WRITING IS ON THE WALL

[Harold Scoggins]

After seeing this release earlier this week and knowing that GM will be following with their version soon, I am both feeling a little depressed and experiencing a lot of anxiety. So many questions; how many more years will our gas powered trucks have access to affordable fuel, will a tax be imposed on our trucks as a way to nudge us towards an electric vehicle, etc? We can debate the climate issue until hell freezes over, but the fact remains, our vehicles are going electric, with or without our acceptance. For us old farts that can remember 25 cent gasoline and the gas station attendant running out to check your oil and clean your windshield, this evolution is going to hurt even more I think. The sound of a well tuned V8, the roar of a straight pipe, the stare down at the red light as you challenge each other to "punch it," the monster truck shows, all gone the way of the dinosaurs. I accept the fact that our planet has to come first, but God how I will miss it so. (My V8)

The wife and I have decided to make the change, but I'm going to wait and see what Chevy comes out with. I wonder if they will call the front end a "Frunk" too?

 

[MN Fisher]

5 minutes ago, Harold Scoggins said:

The wife and I have decided to make the change, but I'm going to wait and see what Chevy comes out with. I wonder if they will call the front end a "Frunk" too?

What really bites is those of us who can't afford to go out and get a new car...even a slightly used one.

 

Only way I was able to afford my 2001 Silverado in 2016 was 1/2 came out of the insurance settlement for my previous truck, and half was loaned to me by my father at 0%...Yule gift that year was 'forgiveness' of the remainder - I'd paid back 20% of his loan by then.

 

If they make it so I have to get an electric either by legislating it, or raising the gas price to where I can't afford to even half-fill my tank - I'll be taking public transport everywhere.

 

Oh - wait - closest bus-stop to my house is 2 miles away...scratch that. Guess I'll become home-bound.

[Harold Scoggins]

3 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

What really bites is those of us who can't afford to go out and get a new car...even a slightly used one.

 

Only way I was able to afford my 2001 Silverado in 2016 was 1/2 came out of the insurance settlement for my previous truck, and half was loaned to me by my father at 0%...Yule gift that year was 'forgiveness' of the remainder - I'd paid back 20% of his loan by then.

 

If they make it so I have to get an electric either by legislating it, or raising the gas price to where I can't afford to even half-fill my tank - I'll be taking public transport everywhere.

 

Oh - wait - closest bus-stop to my house is 2 miles away...scratch that. Guess I'll become home-bound.

Ford's base model will run 39K and I'm betting there will be sizeable government rebates as an incentive to get folks to switch.

[MN Fisher]

1 minute ago, Harold Scoggins said:

Ford's base model will run 39K and I'm betting there will be sizeable government rebates as an incentive to get folks to switch.

 

1 minute ago, Harold Scoggins said:

those of us who can't afford

Re-read that

 

My Silverado cost 6k - and it was touch-and-go to get that.

 

That rebate better be 90% of the cost - else it's WAY out of my range...wife's and my SS and Retirement funds barely cover our living expenses...no extra for things like new car.

 

Only way I could afford to get my canoe and gear was the yearly Yule checks from the parents...which were specifically noted "For personal enjoyment use only - not to pay bills".

[Deleted account]

14 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

What really bites is those of us who can't afford to go out and get a new car...even a slightly used one.

 

Only way I was able to afford my 2001 Silverado in 2016 was 1/2 came out of the insurance settlement for my previous truck, and half was loaned to me by my father at 0%...Yule gift that year was 'forgiveness' of the remainder - I'd paid back 20% of his loan by then.

 

If they make it so I have to get an electric either by legislating it, or raising the gas price to where I can't afford to even half-fill my tank - I'll be taking public transport everywhere.

 

Oh - wait - closest bus-stop to my house is 2 miles away...scratch that. Guess I'll become home-bound.

Sounds like your town needs some bike racks, I know a guy....  

[MN Fisher]

Just now, BassWhole! said:

Sounds like your town needs some bike racks, I know a guy....  

Except I have a bum hip and a bum knee - not bad enough to 'require' surgery, so Medicare won't pay for it - but bad enough that just doing groceries has me in pain and needing to sit for a while when I get home.

 

So 2 miles to bus-stop...out of my range. Bicycle - tried my old one, couldn't get more than 3 miles before I had to turn around and 'limp' home.

[Deleted account]

1 minute ago, MN Fisher said:

Except I have a bum hip and a bum knee - not bad enough to 'require' surgery, so Medicare won't pay for it - but bad enough that just doing groceries has me in pain and needing to sit for a while when I get home.

 

So 2 miles to bus-stop...out of my range. Bicycle - tried my old one, couldn't get more than 3 miles before I had to turn around and 'limp' home.

"Soylent Green is old anglers!"...

[Michigander]

Not having an actual trunk is my only real complaint about truck life. I would go electric just to get a Frunk. It'll be bittersweet because I really like my truck.

 

[Deleted account]

2 minutes ago, Michigander said:

Not having an actual trunk is my only real complaint about truck life. I would go electric just to get a Frunk. It'll be bittersweet because I really like my truck.

 

As long as we don't see you towing with Herbie the Love Bug....

Electric vehicles have a lot of logistics and infrastructure hurdles to overcome before they become the standard. Will they make up a larger and larger percentage of vehicles? sure, but I don't think internal combustion vehicles are going anywhere any time soon. As far as affordability, that is an economic issue, not a gas v electric thing. I doubt we have seen the last of the changes in economic approaches, both domestic and international.

Now where do I get some whale oil?...

[MN Fisher]

5 minutes ago, Michigander said:

Not having an actual trunk is my only real complaint about truck life. I would go electric just to get a Frunk. It'll be bittersweet because I really like my truck.

 

Had a topper on the old '98 WT-1500, '01 Silverado came with one - I got a LARGE 'trunk'.

[A-Jay]

Petroleum is big business.

Employs a lot humans in many different ways.

The largest volume products of the industry are fuel oil and gasoline.

Don't see it going too far away particularly quickly.

Unless the 'silent' rigs are close to free of charge and

possess some massive upside (I'm not seeing now),

for as long as I can manage it,

I expect to be lead footing the 6.2L V8 for the rest of my driving days.

Get off my lawn . . . . 

 

A-Jay

 

 

 

[volzfan59]

I don't envision me ever owning an electric vehicle of any type.

[BrianMDTX]

I wonder how many truly missed clods of horse manure on city streets? 

 

Years from now, internal combustion engines will be museum pieces. It only has a big affect on us as it's all we've known and used our entire lives. But it is the future without a doubt. 

[HookInMouth]

I'll stick with my gas powered Rams as long as I can. 

[Michigander]

35 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Had a topper on the old '98 WT-1500, '01 Silverado came with one - I got a LARGE 'trunk'.

Oh sure, but I want that AND a regular sized trunk. ?

[Deleted account]

12 minutes ago, HookInMouth said:

I'll stick with my gas powered Rams as long as I can. 

Good, Auto mechanics have to send their kids to college too....

[galyonj]

I find myself in agreement with @BassWhole!, @A-Jay, @BrianMDTX, et al.

 

Most of my discussions in other fora regarding the possibility of an industry-wide embrace of electric vehicles comes from a performance standpoint, because I like fast cars and trucks and all that good stuff and I don't want to see them go away.

 

First, the petroleum industry, and its products, are both gonna be around for a long, long time. But I think it's good to embrace electric as the kinks continue to get worked out and they start looking less stupid. Electric vehicles are gonna have really crap adoption rates until charging stations are as common as gas stations, and charging is as easy as filling the tank. And that's just the way it is for now.

 

I just...hate Teslas so much. Every model except the S looks like a guppy.

 

But I digress! The reason embracing electric vehicles as they enter a given market segment is that money means everything to every corporation, and government regulations and subsidies are only so big a stick (or so tasty a carrot). The more units move, the higher the R&D budget goes up. The higher the R&D budget goes up, the more useful and less stupid they get.

 

Most of us discussing it will be dead and gone before anybody wakes up to discover there's no more gasoline to be had.

 

To summarize, I want electric vehicles, but it's gonna be a while and there's no reason for anybody to spit out their dentures just yet.

[Michigander]

1 minute ago, galyonj said:

Most of us discussing it will be dead and gone before anybody wakes up to discover there's no more gasoline to be had.

Gas won't go away until the refineries close their doors. If nothing else, they'll stay open mainly to support aircraft which is harder to switch to electric, dead batteries weighing the same as full batteries and whatnot.

[MN Fisher]

2 minutes ago, galyonj said:

To summarize, I want electric vehicles, but it's gonna be a while and there's no reason for anybody to spit out their dentures just yet.

Long as they hold off the requirement or the jacked-up gas prices until my ashes are scattered.

 

Given my family's longevity - that's 30-35 years.

[Jaderose]

As stated above, huge sections of the country simply lack the infrastructure necessary to make this feasible.  My kids MIGHT see the total transition but at 53, I do not expect to ever own an electric vehicle.  Not because I dislike them or have any issue with them, but because I live in the sticks in Northwest Missouri.  There is virtually NO infrastructure here for them.

[TnRiver46]

I already have trouble out of everything electrical......

[Tennessee Boy]

Sorry guys but I think it's game over for gas powered vehicles.  This thing can tow 10,000 lbs and has 230 mile range or 300 miles for more money.  Zero to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds.  How long are people gonna pay extra for a truck you have to buy gas for?  Only problem I see is finding a charging station that will accommodate a trailer behind the vehicle.   I'm sure it won't get 300 miles towing a boat.  Some of the lakes I fish are over 250 miles round trip.

[Michigander]

4 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

Sorry guys but I think it's game over for gas powered vehicles.  This thing can tow 10,000 lbs and has 230 mile range or 300 miles for more money.  Zero to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds.  How long are people gonna pay extra for a truck you have to buy gas for?  Only problem I see is finding a charging station that will accommodate a trailer behind the vehicle.   I'm sure it won't get 300 miles towing a boat.  Some of the lakes I fish are over 250 miles round trip.

Also won't be too long before solar panel bed covers are widely available to help extend range too. ?

[Tennessee Boy]

3 minutes ago, Michigander said:

Also won't be too long before solar panel bed covers are widely available to help extend range too. ?

and there's already more charging stations than most people realize.

 

https://afdc.energy.gov/fuels/electricity_locations.html#/find/nearest?fuel=ELEC

 

I read somewhere that a lot of people that have owned electric vehicles are going back to gas.  The main reason they switched back was not having a high capacity charger at home.  Apparently,  the DualPro on your boat won't cut it for the car.  ?

[Holetail]

I am all for progress in technology, but as far as these electric vehicles being the answer to the so called “climate crisis”, I am skeptical. I wonder why the people pushing these things never seem to mention how the electricity needed to charge these vehicles comes from power plants that burn coal or natural gas. Nuclear is another (more efficient) means, but no one wants to have that in their backyard.