Dearest readers, what do electric cars and Canadian highly informed common sense share? It turns out, a lot. I delayed writing on this topic because I could not decide until now whether or not to write about other more trending topics at this very moment. I finally decided on this topic because the entire North American societal landscape is trending in polarization and lack of common sense to the point many of us are becoming concerned with the path that lies ahead in 2021. To me, currently the best way to discuss common sense- the highly informed kind- is to talk about electric cars in Canada.
Sounds weird? It may not be. Follow along and you be the judge.
Electric cars are a great topic over which people get polarized and often abandon common sense. On the one hand we have environment-first wide-eyed optimists (the same kind that teased us with hoverboards in Back to the Future, only for the world to fail miserably at delivering them to our stores at the prophesized time haha) who say that we need as many of these cars to replace gasoline and diesel based cars and fast in order to save the environment and that the government should subsidize incentives for them to make them cheaper etc. On the other hand, we have naysayers who dislike the short range (which is improving overall), charging time, lack of charging stations and, in case of Tesla, structural problems and failures that happen with their cars noticeably often.
Now, what does highly informed common sense tell us about it? Let us look at some Canadian numbers:
This, dearest readers, is highly informed common sense. It may not be the only angle, there may be even better interpretations of the sources I used- or better sources- but it is better than wide-eyed optimism and partisan bickering on this or any other topic. What do you think?
Sounds weird? It may not be. Follow along and you be the judge.
Electric cars are a great topic over which people get polarized and often abandon common sense. On the one hand we have environment-first wide-eyed optimists (the same kind that teased us with hoverboards in Back to the Future, only for the world to fail miserably at delivering them to our stores at the prophesized time haha) who say that we need as many of these cars to replace gasoline and diesel based cars and fast in order to save the environment and that the government should subsidize incentives for them to make them cheaper etc. On the other hand, we have naysayers who dislike the short range (which is improving overall), charging time, lack of charging stations and, in case of Tesla, structural problems and failures that happen with their cars noticeably often.
Now, what does highly informed common sense tell us about it? Let us look at some Canadian numbers:
- The MEDIAN cost of all new vehicles is currently around $39,075.
- The MEDIAN cost of all pre-owned vehicles is currently around $17,995.
- There are no subsidies on gasoline or diesel vehicles, and eventually there will be none for electric ones either- well before the majority of people even switch to electric.
- Hyundai Ioniq: 274KM or so on a single charge, $41,449 without rebates.
- Volkswagen e-Golf: (only) 198KM on a single charge, $37,890 without rebates.
- Nissan Leaf: 243KM on a single charge, $44,298 without rebates.
- Chevrolet Bolt: 473KM on a single charge, $45,000 without rebates.
- A decent spec Tesla is more than any of these, as Tesla base models are not worth it.
This, dearest readers, is highly informed common sense. It may not be the only angle, there may be even better interpretations of the sources I used- or better sources- but it is better than wide-eyed optimism and partisan bickering on this or any other topic. What do you think?