thependulumswings

Are you still driving that big gas-guzzling, fossil fuel-emitting vehicle?   Shame on you, Joe Biden says.

Even if you were not one of the early pacers (not the car itself), didn’t you take advantage of the 10k incentive provided by your government to convert to an EV? No?

Well, if the obvious benefit of clean air and the financial incentive didn’t work, the Biden Administration has come up with another conversation starter.

Never mind that over the weekend the Hertz Car Rental CEO lost his job making a too-big bet on EVs.  Never mind that multiple (Audi, Ford, Mercedes, etc) car manufacturers reported disappointing earnings, high EV inventories, and factory cutbacks on production.

This week, the Biden administration is expected to finalize highly anticipated regulations targeting gas-powered vehicle tailpipe emissions, considered the tip of the spear in its efforts to electrify the transportation sector.

The Environmental Protection Agency is slated to issue the final rulemaking — which officials have boasted will incentivize greater adoption of electric vehicles, but which opponents have criticized as a de facto mandate.

We tried to sell you, incentivize you, and now we’ll force you.

“It certainly won’t do anything to improve human health. It won’t do anything to reduce pollution,” American Energy Institute president and CEO Jason Isaac, who has researched the EV market, said in a Sunday interview. “We’ve proven in this country that we’re already a world leader in clean air.”

“All it’s going to continue to do is push the costs of electric vehicles on to purchasers of internal combustion engine vehicles.”  Ah, there it is.

Mind or not, over 75% of the global emissions come from India and China combined.

But, but, BUT!  We have to do our part.  Others will follow.  Surely they will.   Won’t they?

Does this have anything to do with election season being upon us like smoke emanating from an exhaust pipe at a red light on Wilshire Blvd?

“This is purely being done for campaign reasons — to appease the leftist large donor base that are the climate alarmists that are driving this movement towards really what is a forced energy transition,” Isaac added.

“This policy is bad for consumers, the economy, and national security. It will sacrifice our hard-won U.S. energy strength for even greater dependence on China and the EV battery and mineral supply chain China controls,” opined American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers president and CEO Chet Thompson.

So who is right?  Father Biden and our government know best.  Remember how well they nailed that COVID thing?  Boosters and batteries are good for you.

Regardless, we have a ways to go.  According to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an industry group representing major automakers, 9.3% of total car purchases in the U.S. last year were electric or plug-in hybrid, up from 7% in 2022.  Most of those were in LA or similar urban areas with short-range driving needs.

EVs remain far more expensive than traditional gas-powered cars. Even factoring in generous federal and state subsidies, the average cost of an EV is about 52k while the average subcompact car costs 24k.

Well, in a Bidenomics sort of way at least they are affordable.

Maybe after we tackle shrinkflation we could tackle EV costs.

Maybe not.