- cross-posted to:
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- cross-posted to:
- [email protected]
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/54617060
Ford CEO Jim Farley is warning that Europe could undermine its own carmakers if it keeps setting ambitious EV rules and then backing away from them when buyers do not follow
That stop-start approach, he says, leaves automakers designing products and plants for targets that may not stick, all while dealing with tariffs, content rules and rising costs.
I mean, he’s not fully wrong. You either fucking stick with your goals or you don’t. Personally, I think full EV within the next decade is a pipe dream and doesn’t actually resolve the fundamental problem. Hybrids are much simpler to manufacture, require far less toxic lithium mining and production, and have a very notable reduction in emissions in the short and long-term.
Why the fuck aren’t we pushing hybrids?? It’s such a better gateway transition until we get better fucking battery technology than is lithium ion.
Hybrids are simpler to manufacture??
Yeah, because having an ICE and an electric engine for sure is less complex than either one 😉
But for real, hybrids are a scam to prevent real electrification of Transport.
The complexity isn’t in the motors anyway, but in the batteries and the contollers and the truckload of bullshit gadgetry that comes with a modern car.
The products of the automotiv industry are becoming increasingly unrepairable and unmaintaineable, and that on purpose. Unfortnately, hybrid and electric vehicles only made their breakthroygh when the enshittification was already thoroughly in progress. Unless the entire mindset of the industry and the insane regulatory demands for ever more gadgetry stops, you won’t be able to buy a decent new car in the EU, regardless of its drive train.
Yes, because car manufacturers have already been producing them for over 20 years at this point and already have factories that can do it. It’s “simpler” in that new factories all over the world aren’t required to mass produce.
We don’t need hybrids anymore. They were only a transitional technology (like you said) and were a good idea in the last 10 years, but their time is over now.
And we’re going to continue ignoring the extreme environmental damage that mining for lithium causes?
I guess my main argument is we either make mass producing EVs far more environmentally friendly or we find a better alternative to lithium.
Yes, I completely agree with that. But drilling for more oil (and burning it) is certainly not an option.
There already are alternatives to lithium batteries, they currently have some downsides. For example there are sodium ion batteries which are cheap and much more environmentally friendly, but do not have the same energy density. There are already (Chinese) cars that use that type of battery, mainly in the „entry level“ segment.
Sodium ion is certainly promising, particularly for large vehicles that have more space for the batteries. I definitely look forward to how that tech progresses and possible becomes even more optimized over time.
I don’t think drilling/burning oil is the optimal path. I just don’t see another way forward that drastically reduces emissions within a short span of time. Hybrids may not be the answer, but they could certainly be part of the effort.
Additionally, cars are only a few drops in the overall CO2 bucket. We need to fully go into renewables and/or nuclear energy. It is also absolutely critical to figure out how to drastically reduce or fully eliminate emissions from cargo ships and airplanes, as they account for far more emissions than cars do. Lastly, we need to drastically reduce or fully eliminate meat farming, as they produce a fuckton of methane, not to mention the intensive amount of water and other resources it takes.
Anyway, yeah, it’s a cluster fuck of crises.
Fully agree, these crises will not be solved by some battery tech alone.
@bassomitron
Blablabla. - you just want to be contrary without thinking too much, it seems?
Of course we are looking for better options. In what version of reality do you think we wouldn’t? Seriously. Just think for a second there.
If at this point you were to bring up fossil fuels, you would most definitely disqualify yourself from the discussion.
Being an asshole isn’t conducive to constructive discussion, either. So, ironic for you to dismiss my opinion in such a haphazard way while ignoring what I’m actually saying.
Of course I am aware of the global effort to find better battery technologies. Yet, outside of sodium ion, everything is largely dependent on lithium ion. Lithium is extremely destructive to the local ecosystems it’s mined from.
Lastly, where the fuck do you think the majority of electricity is being produced from in large swathes of the planet? Cars absolutely need to have zero emissions. But, transitioning literal billions of vehicles to EV in a short span of time (~10 years) would require an unfathomable amount of batteries.
The most ideal solution, of course, would invest much more effort into zero emissions mass public transit. But, again, where is all that money going to come from?
The obvious answer is that there is no obvious solution that the public will leap to embrace. And even if the masses do embrace it, they’re still handicapped by their income.
So tell me, how the fuck are EVs going to solve the overall crisis that is climate change in a realistic time span at the current conversion rates, that also doesn’t destroy ecosystems? Not to mention all the toxic battery waste when tens of thousands of EVs start being totaled/decommissioned once they’re mass adopted.
These problems are nuanced and complicated, so I guess I grow tired of people like you finger wagging and acting like they fucking have all the answers.
Perfect is the enemy of good.
A tale as old as time.