Ram Updates: What we know so far

[fireflymedic]

You have to switch because of a govt. buyout.....What planet are you from ??

He was probably thinking back to cash for clunkers. The way a lot of people think if we don't get gas vehicles off the road the world is gona come to a end. At least for the mammals. If we keep electing people that truly think that they should save the world and end petroleum use. I think the plants are gona like extra co2. Lol

 

[HEMIMANN]

Today I read Stellantis is building two Lith-Ion battery plants, the 2nd one north of Indy as joint venture with Samsung. The first is with LG (the battery fire people for Chevy Bolt).

 

[HEMIMANN]

Don't give a rat about Makita-mobiles. When is the new trans coming for the Cummins powered HDs???

And not a re-labeled Ford 10 speed, either. The world is coming to an end when GM sold Allison and let completely unrelated vendors slap the name on their own crap.

 

[MikeinSonoma]

The problem is that EVs have become a religion…

I would call it another religion, another obsession, it’s just competing with the current ones.
My electrical power comes from 100% renewable, we have that choice in Northern California. No you don’t instantly buy an EV and instantly stop using oil and gas to generate power, but you sure as heck can’t start to switch without EV.
And this is coming from someone who’s driving a 2021 V6 Etorque Ram Rebel, which is lucky to get 18 miles per gallon driving as carefully as possible.

 

[Ed Conley]

Too many negatives with the EV scam.
They aren't telling the truth about how dangerous the batteries are, how many vehicles have caught fire.
Not to mention, there won't be enough charging stations to actually service all the proposed vehicles.
Next , has anyone seen how environmentally destructive lithium mines are?
Next, where are they supposed to dispose of all the old batteries?
Also, how are average people supposed to afford to buy new vehicles?
Where is the power coming from to create enough electricity to charge all these vehicles?
Too many uncertainties .

 

[b-real]

Too many negatives with the EV scam.
They aren't telling the truth about how dangerous the batteries are, how many vehicles have caught fire.
Not to mention, there won't be enough charging stations to actually service all the proposed vehicles.
Next , has anyone seen how environmentally destructive lithium mines are?
Next, where are they supposed to dispose of all the old batteries?
Also, how are average people supposed to afford to buy new vehicles?
Where is the power coming from to create enough electricity to charge all these vehicles?
Too many uncertainties .

I am NOT on the train of everything needs to be EV now, but lets be realistic here rather than tout non-fact based talking points.

They aren't telling the truth about how dangerous the batteries are, how many vehicles have caught fire. -EVs are not a conspiracy theory, but it is certainly more fun to look at it that way
Not to mention, there won't be enough charging stations to actually service all the proposed vehicles. -Most EV owners are using home charging, so this is not a real issue, just one touted by those against EVs. Plus most households who own an EV also have an ICE vehicle that they use on longer trips. One day there will be enough infrastructure to easily road trip in an EV without planning out stops, but it can be done today relatively easily with some prior planning.
Next , has anyone seen how environmentally destructive lithium mines are? -As opposed to drilling for oil? Pretty sure every few years there is a major spill in an ocean somewhere.
Next, where are they supposed to dispose of all the old batteries? -They recycle them, already. The companies that do this are sure to be the next big thing on Wall St.
Also, how are average people supposed to afford to buy new vehicles? -How do avg. people afford to buy any new vehicle, whether it be EV or ICE? When a 1/2 pickup truck now starts around $50k when you actually add a few options? Not sure, but somehow they do because EVERY manufacturer has a wait list if you order a new vehicle, and they all sell for over MSRP. Even a Kia with a sticker price of $40k is selling for closer to $50k right now, so somehow people are affording it.
Where is the power coming from to create enough electricity to charge all these vehicles? -Whether or not all of these EVs were coming on line now or later, we have seen plenty of issues in Cali and Texas with their power grids (and the issue is NOT EV charging at the moment), so the grid needs work. EVs becoming more popular just might make people realize sooner how much needs to be done.

 

[Silver21Ram]

I always thought replacement packs were the way they should go but with the efforts to build X number of additional packs for those who would benefit from swapping, that increases costs and use of limited resources. Then, what percentage of EV drivers would actually replace instead of just charging. EVs limitations become more visible as adoption increases: range, charging options away from home, resource requirements to build batteries, scalable recycling options, and impact of degenerative usage on batteries are some issues. I know that if I bought a 10 year old car I wouldn't think I would be replacing the engine. But buy a 10 year old EV and you may need to replace a battery pack at a $13k expense to have the range restored.

What I am saying is that I just see a different future for EVs than a utopian one where it is as easy to travel as it currently is. I am not saying that our past and current methods are ideal; decisions made by others in the past made mass transit a solution that would have financial and policy costs creating possibly insurmountable odds to overcome. So in looking for a replacement to power our individual modes, it is arguable that EVs won't be the only option. Perhaps history repeats itself and we move on electric cars. Again.

 

[7milesup]

Excellent post B-real. I wonder if any of these guys will read it, and understand what you wrote.

I shake my head when people say "where is all this electricity going to come from?". Well, one could build a dirty coal plant to power the EV's and the net result is cleaner than all of us running around with individual power plants in our vehicles. That is a FACT, not some conspiracy crap.
For those that don't believe that our climate is changing for the worse due to humans, then you actually don't understand climate change.
I'm tired of the lack of understanding in our country as too what is happening. Go read Bill Bryson's "A short history of nearly everything" and then tell me you still don't understand.

 

[Silver21Ram]

Stolen catalytic converters are big business all across our country and most locales do nothing about it.
How lucrative will the stolen battery pack market be ? You can bet huge !

Not sure I could sleep well in a bedroom over my garage while my car battery is charging all night !

 

[Timsdually]

Stolen catalytic converters are big business all across our country and most locales do nothing about it.
How lucrative will the stolen battery pack market be ? You can bet huge !

Not sure I could sleep well in a bedroom over my garage while my car battery is charging all night !

How do you sleep now with a liquid bomb in your garage ready to blow at a spark?
How many recalls have there been for ICE vehicles catching fire?
Somebody might steal your EV battery pack? Just keep an eye out for someone driving a forklift down the road.

 

[ramffml]

Stolen catalytic converters are big business all across our country and most locales do nothing about it.
How lucrative will the stolen battery pack market be ? You can bet huge !

Not sure I could sleep well in a bedroom over my garage while my car battery is charging all night !

I'm not a fan of electric trucks, but really, it would take 10 seconds to put an electronic lock on the battery mechanism considering we can already lock our tailgates.

 

[Docwagon1776]

Stolen catalytic converters are big business all across our country and most locales do nothing about it.
How lucrative will the stolen battery pack market be ? You can bet huge !

Not sure I could sleep well in a bedroom over my garage while my car battery is charging all night !

That's got to be the most ridiculous worry about EVs yet. Your cats are dangling under your truck like an old man's testicles. They are relatively small, lightweight, can be snipped off quickly with the right tools, and easy to transport. So are the cats. The difference is cats keep the same ground clearance regardless of temperature and somebody actually wants to buy them from you.

HTF does your local crackhead roll under your EV and Sawzall out the battery pack? And for what? To wrestle an 800-1200-ish pound battery pack into his rusted out S10 and take it...where? Omnisource isn't buying scrap battery packs.

 

[RD Holland]

I've seen the talk about blackouts this summer. What will be more important, charging an EV or keeping the lights on at a hospital? And, what happens if the grid you are connected to takes a hit? Either a virus or something more violent? Not only won't you be able to turn on the lights, you won't be able to get in your EV and go anywhere. When the grid goes down, its down. There is no in between. At least gas stations will still be around. And let me say, when we lost the power from our nuke plants here back in 2011(?) due to the F4s and we were without power for over a week, at least I could get in my truck and drive elsewhere. Gas stations quickly fired up generators and we could resupply with gas here (We fled to Florida). Oh, everyone can buy a whole home generator and run a natural gas line to their home or keep their own supply of gas or diesel. Geesh. Now I've gone and done it. The EV nuts will read this and try to force those generators to run on batteries too.

 

[Awokenotwoke]

Oil is not going away. It is the fundamental source used to produce plastic, including all the plastic on EV’s, cellphones, TV’s and thousands of other products. No one is going to return to making all metal vehicles. So, in order to produce plastic, oil must be processed.

 

[GTyankee]

That person from upper California, that stated they are 100 % renewable power, that is hard to do

I don't think that
Upper California has very few if any Solar Farms

Wind Power is 100 % dependent on the wind blowing at a certain speed, like maybe 8 to 50 MPH. If the wind blows 50 MPH, they have to set the brakes & stop the blades from rotating. Because those Carbon Fiber Blades will tear themselves apart.
There are some places not far from Death Valley, where the wind has been known to blow stones across the desert floor. At


Racetrack Playa Death Valley:


So that leaves Hydro power, so you must live near Mt, Shasta ??

Do you have any Geo-Thermal pumping stations up there ?

OOPS, i forgot about the renewable tree harvesting up there

 

[tron67j]

So to put out another thought, I have been doing some research into the mining of lithium. I don't have all the details of every operation to mine it, but overall it appears to be yet another area to understand if the world is to move towards more EVs. It can be disruptive to the environment and release a good deal of carbon into the atmosphere. I just wonder how impactful this will be moving forward and what kind of controls will be in place in areas where most lithium comes from.

 

[Goosewhole]

You have to switch because of a govt. buyout.....What planet are you from ??

Sounds like some Commiefornia BS right there

 

[Timsdually]

I've seen the talk about blackouts this summer. What will be more important, charging an EV or keeping the lights on at a hospital? And, what happens if the grid you are connected to takes a hit? Either a virus or something more violent? Not only won't you be able to turn on the lights, you won't be able to get in your EV and go anywhere. When the grid goes down, its down. There is no in between. At least gas stations will still be around. And let me say, when we lost the power from our nuke plants here back in 2011(?) due to the F4s and we were without power for over a week, at least I could get in my truck and drive elsewhere. Gas stations quickly fired up generators and we could resupply with gas here (We fled to Florida). Oh, everyone can buy a whole home generator and run a natural gas line to their home or keep their own supply of gas or diesel. Geesh. Now I've gone and done it. The EV nuts will read this and try to force those generators to run on batteries too.

Gas pumps around here run on electricity.
So if the grid goes down you are going to get gas how???

 

[KKBB]

Gas pumps around here run on electricity.
So if the grid goes down you are going to get gas how???

Generator at the fuel station.

 

[7milesup]

Generator at the fuel station.

Bahahaha. Yeah, every gas station I have seen has a backup generator out back, NOT. LOL.