Increase in Anti-EV Media Articles

I know there are unreliable petrol engines of course. My first car was a Morris Ital, and I got to rebuild the engine long before I knew what I was doing :-(

The car did teach me that Halfords torque wrenches were not to be trusted also.

I gather even the none turbo three cylinder engines are troublesome on some models. I think my car is 3 cylinder, but I only opened the bonnet twice at most since buying the car. We used to run petrol cars to around 180,000 miles after which they were swapped and became pool cars. None of the Mazdas made it to pool car stage, in fact they were the only deisel engined cars we had, most were variations on a Civic or Focus 1600 and petrol

I did a lot of miles, I never liked staying out if it was avoidable. Even here where there are not too many boring, plasticy Travelodge type places, I used to commute from near Clonakilty to Tralee daily.

The hotels are better than Britain for short notice three or four night stays, but after years of trying to avoid the places it was too late to change my habits.

My company in the UK were not happy with my antics, being concerned about looking bad if I wrote off a few families on the motorway I suppose, but they got used to it!

Can't say any of that sounds enticing.

Well you certainly got the hop over everyone else.

Scotland seems well covered for charging points.

Some people like being seen as Billy Big Bollix on the internet even though many of same type get upset if on the receiving end.

The comment that started this line of discussion was the inertia of the market to find a better deal.

The argument that's someone wants and can afford a 1200 iPhone on a 60 a month plan is a strawman argument. No one's arguing that someone with a 5.0 Mustang needs to buy a 10yr old leaf.

I have 5 years since I started driving electric and I passed a cumulative 150k km driven with no tailpipe. More that 2 years I drove free of charge, benefited from zero BIK, 75-50% toll reduction for good years. Driving 150k km on our petrol cars, would have costed approx 19k in fuel. Even at an overinflated price of 50c/kWh, would cost something like 12k in the EVs (the highest average consumption rate on my cars is less than 16kwh/100km). In reality I paid less than 4k. Then servicing would have been at least 10x oil changes some brake pads and probably one timing belt, not to mention 2xNCTs every year. There are other benefits like a more even usage. Before when we had 2XICE cars, I was driving mine and missus was driving hers leading to a 95/5% split usage. Now we drive whichever is more convenient for the particular journey. Having said all that, the costs were just one reason for changing to EVs but not the main one.

Back in 2019 people were incredulous that we're going to manage with the EVs. All the "you'll have nowhere to charge", "tyre particulates", "bring a fleece with you as the heater eats battery", "I have a friend with a flatbed" and EV fires were brought up at pub or at work as soon as people found out we drive electric. We're still getting the talk about poor charging network and what not. My stance however was never to hit back but to asses if the person in front of me is actually open to dialogue. If they start with all the rubbish monologues without listening to what I have to say as a person with professional experience and having driven both ICE and EV, I keep my mouth shut and move one. Plenty of others are open though and had lots of good discussion on the subject. I did drive tests with friends and acquaintances and even lent cars for weekends. While EVs can be perceived inferior from the range POV, they are superior in many other aspects like driving dynamics, comfort, running costs. They do require a change of mindset and that's not possible in every case just yet.

It's not even a good deal on Vodafone.

Throwing out or destroying iPhones after two years when they are still worth a fair bit, seems another poor financial decision. They don't seem fit for whatever ye do with them .

Yeah, I don't tend to engage with the negativity. 3 of my mates are anti EV - you would swear that an EV murdered their family. The irony is that one of the anti EV brigade had a diesel Merc spontaneously combust on a motorway and it went up in a fireball.

A couple of my mates would be cautious and last week I picked one of them up (I live around 100km away so I rarely see them) and within 10 minutes, he had seen the light. Another would like one, but he does a lot of fishing and tows his boat through muddy fields and tracks, so he felt it wouldn't be suitable due to the weight (he drives an A8 Quattro estate I think).

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when this shift occurred, but yes, much of this regression can be traced back to the current state of social media. About five or six years ago, when I logged onto my Instagram account, the content I encountered was closely aligned with my interests. Friends shared photos, and brands showcased interesting products. It all seamlessly fit into my life.

However, things have changed dramatically. Social media is now inundated with fake news, clickbait content, memes, and videos designed for quick laughs and reactions. As someone who values information and intelligent content, I find this shift disheartening. Inevitably, all this rubbish makes its way into workplaces, family dinners and chats around the table down the pub.

For the sake of humanity, I hope that platforms like Instagram and Tik-Tok will eventually fade away, much like Facebook did. Perhaps then, people will reconnect with each other, lifting their heads out of their phones and engaging in genuine interactions.

In the context of electric vehicles, I’ve also observed that many people tend to unquestioningly believe what they read online. Unfortunately, the internet is rife with fake news and clickbait content, making it challenging for individuals to discern between facts and fiction. However, there’s a silver lining: those who avoid excessive online exposure often maintain a more balanced perspective on EVs. Specifically, I’m referring to people who haven’t yet owned an EV.

If a prominent figure like Jeremy Clarkson were to publicly endorse EVs by purchasing one, it would likely influence a significant number of people—especially the more traditional demographic.