can take an hour to charge.  Against 5 minutes at Larry's Gas Station.  

Who thought up this sh*t show?  

Oh yeah, they just put out a poll showing that fully 83% of all plug-in EV owners would return to gas-powered cars next time.  Not a good endorsement.

But for those very few who live and work in an urban enviro, make lots of $cash, are comfortable with the idea of your neighbor helping you buy your car (your $7,500 tax rebate that other Taxpayers pay for), can charge their cars overnight, in their own garages, and for whom it would be a 2nd car (still can't rely on them for long distance trips), EV's can work fine and save on gas.  And if you're also willing to pay a $Yuuuuge premium to Save the Planet.  While ignoring the fact that it takes 20 tons of Earth to generate 17 pounds of Lithium.  And EV batteries take fully 17 pounds of lithium.  Which is the key heavy metal needed for battery production.

And while Ford was losing its shirt for following O'Biden's orders, Tesla went on a price-lowering tirade!  Musk lowered the price of all his models by an average of more than 25% in the past year.  How would you like to have purchased a new Model S for $100,249 in January, and then discover its retail price was $74,455 in March?

I mean, EV owners can expect to get smacked with a 49% depreciation rate the moment you drive if off the showroom floor.  It seems to me they're asking waaaay too much from you, the poor customer.  

And speaking of Tesla, did you know that the first Model S was only sold in 2013?  Yes, Fellow Patriots, the EV market is only 11 years old.  So how long will that battery last again?  And how much is a replacement, again ($20k, at least)?  And how much will it cost me to dispose of this rare Earth time bomb when it gives up the ghost?

And then there's the secondary market.  What's a used EV worth?  Nobody knows!  Elon Musk has now sold some 2 million of them.  But Hertz just dumped one-third of its entire fleet of 60,000 Teslas at bargain-basement prices because they're too costly to maintain!  What's that tell the prospective retail buyer?

And what will happen to the Brand, and to the reputation of EV's in general, when those beat-up used Teslas hit the road.  And Fisker just went tits up, for the SECOND TIME, not only screwing its 5,000 orphaned owners, but dragging down the entire EV market.  Plus Lucid's future isn't all that bright, either.  So what's a used EV worth?  

What'll ya' pay?  

Put simply, unlike our fleet of 220,000,000 gas-powered cars out there, we don't know what they're worth on a used car lot.  We have no reliable data.  And if you own one you're already caught up in this drama.    

Plus, they tend to spontaneously combust.  News just in has two Tesla S's colliding at highway speeds.  Causing a roaring battery fire.  That could not be put out by water.  And another "S" ran it's 12 volt battery dry in Phoenix, locking a 20 month-old infant inside.  In 100 degree heat.  Firefighters had to break the Tesla's window in order to gain entry.  And are you really comfortable with some snot-nosed genius at Tesla World Headquarters be able to push a button and turn off your air conditioning in West Texas heat if you don't pay your lease bill?  These, Fellow Patriots, are problems you do not face with ICE automobiles...

So, like I've said before, those who choose to get involved in this mess, after being warned by me and others, deserve everything that they get.