Oddbean new post about login | logout Putting aside energy source and metal mining, I think his contribution to electric motor vehicles is a net positive for transportation technology advancement. Traction control and low center of gravity safety aspects are much better than ICE cars. Obviously it does not have to be the only passenger car drivetrain type like the dumbass regulators are saying. Could you agree with that point in isolation? Or maybe you have a perspective that greater negative aspects outweigh those positive ones?
I think the negatives outweigh the positives. The whole EV industry is not sustainable without government subsidies. And when money is being wasted on unsustainable projects, opportunities for improvement in other industries (like ICE technology) is stifled. We’ve had EVs before and they failed because gas powered cars are just better. Those safety features can be integrated into gas fueled cars too. EV cars are unaffordable without those subsidies and pretty useless in harsh cold environments because the battery degrades. Green tech is just a scam.
Mostly fair points. I agree full EVs are dumb overall. We should’ve scaled plug-in hybrids if we wanted to market-test the new tech. Regarding integration of safety features, ICE cars would need a large counterweight along the bottom of the frame to compete with the dense battery “skateboard” that full EVs benefit from. Which would raise the total curb weight to inefficient levels. (Unless the whole engine and transmission was somehow overhauled to be flatter and lower). Also, torque vectoring traction control via gearing and differentials from ICE cars cannot come close to performance of single-wheel-dedicated electric motor traction systems. They can react in milliseconds and have max torque immediately. So ICE cars could definitely benefit from a hybridized evolution via these small wheel motors that have advanced from EV market forces. A lot under the “green tech” umbrella is a scam but there’s some hidden gems. Pls lmk if I’m being annoying with these Ackshually-type responses 😅 just intending to add nuanced perspectives.