Stranded in a Snow Storm FACT CHEK

[billiebob]

A Recent Op-Ed Suggests EVs are Ill Equipped to Handle a Winter Stranding. We Check the Facts

An opinion piece suggests you’ll freeze if stuck in an electric car in a blizzard for hours, while gasoline drivers won’t. Like a lot of anti-EV tropes, this one’s not backed up by facts.

www.caranddriver.com

 

[JaSAn]

I am shocked, shocked to find fake news in the Washington Post.

 

[2025 deleted member]

The Washington compost..lol

 

[eyemgh]

I gotta say, as one who owns both, there‘s some truth in both articles, irrespective of where they were published.

 

[mtnbike28]

FYI Op-Eds are just an opinion and not written by journalists... so no different from comments on a forum.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

FYI Op-Eds are just an opinion and not written by journalists... so no different from comments on a forum.

So 110% true unless it was written by one of the half dozen guys you can't stand?

 

[JaSAn]

FYI Op-Eds are just an opinion and not written by journalists... so no different from comments on a forum.

So, they just print anything they like without checking for truthfulness or accuracy.

 

[billiebob]

I gotta say, as one who owns both, there‘s some truth in both articles, irrespective of where they were published.

I'll go with this ^^^.
Most of the scare mongering about dying in a snow storm I kind of laugh at. Time will tell. This is new tech, the heat pump only recently replaced electric resistance heating. While the gas engine is at its peak according to VW who have quit R&D on fossil fueled engines and will quit F1 once their contracts run out..... the electric alternative is running the 100 yard hurdles and not missing a beat. As investing goes, gas is dead, anything electric seems to offer exponential, tho volatile growth. Remove the emotions..... gas is at its peak..... electricity is just starting.

 

[2025 deleted member]

I'll go with this ^^^.
Most of the scare mongering about dying in a snow storm I kind of laugh at. Time will tell. This is new tech, the heat pump only recently replaced electric resistance heating. While the gas engine is at its peak according to VW who have quit R&D on fossil fueled engines and will quit F1 once their contracts run out..... the electric alternative is running the 100 yard hurdles and not missing a beat. As investing goes, gas is dead, anything electric seems to offer exponential, tho volatile growth. Remove the emotions..... gas is at its peak..... electricity is just starting.

Just starting? You said it was the preferred choice of discerning ladies 100 years ago ?

 

[billiebob]

Just starting? You said it was the preferred choice of discerning ladies 100 years ago ?

well then we discovered cheap Texas/Alberta oil....... But yes, doctors and lawyers loved the instant start of the EV 100 years ago.
So yeah, gas is at its peak today..... tech investment in the EV is finally past the corporate hurdle which killed GMs EV1 25 years ago.
I know you are better read than this PlainJane.

This Souped-Up GM EV2 Can Go 400 miles on a Single Charge!

John Wayland is creating a new interpretation of the electric car - the EV2 - with parts from GM's discontinued EV1 inside a Honda Insight Hybrid shell which can go 400 miles in one charge.

inhabitat.com

 

[eyemgh]

I have a ‘21 Chevy Bolt and a ‘22 F350 (and a ’08 Silverado soon to be my son’s).

The Bolt, and I’m sure you could insert Tesla, Kona, VW, or any other EV here, is just about a perfect around town car. It’s reliable and economical. Even tough it represents close to the bottom of the barrel on price and quality for an EV, it has features that my $50+ XLT doesn’t, things like an auto-dimming rear view mirror, LED headlights, heated wheel and heated seats (I added the premium package to my Ford just to get heated seats).

Where it isn’t perfect is for longer trips. I’ve used it multiple times on journeys that require planning a rapid charge along the way. If it’s cold or hot, we have to intermittently cycle the heater or AC respectively to conserve range.

Then there’s the issue of charging infrastructure. We’ve yet to stop where every station was fully functional. Our usual northward stop is a Target. It has 7 stations. Last time, 5 were broken and the remaining two were occupied. It take 30 minutes to get back to 80%. Multiply that by however deep you are in the queue.

The truck, is quite nice. Money no object, it could have been even nicer had I opted for a higher trim level. It’s main issue is that it gets such poor fuel economy. Last I checked though there isn’t an EV with a 2 ton payload capacity.

From where I stand, EVs are unquestionably the future. They just aren’t ready for prime time yet. ICE vehicles are on the way out, but necessary to supplement the shortcomings of an EV. Having both is nice.

Parts of both articles are true from my lived experience. There may be some hyperbole in the Post article, but if snowmageddon or very cold weather are in the forecast, I’m in my truck every time.

 

[ITTOG]

FYI Op-Eds are just an opinion and not written by journalists... so no different from comments on a forum.

So, they just print anything they like without checking for truthfulness or accuracy.

Sounds just like journalists to me.

 

[eyemgh]

Sounds just like journalists to me.

Most journalists have degrees, are taught to seek all information, no matter of how it comports with their personal beliefs, and report what they determine is the “truth” regardless. To say that all journalists are equivalent to opinion piece writers is just a lazy cop out, to allow one to only read pieces that reinforce already held beliefs. Confirmation bias at its finest.

 

[2025 deleted member]

Most journalists have degrees, are taught to seek all information, no matter of how it comports with their personal beliefs, and report what they determine is the “truth” regardless. To say that all journalists are equivalent to opinion piece writers is just a lazy cop out, to allow one to only read pieces that reinforce already held beliefs. Confirmation bias at its finest.

What you speak of is a rarity in journalism these days- the indoctrination begins in the university. I can read a story by any journalist and pick up on their personal beliefs probably 80% of the time. We no longer “just the facts “ and I don’t care if it’s the left or the right. At least the right is more likely to admit they are an opionator and not a journalist.

 

[eyemgh]

What you speak of is a rarity in journalism these days- the indoctrination begins in the university. I can read a story by any journalist and pick up on their personal beliefs probably 80% of the time. We no longer “just the facts “ and I don’t care if it’s the left or the right. At least the right is more likely to admit they are an opionator and not a journalist.

It’s up to the reader to glean the truth. To offhandedly discard an outlet or profession just leads to epistemic closure and perpetual confirmation bias. It is why we are where we are. Too few understand nuance and critical thinking anymore.