Rethinking Friday’s posting raised thoughts that continually referring to the Biden administration as “stupid” was perhaps out-of-line, overly insulting or unnecessarily applied. Then, in compiling information for today, the word coming to mind most often about presidential decisions made is “stupid.”
Memories too were sparked of Robert Gates, defense secretary for the Obama administration saying of Biden: “I think he has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.”
For today, another recollection regards the term “marketing myopia” coined by the late Harvard Business School marketing professor, Theodore Levitt who wrote in a 1960 article: “Marketing myopia strikes in when the short-term marketing goals are given more importance than the long-term goals. Some examples are: More focus on selling rather than building relationships with the customers. Predicting growth without conducting proper research. Mass production without knowing the demand.”
What Levitt was saying was that if, for example, had horse and buggy manufacturers understood and accepted the automobile as the wave of the future, instead of disparaging the competition they would have built the cars themselves and become titans of the future.
In the same vein, it doesn’t take much research to determine that due to the myopic approach taken by the administration, compounded by the limited intellectual capabilities of Progressives in Congress, handling of fossil fuel transition was incredibly inept to the point that “stupid” applies once again.
Primarily because at present, viable alternatives for fossil fuels don’t even exist. Neither in price nor availability. Nonetheless, in irrational hatred and as a show of newly given power, fossil fuel was slated for elimination in any way possible. Prohibitive pricing became the first step taken.
Had any thought or analysis been applied whatsoever, it would have been realized that in 2020 only 6% of new car sales were electric out of over 3.4 million cars sold in total. Meaning that somehow or other, 3,196,000 gas-powered auto buyers would have had to have been accommodated some other way. Yet, that “other way” didn’t even exist at the time.
While sales of new light-duty plug-in electric vehicles, including all-electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), nearly doubled from 308,000, the total wasn’t even a drop in the bucket against the total volume of vehicles sold.
And then there’s the issue of price. “The average transaction price for an electric vehicle (EV) is $56,437, according to Kelley Blue Book — roughly $10,000 higher than the overall industry average of $46,329 that includes gas and EVs.” Which means that pricewise an EV is equivalent to an entry-level luxury car.
Electric cars also tend to cost more to insure than comparable gasoline or diesel fueled. Because large batteries are expensive to replace if the car is damaged.
What happens if an electric car runs out of charge?
If you're driving an electric car and it runs out of power, the short and simple answer is: the car will stop—and you'll need to call roadside assistance to get towed to the nearest charging station. Distance-wise, “the median range of new EV models sold in the United States decreased for the 2021 model year, according to the EPA. For the 2021 model year, the median range for EVs was 234 miles, compared to 259 miles for the 2020 model year.”
Mechanically, according to J.D. Power, Tesla vehicles had an average of 176 mechanical faults per 100, compared to 121 for the industry. Tesla ranked 30th out of 33 brands featured in a J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Survey released January 13, 2022.
Then, when repair is required, Tesla vehicles are quite expensive to fix. According to RepairPal, "the average yearly Tesla maintenance cost is about $832. The average among all car brands was a much lower $652 per year. Also having the third-worst reliability score among all automakers as of April 16, 2022."
Higher price tags and more complex equipment means it also may cost more to repair or replace electric vehicles if they’re in an accident. It can also mean higher rates for comprehensive and collision insurance coverage.
Despite higher costs of purchase, repair and replacement, for those desiring electric vehicles there still remains availability because not enough are manufactured. So, what about a used one?
On April 15, 2022, Aarian Marshall reported @www.wired.com: EV’s are “supposed to lose their value over time. This is why used cars are, generally, less expensive than new ones. But right now, everything is topsy-turvy. A toxic mix of pandemic-era supply shortages and inflation have spiked prices of used cars and trucks, which were up 35 percent in March compared to the same time last year, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. It’s not unusual for certain used luxury cars, like Porsches and Corvettes, to go for more than their original sticker prices, says Luke Walch, the owner of Green Eyed Motors, a dealership outside Boulder, Colorado, that specializes in electric and hybrid vehicles. Now, “it’s trickled down into the commoner’s car,” he says.”
Thus, affordability appears once again, this time because those unable to buy a new EV find that used vehicles cost even more than that, leaving them nowhere at all to turn for purchase.
What’s most remarkable about all this is that the preceding information regarding impossibilities of accommodating presidential and Progressive demands for the switching away from fossil fuel took a couple of hours to accumulate, readily available across the web. But either the information was ignored or never researched by them at all, in the balance costing everyday drivers of fossil-fuel powered vehicles billions of dollars and themselves hundreds of thousands of votes.
In summation, it seems Obama said it best regarding Biden as recorded in Business Insider by Thomas Colson on August 16, 2020: “Barack Obama has privately voiced doubts about the ability of Joe Biden, his former vice president, to beat President Donald Trump in the 2020 election, according to a new Politico report.
“The report says Obama told an unnamed Democrat during the 2020 primary campaign, in which he declined to endorse any candidate: "Don't underestimate Joe's ability to f--- things up."
That’s it for today folks
Adios
No comments:
Post a Comment