The Vegas Voice 11-20

Is an All-Electric Vehicle World Feasible?
By: BJ Killeen / Down the Road
assume you’ve heard about California’s
I Governor Newsom’s plan to ban the sale of
new gasolinepowered
vehicles starting in 2035.
While many think this is a great step
toward becoming a zero-emissions
country, is it a feasible idea?
I was born and raised in Los
Angeles and remember the smogfilled
days in the ’70s, as well as
sitting in line waiting to buy gas on
my appointed day. But while we all
want clean air, nothing is without its
shortcomings.
California accounts for about 10%
of all new-car sales. If people buy or
lease new cars every three to eight
years, it will still be decades before
California will achieve the dream of being zero emissions once the ban
goes into effect in 2035.
Another challenge with EVs right now is range. The battery technology
to drive over 400 miles without stopping to recharge doesn’t exist yet.
Are they working on it? Of course, but the amount of cost involved for
research and development is staggering.
In addition, many people don’t want EVs. And while EV sales rise
every year (EVs also include hybrids and plug-in hybrids, which would
be banned in 2035 as they both use internal combustion engines), EVs
only accounted for about 1.5% of total vehicle sales in the U.S. in 2019.
Range anxiety, battery recycling, purchase price, charging costs, and
a slew other factors are just a few
of the concerns many have when
discussing electrified vehicles. This
doesn’t even take into consideration
California’s brown outs that can’t
support their electric grids now.
Many are concerned about how
the extra power needs will work.
It’s also a matter of infrastructure.
Where do you plug in if you live in a
large apartment complex?
While Newson’s statement is bold,
it would have been more beneficial
to see how they plan to achieve this
in stages versus a pie-in-the-sky
goal. Fuel cell vehicles are a better option, but the infrastructure isn’t
there.
Discussion needs to continue, but answers need to be found before
this decision should have been made.
BJ Killeen has been an automotive journalist for over 30 years.
She welcomes all questions and inquiries, and can be reached at
bjkdtr@gmail.com
ADA Compatibility
Grab Bars + Ramps
Curbless Showers + More
40
September 2020