[frchdragon]

Originally Posted by CajunBMW

For the Texas snow storms weren't the high rates due to folks that in essence bet on low prices? I am right next door in Louisiana and we had the exact same snow and ice storm and my bill did not change, with the exception that I used the heater more (so the heat and gas usage went up, but my charge per se went up only as a percentage of the extra use). No different than the cost of 1 gallon of gas versus 10 gallons. I believe in Texas the deregulation of the power infrastructure allowed folks to choose variable rate plans vs the fixed rate plans we use. I admit I don't know the specific details of these plans.

I think that you are correct, they basically play the market, and it becomes supply and demand. It works great until it doesn't (wayyyy too much demand).
Utility companies had to declare bankruptcy, we would need someone local to chime in.
More information if you feel like reading: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-e...lion-forgiven/

But we are changing the subject... sorry

[g9icy]

As much as I dislike the loss of ICE cars, EV's generally do have a significantly smaller carbon footprint of an ICE car over their lifetime, and batteries can be reused afterwards for longer than the life of the car. And research on the UK has shown our grid absolutely can handle everyone owning one.

*However* what people seem to be ignoring is that the cobalt required by the batteries involves child labour and other abhorrent unethical practices, and the other resources needed for batteries are also non-sustainable on the scales we need for everyone to own an EV.

So yes, we're moving away from oil, but replacing it with resources which damage the planet to mine, dispose of, and are actually less available on the long term. The current hopes are that new technology can reduce the reliance on these resources, but as of right now, we're running head first into this problem.

We the ordinary folks should not be responsible for solving this problem by changing our car ownership habits. The lockdowns have shown that even with dramatically less cars on the road, there's been little impact to the environment. It's all ass backwards.

Having said all that, I do support the idea that most people should own an EV, but those of us that love ICE cars should still be allowed to own them if preferable.

[CajunBMW]

Originally Posted by g9icy

As much as I dislike the loss of ICE cars, sadly EV's generally do have a significantly smaller carbon footprint of an ICE car over their lifetime, and batteries can be reused afterwards for longer than the life of the car. And research on the UK has shown our grid absolutely can handled everyone owning one.

*However* what people seem to be ignoring is that the cobalt required by the batteries involves child labour and other abhorrent unethical practices, and the other resources needed for batteries are also non-sustainable on the scales we need for everyone to own an EV.

So yes, we're moving away from oil, but replacing it with resources which damage the planet even more and are actually less available on the long term. The current hopes are that new technology can reduce the reliance on these resources, but as of right now, we're running head first into this problem.

We the ordinary folks should not be responsible for solving this problem by changing our car ownership habits. The lockdowns have shown that even with dramatically less cars on the road, there's been little impact to the environment. It's all ass backwards.

Having said all that, I do support the idea that most people should own an EV, but those of us that love ICE cars should still be allowed to own them if preferable.

You stated in much more detail, the many concerns that exist. Thanks. I believe that with the work on batteries that dont use rare earth elements, that will be or at least could be the break through needed. Certainly there are other sources of power. A lot of our busses use hydrogen. There is no doubt that changes are occurring.....but when will they be fully implemented I think is just a guess, since issues remain. They may work better in some countries then others and even in some cities vs others.

[Wills2]

Thing is no one wants to hear the noise of these cars on the street other than the owners, I've had silly loud M3/5s with Tubi exhausts but I can see why people thought bellend..too loud no one want's that running down their road no matter how cool you think your pops and crackles sound they don't and 99% of people think idiot.

It's anti social and can often blight areas, if people insist on decating cars doing silly tunes and exhausts on their ICE cars then they are giving the gov the excuse they need (not that ours need the excuse as they are already banning their sale in 2025)

The initial lockdown was so nice in terms of the peace and quiet it afforded (not nice for many other reasons)

The OP might think his 340i is the dogs but seriously it's just a workaday car and no one actually wants to hear you drive it...sorry.

[winther1]

Originally Posted by Wills2

Thing is no one wants to hear the noise of these cars on the street other than the owners, I've had silly loud M3/5s with Tubi exhausts but I can see why people thought bellend..too loud no one want's that running down their road no matter how cool you think your pops and crackles sound they don't and 99% of people think idiot.

It's anti social and can often blight areas, if people insist on decating cars doing silly tunes and exhausts on their ICE cars then they are giving the gov the excuse they need (not that ours need the excuse as they are already banning their sale in 2025)

The initial lockdown was so nice in terms of the peace and quiet it afforded (not nice for many other reasons)

The OP might think his 340i is the dogs but seriously it's just a workaday car and no one actually wants to hear you drive it...sorry.

I don't have a 340i, but the mods on my 440i are done for myself not strangers on the street.
I'm aware of the outbreak of hyper-sensitivity lately, but I'm sure the Karens will survive a bit longer before the EV revolution takes hold.

[MashinBenzin]

Originally Posted by winther1

I don't have a 340i, but the mods on my 440i are done for myself not strangers on the street.
I'm aware of the outbreak of hyper-sensitivity lately, but I'm sure the Karens will survive a bit longer before the EV revolution takes hold.

We can all do lots of things 'for ourself' and end up impacting others. When I think of things like mental health, insomnia and PTSD, the last thing I want to do is add an irritant or, worse, a trigger. Even if her name is Karen (bizarre, not sure why a female name was relevant). And just maybe she wouldn't, you know, survive.

[Witney]

Someone on here described lots of the EVs being more like an appliance and I get that. The linear immense power, the absence of gear changes whilst nuclear fast with just the whine and tyre noise can feel a bit bland. And we are at the stage where cars are so fast that you need to be on a track to push them.

Two of my favourite cars. Mk 1 Mx-5 and S2000. Driver engagement on the Mx-5 was just amazing and the lack of power and grip at more modest speeds just made it so much fun. The S2000 just had that nuts engine, but I was wary of it taking me backwards into a hedge if you went too far.

[CajunBMW]

There are a lot of interesting conversations going on here at the same time if I am following correctly.

To me it seems like we could have fun and spirited discussions about the many things brought up in this thread (over a beer perhaps ). Such as whether we like EVs vs Gas/Diesel cars, and or what types of EVs we will like (To me these are not mutually exclusive). What mods we can do on an EV. I can poke fun at myself and say that I would put the red start button in my EV because just like in my current car it adds HP and TQ ( ). We could discuss what infrastructure is needed where we live and how it might work in cities vs rural communities and then what are the environmental impacts of this approach vs the new engineering and technological breakthroughs needed to partially or fully implement this change.

In the end I think these are worthy discussions and ones that will come up a lot over the next few years.

Cheers,

[bimmer456]

Originally Posted by frchdragon

I don't think that it will die, I think it will reinvent itself.
We will have charging station at the race track and we will bring our EV, whichever it is to the track.

Everybody employed in the aftermarket and part replacement industry will suffer though. No more filters (except cabin filters), no intake, downpipes, intercoolers, less brakes (regeneration), no more oil changes...

We went from horses and buggy to the electrical car to ICE, now we go back to electrical cars with better range and fast accelerations.
I personally would be happy if I could put a plug to my car and fill it up that way, instead of cringing when gas prices go higher.

There will still be bm3