Is BITOG an endangered species?

[Schandyman]

Let me say up front, I know very, very little about Electric Vehicles (EV) from a mechanical standpoint.

Does a Tesla need any type of lubrication? Maybe some 90wt in a differential.... possibly?

I have read no less than 4 articles in financial periodicals, predicting $200 a barrel oil, which will lead to $8-$10 a gallon Regular Gas.

Most of us have seen the EV line-ups of new vehicles to be released in the next 2-5 years from Ford, Chevy, Dodge, VW, Mercedes, BMW, etc.... If you look closely at advertising line-ups, they aren't even touting a single combustion engine vehicle.

What are your predictions and thoughts regarding your personal vehicle situation in the coming years? I know there is a contingent here that takes the stance they will die in there gas guzzling combustion engine rig..... But will you be able to afford $10 a gallon gas, even if you stick to your guns?

What you think....???? Is BITOG quickly on its way to being a dead forum, because everyone will be in an EV in 5 years?

Oh... and don't forget, you will probably be 'influenced' into an electric lawn mower, electric trimmer, electric chain saw, electric motorcycle, etc.....

Personally, I think it is an intentional strategy to force everyone into EV's, but let's be careful here and stay away from ..... ie. totally avoid a political debate.

BITOG will switch gears and join the forces of the meta-verse. We're all evolving beings, man didn't always use the drive-thru getting the club didn't mean having bacon lettuce and tomato it was simply getting dinner.

 

[RooflessVW]

When EVs are widely adopted, you can bet the cost of electricity will skyrocket.

Energy companies are going to bend us over one way or the other.

 

[Leo99]

Technology will be drastically different in 100 years. So, yes, of course., BITOG is endangered. Just like gas stations, oil tankers, refineries, etc. You'll know it's getting real when NASCAR has an electric division. BITOG will be one of the last to go as enthusiasts will be discussing the few oil choices still available for their ICE vehicles.

 

[skyactiv]

What is old is new again. The percentage of electric cars to gas was higher in 1900 than it is today.

 

[alarmguy]

When EVs are widely adopted, you can bet the cost of electricity will skyrocket.

Energy companies are going to bend us over one way or the other.

When EVs are widely adopted I expect they will be self powered by hydrogen.
I posted a story from BMW on the other page. I agree 100%. The worlds oil industry isnt going to just shut down, you will be filling your vehicle with hydrogen which will produce the power for the EV. Its a perfect solution and Germany is leading the way.

I agree, people would be fooling themselves thinking it will be cheap to refuel with electricity.

 

[harbor]

With over 244 million vehicles currently in operation in the US and new vehicle longevity around 200K miles, it’ll take a while to convert to EVs. The original inflection point was predicted to be 2050, but with the OEMs jumping in with both feet, some are now talking about 2035. As other forum members have mentioned, range and charging stations need to be addressed.
Regardless, I think this forum will continue to be a sounding board for ICE & EV vehicles, motorcycles, OPE, etc…
I also expect there to be lots of future debate on “thick vs thin” voltage. Ha!

 

[alarmguy]

Technology will be drastically different in 100 years. So, yes, of course., BITOG is endangered. Just like gas stations, oil tankers, refineries, etc. You'll know it's getting real when NASCAR has an electric division. BITOG will be one of the last to go as enthusiasts will be discussing the few oil choices still available for their ICE vehicles.

You are assuming EVs are going to be powered by utility companies. I am convinced 100% they will be powered by gas stations to be renamed hydrogen stations. EVs will produce their own power, they will not need an electric outlet.

 

[Malo83]

When Buick comes out with their EV Wildcat then I'll consider it.
https://www.newsweek.com/electric-buick-wildcat-first-step-companys-ev-plans-1711787

 

[dwasifar]

I think I'm going to wind up being the contrarian here, but what the heck.

EVs currently have the standardization problems of a relatively new-to-market technology, but that hasn't stopped other recent technologies (computers, for example) from transforming the world. We improve things as we go; that's how progress works.

ICEVs look more independent in terms of range and flexibility mostly because the supporting infrastructure isn't finished being built yet. Tesla has demonstrated battery swaps that take less than a minute; you can be back on the road with a fully charged battery in less time than it takes to fill a gas tank. And fast chargers keep getting faster. Right now those things don't help you as much as you'd want, because there aren't fast chargers or battery swap stations all over the place, but there was a time when there weren't gas stations all over either.

Here's another thing: the Ford F-150 Lightning is the first EV capable of acting as a backup battery for your home. In case of a power failure, you can flip a switch on the charger and use the truck's battery to power your entire house for three days (using everything normally) or up to ten days (if you conserve). This capability is expected to become standard for future EVs. This is a positive benefit that ICEVs can't offer, and it will likely have the side benefit of increasing residential solar panel adoption. A lot of potential solar customers want to be independent of grid failures but balk at the added cost of a battery; but if your car can be the battery, that objection is muted.

I don't think it's necessary to see evil machinations of "powers that be" in the move to electric. Sure, there are currently incentives to adopt the new technology, and more regulation is coming, but why assume those things must be working against your long term interest? Regulation is not automatically bad.

Look at LED light bulbs as an example. People bitched and moaned endlessly about regulations phasing out incandescent bulbs, at first. But today, with the technology established, it's obvious that LEDs are the better tech - far more efficient, more durable, and they're now at price parity with the old incandescents. Even when they were $25 a bulb at the beginning, the lifetime cost savings still justified the expenditure, but that was a hard sell. The regulations did the intended job of kickstarting adoption, and we have better light bulbs and lower power bills now because of that. The grid is less stressed, we don't have to build as many expensive new power plants. Everybody wins, except maybe those few people who wanted to use light bulbs as heating elements and didn't want to buy an actual heater for their incubators or Easy Bake ovens.

I know there are people who feel that all regulations are bad and we should let the free market decide everything - I've read Atlas Shrugged too - but imagine what cars would be like today without the safety, emissions, and fuel economy regulations of the past 50 years.

 

[Spector]

currently using an electric trimmer and blower, so much easier than a gas model and they do the job. My second vehicle (when I change) will be electric, just cannot beat them for around town driving.

Rename BITOG to BITVG

 

[Schandyman]

Ev's give our precious taxman the luxury of reaching further into our pockets. When ev's are in full bloom energy consumption and usage will be monitored with extreme precision we will be taxed on mileage driven, charge time and frequency of charges. And best of all go ahead dont pay your taxes I betcha they'll shut you down like a go kart park.

 

[loneryder]

Let me say up front, I know very, very little about Electric Vehicles (EV) from a mechanical standpoint.

Does a Tesla need any type of lubrication? Maybe some 90wt in a differential.... possibly?

I have read no less than 4 articles in financial periodicals, predicting $200 a barrel oil, which will lead to $8-$10 a gallon Regular Gas.

Most of us have seen the EV line-ups of new vehicles to be released in the next 2-5 years from Ford, Chevy, Dodge, VW, Mercedes, BMW, etc.... If you look closely at advertising line-ups, they aren't even touting a single combustion engine vehicle.

What are your predictions and thoughts regarding your personal vehicle situation in the coming years? I know there is a contingent here that takes the stance they will die in there gas guzzling combustion engine rig..... But will you be able to afford $10 a gallon gas, even if you stick to your guns?

What you think....???? Is BITOG quickly on its way to being a dead forum, because everyone will be in an EV in 5 years?

Oh... and don't forget, you will probably be 'influenced' into an electric lawn mower, electric trimmer, electric chain saw, electric motorcycle, etc.....

Personally, I think it is an intentional strategy to force everyone into EV's, but let's be careful here and stay away from ..... ie. totally avoid a political debate.

There will be an eBitog.

 

[dwasifar]

Ev's give our precious taxman the luxury of reaching further into our pockets. When ev's are in full bloom energy consumption and usage will be monitored with extreme precision we will be taxed on mileage driven, charge time and frequency of charges. And best of all go ahead dont pay your taxes I betcha they'll shut you down like a go kart park.

Right, because there's no tax on gasoline now.

 

[PandaBear]

If anything it would be because the GenX and Boomers die off and the newer generation likes to gather in a different kind of car forums than this one. It would not be because of EV.

 

[Schandyman]

You pay fuel tax riding a bus.

 

[Rmay635703]

I think this site is safe, EV's aren't ready for prime time yet even if the powers that be think so

Only about 3% of the population participates in traditional web forums.

So sites like this are dinosaurs

Quite unfortunate given what has replaced forums are completely useless

 

[ecotourist]

EVs are a great car in at least one niche - local use and reasonable length commutes. You can charge an EV for pennies on the dollar in your own garage and there is (seemingly) much less maintenance required. I don't know how any other type of vehicle can compete in that niche.

But can EVs do everything? Maybe, but maybe not. As much as I like EVs (I own a Tesla Model 3) there are definitely places where a conventional power train seems more logical.

Now if the auto makers would only offer what many of us would like to buy. I'd like to buy a brand new 2000 BMW 528i (a 530i would be okay too) M-Sport, 5 speed manual with a real spare tire on an alloy rim, that has a dipstick for motor oil. I got well over 30 MPG (Imperial gallons) on mine. Offer them for $70,000 (Canadian) or less and they would sell. In fact I'd buy one today.

Instead they offer us technology we don't want, like irritating stop-start technology, electronic only oil level monitoring, unreliable CVT transmissions, tiny engines with all sorts of new problems .... and I'm only getting started.

I think ICE vehicles will be around for a long time. You only have to look to Cuba. They're still running '50's iron as their daily drivers.

 

[sk_pete]

What you think....???? Is BITOG quickly on its way to being a dead forum, because everyone will be in an EV in 5 years?

people need to adjust to market trends, time to learn something new, like dielectric cooling fluids.
but bearing grease & gear oil ain´t going anywhere soon.

 

[Oillover]

I think this site is safe, EV's aren't ready for prime time yet even if the powers that be think so

+1
We may by the minority in this thinking, but despite the high cost of gas, I don't see the demand going away.
Considering the electric car hasn't really evolved at all in the last 50 years (from a video I posted a while ago), it's still too inconvenient to fuel etc.

The way I see it, EV's today are about as popular as diesel cars in the early 80's.
Everyone thought they were the greatest thing since sliced bread, until they weren't.

 

[SeaJay]

I predict we will be discussing how we need to change the magnets in the electric motors every 12 months, and what kind of high end magnets will be best.