US US Politics General - Discussion of President Biden and other politicians

 

[The Big O]

New Cars Are Only for the Rich Now as Automakers Rake In Profits

With pandemic-era chip shortages fading, manufacturers are keeping inventories low — and prices high. The shift to EVs will make things worse.

www.bloomberg.com

New Car Prices Are So High Only Rich Americans Can Afford Them - Bloo…

archived 14 Feb 2023 20:32:56 UTC

archive.ph

And this is why I plan to drive my own car made in 2007 until the day the engine block falls through the bottom. Yeesh. New cars are for absolute goddamn suckers.

 

[The Ugly One]

New Cars Are Only for the Rich Now as Automakers Rake In Profits

With pandemic-era chip shortages fading, manufacturers are keeping inventories low — and prices high. The shift to EVs will make things worse.

www.bloomberg.com

New Car Prices Are So High Only Rich Americans Can Afford Them - Bloo…

archived 14 Feb 2023 20:32:56 UTC

archive.ph

The whole point of EVs is for plebs to not be able to afford cars.

 

[tehpope]

The whole point of EVs is for plebs to not be able to afford cars.

Or lock them into a manufacturer. So much waste will come from EVs. Dead battery? Too bad. Buy a whole new car. Can't use a 3rd party battery because the car's PC prevents anything but OEM parts from working.

 

[Terrifik]

New Cars Are Only for the Rich Now as Automakers Rake In Profits

With pandemic-era chip shortages fading, manufacturers are keeping inventories low — and prices high. The shift to EVs will make things worse.

www.bloomberg.com

New Car Prices Are So High Only Rich Americans Can Afford Them - Bloo…

archived 14 Feb 2023 20:32:56 UTC

archive.ph

you forgot this part also

Electric cars 2023: In some parts of the U.S., recharging now more co…

archived 14 Feb 2023 03:48:20 UTC

archive.ph

For some electric vehicle owners, recharging now more costly than filling up

Some electric car owners around the U.S. have experienced sticker shock charging their vehicles. Here's why.

www.cbsnews.com

BY IRINA IVANOVA
FEBRUARY 13, 2023 / 11:55 AM / MONEYWATCH

Here's how much electricity prices have surged in parts of New England this winter: For some drivers of electric vehicles and hybrid cars, it's now more expensive to charge up than to fill up.

Power rates across the region have jumped an average of 30% since last summer, while gasoline prices have receded well below their peak in June of 2022. Web engineer Matt Cain, who lives in Amherst, Massachusetts, said he ran a price comparison when his electricity bill shot up in January and found that his overall costs for utilities had climbed a whopping 50%.

"We have a Prius Prime that we normally drive around town, and we drive most of it on electricity. It's now 50% more expensive than fueling it with gas," he told CBS MoneyWatch.

Cain said the price hike hasn't changed his driving habits. But it has prompted his wife, who works at a local community college, to charge the car at work where it's cheaper. "It's not a point of pain for me, but it's something I've noticed," he said.

On Reddit, other EV owners have noted the rising recharging costs. One Massachusetts resident said their power company, National Grid, jacked up local electricity prices to 44 cents per kilowatt-hour — three times the national average.

"We are in pretty much the same boat in [New Hampshire] and it sucks," said another user. "Went from an average of $220 a month electric bill... to now close to $400 a month and thats with off peak charging, and its supposed to go up again significantly in February." The rate hike pushed the user to sign up for a solar array, with a monthly bill around half their current power bill, the person added.

To be sure, these drivers are a small minority of EV owners nationwide. But the episode illustrates how the volatility of fuel prices can complicate the equation when choosing between an electric and a conventional combustion-engine vehicle. And given the higher sticker prices for EVs — which can cost at least $10,000 more than the equivalent gas-powered car — that could tip the balance for some car buyers.
Blame natural gas
New Englanders are seeing uniquely high EV charging costs because the region currently has the highest electricity prices in the country. At about 28 cents per kilowatt-hour this fall, it's double the national average.

Ironically, it's the region's dependence on fossil fuels that's pushing these costs higher. About 45% of New England's electricity comes from methane gas, compared with about 38% nationwide, while the fuel has tripled in price since Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago. All the region's utilities are raising their electricity rates, although the specific costs can vary a lot even within a small area, WBUR reported this fall.

1676347956156.png

The spike in electricity rates recently led 90 local politicians to write to Massachusetts' utility commission calling for relief. At the same time, gas prices in the area have fallen from over $5 a gallon this summer to $3.40 today.

"In a large portion of the country, EVs are a lot cheaper to drive," said Beia Spiller, director of the transportation program at Resources for the Future (RFF), a clean-energy think tank. "It really, really depends on the location."

RFF recently analyzed car ownership data in Massachusetts and found that, at least through 2020, it cost about twice as much on a per-mile basis to drive a gasoline-fueled car than an EV.

While electricity prices have gone up recently because of global events, historically, "gasoline prices are far more variable," she noted. "You have no idea if there's going to be a war somewhere and all of a sudden you're paying $5 to $6 a gallon for gasoline prices."
Other factors affecting costs
The tradeoff between electric and gas is not only based on someone's location (and how much different fuels cost to them), but also based on the car.

For instance, muscle cars and SUVs will almost always be cheaper to operate in their electric versions. So will luxury cars, according to a report from the Anderson Economic Group that estimated the cost of fueling different car types.

Christopher Hogan, a retired health economist in northern Virginia, had his own price shock when he and his wife drove their Prius Prime to Ocean City, Maryland, last summer. Hodge usually runs the car on gas for long trips, but this time "on a lark we found a station and decided to plug in," Hogan said.
He was astonished to see the price — $1.50 per kilowatt-hour — about 12 times what he pays for electricity at home. "It's like these ATMs with a $15 fee," he said.

Still, Hogan said the experience hasn't turned him off his Prius. "I always thought it was hype — I didn't care that much" about EVs, he said. "But it's so relaxing. It pushes all my buttons. It's as convenient as gas cars, good for the environment and it's fun to drive."
Hogan also remains a convert. Asked if he would consider buying a conventional car, he said, "Not a chance. I would never buy a non-hybrid car — that's depreciated technology."

https://kiwifarms.st/threads/for-so...-costly-than-filling-up.150186/#post-14868086

 

[JosephStalin]

I like these. As usual, Buttbuddy sits on his Depends-wearing ass while the shit hits the fan.

 

[MarvinTheParanoidAndroid]

I wonder why he wanted to gut SS and other government benefits?

 

[General Emílio Médici]

Yeah I wonder if Trump is gonna speak on Ohio about the train crash. He could make a fucking banger PR move is he offered to hire some of those expensive NYC lawyers to help the people sue Norfolk over this.

Russia is likely moving the nuclear boats because of the fact that the US sabotage of the Nord Stream 2 is no longer just a open secret but actually public. Apparently there is a real tense climate in Germany right now with pretty much the ENTIRE mainstream media there refusing to even touch the subject, and the few papers who did touch it claiming it is all just "Russische lugenpressen". Of course the alternative channels and the ones not in bed with globohomo are all on fire over it, and the main AfD nigga has gone as far as to not only demand answers he has threatened to expel the US troops in Germany. Of course he isn't in power to do that but the fact he has been able to make such a threat without getting kicked from government shows how serious this shit is.

Then again, Germany is very, very deep into the whole Western Neoliberal Order. The people in charge there are absolute zealot believers in The Message. They might go as far as try and make the AfD illegal if they keep questioning the status quo.

 

[The Man With No Name]

Or lock them into a manufacturer. So much waste will come from EVs. Dead battery? Too bad. Buy a whole new car. Can't use a 3rd party battery because the car's PC prevents anything but OEM parts from working.

Those batteries cost about as much as an entire performance engine to replace. Nobody's going to. There's also next to no components worth salvaging out of a wrecked EV. They're a computer with a big battery and when either of those shits the bed, it becomes worthless. They will pile high in junkyards in the next decade.

Ironically, as much as I wasn't fond of them initially, hybrids are a hundred times more effective than EVs. The fact that lawmakers decided to just guillotine ANY internal combustion engine means that the much more efficient, built-out option is stymied.

 

[Frostnipped Todger]

And this is why I plan to drive my own car made in 2007 until the day the engine block falls through the bottom. Yeesh. New cars are for absolute goddamn suckers.

I was told by my mechanic that I should get 1 million kms out of my 07 Toyota Rav4. I'm only a quarter of the way there, so I'll be driving it for quite a while.

 

[John.Doe]

Ironically, as much as I wasn't fond of them initially, hybrids are a hundred times more effective than EVs. The fact that lawmakers decided to just guillotine ANY internal combustion engine means that the much more efficient, built-out option is stymied.

Hydrogen fuel cells are a better option, with less environmental impact but all the 'green' companies are just arms of the globohomo that want big profits and unafforable cars.

 

[ForTheHoard]

Hydrogen fuel cells are a better option, with less environmental impact but all the 'green' companies are just arms of the globohomo that want big profits and unafforable cars.

As I understand it, the technology to safely store hydrogen in any useful quantity isn't there yet and hydrolyzing water needs more electricity that the vehicle could generate.

 

[General Emílio Médici]

It would be trivial to just use electricity to make a shitload of hydrogen if we had a bunch of high tech nuclear power plants around pumping out cheap power... Just saying....

The real obstacle is really the storage. No one wants cars blowing up when they crash. Bad enough with gas, took decades for the tech to get good at ensuring it didn't happen, and gasoline is quite well behaved all things considered (needing a lot of air-fuel mixture to actually ignite). Electric cars are actually still dangerous when it comes to fires, lithium can burn like a motherfucker and water only makes it burn hotter. It`s thermodynamics all that power that makes you car move has to come from somewhere. With hydrogen it really is a danger.

 

[GamerGateSurvivor]

View attachment 4530333
...You expect me to believe this drivel?

"Nothing is ever Biden's fault, things just go to shit on his watch because Orange Man Bad!"

I'm not gonna cry if all of New York is melted by acid rain.

Can’t say I’m surprised. A bird could shit on a journo’s head and there’d be 50 articles up within an hour saying he trained it to.

 

[John.Doe]

As I understand it, the technology to safely store hydrogen in any useful quantity isn't there yet and hydrolyzing water needs more electricity that the vehicle could generate.

No shit, it takes more energy to drive electric cars too because you're going to face a loss of efficiency when you render energy into fuel, regardless if it is a petrochemical fuel, hydrogen fuel, or chemical fuel (a battery). So yes, making hydrogen takes energy, just like making gas or batteries (and then charging them) but it probably takes less rare earth minerals and is faster to refill.

 

[870EVO]

They aren't even pretending we aren't in clown world anymore.

https://twitter.com/breeadail/status/1625606622998306839

https://twitter.com/thatdayin1992/status/1625447020277432320

 

[northstar747]

no no you have it wrong we were gonna build it back better, with better trains and rails and working conditions.

regarding food production and baby formula.

Should the state come in and say "hey these materials are important so were are gonna regulate them or dictate production?

Because that sounds like when the chinese/vietnamese tried to do collectivization of their ag sector, the vietnamese case was funny because while there were managers from the party to tell them how to run the farms, the farmers were allowed a few small plots to do what ever the fuck they wanted with, and it turned out the farmers knew what worked in terms of what and when to plant.

I know a guy who works for general mills in Iowa and the industrial scale of processing food as some risks like grain fires etc.

The flue lead to a chicken cull and it will take a time to get the flock back up.

Maybe having only 23 factories in the US to that makes Baby forumla is an issue.

I read that CA wanted to address insulin prices by making their own. I think its a great idea have the STATE take the money the state was gonna pay to buy insulin and just put it into a factory and produce it themselves. I assure you nothing will go wrong, the political class would never use such a program for trading of political favors or looting the public funds box. No not at all.

 

[mandatorylurk]

Kari Lake will probably be the only republican in the area to say something and even go to the site.

 

[Car Won't Crank]

And this is why I plan to drive my own car made in 2007 until the day the engine block falls through the bottom. Yeesh. New cars are for absolute goddamn suckers.

If you're not in a salt state, with regular care your engine will most likely outlast the chassis.

Hydrogen fuel cells are a better option, with less environmental impact but all the 'green' companies are just arms of the globohomo that want big profits and unafforable cars.

Hydrogen production as it is now is still linked with petroleum production and from what I understand it requires a lot of energy to produce. Many hydrogen stations require delivery of hydrogen by diesel trucks for the final mile, which is kinda funny. Makes sense for commercial machines but not so much personal cars.

 

[ForTheHoard]

No shit, it takes more energy to drive electric cars too because you're going to face a loss of efficiency when you render energy into fuel, regardless if it is a petrochemical fuel, hydrogen fuel, or chemical fuel (a battery). So yes, making hydrogen takes energy, just like making gas or batteries (and then charging them) but it probably takes less rare earth minerals and is faster to refill.

Then what happens when a hydrogen tank ruptures? Hydrogen barely needs any air to become explosive, and it's very sensitive to ignition since tank rupture discs have been the ignition source for a number of hydrogen explosions. It also displaces oxygen so a leak could suffocate everyone in the vehicle to death. I'm not saying it isn't an efficient fuel, just that it doesn't seem safe to use as a fuel for everyone's daily driver.

Looks like it would kill you and most of the people around you.

 

[General Emílio Médici]

no no you have it wrong we were gonna build it back better, with better trains and rails and working conditions.

regarding food production and baby formula.

Should the state come in and say "hey these materials are important so were are gonna regulate them or dictate production?

Because that sounds like when the chinese/vietnamese tried to do collectivization of their ag sector, the vietnamese case was funny because while there were managers from the party to tell them how to run the farms, the farmers were allowed a few small plots to do what ever the fuck they wanted with, and it turned out the farmers knew what worked in terms of what and when to plant.

I know a guy who works for general mills in Iowa and the industrial scale of processing food as some risks like grain fires etc.

The flue lead to a chicken cull and it will take a time to get the flock back up.

Maybe having only 23 factories in the US to that makes Baby forumla is an issue.

I read that CA wanted to address insulin prices by making their own. I think its a great idea have the STATE take the money the state was gonna pay to buy insulin and just put it into a factory and produce it themselves. I assure you nothing will go wrong, the political class would never use such a program for trading of political favors or looting the public funds box. No not at all.

IIRC part of the issue with the Baby Formula shortage was that the FDA was stopping Euro formulas from being sold in the USA because they didn't have the correct "nutritional values information" on the product. Literally keeping it from shelves because the bullshit on the back looked different from what is the standard. During a shortage.

As for the insulin, the entire reason that it is so expensive in the USA is because the FDA (again) controls who gets to produce it, and the companies that can produce it pay good money to not allow anyone else to get authorization. So they can corner the market and stop and competition, allowing for them to gouge the fuck out of the price. If the FDA was less corrupt and allowed people to actually get authorized the market would become competitive and the economic game would lower the price to affordable levels.