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Well gentle readers, it’s time once again for an update into the bizarre world of electric vehicles, and more specifically, EV mandates.  Americans have made their opinion of EVs more than clear: apart from a niche market accessed by the wealthy, they don’t want them.  They’re too expensive, range anxiety is a reality, they have virtually no resale value, cost far too much to insure, minor accidents can total any EV and they tend to spontaneously combust in impossible to extinguish conflagrations (more about those shortly).  Charging, under absolutely ideal conditions, takes at least 40 minutes for an 80% charge, and manufacturers don’t want owners to charge beyond that because charging beyond 80% rapidly decreases the ability of a battery to fully recharge.  Of course, charging to 80% loses 20% of total possible range.

The economic doom loop is inescapable.  Absent a very convenient, nationwide public charging network that will cheaply and quickly recharge any EV, EVs are wildly impractical, and Americans won’t consider buying them.  But with few exceptions, Americans don’t want them at all, so there’s no need for a nationwide charging network and no financial incentive for private operators to build and maintain chargers.  As regular readers know, little gay Pete Buttigieg, our Secretary of Transportation, given 7.5 billion to build a network of 500,000 chargers nationwide, has, in a stunning display of governmental efficiency and competence, managed, in more than two years, to build—wait for it—eight, maybe nine by now.  His attempts to explain have been particularly pathetic. 

The problem is federal subsidies run out in a few years, and there’s no profit in them thereafter.  I recently drove across Wyoming and was reminded why there are no government-subsidized chargers there.  The Federal DOT demanded a charger every 50 miles.  In WY, that would put many in the middle of nowhere where there are no electric lines of sufficient power, and no other services or protection from the elements.  When WY tried to get exemptions from this one-size-fits-all policy, the feds said they know best, so shut up and fall into line.  WY said, “yeah?  Up yours.”  So WY has no such network, though there continue to be occasional grumblings.

We begin with Newsmax.com:

Will increased insurance costs derail the electric-vehicle revolution? Perhaps.

Here are some of the reasons to consider, why it might. If you remember that car-carrier ship that caught fire and sank in the ocean in early 2022? The Felicity Ace, operated by Mitsui OSK Lines, took 3,000 Porsches, Audis, Bentleys, and Lamborghinis to the bottom of the Atlantic with it.

As of recent, Mitsui OSK Lines has filed a lawsuit against Porsche seeking 30 million Euros in damages, blaming the fire on the lithium battery in one of their electric vehicles. Of course this will never be reported on the mainstream media.

Nearly 500, 498 electric vehicles to be exact, and over 3,200 other vehicles, including 350 Mercedes Benz, were bound for Egypt on the Fremantle Highway when one or more of the EVs caught fire, costing at least one seaman his life, and injuring several others. Curiously, the Dutch coast guard had initially reported that only 25 of the vehicles were battery-electric models.

Oh it gets worse, much worse:

But let’s look at the bigger picture. Massive fires are not the only insurance concern with EVs. The New York Times recently reported the sad story of a Rivian owner whose electric pickup truck was involved in what would normally be considered “a minor fender bender.” The owner’s insurance company gladly offered to pay about $1,600 for the repairs, but the certified repair shop produced a bill for $42,000; about half the cost of the vehicle. This is because of the way they are constructed with the part of the chassis housing the battery being an integral piece of the structure.

Insurance companies are having to write off EVs with just a few miles if damaged. This is leading to higher premiums because of the many EVs for which there is no way to repair or assess even slightly damaged battery packs after accidents. EVs, according to Consumer Reports, may not withstand an accident as well as traditional gasoline-powered vehicles. EV batteries are vulnerable to damage, and with any indication of a compromised battery, insurance companies will likely declare an EV crash a total loss. This puts those EVs and their batteries in junkyards to degrade over time and hopefully not leak the chemicals or catch fire.

Let’s visit American Thinker, where my colleague and fellow editor Olivia Murry (that’s not her in the tweet) reports on just such a conflagration:

On Wednesday, May 15th, Gateway Energy Storage Facility erupted into flames—it’s a San Diego battery storage in a border community—and firefighters contained the blaze before handing operations off to the facility’s own team. But by the very next day, the fire reignited and it’s been going ever since. We’re now on day nine, by the way.

Now, according to San Diego journalist Amy Reichert, the San Diego fire department has elected to fly in fire experts to ‘study’ the fire because they have no idea how to manage the blaze, estimating that it may take another week or week-and-a-half to get the fire back under control—meanwhile, poisonous fumes from burning lithium batteries continue to spew into the air.

 When an EV battery bursts into flames, all firefighters can do is pour thousands of gallons of water on it as the EV melts into the pavement, constantly reigniting until there is nothing left to burn.  Things aren’t going well at Fisker:

Fisker Oceans. Credit: Fisker

Fisker is on shaky ground, and while it might have a few interested buyers, nothing is certain, and things could go sideways at any time. Company founder and designer Henrik Fisker appears to be preparing for the worst, as he and his wife recently listed their Los Angeles residence for $35 million, more than the automaker is currently worth.

Stellantis is doing only a little better:

Global automaker Stellantis on Tuesday reported a 12% decline in revenue in the first quarter, citing lower sales and foreign exchange effects, even as net pricing held firm.

Shares of Stellantis were down 10% by the market close in Europe.

Chief Financial Officer Natalie Knight said year-over-year shipment and net revenue comparisons were difficult due to the company’s transition to a “next generation product portfolio manufactured on new platforms.”

The Netherlands-based company, whose brands include Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Peugeot, Citroën and Maserati, plans to launch a total of 25 new models this year, including 18 battery-electric vehicles.

Oh yeah, those EVs will sell like hotcakes.  Here’s the first:  

Jeep Wagoneer S

Jeep unveiled its first electric SUV this week, joining the hotly contested segment, along with other manufacturers such as Hyundai, GM, Kia, and Honda.

The new Wagoneer S, which will go on sale this fall, shares little with its gas-powered namesake, the Wagoneer. The EV utilizes the same architecture as the upcoming Dodge Charger EV. The starting price tag will come in at $72,000.

A “starting price tag” of $72,000 means the average Wagoneer S on a dealer’s lot is going to retail in the $90,000 dollar range.  This is classic understatement:

The EV market has faced some turmoil recently. Still elevated prices and higher interest rates have put the cost of higher end EVs out of reach for many Americans.

Let’s make that “most Americans.”  When Americans can’t afford to buy homes, they’re going to buy an EV so expensive they’d have to live in it?  Imagine you’re a relatively well-off apartment dweller.  Where do you recharge your $90,000 dollar wonder Jeep?  Run an extension cord out your second floor apartment window?  House current takes days to charge an EV to 80%.

As regular readers know, I’ve been writing about Dodge’s attempt to electrify its Charger and Challenger muscle cars.  But recognizing buyers of muscle cars like the sound of their gas-powered engines and the feeling of shifts under power, Dodge is installing stereo systems that play–badly– pseudo-engine sounds and software that briefly interrupts power to simulate shifting.  The range on these things is so low Dodge is refusing to provide any range figures, saying only: “Hey, they’re muscle cars!”  Only being able to get to the end of one’s driveway, even if warp speed fast, before needing a recharge will quickly lose its novelty.

Toyota, which has in the past been a voice of sanity where EVs are concerned, is apparently ready to jump the shark:

Take Toyota, for example. The biggest automaker in the world is reportedly working on an electric vehicle prototype that mimics the feel of driving a manual transmission, complete with a gear shift that’s not connected to anything and a floor-mounted speaker to pipe in fake engine noises. The car will even pretend to stall out if you fumble the controls — in order to deliver drivers the complete experience of driving a manual car.

Keep in mind this is an electric vehicle. There is no engine, no drive shaft, no gears to speak of. All of this is achieved using software and a bit of smoke and mirrors. Toyota says the goal is to preserve the driving experience for car enthusiasts, but it’s unclear whether people actually want this.

Unclear?  My guess would be not only no, but hell no.

There’s also a push for electric public vehicles like buses, police cars, and firetrucks.  I’ve written extensively about the first two—the SMM EV archive is here–so let’s see how the world of EV fire trucks is progressing:

New Mexico Democratic Governor Michelle Grisham was recently excited to announce that the state’s Environment Department was awarding a nearly half-million dollar grant to Bernalillo County to partially finance the purchase of a new “all-electric” fire truck for their fire department. It was only a “partial” reimbursement because the projected cost to the county to replace its 1991 diesel fire engine with a Pierce Volterra battery electric fire engine was more than $1.8 million. The local fire chief was quoted as proudly saying, “There’s no cancer coming out of the tailpipe” of the new truck. So that’s a win for all concerned, right? [skip]

Viewers could be forgiven for thinking that the new fire trucks were all electric and zero emissions. They’d be wrong. All the fire trucks also have a diesel engine and a tailpipe releases those “cancer-causing particulates.”

When the first Pierce Volterra Electric Fire Truck rolled out in Madison, Wisconsin, the vehicle was repeatedly called “all electric” or “zero emissions.” You had to listen 8 minutes into the presentation to get to the part where a fire chief admits there’s an internal combustion engine for pumping water on a fire.

Perhaps journalists and fire department spokespeople were misled by Pierce Manufacturing’s web site, which reads in bold headline type: “Zero Emissions. Zero compromises.”

Oh, so not “all electric” then?

The water pumps on the fire trucks are massive. They have to be to move that much water so quickly over a sustained period of time. Also, the engine that powers the vehicle is far larger than the ones in most consumer vehicles, on par with the ones in big rigs. If there is a significantly large fire taking place, the pumps may be running for hours on end. EV batteries simply are not up to the job. If a conventional fire truck begins running low on diesel, a refueling truck can be brought over to fill up the tank in a few minutes. You can’t accelerate the battery recharging process.

Running out of electric power when a fire isn’t extinguished might be characterized as “bad.” Also keep in mind the batteries big big enough to run one of these vehicles are going to add a ton and more weight to already heavy vehicles, wearing out brakes and tires at a stunning rate.  But surely EV fire trucks that aren’t really EVs are less expensive then conventionally powered trucks?

Here is another fun fact about these trucks, as pointed out by Larry Behrens, Communications Director for Power The Future. Those ‘all-electric’ fire trucks cost 40 to 50 percent more than conventional, diesel models. The one that Bernalillo County purchased cost $1.8 million. That’s roughly $600,000 more than standard diesel truck costs and that bill was saddled on the taxpayers of the county as well as the entire state thanks to the Governor’s ‘generous’ grant. (It’s funny how these politicians are always able to be so generous with your money, isn’t it?)

Nah.  That’s not funny at all, but it’s all too common.

OK then.  So how are those public chargers working out?  As Regular Readers know, Cowboy State Daily has been doing the kind of good work most media outlets refuse to do on everything EV.  Aaron Turpen continues that pursuit:

Over about three weeks’ time, I had three separate electric vehicles from three different automakers. All of them use the SAE CCS1 charging protocol and plug (also called the ‘J1772 Combo’).

The charging stations at the Cheyenne Target store parking lot also use this standard. It’s the common plug-in for Level 3 and above fast charging for all EVs made to-date with the exception of Tesla models.

This will change soon as most automakers are moving to Tesla’s NACS plug-in standard starting next year.

The Electrify America chargers have a charge rate of up to 350 kiloWatts per hour (kW or kWh) per station.

I visited the charging stations seven times over the three week period during daytime workday hours, usually between 11 am and 3 pm.

How’d that work out?  About as well as you’d expect:

Test vehicles included a Mercedes-Benz EQE, a BMW i4, and a Genesis GV60. All 2024 model year vehicles loaned to me as part of the respective automaker’s press fleet programs.

It’s important to note that each vehicle has a different maximum charge rate and that maximum rates are usually only attained during the first 10-30 percent of the battery’s charge.

After that, it will be on a downward curve, slowing as the batteries get more full. This is to control heat and battery expansion as batteries fill.

During the first week with the Mercedes-Benz EQE, I charged the vehicle two times at the EA stations. The first charge started with the EQE’s battery at about 53 percent and it was charged to 82 percent after a total of forty minutes of charge time.

So 40 minutes to get about 29% charge?  Obviously it was warm.  Cold weather dramatically lengthens charging times, and if it’s sufficiently cold–that happens a lot in Wyoming and other states–makes charging impossible.

The Mercedes is limited to 180 kW of charge due to its battery management design. That’s relatively slow for an EV at a fast charger. There were several other cars at the charging stations that afternoon (the Mercedes was one of four) so the slow down could have been due to the other vehicles also using power.

I believe it was a combination of low charge output from the charger and the vehicle’s fairly conservative approach to charging.

The second charge visit was a little better, averaging 128 kW during a 66 minute charge. I was the only person using the chargers at that time.

So if more than one person is charging, it takes longer for everyone to charge?  And the amount of time it takes to charge depends on a wide variety of variables?  Great.  But surely the chargers are reliable?

The next week, I took the BMW i4 to the chargers. The first visit was earlier in the day, just before the lunch hour, and there was one other car at the chargers.

I plugged in and spent about five minutes attempting to get a connection. The car would connect with the charger and begin taking a charge and then inexplicably stop the charge and claim a disconnection.

The person charging a Volkswagen at another plug came out of the target and said they’d had the same issue and were going to just give up on it and try to get to Wellington and charge there.

After a few more attempts at getting the BMW to connect, I also gave up. It was clearly the EA chargers having an issue with communication and not the car.

I returned a few hours later and attempted to plug the BMW in again. Same result. During that visit, two other drivers pulled in to plug in and both had the same issue. Clearly it was Electrify America having troubles.

A few days later, now at about 23 percent charge, I pulled in and plugged in the BMW i4 again. This time, charging worked fine.

By all means, take the link and read the whole thing.  The article makes clear even the most pricey EVs don’t share the same charging characteristics and some are capable–given ideal conditions–of charging faster than others.  Charger reliability is also obviously, unreliable.  Turpen is pretty much pro-EV, but he’s no EV cheerleader and reports honestly.  This is pretty much his conclusion:

My conclusion from my own experience plus the experiences of those I spoke with at the chargers was that EV fast charging is definitely not really ready for prime time.

Of course.  That’s why government is spending billions and trying to bankrupt the American automobile industry.

Should Donald Trump be reelected, and if he’s able to undo all the Mummified Meat Puppet Administration EV/Green mandates, we’ll quickly see the automobile industry return to capitalist, supply and demand economics.  They’ll build vehicles people want to buy at prices they can afford, which means EVs will continue to be a niche market for the wealthy and those determined to have greenie street cred, which is pretty much the same people.  Our manufacturers can then get back to producing profits for their shareholders.

That might be a good thing.