Ben Battles wrote a killer article with optimistic happy thoughts in his EV coverage of SEMA 2021… and I’m gonna tell you why he’s wrong lol. This might get a tad political (generally speaking), but just remember, I didn’t do it… politics did.
The government needs to stay out of the EV movement in America.
Period. Because 1) Don’t over-regulate our lives. And 2) Let the people decide what’s best for them. That’s the foundation of this country. It’s a country that’s vast… from metropolitan cities to wide-open landscapes. What works for one, might not work for all.
And the government is not the only one to blame in this. Big fat American car companies, like GM for example, have been getting their fat ass kicked by Tesla for a decade. And now that they’ve finally realized it, instead of being able to pivot & compete head-to-head, they’re buddying-up to their old pals in office (just like the bailouts of 2008). Trying to push an agenda that takes away choices, and presses/forces Americans to buy their shit new EV cars & trucks… because they know at this point, they can’t compete otherwise. There is zero concern for the planet in those deals, unless by planet you mean profit.
It should not be either/or…
The government should not manipulate EVs into becoming a divisive issue like they’ve done with I dunno, everything else?? And there is no reason why I shouldn’t be able to have a Tesla in my garage with a gun in the glovebox… right next to a fire-breathing, nitrous-fed Jeep Cherokee Trackhawk with vaccination cards in the glovebox… if that’s what I wanna do! It’s not either/or… it’s both. This is of course all my own opinion, but I’m seeing a movement that’s attempting to put good ol’ gas-fed car enthusiasts on the chopping block next. That pisses me off, and makes me want to react by giving middle fingers to all EVs (and all their owners, and the government) at the same time. But I’m not gonna do that yet, because we should hold ourselves to higher standards & keep an open mind. Because the fact of the matter is…
Competition makes a better product.
We need to let internal combustion vehicles and EVs compete in a free market. Let the consumers decide what they want for their lives, without corporations & government manipulating the process. I know I’m being naive there, but competition spawns innovation, and that’s what we need. Allowing internal combustion vehicles to compete with electric vehicles will make ALL vehicles better. Isn’t that what we all want? We’ve had over 100 years of the internal combustion engine. Is it perfect from an emissions standpoint? No. But it’s evolved, developed, and gotten lightyears better & cleaner over the decades. And it can potentially get lightyears better still with competition from the EV market driving it forward.
But the truth is, when it comes to EV platforms, we don’t yet know exactly how they’re going to impact the environment longterm. EVs don’t have a century of data under their belt. And as of now, batteries are not rebuildable like internal combustion engines. Maybe one day they will be. So we need to let that technology develop… through competition with internal combustion engines. And while doing so, we need to study how EV battery production & waste is going to play out before we just start chanting “It’s the future!”.
Look, if you really care about the planet in 2022…
Go buy a car that’s already had the resources expended to be manufactured. Something already here on the planet, that no longer needs to be created. Something simplistic, rebuildable, low-output, and low-emissions… like a rock solid 1992 Honda Civic. Then go drive that for the next 30 years… maintaining it, rebuilding it, and making it last like it was designed to do. That’s how you get the most out of what’s been produced. Not by consuming & trading in Teslas every 3 years like a cell phone. But let’s be real, green isn’t what a lot of these people really want. It’s the #green they’re after. Big difference. Which is fine, the world needs posers to have balance. Just don’t try & tell me what I can/can’t drive in the process… nah mean?
Subscribe to S3 Mag, and we’ll teach you how to make that ’92 Civic look waaay better than the trash-ugly cars you’re probably driving now. It’s never too late.
