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Biden’s plan to wipe out gas vehicles suffering crushing backlash

Biden’s plan to wipe out gas vehicles suffering crushing backlash

You cannot fault the guy for trying.  Nothing in President Biden’s political agenda has gotten more push from him than his plan to clear the roads of gas vehicles.  He is driven by a belief that dinosaurs – or at least their remains – are an existential threat to humans.

To pursue his agenda, Biden has cut the production of oil to force the conversation by running up gas prices – including shutting down the Keystone Pipeline.  He is using massive amounts of taxpayer money to subsidize manufacturing of all-electric vehicles – and offering huge rebates to purchasers of electric cars.

Biden sells his all-electric program as the only way to stop humanity from going extinct on a planet he foresees to be hotter than Death Valley at high noon.

The problem is that despite all his efforts, the consuming public is not buying it – neither electric cars nor Biden’s Draconian sales pitch.  All electric vehicles currently represent just under 6 percent of the American car market.  That is very bad news for Ford, GM and Rivian.  Combined they comprise only 17.4 percent of the American market.  Elon Musk’s Tesla brand has 60 percent.

If you look at it in terms of numbers, Tesla sold more than 155,000 electric cars in the First Quarter of 2023.  GM sold 19,000 … Rivian 11,000 … and Ford 13,000. 

Also, Ford announced that it is cutting back on the size and production numbers of their new plant in Marshall, Michigan due to low demand and higher costs.  The Company is reducing its investment by $1.7 billion … cutting the production by 40 percent … and cutting employment by 1700 jobs.  Ford is also cutting $12 billion dollars in other electric vehicle investments – including a proposed battery plant in Kentucky.

In terms of Tesla, Biden appears to have put politics over his own electrification program.  He does not like Elon Musk.  In fact, when Biden invited the major electric vehicle manufactures to the White House for a publicity event, he did not invite Musk – America’s number one electric vehicle manufacturer.   Apparently, the problem stems from Musk’s more conservative philosophy and the fact that his cars are manufactured in non-union factories.

Biden crafted the tax credits in his misnamed Inflation Reduction Act to cut out Tesla.  There is a $7500 per vehicle tax credit for all manufacturers and a bonus of $4000 for vehicles produced in union shops.  That includes all American manufactures – except Tesla.  If that has cut into Tesla sales, it is hard to see evidence if it.

Just recently more than 3,800 car dealers from every state – and representing every brand – issued an open letter to Biden expressing their opposition to regulations mandating the production and distribution of electric vehicles.  They said that they are having trouble selling them because of lack of infrastructure, ineffective incentives and little consumer demand.  They said that “consumers are not ready” for electric vehicles. 

The dealers urged Biden to adopt more flexible regulations – meaning scraping a lot of them – and taking a more “market-driven” approach.  This is the classic issue between free-market conservative and progressive governance by imposed regulations and market manipulating tax incentives.

While Biden and the United Auto Workers leadership are patting each other on the back over the strike settlement.  However, the folks working on the line are fully aware of the fact that all electric vehicles require less production.  The conversion will cost jobs – lots of jobs.

It would now appear that Biden’s hope of replacing gas cars with electric by 2050 is going to be dashed.  It is unlikely that gas cars will be completely replaced by 2070 … 2080.

There will come a time when we transition away from fossil fuel for cars – and almost everything else.  That is more likely to happen when Mother Earth starts to run out of fossil fuel, rather than any forced government program.   But that is a looong way off.  Reports of the extinction of the gas guzzling dinosaurs that dominate the earth today is premature.

So, there ‘tis.

About The Author

Larry Horist

So,there‘tis… The opinions, perspectives and analyses of Larry Horist Larry Horist is a businessman, conservative writer and political strategist with an extensive background in economics and public policy. Clients of his consulting firm have included such conservative icons as Steve Forbes and Milton Friedman. He has served as a consultant to the Nixon White House and travelled the country as a spokesman for President Reagan’s economic reforms. He has testified as an expert witness before numerous legislative bodies, including the U. S. Congress. Horist has lectured and taught courses at numerous colleges and universities, including Harvard, Northwestern, DePaul universities, Hope College and his alma mater, Knox College. He has been a guest on hundreds of public affairs talk shows, and hosted his own program, “Chicago In Sight,” on WIND radio. Horist was a one-time candidate for mayor of Chicago and served as Executive Director of the City Club of Chicago, where he led a successful two-year campaign to save the historic Chicago Theatre from the wrecking ball. An award-winning debater, his insightful and sometimes controversial commentaries appear frequently on the editorial pages of newspapers across the nation. He is praised by readers for his style, substance and sense of humor. According to one reader, Horist is the “new Charles Krauthammer.” He is actively semi-retired in Boca Raton, Florida where he devotes his time to writing. So, there ‘tis is Horist’s signature sign off.

26 Comments

  1. Jim lucas

    What a moron. Same for Biden’s supporters Don’t know? Read Frank’s posts

  2. frank Stetson

    “To pursue his agenda, Biden has cut the production of oil to force the conversation by running up gas prices – including shutting down the Keystone Pipeline. ”

    American production recently hit an all-time high. HIGHER than under TRUMP’s previous peak in 2019.

    BUSTED

    I keep telling you, check your facts —- there’s only one or two, how hard could it be?

    • Jim lucas

      Liar!!!!!

      • frank Stetson

        well, slap my face and call me silly, I must have made a mistake the JIM LUCAS caught.
        oh my, why oh why am I hearing Joplin’s “cry, cry, BABY……” take it jimmy baby…..

        *https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/us-oil-output-hits-record-producers-boost-drilling-efficiency-kemp-2023-11-01/*

        Everyone is reporting it. They are all probably lying and there is no oil at all. Or it’s all Russian. I read it in NEWSMAX. Nope, it looks like more oil than ever by the US. YEAH — go US. All this and solar too. Although Horist, like his dictator Don, keeps yelling “drill, baby, drill.” Biden — slow, steady, focused, humble…….

        remains: BUSTED

        Lucas —- wow — can’t bust. Mom said help the handicapped.

        • Jim lucas

          Busted by leftist propaganda? I don’t think so.

      • LMB

        I live in Texas, and the state oil and gas production is exceeding previous numbers! We have a chit load of refiners and regular gasoline in below $3.00/gal. So jimmy, your poop-poop claim is full of it!

  3. Frank stetson

    Lucas: can you really be this naive or just incompetent?

    Reuters.
    UK
    Rate: least biased
    Fact check: most trustworthy

    You can find these facts everywhere. The oil companies confirm.

    Keep living the dream. Be sure to make your financial decisions using same datasets. Gonna be a grand retirement for you.

  4. LMB

    Poor Jimmy is living in his mother’s basement playing video games, watching CNN and coming out once a week to shower! Listed as one of the less than 83 IQ!!

    • Jim lucas

      CNN? Who watches that shit?

  5. Darren

    So if OIL production is at an all time high, then it must be Biden Gouging the people of this country
    with high Gas Prices?
    I would bet 2 cents a gallon of gas pumped are going to ANOTHER secret bank account!
    Or did they set this account up in Trumps name?

  6. KIRK AUGUSTIN

    Obviously battery powered cars make no sense because batteries are very heavy, expensive, short lived, limited in capacity, and inefficient.
    An ICE vehicle that gets 29 mpg produces no more emissions than a battery EV if it recharges by plugging in.

  7. Frank stetson

    While building an ev puts off a lot of pollution, driving is less so the crossover where evs start contributing less at about 15k miles. You can look up ev vs ice pollution to validate.

    It also looks like the maintenance profile may be less too. Batteries last tween 10-20 years.

    • Tom

      I would like to read what you have referenced. Do you have a specific link that you read? Also, my battery lasted 10 years and three months, and cost $2100 to fix. All I did was take that gas savings and give it to the technician and battery man. I did not get any of it! LOL By the way, if those batteries are not driven daily they develop little gas bubbles in the sealed battery which is what causes them to go bad. Running them daily diffuses the gas back into the battery is what I was told by the hybrid specialist repairing my car. He advised me to run it daily. And in NC that 15k is meaningless because they are charging their EV’s from a power grid powered by six coal fire power stations which will not be replaced until after 2035 according to the Duke Power Plan. So all EV’s are doing is trading the consumer tailpipe for power plant smoke stacks. And there is no increase in their plan for power from wind, solar, or hydro – its flat through 2035.

      • frank Stetson

        ahem: ” You can look up ev vs ice pollution to validate.”

        *https://www.google.com/search?q=ev+vs+ice+pollution&rlz=1C1VDKB_enUS1087US1087&oq=ev+vs+ice+pollution&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQABiABDIICAIQABgWGB4yDQgDEAAYhgMYgAQYigUyDQgEEAAYhgMYgAQYigUyDQgFEAAYhgMYgAQYigUyDQgGEAAYhgMYgAQYigXSAQg0NTg5ajBqN6gCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8*

        *https://qz.com/electric-vehicles-cleaner-battery-mining-1850129845*

        ahem :>)

        I’m sorry about your battery, 8-12 estimated so you hit the average at least. Hopefully were ready for it knowing it was coming. Hopefully you did not buy insurance cuz it lived too long for that. I would have to do the math but I would probably replace; I have no issues, low mileage, etc. And I can pay off $2,100 in under a year.

        In regard to your State’s brilliant energy plan to focus on coal, yes, it would be harder for you to prove in than other regions. And, of course, you factored in the 10%+ portion of your energy produced by alternative sources, the 42Gw nuclear hours as the 4th highest nuclear energy producer. Point taken though, you use way too much and a lot of coal. Yet your replacement path is set and it ain’t more coal. You have 33,000 charging stations which is about 10% less than average.

        So, what I do is look at the price, incentives, tax breaks, etc. against fuel costs, maintenance costs including catastrophic battery loss, etc. The thing is, given enough time there will be a breakeven on extra price and a payback on total investment — but breakeven is important and I always target a year or less which could be tough. Green be damned, I still run the numbers to be ROI positive. And it I leave a cleaner footprint, yippeee.

        You’re points are interesting but it’s pretty apparent that these cars cost less to operate and will provide profit over current technology. Hey, I plan on gas for decades because I like it. I may get a ev truck but I will be keeping my quarter-century all-steel V-8 350hp triton MF-er yuge engine, 12mpg, 4-inched tailpipe, road raley set-up FORD (fuck off redneck dicks). It’s just that beyond fun, I am pretty sure, even with government incentives to help keep prices higher, the lower operating costs will return a positive ROI in a reasonable period.

        NC ev sales up 54% in 2022. In the first six months of 23, nc ev registrations up 55%. Still behind the governor’s goal which I guess is slang for “as an independent voter, this guy’s a shit….” :>) just kidding, but guessing he’s not you guy. Fact is Tom that unless you’re the guy with the funny hat and scarf in the MG MGA with the top down in fall, you will drive an ev before you sprout wings. It’s just the timing to be determined. Use the math, Luke. Use the math.

        May the math be with you, always Tom.
        Love, Doug.

  8. Wes

    Battery parts are dug for by slave labor in China. Electric problems are being reported. Electric vehicles are being rejected by some auto makers because they say they are inefficient, expensive. Maybe some good is coming from EV. I look at it as our electric grid is in need of fixing. Why put more stress on something that is vulnerable. Blackouts are still likely according to experts. Wind mills are also being questioned. Not a lot of energy put out to what we use. We can go back and forth all day. Most people like their gas vehicles. China sure looks like they really care about the planet. For the government to just stop using fuel, is insanity. The elites, climate cultists, do not see common sense. Globalists, WEF, WHO, CDC want the same one government rule in the whole world. See it pushed in Mainstream media with the one way thinking people. Forced the vaccines, closed schools for two years, destroyed small businesses, and no one in the Biden administration or military leadership has taken irresponsibility, or no responsibility, for any bad policies, ignorance, and darn right lies. This is the Democrat, Socialist, Marxist, Communist agenda. The evidence speaks for itself. Democrats love to blame Trump, the Republican Party, Russia, the climate. No. Biden and his administration signed the bills to allow mass illegal immigration. Drug cartels, sex traffickers, and the real insurrectionists(BLM and Antifa), and criminals that are being let out of jail with no cash bail, or bail paid for by our own government. Teachers Unions and School Boards targeting parents for wanting to know what their children are being taught. CRT is racist. Porn in libraries. Math, reading, writing, mechanics, wood shop, drafting class, and cooking class. These help people to be independent. Not dependent on the Big Government corruption. Wake-up. Certain incidents are immediately called racism, before the facts. Even after the facts. The two individuals, one good, one bad, are considered racist if the good guy arrests the bad guy. Black is arrested by white Police Officer, regardless of circumstances, is racist. Selective news. Why isn’t a black police officer arresting a white person not racist? Black guy pushed an elderly white woman in front of a train. Not much news on that. Mainstream media are the ones that are acting racist. Or anything that involves someone supporting Trump are considered a threat to Democracy. Lied about January 6. FBI and DOJ are obviously compromised. The First News and NEWSMAX are the only ones actually showing all the January 6 events. IMPRIMIS and The Verdict newsletters are also accurate. Took another speaker to actually get the full tapes. The January 6 Committee sure wouldn’t. Like Hillary’s emails and phone calls, January 6 Committee destroyed their tapes. Capitol Police Chief admitted Pelosi ignored requests for National Guard. Then after the incident, had fence and troops sleeping on concrete in parking garages. Derek Chauvin was arrested out of four police officers. The coroner said Floyd died because of heart problems and fentanyl. Hold was on upper shoulder. But the Mainstream media and Black Caucus, with the ever so famous Al Sharpton, ignored that. Justice was the word. Right. Yet Derek Chauvin is still in jail. Wake-Up. Someone took the procedure pages taught by the Police out of the manual. After the trial, put back in the book. George Floyd, according to coroner, died from weak heart and fentanyl. The system is messed up. This is all tied into the One World Order. I suggest every American read “The Radical Mind.” Point by point accuracy. Schools and colleges being run by some of these radicals. Hate speech accepted. Propaganda not facts. I know most people have already reviewed the tapes on Biden in the past. The tapes and phone calls excepting bribes. But also years ago, he had many questionable remarks and positions. Obama is also tied to some of this. The book exposes this. Not opinion. Facts shown. Good versus evil. God over the devil. Faith over fear. Do your research.

  9. Tom

    At present, according to Google, there are approximately 284 million cars on the road, of all these cars, about 1.7 million are EV. That means EV’s represent 0.598% or less than 1% of all cars on the road. And sales of EVs are way down. Gas prices are up more than 60%. So there is more at play here than just Biden’s EV policy. Truth is, I doubt that his government EV policies matter all that much. Yes, Biden’s war on oil has had some effect, but much of that effect was the first year of his term. Now, three years into his term, the war on oil has backfired and oil stocks are up, production is up but prices at the pump have not dropped correspondingly. So it is common sense that there is more at play here than Biden’s policies.

    The price of a barrel is a global issue. Oil is priced globally and many factors contribute to price. Supply and demand does much to affect oil prices, and the supply in the USA is up. But OPEC+ nations cutting production has countered the normal effect that increased US supply would have on a barrel of oil. Geopolitical unrest such as the War in Ukraine has cut oil supply 12% and driven prices up. China increased use of oil has lessened world supply and driven prices up. Overall world consumption of oil is up while production by OPEC+ is down, and now they are looking to cut again to keep the ppb higher. OPEC members controlled about 72% of global crude oil reserves in 2021. As of 2023, they accounted for 40% of the world’s crude oil production and 60% of petroleum traded. Now the Middle East Israel and Hamas war is a driver of higher ppb prices. US oil companies shipping oil overseas where they can make more money per gallon of gas has affected prices at the pump. Biden can no longer use releases from the the Strategic Petro Reserve SPR, which I call Biden’s Strategic Political Reserve) to mitigate the effects of his policy at the pump so prices are staying higher. The economy has been roaring which increased demand for fuels for auto, buses, trains, power plants, planes, etc. which have helped to consume the world supply and keep prices higher. Social unrest increases ppb. Natural disasters affect oil production and refining plants which in turn affects ppb.

    So basically, anything with the potential to affect supply and demand also has the potential to impact oil prices and run up gas prices. That means the economy, politics, social unrest, financial markets, and even natural disasters can all play a role in running up the price per gallon at the pump. Biden has probably had t he smallest role to play in all of this.

    And as far as Biden’s EV policy and plans, good. I do not like government picking winners and losers, nor do I like government favoring union cars over non-union cars. We are supposed to be a free market economy where the consumer decides by voting with their dollars who should be the winners and losers. The government is censoring articles on the down side of EV ownership, I had two articles removed from the internet. But anyone who knows anything about the infrastructure in the USA already knew Biden’s plan would fail because our infrastructure is not ready for EV’s in the quantity Biden wants, and will not be until probably 2050. It should also be noted that the hype around reducing greenhouse gases by using EV cars was just that, hype. During the Covid shutdown, studies were done on greenhouse gases. Environmentalists were disappointed when they determined that during the shutdown and after of Covid, when few cars were on the road, greenhouse gases only dropped by 6%, and that is the figure they published! Where I live, within a 100 mile radius of my home are six coal fire power plants powering central NC. Yes the consumer may be able to brag that they are helping reduce emissions but this is a lie too because it takes more coal to produce more steam to run the turbines that make the electricity to power those EVs. So all that was accomplished was a shift from consumer tailpipe to power company smoke stacks!

    • frank Stetson

      Think we are disagreeing again Tom :>)

      First, yes, government picks winners and losers. There’s not much way around that. Second, sure, love a free market, but government serves a useful purpose in that to soften recessions, tamp down overheating, and incent certain behaviors that the people agree as appropriate and good. Marriage. Kids. Education. And sometimes new things, including industries, that the private market won’t do or is slow to do. The highway system. National Parks. Telephones. And now alternative energies.

      Your problem is you don’t agree and to the point where you are pulling some pretty shaky data. Like gas which Andy showed you the light.

      “And sales of EVs are way down,” a bandwagon effect that Tom has jumped on and added a “way down.” According to reports, inventory is up, investment has been cut, not stopped, and it is expected that sales will drop. Example is FORD cut it’s battery plant from $4B to $2B and the jobs by half too. But they are still investing $2B and there’s still about 2,000 new jobs after all the jobs building the factory are over. And that’s to bring batteries to American so we don’t have to buy them from China.

      “EV sales climb and are on track to be 9% of US new car purchases in 2023: Atlas Public Policy.”
      * https://www.utilitydive.com/news/electric-vehicles-EVs-new-car-sales-2023/700799/*

      “EV sales expected to hit new U.S. record in 2023—but Germany, China and Norway still lead the way”
      * https://fortune.com/2023/11/23/us-electric-vehicle-sales-2023-record/*

      So, everyone is saying that the inventory is building up due to slowing sales, although how much is due to rising production at the same time? They seem to be crying wolf before the storm, and while a storm is probably coming, this year will still be good. And NEXT YEAR may be better for consumers because of it. Same with the FORD plant, yeah they are downsizing, but was it too big to begin with? FORD also notes that the plant is still a $2B investment and they continue to add massive investment to ev development. Why? One reason is to remain competitive with other producers. Another is that it just makes dollars and sense.

      “EV sales jumped 50 percent in Q3—which brands are celebrating?”
      *https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/10/tesla-is-losing-market-share-as-ev-adoption-grows-and-prices-fall/*

      My point is that the EV market is new, it will not be smooth, nor always skyrocketing. As Horist has noted, it’s not even an established market. Yet even in slowdown, 2023 will be a banner year as the US begins to catch up with Germany, China, and Norway who are ahead of us for adoption.

      Same thing has happened in solar a number of times. Obama kick-started it, Trump killed it, Biden re-energized it and now Texas has the biggest build-out of all states. Black gold Texas has seen the light!!! Could Horist be next? You would think he would be screaming to make Florida number one in the Sun.

    • frank Stetson

      Andy —- and inflation is at 3%, unemployment down to 3.7%, wages up over 4% —- still looking like a soft landing recession. Amazing stroke of luck for the Fed.

      This keeps moving this way and Biden may have a chance, come Spring, and the court is in full bloom Trump.

      • Tom

        Yes, come spring, Trump will dominate news again. Ugh…… I hope it is a soft landing.

  10. spaceman Spiff

    I agree with the basics of this article because the roots of it are essentially correct. But as usual, the writer hasn’t touched on the most important of facts concerning a crossover between fossil fuels and renewables. Any guesses? TECHNOLOGY!!!!
    The real problem with switching over is that those who are pushing it don’t stop to think that such a step will require a lot of new infrastructure to take care of the new vehicles and other such contrivances. Charging stations need to be all over the place and available for the average person who needs to get back home that 250 miles while his battery is depleted. Oh, that technology will ultimately come, but as of now we don’t have it. And you CAN’T declare that by such and such date, the required technology will be designed and in place. This I know from personal experience. I spent 40+ years as a practicing Civil Engineer and know from that experience that you can’t tell us exactly when something is going to be ready for general use. Engineers, scientists, designers, and researchers simply CAN NOT go in to work one day and declare, “Today I will be brilliant and come up with the seminal Idea or Concept that will solve the problem.” It just doesn’t work that way. I know because I’ve been through it. During my working life, I had days where I’d sit at my work station for an hour or more before I could get started on what I was working on. Time is often needed to line up your thoughts and focus on the objective. On the other hand, I had days when all of a sudden I’d get the inspiration at times simply out of nowhere and the answer would become suddenly clear. THAT is the way things actually work. YES, the answers and the technology will ultimately come. But you can’t tell the designers and researchers WHEN it will happen. You can have goals to get it done by a particular year or whatever, but to promise it and hold people accountable if they don’t come up with the answer is terribly counterproductive.
    I’m all for weaning us off of fossil fuels. But with most good things, it is going to take time. The costs will be astronomical. To the average consumer it will be a problem because of the cost of the electric vehicles which are reliable and efficient. And as with all major steps forward in technology, there will be a debugging period in which things will go wrong with the new stuff and those little irritating glitches will have to be worked out as they come up. You simply cannot design such a complex new technology perfectly on the first go around.
    As for power sources… We screwed the pooch on that one. Nuclear is the best way to go. Clean, non-polluting, efficient, and NOT DANGEROUS if built right. How many nuclear accidents have there actually been? TWO! NOT 3-Mile Island because that was an INCIDENT with very little radiation leakage. The safety systems worked like they should. Fukushima could have been avoided had emergency generators been a few meters higher in elevation. But they had the most powerful earthquake in 1200 years to foil good planning. It happens.
    I’m proud to be an Oklahoman. We have nearly a quarter of our power needs supplied by wind and solar. I drove by a new solar farm covering several acres about 15 west of Ada, OK just before Thanksgiving. Hoo-Rah!
    So, Frank and Co. should take a few and think it out and not listen to those who have no clue, but rather an agenda. As usual, I champion the engineers, designers and researchers. They’ll come up with the answers. Just stop hassling them….

    • larry Horist

      Spaceman Spiff .. other than your unwarranted snide “as usual” comment, I fully agree with your report on infrastructure. However your claim that “the writer hasn’t touched on the most important of facts” — involving infrastructure is just wrong. I touched upon it in the report of the letter from the dealers. “They (the dealers) said that they are having trouble selling them because of lack of infrastructure …” The commentary was to cover the impact on EV sales for all the reasons. Not to drill down on any one of them. I guess you missed it. Should I say, “as usual.” Just kidding. I liked your elaboration on that one point,

  11. frank Stetson

    There seems to be some politics at the forefront of the conclusions. Horist seems to start by reading Biden’s mind when he says: “He is driven by a belief that dinosaurs – or at least their remains – are an existential threat to humans” which, while true about the threat, Horist has not a clue what Biden is driven by on this one. Maybe Joe just likes fresh air. Maybe he’s doing what his constituency wants.

    Then he waxes: “You cannot fault the guy for trying.” Ditto to you Mr. Horist.

    He has lots of numbers in this, thanks. There are somewhat confusing at times. He seems to have cherrypicked his numbers for typical Horistian partisan political spin support against Biden and those who desire less pollution, less climate change. Yes, we will face extinction if we proceed as we have been. IMO and many scientists. If not extinction, just massive change as we adapt to a new environment of climate change. We will need new crops to handle the new weather and some places that flourished will die, others will go under water. Florida is an easy target for rising waters causing land loss, but more important, more catastrophic flooding. Louisiana has already lost entire communities.

    I take that Horist numbers are the numbers, everyone is yelling slowdown based on increased inventory. Maybe it was to be expected, just had to slow down some time. However, there are other facts out there that Horist overlooks that paint a story of less gloom and doom, one where Democratic policy is indeed incenting a start-up industry that offers less pollution for the same miles driven as desired by a majority of voters who elected him. And that, in my book, is a great use of our pooled resources. I like it better than a WALL or child separation detention center or unwanted baby daycare…..

    Now to his facts: first, his blatant mistake on US oil production and Biden oil strategy. See above. I wonder if he, for once, will own up? So far, crickets and it’s a big miss.

    Second, I agree big Federal push, using Federal budget, for ev’s, solar, etc. with rebates, etc. Definite winners and losers and the picking of winners. Again, I like using pooled dollars for the common good, especially if targeting the middle class and below, especially if the benefit is cleaner air, water, etc. SO, cool, do the math, see if it makes sense. You don’t need politics, you don’t need climate change advocacy, just look to see if you can get a good deal. There appears to be a sales slow-down, yet the numbers don’t seem to be the total sky is falling, gloom and doom that Horist portrays. And, as I keep saying, look at all the programs, your benefits, and can you reach a reasonable break-even and ROI for your investment.

    There is no doubt you will drive an ev someday, the only question is the day.

    “The problem is that despite all his efforts, the consuming public is not buying it – neither electric cars nor Biden’s Draconian sales pitch.” And then his numbers…. And now, some of mine:

    From Fortune:

    “The auto industry consulting firm says EVs accounted for 7.5% of total U.S. sales through November.

    “Ford Motor Co. recently touted a 43% increase in electric vehicle sales year-over-year — which includes its top-selling electric Mustang Mach E SUV, as well as the F-150 Lightning pickup — in a November sales release. Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 and the Kia EV6, both electric SUVs, each hit around 100% growth year-over-year last month.”

    Yes, the growth is slower than last year, yes, as FORD says: “Ford has sold just under 36,000 Mach Es through November, only a 3.5% increase over the same period last year. The company’s inventory of Mach Es has been growing much of the year. It had more than 24,000 at or en route to dealers at the end of last month, even though it has been cutting production for the past two months. Yet, Lightning pickup sales of 20,365 are up almost 54%. “We have to manage supply with demand,” said Erich Merkle, Ford’s head of U.S. sales analysis. “We would do that with any product in our portfolio.”

    And there it is, a correction, not a collapse. We hope. Because with gas at $3 a gallon, TYJB (thank you, joe biden), the push to reduce driving costs lessens it’s intensity. At under $3, I start cursing my hybrid’s lack of power :>)

    Personally, financially, I am glad of the slow down since my target date was next year and I want a great deal before the kick-backs run out. I am also trying to get some more soak time to shake out problems, yet the services costs seem less, and based on design, rightfully so. I’ve had my last truck for a quarter century, so pretty sure I can ride a new one until my death…. I will probably keep the old truck still; I do like that v8.

    I have not done the math yet, but probably will post New Years to see if I can get a reasonable break-even out of it. I never turn down a good financial deal based on the politics of who is for and who is against. I just run the numbers. Remember, I am all for going green but personally want to see the green I make before investing. I am not a tree hugger by far, but I do know a buck when I see one. Trump’s tax cut, Bush SR’s HCRA, Obama’s energy incentives, I will look at each one and the ROI for using.

    I made a killing on my hybrids, driving off the lot at the same price of a gas model when a Prius cost like 10-15% more than a gas version, and with a future of 50% less for gas due to double-the-mileage. So I drove off the lot and started saving on day one. First one I got was so new it was built in Japan; the US factory was not established yet. The second was US. It paid for itself, I have saved $10K on that one so far. I gave the first one to my kid for graduation. The car sucks for power and handling, but I don’t commute, I do long distance with another car, so it suits my needs. Back then, people said the same things as Horist is about evs about hybrids. After doing the math, I invested, got the kick-backs including cash-for-clunkers on top (where I even kept my new tires which are on my old truck today), and, like I said —- pocketed $10K since.

    I like polluting less. I like a deal. I will not go green if it takes EXTRA green, but I will invest in green IF it makes me greener. I did that with my hybrids and hope to do it again with an EV truck, hope they have all-wheel. And since the market seems to be growing, perhaps a covid-interest rate-etc. slowdown will serve me well. Certainly, I don’t see anything that would deter me in this slowdown except Horist’s feelings. And those are partisan so I take them with that grain of salt. And if it gets me another 10% savings over time, I guess I can thank Mr. Biden and Mr. Horist can keep spending more for fouling the air more.

    • larry Horist

      Frank Stetson ….LOL… You are amazing. You seem to have trouble connecting dots. I usually look at your opening graph. If you are not in attack mode, I do not respond. I can assure you that I do not read your long repiritions nonsense. But I was taken by your criticism that I am reading Biden’s mind. This from a guy who does nothing be read my mind … claims to know what I think, how I feel … what drives my opinions my motivations … even my personality traits. Hell … You even have created an imaginary me with all the traits of your invention, You have made yourself the best example of that which you criticize. You are the poster child of projection and offering opinions without even a remote connection to facts and reality. And you are clueless as to what a fool you make of yourself with this childish obsession. I know you will knee jerk with your mantra that I did not react to the substance of you comments. First of all, I do not waste time reading all the crap you write and secondly, my opinion are in the commentary. Frank … take a closer look. You are getting pissier and less rational. But I still get a laugh from you … or is it at you?

      • Frank stetson

        He is driven by a belief would be your words Nope, no mind reading here. Yeah, right. Biden said that….

        Just look how long Horist’s defensive reply is.

        And yes, you are laughing at me, but the joke is on you and you.

  12. JPop

    If the rich wanna buy EV cars , knock yourselves out. This is America (at least for now).