Why would you buy a high-end gas car now?

[Anonymous]

I don't expect anyone to trade in a car they already have, and I realize that many (most, even) people can't afford to buy electric cars. But if you're driving around with temporary tags on a new gas-burning car that costs more than our new $45,000 electric car did, what is wrong with you? If you can afford a new Porsche Macan, you can afford a Tesla or an electric Audi or something that doesn't contribute as much to destroying the world. (They even make electric Porsches! They'll soon be making electric Macans!) Do people just not think about climate change at all when they're in the process of dropping $60,000 on a car?

[Anonymous]

Are you under the impression that the electricity just wills its way in to existence?

[Anonymous]

My next car, around $50K, will be gas because I don’t think there will be an electric car large enough and with a long enough range to drive my family and two large dogs the 200 miles to our beach house without stopping to charge. The one after that, though - definitely.

[Anonymous]

Because I don’t want an electric car. I don’t want to have to plan my trip to charge my car.

[Anonymous]

Sure I think about climate change -- and we have gax taxes presumably to cover that.

Do you think about climate change of using so much electricity? In MD, 20% of electricity comes from burning coal, and another 40% from natural gas:
https://www.pepco.com/MyAccount/MyBillUsage/Documents/Pepco%20MD%20Enviro%20Fuel%20Mix%20Insert_11.20_ADA.pdf

Only 5.8% of electricity comes from renewable sources.

[Anonymous]

We are getting ready to buy a Porsche. The car it is replacing is 10 years old and wont last until the EVs come out (2023 at the earliest). And we regularly drive 500 miles to our 2nd home (doing it again in 2 weeks) so we need at least 1 gas or hybrid car to make that drive without having the worry about recharging. I think they are projecting that the EV Macan will have a range around 200 miles. I sat in a Taycan recently and it was not comfortable, nor is the design practical for us to haul things.

We do plan to get a EV for a second car when that car needs to be replaced.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you under the impression that the electricity just wills its way in to existence?

Exactly. It's like throwing greasy cardboard and plastic grocery bags into the recycling bin and then feeling sanctimonious about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sure I think about climate change -- and we have gax taxes presumably to cover that.

Do you think about climate change of using so much electricity? In MD, 20% of electricity comes from burning coal, and another 40% from natural gas:
https://www.pepco.com/MyAccount/MyBillUsage/Documents/Pepco%20MD%20Enviro%20Fuel%20Mix%20Insert_11.20_ADA.pdf

Only 5.8% of electricity comes from renewable sources.

The electric grid is getting greener every year; gasoline is not. And besides, transportation accounts for more emissions than electricity production: https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions

[Anonymous]

What a presumptuous and arrogant question (and I am fully in support of the move to electric)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you under the impression that the electricity just wills its way in to existence?

Accounting for how the electricity is produced, the environmental costs of producing the car, etc., an electric car is cleaner than a gas car within 27,000 to 40,000 miles driven: https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a36877102/20-questions-evs-environmentally-friendly/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What a presumptuous and arrogant question (and I am fully in support of the move to electric)

I don't think it's presumptuous to ask why people are buying expensive cars that burn gasoline when they could buy electric ones instead (and in many cases, cheaper electric ones!), but I also think we're past the point where we can afford to worry about hurting people's feelings if we're going to do anything effective about climate change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sure I think about climate change -- and we have gax taxes presumably to cover that.

Do you think about climate change of using so much electricity? In MD, 20% of electricity comes from burning coal, and another 40% from natural gas:
https://www.pepco.com/MyAccount/MyBillUsage/Documents/Pepco%20MD%20Enviro%20Fuel%20Mix%20Insert_11.20_ADA.pdf

Only 5.8% of electricity comes from renewable sources.

Gas taxes mostly cover highway maintenance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are getting ready to buy a Porsche. The car it is replacing is 10 years old and wont last until the EVs come out (2023 at the earliest). And we regularly drive 500 miles to our 2nd home (doing it again in 2 weeks) so we need at least 1 gas or hybrid car to make that drive without having the worry about recharging. I think they are projecting that the EV Macan will have a range around 200 miles. I sat in a Taycan recently and it was not comfortable, nor is the design practical for us to haul things.

We do plan to get a EV for a second car when that car needs to be replaced.

Do you regularly make a 500-mile drive in your gas car without having to stop to refuel? Where is your vacation home? I'd bet there's a very convenient way to charge it on the way there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you under the impression that the electricity just wills its way in to existence?

Exactly. It's like throwing greasy cardboard and plastic grocery bags into the recycling bin and then feeling sanctimonious about it.

Well, no, it's not, because at least some of the electricity comes from renewable sources, so the net carbon emissions of per mile of an electric car are lower than they are for a gas car no matter what. In your example, throwing that stuff in the recycling makes the whole recycling bin garbage. In the case of an electric car vs. a gas car, driving the electric car is still better for the planet despite the emissions from generating the electricity.

[Anonymous]

I will buy hybrid or electric for my next car. My current cars are 15 and 20 years old, so I plan on whatever car I buy for our family to last a long time.