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(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) |
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No Electric Car for Me |
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By Roger Simon |
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By the time you're reading this, Thanksgiving will be over—hope you had a good one—and I'm the full-bore octogenarian I referred to in the last newsletter. Apropos, I just read Byron York’s Daily Memo in the Washington Examiner in which he makes fun of Joe Biden’s 81st birthday cake with its forest of candles that underscore, in his view, that President Biden and, he also says, Bernie Sanders are too old to be president. I disagree. President Biden is an exception when it comes to octogenarians. I play tennis with several, and they're all in good shape, physically and mentally, as is Bernie Sanders if you’re paying attention. I couldn’t be more in opposition to Bernie’s unabashed Marxist views, but he’s better and more forthright than most in the Senate at expressing them. He’s nothing if not energetic. The same can obviously be said of Donald Trump, who also will be in his eighties if reelected. He’s more than just routinely energetic. He’s a phenomenon of nature. It’s obvious that nature, or, more specifically, nature’s G-d, treats us differently as we age. But on to the topic du jour—why I don't intend to buy an electric car and think they're a bad idea. It seems sort of “on point,” since today is Black Friday, that fiesta of materialism when we scour the internet for deals on products, if we’re honest, we don’t really need. (But if you’re interested, Cars Direct is advertising “Best Black Friday Car Deals for 2023.” Now, I’m not talking about hybrids, just EVs that are powered by externally charged batteries. Regarding hybrids, I bought a Prius years ago and drove everybody crazy on the freeways by driving 55 in a 65 zone in pursuit of the brass ring of 75 miles per gallon via what was then called “hypermiling.” The car felt like a tin can to me, and after a while I sold it. Nevertheless, at some point I might consider one with a more comfortable interior. A car that can generate its own electricity makes some sense. Not so an EV. Elon Musk is clearly a brilliant guy, but the most salient part of his brilliance may be his salesmanship. A few years ago, a few of those same octogenarian, then septuagenarian, tennis players I spoke of above, the more affluent ones anyway, started to show up in Teslas. I have to admit I had a tinge of jealousy. The tech was pretty cool. That mammoth computer screen—assuming you could take your eyes off it while driving, and I wasn’t sure I could—was more than a little impressive. I was told you could surf the internet while waiting to have your battery charged. (That I could do it on my phone too didn’t immediately penetrate.) And that big boy was fast, super-fast. You could go from 0 to 60 in the time you could say “Jack Robinson.” But was that useful? Where could you do it, unless you wanted to spend your days at a track? I recalled that years back (1980ish) I had bought a used Porsche 911 from a friend. I took it out a few nights later to drive down to a motel in Palm Desert where I did some of my writing then.
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I was barreling along on the empty freeway when I saw a light in my rear-view mirror. Uh-oh. Not being a complete idiot, I didn’t slam on the brakes, but eased up on the accelerator. It was to no avail as the trailing car soon had its red light whirling and I was pulled over by the California Highway Patrol. “How fast do you think you were going?” the officer asked me. “Eighty?” I said hopefully. “I had you clocked at a hundred and ten,” he replied, but added, “I’m going to write you up for eighty, because otherwise they’d pull your license. Don’t do this again.” I didn’t. Not only that, I sold the Porsche as quickly as I could. Fast cars mean nothing to me, with the exception of merging onto freeways, but you don’t need a Tesla for that. In fact, one thing you don’t need a Tesla for is to abate anthropogenic global warming, assuming that exists to any serious extent. (At this point, it’s hard to believe anybody thinks it does other than those—scientists and business people—profiteering from their opinions.) But here’s something you might not have noticed when pulling into a gas station to pay $4.00 for a gallon of regular. From Newsmax: “A new study out of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, which has received contributions from oil giants Exxon and Chevron, finds that the actual hidden costs of fueling an electric vehicle, which some allege equates to $1.21 per gallon of gas, is more like $17 per gallon—all things considered.” And what are those things to be considered? "The stark reality for proponents of EVs and for the dreamers in the federal government, who are using fuel economy regulations to force manufacturers to produce ever more EVs, is that the true cost of an EV is in no way close to a comparable ICEV [internal combustion engine vehicle]. "Our conservative estimate is that the average EV accrues $48,698 in subsidies and $4,569 in extra charging and electricity costs over a 10-year period, for a total cost of $53,267, or $16.12 per equivalent gallon of gasoline. Without increased and sustained government favors, EVs will remain more expensive than ICEVs for many years to come." Call it the high cost of virtue signaling. But there’s more. Nicole James, an Australian writer, wrote a rather witty satirical article for The Epoch Times: “18 Reasons Why You Really Need an Electric Car.” It’s worth reading the whole thing, but here are a few tidbits: “3. Forget Bill Gates and his private jets; your guilty pleasure is the toasty warmth of a winterised garage. Electric cars, much like their owners, detest the cold. Embrace the synergy by parking your electric chariot in a heated garage—a warm welcome indeed. “11. Are you concerned about pollution emissions in first-world countries? Just shift the burden to the third world where toxic substances required for EV batteries become an unavoidable reality. “16. Do you have a soft spot for China? You can acknowledge their prowess in lithium processing 40 percent of the world’s raw lithium and dominating the market with an 80 percent share.” You get the picture. Ms. James’s 18 reasons could easily be doubled. I ain’t buyin’, Mr. Musk, but the way things are going, I might be interested in your space flight. (Just kidding. I think things are actually turning for the better. The election of libertarian Javier Milei in Argentina is a harbinger of good things to come.)
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From the (many!) emails regarding aging: Dana Fayette: Still a few years from 80, but I can relate. My mother is 99 and still going strong. I am her support, doing much of what she did for me as a child. Food, housing, discipline, parenting stuff. She is fully coherent, self-supporting, lives alone with her cat. She has never exercised that I know of, other than being on the move constantly. Never dieted but always ate healthy. G-d has a hand in everything, and I believe he is keeping her alive for some important message to me. My siblings have no interest in her life, and I am also raising a 10-year-old and a 3-year-old. If that doesn't keep my life interesting, then nothing will.” Christopher Callen: “Enjoyed your article on turning 80. I shall be doing the same in July—and it is a surprise and a shock to me as well. I too feel as if I am about—35.” Don Yost: Bill Russell, the only guy who could guard Wilt, and who, with 11 rings, was arguably the greatest champion of all time in anything, once said that you know you’re getting old when you talk more about what you have done than what you’re going to do. From that standpoint I would say you are still pretty young. May G-d bless you. I’m not Jewish but I respect the humility of that spelling.” Patricia G. Rogers: “I love reading your posts. At the age of 77, I’m right behind ya, baby. What I think you didn’t say is that having a positive attitude, being a cockeyed optimist, and happy in your life is a huge benefit. Not to mention being a Conservative!” Donal Boose: “I will be 94 in January. I have met my daily exercise goals for over three years without missing a day. I rode my bicycle as an adult for forty-five years until I was just shy of age ninety. I try to keep my mind active by reading, solving cryptograms and crossword puzzles, and other mind-stimulating activities. Therefore, I urge you to keep the faith and you will also become a nonagenarian." LAST BUT NOT LEAST: If you’re enjoying these newsletters, please consider pre-ordering my new book “American Refugees: The Untold Story of the Mass Migration from Blue States to Red States,” publication date Jan. 9. “Roger Simon is among the many refugees fleeing blue state neoliberalism, and he’s written the best account of our generation’s greatest migration.” —Tucker Carlson. |
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