[StarvingLion]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dashster', 'O')ne of the keys to dealing with the "Limits to Growth" is dealing with the worst growth of all - population growth. At this point, the powers that be in the United States and their followers in the masses, still see population growth as part of the solution. This is problematic. I don't think that population growth will be seen as a problem until at least one, and probably two, of the fossil fuels peaks in production. But, if the pessimists are right, that isn't that far away.

[Logic]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('hvacman', 'T')his is a misleading headline and article. We at the peak oil forums should be very familiar with the now-common practice by MSM writers/editors of creating misleading headlines, articles, and/or conclusions by mixing up facts. One example is blending crude oil statistics with NGL's and then claiming very exaggerated US oil production levels. This is a similarly-manipulated article. Hybrid sales are off. SUV sales are up. More people are trading in their hybrids for other types of vehicles, including SUV's. Those are facts. But what isn't mentioned in the article is that EV sales are up even as gas prices drop, and the most common trade-in for a new EV is also a hybrid. This article, though, blends hybrid and EV sales and trade-ins as a single statistic, then uses "electric cars" in the headline, when it should have been "hybrids". This is lying through verbal and statistical mis-direction that only someone pretty savvy about the whole EV/hybrid scene would pick up.

Now more than ever, we must be ever-diligent in how we read articles.

[rockdoc123]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'L')umping hybrids and EVs together and then drawing conclusions about EVs is just plain wrong.

[hvacman]

rockdoc - two example quotes from the article:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', ' ')22 percent of people who have traded in their hybrids and EVs in 2015 bought a new SUV.

[rockdoc123]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'P')er InsideEVs.com, US sales for EV's and plug-in hybrids increased from 22,671 1st qtr 2014 to 23,339 1st qtr 2015. Per Automotive News, total US 1st qtr 2014 auto sales were 3.74 million, 1st qtr 2015 sales were 3.95 million. Therefore...

2014 EV/plug-in % =0.61%
2015 EV/plug-in sales % = 0.59%.

[hvacman]

I dunno - the decimal points look OK to me - but then it is Friday afternoon and I've probably already used up my weekly quota of quotients:)
22,671/3,740,000 = 0.0061 = 0.61%
23,339/3,950,000 = 0.0059 = 0.59%

[Logic]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('rockdoc123', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'L')umping hybrids and EVs together and then drawing conclusions about EVs is just plain wrong.

[Peak_Yeast]

I was rather sceptical about the electrical cars - due to the bad performance of batteries over time.

Today I can visit the second hand car sites and find a number of CHEAP electric cars with no working battery. They are only about 6 years old - but the manufacturers has gone bankrupt.

One example is a Think City car from 2009 - driven about 15000 KM. Dead battery. Price tag 5000$. New price 44000$.

Thats about a 90% loss in just 6 years.

I am actually tempted to buy one - just to fiddle with the batteries or hope that something better soon comes along

[Logic]

You can find lots of cars that dropped their transmissions in 6 years, it certainly isn't the norm though.
Volt owners have been unable to observe any loss of range over 4 years.
BEVs using Lithium do loose capacity each year, the amount is very small though.
Tesla Roadsters have typically lost about 1%-2%/year.
If you want to buy a clunker from a failed company (EV or ICE) you certainly can, there are plenty around.
I'll stick with the well made ones;)