On 17 Aug 2019 at 16:24, Lee Hart via EV wrote: > look at how fast EVs disappeared when the political winds changed [in > the early 2000s] ... The future for EVs in the USA is *far* from > certain!
And in the early 1980s, too. Ronald Reagan moved into the White House and one of his first actions was to have Jimmy Carter's rooftop solar panels torn off and junked. In the ensuing years, a great deal of EV research, especially on batteries, was abandoned before it could be commercialized. The scientists behind it were let go. They and their experience and knowledge scattered to the four winds, with some of them giving up on the EV world entirely. All we learn from history is that history repeats. I'm fairly confident that EV development and expansion will continue in China, and only a little less confident about Europe. The US -- who knows? Four EU nations have already said that they plan to reduce, restrict, or eliminate ICEVs in favor of EVs by 2025, 2030, or 2040. Meanwhile, China says they'll ban ICEVs too, but to my knowledge hasn't said when. GM and the other big automakers are salivating at the potential size of the Chinese vehicle market. There's a pretty good chance that if they want in, they're going to have to produce EVs, probably in partnership with Chinese EV manufacturers. You might think that means more EVs for the US, but don't bet on it. All of automakers worldwide have a long history of offering vehicles in other countries that they refuse to offer in the US. Head on down to your local VW or Toyota dealer and ask them if they'll sell you an Up or an Aygo. Go ahead, I'll wait. Nothing anywhere is certain, and the oil companies have a lot of money to spend on maintaining the status quo. If that includes undermining Tesla, it shouldn't surprise anyone. That's what big business does. But then there's that factory that Tesla wants to build in Shanghai. I haven't heard much about that lately; anyone know where it stands? David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA EVDL Administrator = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = EVDL Information: http://www.evdl.org/help/ = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Note: mail sent to "evpost" and "etpost" addresses will not reach me. To send a private message, please obtain my email address from the webpage http://www.evdl.org/help/ . = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
