Europe has been warned repeatedly about their vulnerability to energy shortages and they have done nothing.
The USA is the world's top producer of jet fuel. If Europe won't produce their own then they better line up a diverse pool of suppliers.
Can confirm. I was spending ~$500 a month in gas. Switched to an EV and I pay ~$70 a month in additional electricity. Unfortunately my workspaces doesn't have chargers so 95% of all my charging is done at home and most of that is overnight when it's cheapest.
How do these numbers make sense?
Using conservative numbers, $500 in gas at $3/gal is 166.67 gallons x 20 MPG means driving 3,333 miles/month. That's a lot of driving. I believe the average EV gets 3.4 miles/KWH and the average cost per kwh is about $0.20 so 3333/3.4 *
Estimating your miles driven on $70/month for electricity that's $70 month/.20 KWH = 350 KWH x 3.4 Miles/KWH = 1,190 miles/month. $500 in gas to go 1,190 miles seems unlikely.
When I was looking at an EV I priced the fuel cost of a Model Y versus my current SUV for 10K miles/year and ICE came out cheaper, especially when including the new $250/year EV tax. But at 40K miles/year the numbers would be different.
heh heh heh. You're right that this list isn't literally "luxury SUVs", which is what the prev poster claimed, but....
they're not cheap transportation from A to B either.
1,2,4,6 are the full-size pickups which are about the same price as luxury SUVs... they can start lower, but very easily get near $100k in the higher trim levels. And none of these are "efficient" in any common understanding of that term.
and everything else on there is $30k+ afaict (and many easily into the $50s before tax). And the "efficient" ones, i.e. the HEVs and PHEVs among them are in the upper range of that. Single exception is the Camry... which now is a hybrid even in its lowest trim and has excellent gas mileage. still $30k though ( yes $29.1k MSRP for lowest trim w/o any option selected if you want to be pedantic)
OK, those are the best selling cars in the USA. But they aren't the only cars available.
From https://www.cars.com/articles/...
1. 2026 Hyundai Venue SE: $22,150
2. 2026 Chevrolet Trax LS: $23,495
3. 2026 Kia K4 LX: $23,535
4. 2026 Nissan Sentra S: $23,845
5. 2026 Hyundai Elantra SE: $23,870
6. 2026 Toyota Corolla LE: $24,120
7. 2026 Volkswagen Jetta S: $25,270
8. 2026 Mazda3 2.5 S: $25,785
9. 2026 Honda Civic LX: $25,890
10. 2026 Buick Envista Preferred: $26,495
Sure, they are all over $22k, and all-in it's a lot. People who can't afford it or don't want to spend it can always buy used. Used cars are a great value for someone like me, i.e. with mechanic skills. I've been reticent to buy a used EV though, for two reasons: (1) I don't know what I'm getting into and (2) I think the tech is moving so fast that a 7 year old EV is obsolete.
I'm not sure who these normal people are because the US market is dominated by large, expensive, luxury SUVs and they sell really, really well.
I'm sure there are people who just want to go from A to B in a cheap and efficient way, but the market doesn't believe they matter (nor does the government).
Not true. Top Selling Cars/Trucks in the USA (2025 - Full Year Estimates)
Ford F-Series (Full-Size Pickup)
Chevrolet Silverado (Full-Size Pickup)
Toyota RAV4 (Compact SUV)
Honda CR-V (Compact SUV)
Ram Pickup (Full-Size Pickup)
GMC Sierra (Full-Size Pickup)
Chevrolet Equinox (Compact SUV)
Tesla Model Y (Electric SUV)
Toyota Camry (Mid-Size Sedan)
Toyota Tacoma (Mid-Size Pickup)
https://tech.slashdot.org/stor...
And just like then, it makes little sense. If "for every 200 EVs or plug-in hybrids added, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels dropped 1.1%", does that mean if we added 20,000 EVs or PHVs NO2 levels would drop to nothing? California has well over a million so NO2 should be zero by now.
But what does "added" mean anyway? Did they mean "replaced an equivalent ICE car"?
This is already old news. Artemis II is likely rolling back to the vehicle assembly building and unlikely to launch before April.
This seems like an ill-advised adventure to me
I have a full-thickness partial-width large rotator cuff tear, confirmed by MRI. At one point I was in a lot of pain and had difficulty getting dressed so I went to an orthopedist. After the MRI he suggested surgery. I researched rotator cuff issues and found out that
1) Almost everybody above a certain age would have some kind of tears show up on an MRI, with little or no symptoms
2) Rotator cuff surgery can take months to heal, with pain and very limited motion in the affected arm
3) The prognosis for many types of tears is very similar for surgery + physical therapy and just physical therapy alone
I postponed the surgery and just committed to do the exercises and over time my range of motion and pain level went pretty much back to normal.
Here's an unpopular option that reduces carbon emissions, reduces health issues, improves efficiency, and costs a bit of money both at purchase and in manufacturing and design. If the automakers can make better profits and push the costs onto the general public, of course they will.
Nothing has changed then. The pollution credits went to the automakers. The additional manufacturing costs went to the consumers and the consumers saved money on gas. So the only loss here is the loss of the pollution credits to the manufacturer.
I'm sure you are selflessly doing you bit for breast health.
https://web.mit.edu/zoz/Public...
I try my best but some women just refuse to take their medicine
Fun fact, Viagra was originally supposed to be for lowering blood pressure and to alleviate angina. During the human trials it was discovered that one of the side effects was, well, what it's sold for now. Obviously the side effect was vastly more profitable.
I have a family member who retired from a large city fire department. If fire fighters failed their physical for having high blood pressure they would ask their doctor for a Viagra prescription and pass the follow up physical.
I remember reading about this in the Wall Street Journal. The article said that at the conclusion of the trials they found that people didn't want to return the remaining medication in their possession. They interviewed the patients and found out why and the rest is history.
People taking boner drugs are having more sex. Sex is good exercise and makes your brain feel good.
Did the study include people taking the boner drugs and not having sex?
Literally 100% of them. It's clear that you've never seen a car with an auto start/stop system. The systems dynamically disable themselves depending on both load on the starter and state of the battery as you drive. Literally EVERY car does this.
There are multiple criteria used to decide when an engine stop is appropriate, such as frequency and duration of stops. But I thought the statement "The starters don't have to wear out. They are software limited to cycle a limited number of times before they are disabled" implied that mechanically sound starters must being replaced once a software-limited duty life is reached. I've never seen such a thing.
(Note: we own a 2015 Camry and a 2019 Outback, neither of which has this feature)
I was helping my mom shop for a car. We went to CarMax - she had her eye on a Kia Soul. Well I pulled out of the lot (she wanted me to drive, don't ask me why) and got to a stoplight... and the tach goes to zero. I'm thinking "that's weird", and turned the key - started right up and we moved along. Then it died again at the next light... and again... I was wondering how the CarMax guys missed such an obvious problem.
After several iterations of this I came to the realization "huh, maybe this is by design?" - and, the next time we stopped, I did nothing - just hit the gas when it was time to move again. Which, of course, worked perfectly.
The feature works fine, as far as I can tell. I'm not sure I believe it makes much difference in terms of greenhouse gas emissions or fuel economy, since modern cars do idle very efficiently. And I do wonder about the effect on the starter. But, in the grand scheme of things, this seems like a silly thing to get up in arms about... which describes a LOT of the pronouncements coming out of this administration.
The only people "up in arms" are the ones who think this is a ban on stop-start systems. It isn't. As for me, I find it really unsettling when the tach goes to zero because decades of driving experience tell me the engine has died and I have to restart it. Is there some dashboard indicator so you can tell the difference?
I drive a hybrid. When the engine isn't needed, as in idling, it automatically stops running. (Saves gas and pollution.) The car is still On and when I take my foot off the brake or touch the accelerator pedal, the engine automatically comes to life again. What could be simpler? Saves gas and pollution. But some big companies and many car owners have this love affair with gasoline. I am afraid that they hasten the coming lethal effects of global warming. (For details, read "The Next Civil
War" by Stephen Marche (2022), well researched and very prophetic.
This isn't about hybrids. It's about non-hybrid ICEV with an engine stop-start system
Advertising is the rattling of a stick inside a swill bucket. -- George Orwell
