Volvo's first pure EV is here: the C40

[abscate]

If charging a car from "empty" to "full" ever becomes as easy as filling up a gas tank with gas, as in minutes not hours, then maybe I might consider owning an electric vehicle.

A hybrid, like a Toyota Prius, would be a better choice, and probably have a better build quality, than a plug in EV. At least I wouldn't have to worry about getting stuck somewhere if there's a power outage.

Just my two cents...

Just like in the 1970s we worried about not being able to find a gas station that had fuel. That was a real thing in the 1972-1975 "Crisis'

I hate EVs because I like ICE cars and engines. I dont fool myself that EVs are vastly superior in energy management and efficiency.

The transision period is the time when we likely own one of each, one for commute, one for distance.

[volvolugnut]

If cars get 'smart' and drive themselves, will people get stupid and not able to drive? gnalan, I think you have spotted the trend.
volvolugnut

[gnalan]

It's pretty bad that, at least here in Ohio, they removed parallel parking from the driving test, because younger people weren't able to pass that portion of the test.

Just because your new vehicle will park itself if you press a button, or even get out of the car and press a button on your phone, doesn't mean you shouldn't learn how to properly park on your own. What will you do when that feature fails on you? (Same with blind spots alerts. You should still look for yourself, and learn to use your mirrors and eyes.)

[volvolugnut]

No EV content, but old guy rambling:
It is no wonder that rental places do not want to rent trucks with trailer hitches. Many (most?) drivers have no idea how to drive safely with a trailer in tow. Let alone how to back up a trailer.
I got an early start on driving and all things mechanical growing up on a farm in the 1960's. Everything but one car had manual transmissions, tractors had no cabs, and closest town was 7 miles.
But we had tools to do most anything - saws, drills, wrenches, grinder, welder, and gas torch. By high school, I could drive everything and use all the tools. I thought that was just normal.
volvolugnut

[gnalan]

That's another lost art that should be taught, even if it's never needed. I can back up a trailer, no matter what the size, from a small trailer to a heavy equipment hauler with double axles on it, or how much room I have to maneuver around. When I lived out in Idaho, we didn't have trash pickup and had to haul all of our trash to the dump on a trailer.

[matthew1]

If cars get 'smart' and drive themselves, will people get stupid and not able to drive? gnalan, I think you have spotted the trend.
volvolugnut

Using landline phonese is a lost art. The Gen Z have no idea how it works, especially rotary phones. There are several viral (and hilarious) YouTube videos of these attempts.

That said, the world keeps turning despite this. These things are left behind.

[gnalan]

I miss the rotary phones, and the coiled cord that didn't let you go too far from where the phone was mounted on the wall.

[matthew1]

Look at https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=car+wrecks+ and tell me we can't or shouldn't find another way to do transportation.

For most of us, we'll have a choice to use ICE or EV until our useful days are over, so personally it's a moot point.

The Future is coming and we can shout into the storm until we're blue in the face -- or not -- and it'll still get here. When it gets here transportation* will become so much safer it'll test the limits of math just to display the shocking difference in before/after statistics.

Who doesn't know someone killed in an auto wreck?



* transportation in I'm guessing 40 years will be entirely synchronized. It'll be as safe as sitting in your living room, and 4x faster to get places in metro areas.

[gnalan]

That's why people need to pay more attention to the road and not less. With all this new age nonsense nobody is going to be paying attention to anything on the road.

[matthew1]

I see EV-only syc benefits happening in 10-20 years, like EV-only highway lanes where the speed is 100mph or faster, and it's all controlled, no driver input.

That will allow drafting, so save energy. Maybe as close as just a few inches from bumper to bumper. Your EV will join this train and leave this train on its own, depending on your destination.

I see steering wheels and pedals leaving new EVs in 10-15 years.

Think of electrification as a means to an end -- the end being much safer, much faster transport.

Urban areas I don't have a vision for. I don't know what will happen with those. I don't see much revolutionary happening with that, just that it'll be mixed EV/ICE for a few decades.

I still see an urban or suburban safety advantage in EVs coming because EV's will get smarter and smarter until they'll be able to have defensive behaviors, whether that means physically moving to avoid an incoming car or truck, or firing airbags or seatbelt tensioners at the appropriate time, before impact.