End of the Electrified Road?

Guest Post by Eric Peters

We are now at the point with battery-powered devices pretending to be cars that we were with mRNA drugs pretending to be vaccines. The truth is out – and people are not buying the lies anymore.

Or the devices.

Ford has stopped shipping 2024 Lightnings because there are so many unsold (brand-new) 2023 Lightnings collecting dust on dealership lots – like crates of “vaccines” that have gone bad because people aren’t lining up to get jabbed anymore. Volvo is putting a pillow over the head of Polestar – which was to have been its Bespoke device brand. But it can’t afford to waste more money on devices for which there are not enough or even any buyers. Mercedes just walked back its commitment of just a few years ago to be a high-end peddler of nothing but devices by 2030 – because (again) there are not enough people willing to buy a device when they are still able to buy and drive vehicles that aren’t devices.

And that bring us to what now?

In prior Sovietzied economies – i.e., planned economies, with supply determined by government fiat rather than demand – it didn’t matter that there wasn’t a market for what was produced. It was just produced. As much – or as little – as the political apparat decreed would be produced. The decrees were styled Five Year Plans – and so on. The people had to accept what was produced – because there was no other option.

It seems logical that the same approach will be resorted to in order to clear the glut of devices rejected by what’s left of the American market. That part being the still-viable option of not buying a device. It is an option being exercised by most people, for reasons everyone’s well-aware of. Devices are too expensive – and too inconvenient. Most people do not want to have to plan their lives around waits for a charge. They want to be able to just go – whenever they want to, without having to plan it ahead of time.

This latter is a vestige of the American rather than Soviet way of life.

It is a way of life most Americans will continue to choose for as long as they remain free to chose it. And that is why this choice will of necessity be taken away by the Soviets who have seized control of what used to be America.

If the Soviets are permitted to retain control of America.

There is no other way for them – or for us.

If the last vestige of the America that was is allowed to remain viable – if people are allowed to continue buying or even just owning vehicles rather than devices – then the Sovietization of the American car industry (indeed, of the car industry, generally) will fail spectacularly. It will fail for the same reason the old Soviet Union failed:

There was an alternative to it.

People not only knew things sucked in the Soviet Union, they knew they didn’t suck on the other side of the wall, in the West. Which – at the time – was far from being Soviet.

People in the old Soviet Union could see the choices people in the West had – including cars of all kinds and types, rather than a Trabant made of recycled plastic – and wanted them just as much as the people in the West (who often took them for granted) did. This disparity helped undermine internal support for the Soviet Union, which tottered and fell very much in alignment with its gerontocratic ruling elite.

Now the gerontocratic ruling elite rule the West – and they’re determined to Sovietize it. They have taken care of the supply side, by using the regulatory power of government to effectively outlaw choice without (very cleverly) actually outlawing it. That is why it is legal to offer for sale brand-new 1960s Mustangs, for instance – without any modern “safety” features or “emissions” controls. But it is only legal to offer them in very small numbers – at very high prices – to the nonemklatura who can afford to pay the (roughly) $250,000 it costs to buy a brand-new ’60s-era Mustang. It is also why it is still possible for GM to sell a V8-powered Escalade  – for just shy of $100k to start. Because only a few such will be sold and that doesn’t meaningfully affect GM’s compliance profile.

Electric Trabants are for the rest of us. Only our Trabants are so expensive most of us can’t afford what most of us don’t want anyhow.

To make us “want” them, alternatives to them will be actually outlawed. Or made more expensive than the electric Trabants they want us to drive. Or – rather – which they intend to use to end driving for most of us. Expect gas to become scarce – and expensive. At $10 per gallon – if you can find a gallon – it will cost even more to drive than it costs to buy (and charge) a device.

It’s all coming – because it’s all coming to a head.

Better buckle up.

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34 Comments
Arizona Bay
Arizona Bay
February 28, 2024 7:25 pm

I heard a discussion on the business channel that I mostly agreed with. Electric car technology is not ready for prime-time yet. The example they used was cell phones in the 1980’s. They were the size of a suitcase but now, in 2024, most kids have their eyes glued to a smartphone. Maybe in 40 years electric cars will be ready. I know in the late 1990’s there was still a lot of research going on with hybrids while I was in college and now the technology is ready and widely accepted.

The lib talking head’s proposed solution was just to make mandates so people had to drive electric cars. In typical bubble thinking she couldn’t understand why people don’t want electric vehicles.

SmallerGovNow
SmallerGovNow
  Arizona Bay
February 28, 2024 9:17 pm

Electric vehicles are NOT the same as cell phones and never will be. EV’s are a bad fucking idea no matter how you cut it… Chip

Anonymous
Anonymous
  Arizona Bay
February 29, 2024 12:53 am

EVs are a scam. Where do you think the energy in the charging outlet comes from?

Anonymous
Anonymous
  Anonymous
March 1, 2024 5:08 pm

Half the population is female. Women “feel” that electricity comes from the wall outlet.

realestatepup
realestatepup
  Arizona Bay
February 29, 2024 7:52 am

Just look at the Chevy Volt. Actually was a great idea…teeny gas engine sipping gas charged the electric motor on the fly. Almost zero emissions. Nope. Too easy for the dirt people to have and drive.
And….if it was actually about making real strides towards electric cars, they would be getting SMALLER and LIGHTER. They are not.
They would also have built in solar panels on the roof. They do not.
Tesla can limit the range you drive by limiting your battery power even if you paid for the bigger battery with longer charge. Why?
This is about keeping people where they want them and not letting them travel period.

Anonymous
Anonymous
  realestatepup
February 29, 2024 1:36 pm

A few years ago during a particularly bad hurricane in Florida where there were massive traffic jams due to people trying to get out of harm’s way, so Elon flipped a switch and his Teslas were magically granted some additional range by permitting a deeper drain on the batteries. Sure is nice that someone can keep tabs on you when you are on the road.

Anonymous
Anonymous
  realestatepup
March 1, 2024 5:09 pm

EVs are so heavy they are damaging the roads.

B_MC
B_MC
February 28, 2024 7:39 pm

Apple’s electric car project is dead

Apple has halted its long-rumored “Project Titan” work on developing an electric car, according to Bloomberg. The company reportedly announced the news internally on Tuesday and said many people in the 2,000-person team behind the car will shift to generative AI efforts instead.

https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/27/24084907/apple-electric-car-project-titan-shuts-down

B_MC
B_MC
February 28, 2024 7:41 pm

Ford Lost $4.7B On EVs Last Year, Or About $64,731 For Every EV It Sold

How bad is the EV business? Yesterday afternoon, Ford Motor Company reported that the operating loss it incurred on its EV business in 2023 exceeded its total profit for the year.

That shocking fact comes directly from the company’s earnings report, which carried the headline, “Ford+ Delivers Solid 2023…” The Dearborn-based auto giant had an operating loss (also known as EBIT, or earnings before interest and taxes) of $4.7 billion on its EV business last year. Meanwhile, the company reported net income (profit) of just $4.3 billion, on revenue of $176 billion. The company also reported operating income, or what it called “adjusted EBIT,” of $10.4 billion.

Calculating the company’s per-EV operating loss requires only a bit of simple division. The company sold 72,608 EVs last year and had an EBIT loss of $4.7 billion in its “Model e” segment. Thus, the auto giant lost a knee-buckling $64,731 for each EV it sold in 2023. To put that $64,731 per-vehicle loss in perspective, a top-of-the-line Mustang Mach-E listed on the website of a large Ford dealership here in Austin (see below) is selling for $66,615.

https://robertbryce.substack.com/p/ford-lost-47b-on-evs-last-year-or

Tainan
Tainan
  B_MC
February 29, 2024 2:14 am

GM is finishing building its Ultium Cell battery factory in Michigan this year… just in time for EV sales tanking

Anonymous
Anonymous
February 28, 2024 8:27 pm

I have a great bumper sticker on my diesel 4×4 “Global Warmer” lol. The fruits in the Prius and Teslas behind me always give dirty looks. I saw a sticker said “it takes burning coal to charge your tesla” lol

Trapped in Portlandia
Trapped in Portlandia
  Anonymous
February 28, 2024 10:02 pm

If you really want to explode some blue lib heads, slap a Biden-Harris bumper sticker next to the Global Warmer sticker.

Lon Moe ER
Lon Moe ER
  Trapped in Portlandia
February 29, 2024 7:21 am

Fry everyone’s collectively fucktarded heads and place a Biden sticker next to a Trump sticker.

Anonymous
Anonymous
  Lon Moe ER
February 29, 2024 1:38 pm

No, dirty old joe’s sticker goes on upside down and under Trump’s.

SmallerGovNow
SmallerGovNow
February 28, 2024 9:16 pm

“If the Soviets are permitted to retain control of America.” What the fuck are you talking about? You mean the Bolsheviks? Chip

Leah
Leah
February 28, 2024 9:17 pm

I hope Eric was flashing his lights to warn drivers about the Piggy. I miss the old cars like the Camaro, Chevelle, Firebird etc. No such thing as a carburetor anymore…plus changing an air filter was so easy even I could do it.

Glad people are maybe waking up to the EV BS.

Glock-N-Load
Glock-N-Load
  Leah
February 28, 2024 10:09 pm

If something doesn’t change, it will be forced onto us.

Leah
Leah
  Glock-N-Load
February 28, 2024 10:40 pm

We have to allow them to force us. Please help me understand where I’m missing it, GNL.

fujigm
fujigm
  Leah
February 29, 2024 7:42 pm

No such thing as a carburetor anymore.

Sure there is.
Grab a wrench.
I just put a brand new Edelbrock 600CFM (no emissions BS) on my 351W (Ford E350).

Anonymous
Anonymous
February 28, 2024 10:24 pm

The power of the Peoples purse. If only we could all see it, all of this horse shit could be shut down by us.

Anonymous
Anonymous
February 28, 2024 10:48 pm

The logical solution to the American car is probably Hydrogen Fuel Cells . You still have a vehicle that fuels up in a few minutes and has the power and range with an Internal combustion engine .
It’s also environmentally safe with water vapor as the exhaust !
Wow something that possibly checks all the boxes efficiently and effectively !
Well WASHINGTON DC SOCIALIST MINIONS elected appointed and hired will have none of that shit !

The True Nolan
The True Nolan
  Anonymous
February 28, 2024 11:22 pm

Only if you are using nuclear power to create the hydrogen — but then you have other tech problems with fuel cell technology and hydrogen storage, etc., and with rebuilding every service station on the planet.

How about if we use nuclear reactor heat to convert coal to petroleum products and just keep using IC engines and standard gasoline/diesel transport infrastructure?

Verl Lessig
Verl Lessig
  Anonymous
February 29, 2024 12:48 am

Let’s hope hydrogen powered vehicles work more safely than it did with the Hindenburg.

Lon Moe ER
Lon Moe ER
  Verl Lessig
February 29, 2024 7:27 am

The Hindenburg was deliberately and publicly scuttled to kill airship travel.

Why else did they have a live radio hookup, setup to record?

“In 1936 the Hindenburg inaugurated commercial air service across the North Atlantic by carrying 1,002 passengers on 10 scheduled round trips between Germany and the United States.”

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hindenburg

Where is the first trip radio broadcast recording?
Or the second?
Or the third through 9th?

Anonymous
Anonymous
  Lon Moe ER
March 1, 2024 5:14 pm

I have never been on a blimp. I did,once upon a time, ride on a hot air balloon. Lotsa fun until the wind picked up. Scared the shyte out of the balloon pilot. Wouldn’t take much weather to crash a blimp.

Lon Moe ER
Lon Moe ER
  Anonymous
February 29, 2024 7:26 am

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are unecessary.

Hydrogen ICE vehicles? Easy.

Gary
Gary
February 28, 2024 11:01 pm

Government works suck ass, but worse than them are Americans who “don’t care”, I recall Thomas Paine wrote about these type of people back during the War for Independence, he said they were worse than the Tories. These people are pure scum, I hope they ‘get their boosters’.

fujigm
fujigm
  Gary
February 29, 2024 7:45 pm

Often insurgents masquerade as those that “don’t care”.

Dagobaz
Dagobaz
February 29, 2024 5:42 am

Long before we reach $10/gal for fuel the economy collapses because that translates to about $14/gal diesel, and no trucker will be able to pay that and be profitable. Everything is carried by trucks at some stage of its production or to market. As prices for fuel rise initially, the truckers will try to pass the costs on, which is inflationary as all hell. Eventually though, the costs will get so high that they won’t be profitable, then you will get interruption of supply of virtually all products, and you will get a revolution.

Lon Moe ER
Lon Moe ER
February 29, 2024 7:19 am

So, invest in bicycles?

The Central Scrutinizer
The Central Scrutinizer
February 29, 2024 9:32 am

I live for the day that Elon Musk disappears up his own ass.

Tlate
Tlate
February 29, 2024 11:50 am

EVs will NEVER be ready for prime time unless the power generating power of the grid is increased significantly. But wait governments plan is to reduce carbon footprint of the grid as well. Alternative energy. wind solar etc. In many areas the electric grid is already at maximum capacity with no relief in sight. You are being played! Goal is you will own nothing, live in a 15-minute city in a small apartment. That is the plan. Never will be an EV is every driveway. Our overlords know this. A user tax for every mile driven is probably next to further curtail the use of ALL automobiles.

Shade Tree
Shade Tree
February 29, 2024 1:48 pm

Hey Eric, any chance you have an opinion and/or road report on the Camry hybrid? The word is that ’24 is the last year for a gasoline only Camry because the ’25 will only be a hybrid. Seems like Toyota may be onto a good thing, what with their 15 years or so of experience since introducing the Prius. The hybrid battery is much smaller due to the efficiencies learned with the regenerative braking/charging technology. A ’24 Camry LE is claimed to have 51 mpg overall and is moderately priced compared to the hybrid versions of Rav 4 and Highlander.

Regarding the move to 4 cylinder engines: our 20+ year old 4 cylinder Toyota is every bit as powerful as the 30 year old 6 cylinder Toyota that is now in the hands of its third owner. IOW, no complaints with the 4 banger.

Anonymous
Anonymous
  Shade Tree
February 29, 2024 10:16 pm

Friend has a 2015 BMW 420d that gets 52mpg without having the complexity of a hybrid and the costs associated. Why would/should anyone bother unless a hybrid is at least 150% better. Especially since the components of the battery are just so NOT eco.