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I can't remember the exact year but sometime between 1964 and 1967 Chrysler brought one of the 55 bronze turbine cars to our college campus for all of the engineering teachers and students to inspect. I was not an engineer but as a car guy I couldn't pass up the opportunity. A college highlight I can talk about. I've seen them again at museums in Michigan.
To be fair it is a diesel roadside emergency vehicle towing a battery pack (not a generator) to charge the stranded electric car. And that is probably using less fuel than using a much larger diesel powered tow truck to tow the car back to where it needed to go.
About 6 months ago an article came out (couldn't locate it again) about a large group, a dozen or so, of EVs crossing Australia. It took a couple of weeks because it took 30 per car to recharge. The recharging stations were petrol powered generators. As the group was a group, it meant they all had to spend the night when they hit their range limit as it took so long to recharge everyone.
Disaster specialists have speculated about what might happen during a hurricane evacuation from Miami. All the EVs run out of juice in Tallahassee causing a huge backlog as cars wait to recharge. Speaking of disasters, I have read that, although not certain, it appears the fire on the auto transport ship originated in an electric vehicle.
When you look at the total environmental impact of EVs, it is WAY more than current gas cars. The mining of lithium is extremely destructive and horrible working conditions are found for the unlucky folks who are almost slaves. When the car is shot and the batteries are done with, you cannot recycle the lithium and other components with current technology. Now you have another pollen mess for old EVs. If an EV is kept on the road and the battery is replaced at some point, the car will never be less environmentally impactful than dino cars. (WSJ article)
My mom called me over the weekend to tell me my dad (stepdad) had finally sold their old wagon. Kind of a sad moment, I talked to him about it a few weeks ago as he felt he was ready to let it go. It had always been a plan of his to fix it up and start driving it again, but I guess time stand still for no one and he's realized the time for him to able to do it has passed.
The car is a 73 Old Custom Cruiser. My dad bought it used from an Olds dealer in Houston in 1976 when we moved over here from England (the first time) but we were only here a few months. When we moved back here in 1980 he went back to the same Olds dealer for another wagon and the one he had before was sitting on the lot available, so he had to buy it again. He's owned it since 1980, it was the family hauler for years including our camping vehicle going to California twice, Colorado numerous times and everywhere in between. It has around 140k miles on it. When we moved to the house they're in now (back in '92) it was the first time the car had been driven in 5-6 years or so. Since moving it hasn't been out of the garage for anything more to start it up and let it idle/run for 10-15 minutes or so. I'd have to say this was a difficult one for my dad to let go of, his first (and second) car he'd bought after moving to the States, and all the memories along with it.
Everything on it works, the clamshell rear tailgate was always something I thought was super cool, and I have a lot of memories sitting in the rear (3rd) seat as a kid. I also remember how hot the red vinyl/pleather interior used to get in the summer. Part of me wonders if I should've bought it to keep it in the family, but no clue where I would've kept it as it surely wouldn't fit in my garage. I'm looking forward to seeing my parents in a month or so, but won't be looking forward to the empty spot in the garage as I can't remember a day when it wasn't sitting in the garage or in the driveway my entire life.
02-22-2022, 08:26 AM
I've seen them again at museums in Michigan.
