First, while I think we all knew EVs have become political footballs, I present here a study that shows they have become more political over time. I personally felt that as they became more common, EVs would come to be seen just like any other appliance (check the country of origin of your dishwasher lately?), but this is not the case. But then again, if we can make a blonde country singer and her football player boyfriend (could one get more “American apple pie?”) into political pawns, I guess I should not be surprised.
(For those who are really into this topic, the authors list the “most Democratic” BEVs (VW ID 4, Tesla Y, Ioniq 5, Mach-E, Tesla X) and their “most Republican” counterparts (Lucid, Rivian, Ford Lightning, Polestar, Audi e-tron)1.
Well, with luck, I hope both ends of the spectrum will approve of this next chart.
The old argument that BEVs are not truly green because they are recharged from grids fueled by hydrocarbons is losing steam in the USA, as we see the sharp decline of coal usage. That should make the left side of the aisle happy. But fear not if you are to the right side, since a huge part of coal’s decline is due to the rise not just of renewables, but of natural gas — enabled by the invention and dissemination of fracking (which really started gaining ground in the 1990s). I hope everybody is happy with these results, or at least equally unhappy!
Lastly, a key point about the emissions impact of EVs: it is not how many “clean” cars we sell, but how many “clean” miles they drive:
I suppose this should have been obvious to us all, but thanks for Coltura for making it clear (as was recently written up in the WSJ, among other places). Just parking the EV in your driveway may make you feel better, but if you’re still racking up miles on that Ram in the garage, any emissions gain is muted.
That’s my Ten Views. I hope you found them enlightening, or at least annoying enough to do some more research on your own. Again, the main point is that “switching to EVs” involves so much more than swapping out the V8 for an electric motor: it’s really a change across the entire vehicular ecosystem we are talking about here, with all its first, second, and third-order effects.
To end with our usual weak attempt at humor, if you’re feeling guilty about that Ram, well you can always make a dent in your emissions or pollution profile by rummaging further around in the garage, for your riding mower, and swapping it out for an electric version (dog not included):
See you soon with more Car Charts. And maybe, just maybe, the return of Dad Jokes.
Yes, I also do not know how two products from one company, Volkswagen AG, end up on opposite ends of the spectrum.