When we see photos of street traffic in Havana, Cuba I'm always amazed. Only the very rich (and politically connected) can afford new cars there. For the most part the newest autos you see there are pre- Castro takeover of the country, meaning almost all are vintage 1959 or earlier. The folks that own those old cars have to be incredibly ingenious to keep them on the road. How many miles does the '54 Chevy leading that line in the above photo have on the odometer?
On our leftie coast California has now mandated that NO automobiles with internal combustion engines will be sold in that State after 2035. Granted, that's a long way off, and there may be really wonderful improvements in technology that will actually make electric vehicles utilitarian by that time. But that will not only require changes in the cars themselves... California's electric grid will have to be drastically improved to service that increased electric consumption.
We're already seeing a change in the automobile sales market. Manufacturers, unable to sell the electric cars they are producing are jacking up the prices of gasoline powered cars to make up the shortfall.
That extra expense is having a ripple effect in that consumers are holding onto their older cars longer.
There's also been an increase in the price of USED cars because of it.
Our socialist government thinks they are doing what is best for us peons.
But the free market system knows better!
4 comments:
There WILL be a break point, and that is when the losses to the mfgrs get high enough on EVs that they flip back to gas powered vehicles.
After decades in the car biz I know a hard truth. In almost every car purchase there are two parties. The person(s) or company buying/leasing the car and a lender. If a lender won't finance the purchase, there is no sale.
It all comes down to the 4Cs; capacity, capital, collateral and credit. Is the buyer's debt/income ratio adequate? How much is the buyer putting down? What is the value of the vehicle? What is the buyer's credit history?
Based on my experience, EVs don't "pencil" without big government subsides.
It all drives a person nuts-- and some of us don't have far to go. They don't talk about the problem of the batteries and the minerals required to make them go. Not surprising with the kind of president we have who doesn't or can't think beyond his votes.
WSF is right, I'd forgotten about that!
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