Fast, Fun, No Gas. Reasons for EV Adoption

For the past few months I’ve been on the “rubber chicken” circuit speaking to local business groups and service organizations about the benefits of electric drive as a viable alternative to I.C.E. vehicles. 

While most people are quite amenable to the concept of electric vehicles, with an EV owner or two now in each audience, some are not yet convinced of their viability. At least we’re making progress. What is interesting is that a small group is openly hostile to the concept. WTF? Doesn’t everyone know that EVs are the answer to all of the ills that befall mankind? From global warming and fouling the air, to noise pollution, our savior has finally arrived.

My presentation is a two-way street with plenty of opportunity for questions and frank discussion. Aside from the innocuous questions that I have been asked since 2008, like “How fast does it go?” and “How far can it go on a charge?” are what I term the “Nouveau Thoughtful” questions including:

With these I can offer answers that serve up tasty tidbits to tickle their interest and assuage any fears. They range from environmental benefits and improved technology, that governments and companies encourage EV use, that EVs have lower operating costs, are quieter to drive, produce fewer emissions…

and that the availability of charging infrastructure and the initial cost of EVs may be challenging to their widespread adoption in the future. Not bad, huh?

Then there are the “gotcha” questions designed to trip me up and make me look like a fool. Good luck. I can do that by myself. Allow me the opportunity to enlighten you with examples of the most frequently asked ones:

The answers to all of these “gotcha” questions is “false!” The long-term supply for all the key minerals easily exceed total future requirements, most manufacturers offer battery warranties of at least eight years, electrifying the entire US light-duty vehicle fleet by 2050 will require less than 1% growth per year in overall electricity generation, far more damage to roads and bridges is caused by weightier vehicles such as semi trucks, and emergency services were called to around 30 fires per 100,000 standard cars on the road per year during 2018-2022, compared with around five EV fires per 100,000 vehicles. 

But why do we have this sliver of EV haters? Smart phones? Mindless entertainment? Public education? Bad parenting? Liquid Death? I don’t know but let me give you some examples of EV hate that has been making its way through blogs, social media, mainstream media and just about anyone with an internet connection trying to type themselves smart (#7 on Jack Rickard’s 11 Incontrovertible Rules):

---

Nation’s Guardrail System Can’t Handle Heavy Electric Vehicles (NBC News)

Why America’s Car Buyers Are Rethinking EVs (Bloomberg)

EVs Were Supposed to be the Answer… Now They’re the Problem (Barron’s)

The Inconvenient Truth About Electric Vehicles (The Atlantic)

Top 10 Reasons All-Electric Is a Bad Idea  (National Propane Gas Association)

8 Reasons Why Electric Car Owners Regret Their Purchase (MSN.com)

20 Reasons Not To Buy An Electric Car – The Dark Side of Electric Cars

15 Disadvantages Of Electric Cars (Top Speed)

4 Reasons You Should Not Buy an Electric Car in 2023 (yahoo Finance)

Revealed: How US transition to Electric Cars Threatens Environmental Havoc (Guardian)

Smaller EV Brands Outperform Big Players in November Registrations (Automotive News)

Ten Reasons Electric Cars Still Suck: We Unplug the EV hype (Cnet)

10 Reasons Why Electric Cars Still Suck (carBuzz)

The Journey Toward Electric Vehicles Has Hit a Rough Patch. Sales are Cooling Off (NPR)

---

Alrighty then! Apparently, even the best and brightest among us are susceptible to manipulation by the deep state and its witting accomplices in the mediasphere.

So now it makes sense that my religion by birth has produced numbskulled authors who have weighed in on the “dark underbelly of the EV industry” and the “unholy alliance” between government and business:

Electric Vehicles Still fuel a Throwaway Culture (uscatholic.org)

The Dark Secret Behind the Drive for Electric Vehicles (catholic.org)

The most illuminating, and hilarious, outcome of this last situation is that of a nun, whose name I will keep confidential so as to not force her into hiding. She responded to one of these articles with a “What the Fudge?” rant asking why the authors took a detour from the teachings of Jesus and stepped into the cesspool of politics and commerce without a clue as to what they are speaking?

---

I know this was a circuitous route to get to the answer of why most of us should be driving electric vehicles. If you were paying attention, the answer was in the title of the blog. They’re Fast, Fun, No Gas.