Is our world starting to fall apart?  Two examples:

https://gizmodo.com/nasa-iss-leaky-spacesuits-collins-cancels-contract-1851561235

https://www.autobodynews.com/specialty-equipment-market-association/survey-46-of-u-s-ev-owners-likely-to-switch-back-to-fuel-powered-vehicle

Noel

 

You cite some good examples of poor quality and dishonesty when it comes to many things nowadays.  American houses are another good example of typically low quality and poor workmanship.

I don't know what it is exactly that has caused the recent decline in the overall quality of products and workmanship.  Plus this same stuff costs a lot more now.

I think a lot of this has to do with the pandemic and how that affected so many things in a very negative way like shortages of workers and other things.  I would think that much of that would have been resolved by now but the effects linger.

We also lost millions of highly skilled and knowledgeable older workers who went ahead and retired in 2020-2021, so that's definitely had an impact.  Moreover, most younger people nowadays don't want to do manual labor but instead want some comfortable tech job.  You see this with how many younger people now claim that their job is "gamer", "influencer", "journalist/writer", or some other fake job that doesn't require hard full-time work.

Then there's the overall economy which we're told is good, but when you dig deeper into the numbers you find that it is heavily fueled by massive govt. deficits and consumer credit, not to mention the high inflation which is certainly not 3-4% as we're told by the dishonest folks in the media and govt.

Lastly, it seems to me that a lot more people have just gotten very selfish and greedy.  It's as if no one cares anymore about the future and just wants to live it up and enjoy themselves.  Perhaps they don't believe that there is a brighter future hence the attitude of apathy and hedonism.

It's a new world post-Covid, that's for sure.  I'm hoping that things gradually get better, but I'm not counting on it.

Dave

 

I'm a bit confused as to where they got that figure that 49% of UK BEV drivers would swith back to ICE. Numerous studies say different.

Seems to be only 10% or so that would switch back. Very similar figures in other surveys.

https://fleetworld.co.uk/more-than-9-in-10-ev-drivers-would-not-return-to-ice-vehicles/

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/85-electric-car-drivers-would-never-go-back-ice-age-gill-nowell

https://uk.motor1.com/news/462860/ev-drivers-wouldnt-return-petrol/

No real range anxiety for the UK with the decent range now available, charging anxiety still exists for those that travel a lot, but it's improving rapidly. People that consider switching back, in the UK, are those without drives, usually. 

I can see that the US would have more that would switch back, due to issues with charging network and how some use their vehicles. Americans are among the highest reluctant EV adopters.

In terms of poor quality workmanship, new build houses are often an issue, in the UK. Some of the issues with some new builds are shocking.

 

 

 

Edited June 27, 20241 yr by martin-w

I would potentially consider a hybrid vehicle at this point, but the infrastructure in the UK is (IMO) nowhere near good enough for 100% electric vehicles.

Lying politicians trying to tell us they know best BS.

 

6 hours ago, Christopher Low said:

I would potentially consider a hybrid vehicle at this point, but the infrastructure in the UK is (IMO) nowhere near good enough for 100% electric vehicles.

 

64,000 chargers in the UK Chris. From what I hear it's not an issue and increasing rapidly. Most charge at home, of course, on cheap rate power.

The issue is if you have no drive and have to park on the street.

 

 

46 minutes ago, martin-w said:

The issue is if you have no drive and have to park on the street.

Would that be a drive way for us non-Brits?  I share a common driveway with my neighbor!  I'm
yellow!  I also redid mine back about 18 years ago along with the sidewalk in front!

 

Just now, charliearon said:

Would that be a drive way for us non-Brits?

Off-road parking is perhaps a better description.

One view is that much as Diesel Particulate Filters do not solve a problem, nor do electric cars.
A DPF simply stores the soot and then releases it as soon as the vehicle leaves an urban environment.
Electric cars leave no soot behind when in use, but the environmental cost of both manufacture and the
generation of the electricity to power them is huge.
Then there is the environmental cost of disposal, especially of the batteries.

Both only move the problems about, they do not solve anything at all.

 

Legally here, off-street/road parking is a garage.  Not really suppose to park in the drive/drive way.

Over here, in the UK, a drive is a part of the plot of land that a home stands on.
That might be enough room for one car, or several miles of road on a private estate.
Either way, once on a drive, a vehicle is no longer on a
"road or highway to which the public have access" and none of the rules apply.

 

One of the biggest problems with parking over here is that, unlike the modern estate in the random picture that I chose, millions of houses were built long before everyone had a car, or indeed several cars in one household.
There is therefore no off road parking, so an electric car would have to be parked on a road, with a cable trailing back into the house.
Hardly practical or secure and not something that someone who had paid at least 30% more for their electric car than they would have for its fossil fuel equivalent, would be happy to risk.

 

Edited June 27, 20241 yr by Reader

Unfortunately, here people have multiple cars and most houses have a single car garage (like mine).  People think the
garage is for storing their junk, so they all park on the street.  Makes it tough for 2 way traffic to go by. 

2 hours ago, charliearon said:

Makes it tough for 2 way traffic to go by. 

Not to mention fire trucks,

Just now, Patco Lch said:

Not to mention fire trucks,

Fire trucks, especially!  My street is a main thoroughfare between 2 major boulevards.

I use to live on a street in San Jose, CA that you can only park on one side due to being narrow although it was two way traffic.

There is also a sign no parking on this day once a week for street cleaners.  Cars will be towed if not removed that day.

12 hours ago, charliearon said:

People think the garage is for storing their junk

That is one thing that we do have in common.