Title text:
Now that I’ve finally gotten an electric vehicle, I’m never going back to an acoustic one.
Transcript:
Transcript will show once it’s been added to explainxkcd.com
Source: https://xkcd.com/3214/
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A car powered by gasoline? It’ll never take off. I mean, what will you do if it runs out of gas? Start a war in the middle east?
Also imagine the logistics! You would have to refine the oil, get it from places all over the world and distribute it to all the gas stations all over the country. With electric cars you can just tap the already existing power grid.
I seem to recall that back in the day there were electric cars before gasoline ones, and that was an argument at the time. Electricity was already becoming ubiquitous and putting up more wires was pretty easy compared to the logistics needed for gas production, transport, storage and dispensing. Gas won out due to the fact that it’s energy density was so much higher compared to batteries of the time… and probably a lot of lobbying by people invested in that stuff.
Gas won out due to the fact that it’s energy density was so much higher compared to batteries of the time
Gas won out because US found huge reserves of oil and it was 3 cents a barrel . Ford actually planned for his model T to run on ethanol, which could be made free on any farm, but Standard Oil made sure that would never happen.
Yeah 100 years ago the argument may have actually made sense.
Not to speak of the fact, that you cannot fill up at home or every other lamp post. You have to drive to designated stations to find gasoline. Ridiculous! What if the next station is too far to reach it, before you run out?
Plus, have you seen all the iron and other metals that have to be mined shipped, refined, shipped, and then made in to parts, shipped again, and then assembled, and finally shipped to the dealer for a single ICE car?
This was Jeremy Clarkson’s stupid argument against hybrids. Boomer rant.
I’ve heard it so many times, and it’s probably the dumbest thing I’ve heard about electric cars other than the guy who wanted to know how you would drive your EV at night if it charged from solar panels.
Even better…the oil is not sold on the free market of supply demand economics, they actually have price fixing cartels.
Crazy concept, fill you car with a huge tank of explosive and toxic liquid, and if you leave the car running on a closed garage the fumes will kill you! Get this, they have to drive all that liquid around in large tanker trucks.
Do they think we’re stupid?
It’s a valid argument if you don’t live near good charging infrastructure. I have an EV in an area with ample charging. But when we went to visit my in-laws who live in a more rural area, it was a big challenge. The only chargers around were so slow that it would take 24+ hours to charge the car. And if you run out, you can’t get someone to bring a can of gas.
In an urban area, I love the reduced maintenance and not getting gas. On a road trip with kids, I don’t love killing half an hour in a grocery store with my kids amassing armloads of candy faster than I can put it back.
EVs are great, but we can’t automatically dismiss any complaint a hesitant person has.
I have had some issues with my electric car in rural areas between FL and GA and I will say the charging infrastructure has gotten much better in the past year in that area. Especially since most cars can also use the Tesla chargers too if you need to.
My Tesla trip planner did something I never would have thought of but it works. It planned for at most 20 minutes at superchargers. It meant I never had to wait long at the cost of my next leg of the trip being a bit shorter. But I imagine it does optimize overall trip time, not just individual charging time. Remember batteries can’t charge linearly: there’s always a curve and charging always slows down as it gets full. Charging to 80% or similar takes advantage of the steep part of the curve to save you time
My biggest charging delay on trips is my own fault, always looking for a supercharger rather than destination chargers
- I’ve always given up pretty fast trying to find hotels with chargers
- when visiting family I never asked to plug in because I wasn’t sure whether they would make a big deal about it
24hour charge that’s like charging at under 3kw, that’s the rate at which a standard electrical outlet can charge in the UK, that’s the same power as my kettle. The V2L function on my EV can kick out more power than that.
In Canada, a level one charger is 1.4kw
In all seriousness, the transition of small devices away from AA/AAA batteries is very annoying. I always had batteries charged, now I have to constantly plug some junk in and wait?
I invested in some rechargeable NiMH AAs, and AAAs. Now sometimes I think i prefer some things with old school batteries just because of how convenient it is. Granted, that system wouldn’t work well for my headphones, or my phone. But seems just fine for the odd remote control, kitchen gadget or portable lamp.
I have two sets of headphones, one older set that takes a AA and a new one that charges. I use the older ones constantly since when they die I just grab a NiMH AA out of the charger and pop it in, back in 10 seconds. New one…not so much
I bought a set for work that comes with 2 rechargeable lithium packs and an external charger so you can just swap as needed.
Sure but…we had that already
You clearly didn’t grow up before lithium batteries. Before lithium, batteries sucked and they sucked hard. You would spend a small fortune to buy 5 lb of batteries to put in your tape player, CD player, remote control toy, anything portable and then you would get between 5 minutes to an hour of total use time. Or, if it was you rarely used the gadget, or it was something like a remote control that were only on for incredibly short bursts as you push the button, you would leave the batteries in it until they went dead. But then you got the treat of opening it up to replace the batteries and finding that they leaked all over the inside and destroyed the device.
I have lost so many portable devices to leaking batteries that I can’t even begin calculate how much it’s cost me. Before smartphones, I had probably spent upwards of $1,000 ( in today’s money) in calculators alone. I don’t even work in some kind of math-type job or have a mathematics type degree.It never occurred to you to keep the nicad or NiMH battery bank full of charged batteries and swap them out?
You can’t even leave the lithium ion batteries plugged in when you aren’t using them for long periods, they swell. Which is bad.
I am not sure if you are making a joke or trying to troll me, but either way I laughed. So thanks for that.
The headsets I’ve seen which take AA batteries were heavy af.
What, no. Audio-technica from about 2016, they are normal weight.
Well guess I just haven’t seen 'em then.
I’m not saying light ones don’t exist. I just haven’t seen any.
Rechargeable AAs and AAAs have finally been perfected, I am kind of annoyed by things that have only internal batteries now, I don’t want them going to the landfill just because the cheap device died. Let me keep running the batteries for a decade in other shit.
The internal batteries often aren’t that hard to replace. If you can get the device open the batteries are standard sizes you can order and often just plug in. Except phones, phone manufacturing relies on pure evil
I only drive acoustic cars. They sound even better
The only real question is: does it go “wooo wooo!” ?
Every once in a while I want the sound effects for my EV. Some of the most iconic “muscle” cars are just sound effect so it’s the same thing.
- if a mustang is all sound effect, my EV should be able to sound d the same
- if a Subaru has fake shift points with its CVT to help the car bros feel more comfortable, why can’t my EV
I want to come up to a red light in my EV and out-rev the corvette next to me
I want to be able to choose my own noise (being fully aware why that is a bad idea more broadly). Can you imagine driving through the grocery store parking lot making a TIE fighter sound?
I want Gregorian chants or Baroque mandolin music.
Solid choice.
The problem is I do think it’s a good idea (but retro “space invaders” sounds). There’s a good argument that cars moving walking speed near a pedestrian’s ought to make enough noise to ensure the pedestrians are aware of them. I’d rather be annoyed by the noisy eenvironment than run over
Once it’s intentional to do this then yes, why not pick your own?
To be clear, I do think they should make noise, yes please. Totally agreed. When they’re moving slowly enough that people can get out of the way (and the tire noise is a little less significant), they should be making an artificial sound.
Also, Space Invaders sounds would be an amazing choice; along the same lines, the Pac-Man “wakka-wakka-wakka” would be awesome, especially if you have a yellow car. Come to think of it, the Fozzie Bear “wokka wokka!” would be hilarious, too.
I just think allowing people to choose a sound that’s automatically blasted at loud volume from their car at any given time is something we’ve already had a lot of experience with, given that stereo systems have been standard on cars for decades now; and we can be certain that people can’t be trusted with it–especially when they themselves can’t hear it. There are absolutely people who will use that power to broadcast ads, or their own recorded voice shouting obscenities, or a high-pitched screech sound that harms people’s hearing.
Or, even worse, they’ll change the sound to silence or something super quiet. Maybe to be malicious, but probably more so just because they find it annoying in some niche situation (like in their garage or whatever).
Allowing people to choose from a certain subset of options, or having some sort of onboard algorithm try to detect whether the sound is an appropriate volume (and replacing it with a substitute if needed) might be a good compromise.
Too true
MachE has a sound effect. Frankly, it’s kinda sad.
If you sing-a-long in them you get better milage.
These are the vehicles to have in the Apocalypse. Carry your own solar panels and charge it. No need to get fuel since gasoline only stays fresh for 6 months.
Personally I’d go with an electric bike since it needs significantly less time to charge given the same number of solar cells.
i had this idea only i planned to retire on the beach and eat fish. turned out to be no fun after a week camping in a jeep. Apocalypse in the basement. i wonder if there’s a siren like tornados
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I will get an EV when the range/charge speed will allow me to make it 7 miles in 24 hours. And maybe if they’re small enough to fit in a passenger train.
I think you want a donkey.
Also I want it to be rechargeable with hay bales! …wait
Plugable hybrids are a good compromise, when people remember to actually plug them in and run on electric when they don’t need to travel long distances.
They also have the worst of both worlds shoved together
They also have the best of both worlds shoved together, when used in an ideal general case situation. Zero emissions for urban use, emissions limited only on the very occasional when needed, and even then if it has enough stops to call EVs viable, you are going to get a significant reduction in emissions if you plug along the way.
Range extender hybrids are the goat
The combustion engine can always run at optimal rpm for torque and the drivetrain is 100% electric
A LOT simpler to construct too, it’s basically an EV with a built in generator
They’d be the best compromise for me. I usually drive short distances in the city, but maybe once or twice a year I want to do the 800km journey back to my home city in the next province. Train travel isn’t an option.
I have a similar situation and I just rent a car for those twice a year trips 🤷 Still cheaper than paying for gas
Literally impossible, given you have to pay for the gas of those rentals plus however long you keep them until you get back.
I pay 0€ for gas all year long, electricity is currently 0,0187€/kWh
The money I save from that equation easily pays for a rental twice a year.
You’d be paying even less with a plug-in electric hybrid.
How? Mind you that gasoline is 2€/litre here and electricity costs next to nothing.
I’d rather not have to deal with a petrol/diesel engine than go long distances, but saying that is a bit of a non issue to go a long distance in an EV in Europe.
That’s called privilege.
You toss it out and get a new one of course!
Gonna get blasted for this, given the overall sentiment here in the comments towards EVs, but EVs are going to be used to monitor people everywhere they go and have killswitches, and other shit I’d not wanna deal with.
Well if you run out of power it is easier to get someone to bring a container of gas than to get a truck filled with batteries to come and charge you for 30 min. The US has LOTS of large, rural areas with very poor EV support. Half the time the EV lots near me have some sort of problem and are shut off. They make more sense for dense, urban areas where you do lots of short trips and have access to high speed chargers.
user.user.age = “9000”; Done.
had a regular 110 plug adapter and extension cord. plug in anywhere but takes longer than charge station. never used it in 20,000 miles. about same as a gasser. hit 1/4 tank stop and fill up. imagine the switch from horses to gas was hard to figure out for a while.
OK then what do you do if there are no chargers in range?
Proper charging infrastructure is important but there are far more electrical outlets out there than gas stations.
There’s a crank on the front. Obviously.
This ain’t the model t age
Charge very slowly using a regular plug in (level 1 charger) until you have enough range to get to a fast charger. Or call a tow truck like you would if you ran out of gas.
My arguments against EV, not sorted by anything:
- It’s comfy to feel and hear working engine.
- I really dislike automatic gearbox. It feels as if I lost part of control over vehicle and I kinda need it to not go autopilot. Like, me going autopilot, not car.
- EV’s seem best for richer people than me living in houses where they can charge them up - charging from station still can be pricer than gasoline.
- I can have emergency gas can in the car and if something happen, it will buy me enough range to reach another station. And when I turn off ICE car, it won’t leak it’s fuel, no matter the temps. The last part I will write up at the end.
- Where I live, the EV infrastructure is catching fast but it is still really lackluster, and to add to that, even I can feel like 70% safe with infastructure here, it’s not certain for my neighbouring countries so that also limit.
And about 4:
This winter we had a small funny problem that two TIRs decided to play overtake on a frozen road and crashed, blockimg whole road. People spent 12 hours standing in line and not really able to get out from what I heard. ICE cars once turned off in that scenario would not give a frick about temps, but wouldn’t EVs have problems with their battery discharginf either due to cold or due to fighting the cold?
But all in all, I still would like EV car lol. In my use case - that is either driving in my hometown or driving to the next bigger city over, they make a lot of sense. Although I can’t afford any car anyway xD
The concern about cold and EVs is overblown. While sure in the arctic ….
- heat pump makes a huge difference in winter range
- my car really only loses noticeable charge while idle because I keep sentry mode on. I live in a busy area so the entire car keeps waking up to make sure no one is vandalizing it. If I turn that off, the loss is not really noticeable
- I believe Tesla replaced the old tech 12v lead acid battery for running accessories with a lithium ion battery meant to last the life of the car
I believe the other factor in the most publicized instance of cold weather affecting EVs was people. People waiting until they’re desperate, then finding lines, and waiting in their vehicle with heat on
I asked on that point because I didn’t know, so thanks for answer. People are used to driving ICE cars near reserve so it will take time till they learn to not do this with EVs xD
The problem is that what you actually do a roadtrip, (and you’re not charging at home on a normal “commute” day) is sit on your ass and do absolutely nothing for 45 to 90 minutes at a gas station in the middle of fucking nowhere, hoping no hick “jeds” see you hanging out at the Tesla charger and approach you to tell you that “yuu got a perddy mouf”.
You seem to have last looked at EVs in 2015. At 350kW, it takes about 7 minutes to charge.
7 MINUTES?! 7 minutes. To full. FROM EMPTY?!* 7. minutes.*
I don’t believe you. The last video I saw about road tripping with an EV was last year- this one.
Not to full, you never charge to full on a fast charger… You charge enough to continue with your trip, which, yes, takes about 10-15 minutes in my real-world experience. I’ve also timed my fueling stops in my gas car, and they also take at least 10 minutes if I have to pee, grab some coffee, etc.
So I’m not at all opposed to electric cars, but I’m on the old side and what I’m not “for” is spending time charging enough, planning my next charging stop, rather than “filling up” and “there’s one on any exit, whenever I see fuel is low again”.
Maybe it will reach that point some day, but if I want to go sightseeing or go to somewhere interesting, I don’t want the whole trip being highly stressfull stops of “OK where do we plan to stop next and for how long”.
At that point I’d much rather take a train, and yes I know how insulting that is considering it would be AmTrak here in the united states of late stage capitalism.
You misunderstand. The roadtrip planning, at least in my EV, is all handled by the car itself. I just punch in my destination and go. It figures out where I need to stop to charge, for how long, etc. When I’m stopped charging, the “time remaining until full enough” is prominently displayed in the car itself as well as in the app, and I get notified (in the car and in the app) that my car is ready to continue. All that time I also have a (very accurate) estimate of how much charge I’ll have remaining once I reach the next stop.
There’s no guesswork, the car figures it out on its own, and I can tweak it however I want.
Also, the actual experience refueling is horrible compared to charging: When fueling I have to stand outside in the cold, breathing noxious fumes while being blasted with loud adverts from the machine… Then I get inside to pay, and if I want to grab a snack, coffee or go to the bathroom, I know that I’m not making progress towards my destination during that time so I’m kind of in a hurry.
Charging, you just park, plug, and let the car do its thing. You know you have 10 minutes to kill anyway, so you do the same things knowing that your car is doing something productive in the meantime. The vast majority of the time, the car is done before me anyway. It’s just a lot more relaxing honestly.
But all this is something I do what, at most once a month with my car? Day-to-day is done with home charging, where I get home, plug in, and the car is full the next time I need it. No more stressing about running late but finding out you need to stop to refuel, etc.
All in all, I find my EV experience to be WAY less stressful / annoying than my gas car. Just yesterday, we did a small family trip about 2 hours away with the gas car (the EV doesn’t fit the whole family sadly), and on the way back we found out gas prices had jumped 15¢ / liter during the day, thanks to Trump’s war… With an EV the price stays a lot more stable over time.
So- genuine question here, not baiting. So assuming your 4G/etc (telemetry soaked) connection is working, how often would you wind up stopping to charge “up another X percent” along the way? It sounds like it would be having you stop more often than every few hundred miles?
The home charging scenario is great, near perfect experience FOR SURE, but there are cases where it’s not possible, like renters.
I kinda doubt the genuineness of the question given the comment about telemetry… I’ll be the first to admit that these things are a privacy nightmare, but that’s a problem with ALL modern cars, not just EVs. It just so happens that most EVs are modern cars, but they’re not necessarily worse than your random off-the-shelf 2026 Nissan Rogue.
Still, genuine answer: Haven’t done that many roadtrips where I’ve needed to charge more than once, actually. But my car can easily leave now and go 2-3 hours at highway speed without stopping. Make that 3-4 hours if I set it to charge at 100% the night before (in case of a planned roadtrip), as I usually only charge it to 80% to preserve battery life. Not sure how many miles that is as I’m to lazy to do the conversion, but this is why I use “hours at highway speed” as a metric.
A good resource to look at the various scenarios specific to your situation / area would be ABRP.
Unfortunately that’s a Tesla ad. But I was wrong. Looks like at least some of the 350kW charging cars take about 18 minutes. Slower than getting gas, but not much worse than a pee and sandwich break every two hours or so.
