I’m not going to lie, it’s getting difficult to find good news these days. After all, it’s an election year in the United States and already the bullshit is piling up so quickly you needs wings to stay above it. Add to that the fact that Captain Tripps has lurched out of China and across the planet. All we need now is some Martians shrieking, “Ack, ack, ack ack ack” while they disintegrate everything in sight and you’ve got a recipe for every bad political thriller that’s ever been written.
Anyway, I did manage to stumble across a bit of decent news. At least news that doesn’t suck. Unless you’re an oil company exec, that is.
It seems Singapore has hopped on the EV bandwagon and is looking to phase out diesel and gas vehicles by 2040. Britain is looking to do the same, but by 2035.
Now, before you label me as some tea-sipping, kale-eating, granola-crunching, car-hating hippie know this: I’m not a fan of tea, I only eat kale when it’s been baked long enough to get crispy, I’m on the fence about granola, and I freakin’ love cars. Thing is, I also like little things like breathing and national security.
Internal combustion engines are cool. There’s nothing like the sound of a rumbling V8 or the whine of a supercharger as it kicks in. The sheer thrill of hitting that peak RPM and feeling the world fall away is unmistakably awesome. It’s like sex and bourbon and monkey knife-fighting all rolled into one delicious package. But, let’s be realistic, internal combustion engines create pollution. Especially that asshole in the big, black pickup with a lift kit and a bunch of 2A stickers that just rolled coal all over your Hyundai because reasons. And think about this: A good sports or muscle car hits peak horsepower at between 6000 and 9000 RPMs. That’s a long way to go to get to speed. Electric vehicles don’t have that problem; they’ve got peak horsepower at 0 RPM. And, you don’t have to worry about fluctuations in gas prices. And we don’t have to worry about doing business in far-flung places that we’ve spent decades trying to destabilize and who have no great love for us.
Sure, EVs aren’t without their problems. Range is still an issue. It takes longer to recharge a battery than it does to fill up a gas tank. Finding charging stations can still be problematic. Plus all that extra electricity to power the EVs has to come from somewhere. Thing is, none of these are forever issues. Fifteen to twenty years doesn’t seem that long, but it’s an eternity in technological terms. Look at what we’ve accomplished in that past twenty years. Faster, cheaper Internet. Your phone is now a computer powerful enough to launch the Space Shuttle. And we got Motley Crue back out on tour.
Technological gains are driven by market forces. The earliest cars were cantankerous things, prone to running out of fuel and breaking down at the worst possible time. They’ve become more reliable, comfortable, and efficient over the years. There’s no reason to think the same won’t happen with EVs. Plus, imagine how awesome it will be to punch the pedal on your jacked-up 4×4 and have it take off like someone shoved a jalapeno up its tailpipe. It may be quiet, but it’ll be fast.
EVs may not take off immediately and I doubt we’ll see similar laws enacted in the United States for a long time. Simply put, we have too many vehicles – 800 per 1000 people – too much existing infrastructure, and too much of a love affair with loud cars. But it’ll happen. And as alternate ways to generate electricity without making a mess – think wind and solar – get better and cheaper, it’s not too much of a stretch to think you could be rocking a 1000hp vehicle for far less than you’d have to pay today.
Anyway, it’s something to strive for.
Check out the original story here. And sleep tonight dreaming of never going to a gas station again.
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And now your moment of Zen.
Eric Lahti 