Friday Open Thread

25
  by: Colorado Pols December 10, 2021 at 7:07 AM MST

“Correction does much, but encouragement does more.”

–Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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25 Community Comments, Facebook Comments

  1. Conserv. Head Banger says:
    December 10, 2021 at 7:15 AM MST

    On December 10, 1941, Japanese warplanes sank the British battleship, Prince of Wales, and battle cruiser Repulse, off the coast of Malaya, north of Singapore.

    With these sinkings, the only undamaged Allied capital ships in the entire Pacific Ocean were the American aircraft carriers and the USS Colorado. The Colorado, the ninth battleship of the Pacific Fleet, was in dry dock, in Bremerton WA, for a few months of routine maintenance.

  2. ParkHill says:
    December 10, 2021 at 7:47 AM MST

    Good news on electric vehicle pricing.

    The price of electric vehicle batteries has been dropping quickly, due to technology improvements, but even more to economies of scale in manufacturing. This is a typical pattern, and shows why government investment in R&D, and subsidies to industries or early adopters pays off.

    Today, an electric car costs less than a gas car based on lifetime cost of ownership. This is because they have lower maintenance costs, and 100mpg equivalent. 

    By 2023 the retail price of an electric Camry will be at parity with its gas equivalent, and by 2025 it will be 25% lower.

    This year we’re seeing almost all the big car companies advertising electric – mostly in their high-end models. The conversion to electric will come extremely quickly in the next couple of years.

    The price of used gas hogs is going to collapse.

    • ajb says:
      December 10, 2021 at 8:57 AM MST

      I suspect that the growing pains in the EV market will moderate the growth. Range anxiety is still a thing and the charging infrastructure is nowhere ready for primetime. Crossing the west on highways other than the interstate system will remain a challenge for some time. If you're a fan of crossing Nevada on the blue highways, I think it'll be a while before you can confidently do that in an EV.

      If you need a work truck or a commuter, and you can charge at home, an EV will be the way to go. 

      • JohnInDenver says:
        December 10, 2021 at 9:09 AM MST

        As often as I drive Nevada on the blue highways, I could probably afford to have a Lyft driver take me.

        One other reality in Nevada …. anywhere wanting to be a "tourist spot" is going to put in a charger, hoping it is slow enough to encourage someone to step into the friendly confines of the casino.

      • ParkHill says:
        December 10, 2021 at 9:39 AM MST

        I believe that you can't cross the West in a petroleum vehicle without stopping to refuel.

        I agree that casinos will all have convenient charging stations as JID suggested.

        • harrydoby says:
          December 10, 2021 at 5:03 PM MST

          I'm eagerly anticipating the new 4680 batteries that should start appearing in Teslas (and possibly other brands) next year.  Not only are they lighter, offering even greater capacity, their major feature will be greater range and even faster charging times (10 to 15 minutes to go from 10% to 80% charge).

          Solid state battery technology is another 3-5 years out, but offer even greater cost, weight, range and charging speed improvements. 

          The biggest problem is that EV demand, especially with Build Back Better incentives, will far outstrip supply for the next year or two.

          But except for greedy dealers, the price drops enabled by this technology could lead to flat or even cheaper vehicle prices, which could mitigate two significant drivers currently of inflation (gasoline and used vehicles).

      • davebarnes says:
        December 10, 2021 at 9:54 AM MST

        "Crossing the west" is an edge case argument.
        Just stop.
        90% of the country (vis à vis population) has plenty of places to charge.
        Yes, South Park, Colorado has no charging stations, but how many people live there?

      • MichaelBowman says:
        December 10, 2021 at 12:46 PM MST

        The Ford F-150 Lightning full-sized pickup truck available next Spring is recording 500-mile range in current tests (although it’s advertised flat 100 miles less). I may take that plunge. 

  3. davebarnes says:
    December 10, 2021 at 9:49 AM MST

    Today is Dewey Decimal System Day

  4. ParkHill says:
    December 10, 2021 at 10:05 AM MST

    Rachel Bitecofer: 

    I've always been a C-grade criminal but it seems to me that writing down your sedition plan into a PowerPoint is pretty f'ing dumb & if we can't mount a criminal sedition case now….

  5. NOV GOP meltdown says:
    December 10, 2021 at 10:15 AM MST

    Pols,  just FYI your big line has a lot of total percentages of 110, or 120 percent. Is that by design ?

  6. Powerful Pear says:
    December 10, 2021 at 4:49 PM MST

    End of message.

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