Thread

1. gambiting · 1790547426 · focus · HN ↗

   I mean, I feel like even if petrol wasn't as expensive as it is, the sales would be booming anyway, maybe a sliver slower - for the simple reason that affordable EVs are now here and they are pretty damn good now. After years and years of lamenting "where are the EVs for your average Joe Smith" - they are now here. Funnily enough, they aren't made by Volkswagen or Peugeot, but they are here anyway. And Europe's cheapest new car - Dacia Spring - is an EV.

   1. vjsrinivas · 1790547590 · focus · HN ↗

      Im on the verge of switching from PHEV to full EV. I just need a reasonably affordable EV with 450+ mile of range.

      1. blondie9x · 1790548911 · focus · HN ↗

         It's better for the body to keep driving sessions to 3-4 hours max before you get up walk around and charge a bit. 330 mile range is more than enough. If you only use 60% of the battery to maximize its lifespan you can drive for 3.5 hours roughly before you deplete a battery from 80% -> 20%.

         1. sippingabonedry · 1790551188 · focus · HN ↗

            > is more than enough

            This attitude of dictating others' car needs for them is one of the biggest hindrances to EV adoption and is also why rolling back CAFE regulations is going to be more popular than you think it is.

            The general public doesn't like being told what to do.

            1. kube-system · 1790553366 · focus · HN ↗

               The real cause of people's frustration with the US car market isn't CAFE, but the fact that the car market in the US is bifurcated by class and heavily financially engineered. The reason you can't get a cheap car in the US is entirely because US manufacturers are dictating what people can buy -- why give the middle class affordable options when you can make more money by squeezing them for cash for 84 months? What are they going to do, ride the non-existent bus?

               1. lesuorac · 1790557461 · focus · HN ↗

                  Well also as part of the 08 recovery we scrapped a lot of the used car market to create demand for new vehicles.

                  1. kube-system · 1790558159 · focus · HN ↗

                     The average car that CARS took in was a 1996 model year with 138,000 miles in 2009. Even if we never did that program they'd be long gone by now.

                     The current crazy pricing is mostly due to supply that was cut off during covid -- those would all be prime used cars today -- but many were never made, so used car pricing is crazy -- and manufacturers have no incentive to create cheap new cars if buyers don't have other options.

                     1. lesuorac · 1790583856 · focus · HN ↗

                        There’s cars upwards of 20 years still on the road …

                        But also the waves overlap so we’d still have about 700k cars in additional supply.

                        1. kube-system · 1790600365 · focus · HN ↗

                           Most cars that are 30 years old with 318,000+ miles are no longer in service, which is what the average cash for clunker car would have today.

                           And even if they are still on the road they different enough in quality that they are not affecting the resale price of covid era cars. People do not cross shop 2021 cars with 60k miles with 1996 cars with 300k+ miles.

                  2. xboxnolifes · 1790564909 · focus · HN ↗

                     That happened so long ago that an entire new wave of used cars exist by now.

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