The Verge: The Detroit Auto Show has a weirdly duplicitous vibe these days. The biggest companies that attend make sure to talk about things that make them sound future-focused, almost benevolent. They talk openly about autonomy, electrification, and even embracing other forms of transportation. But they do this while doling out product announcements that are very much about meeting the current demands of consumers who, enjoying low gas prices, want trucks and crossover SUVs.
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2 comments:
I am not a car person. However, I do find the automobile industry somewhat ironic. The beginning of this article touches on how car companies advertise themselves. They are dedicated to changing the future, but in the present moment they will continue to sell trucks + automobiles that are contributing to the destruction of our ecosystem. When the article analyzes how Mercedes-Benz presented itself at the Auto Show in Detroit, it made me cringe. Why are automobile companies still sell SUV’s and gas guzzling cars. I understand that making money is important, but are any car companies actually exploring the possibility of alternative fuel/energy for their vehicles? Are electric cars even better for the environment? While I don’t know and understand legitimately anything about cars, I hope that car shows like these are not simply money guzzlers to promote cars that are not good for the environment. Cars need to evolve and so does the rest of the world to better adapt to the climate issues we are dealing with.
I have to say; this article does bring up much in discussion surrounding cars today and one of those discussions is illustrated very well by Ella. In being concerned with the environment and what cars do to it; I believe it comes down to quite a number of factors especially when answering your question of whether or not cars are actually better for the environment. The short answer is no, they are not better for the environment and this is why. Starting off, an electric car in theory is much, much better for the environment because it limits our impact significantly and mainly due to the fact that it is not releasing anything into the air as it is being used. However, that works only in theory up to today. Right now, the United States generates most of its electricity through burning fossil fuels which depending on what they are burning are either more harmful to the environment or significantly more harmful to the environment than the pollutants coming out of your exhaust pipe. This means that the more electricity we use the more we burn fossil fuels and the more pollution we create. Right now, it is better to drive a gas-powered car than to drive an electric car in short because of that reason. However, if we switch to all clean methods of producing electricity as Japan is doing, then electric cars will become better for the environment.
We still run into other problems with the creation of electric cars and which touch on your other concerns and about what the article is showing off. Trucks and SUV’s are typically worse for the environment because of their bigger size and higher use of gas, etc. These cars are harder to make electric though and require more power to accommodate their purpose, which at our current position would create more pollution by burning more fossil fuel. We can’t get rid of these types of cars though. They are used very widely and have more purpose than sedans do. They either hold many people and/or a lot of stuff as in the case of the SUV or they carry big and/or heavy things which cannot be done with a sedan. They can also go off road unlike a sedan but so can other cars. The cars we have developed and know today will not leave because they are highly used today for a variety of jobs. They also cannot be made electric as easy. SUV’s have entered the electric stage but there is still not a truck and that is because it needs torque and power to haul those loads which an engine that uses gas can do very well and much more efficiently than a motor that uses electricity. Overall a gas-powered car is more efficient and will get you further than most only electric cars can do right now and then only force you to wait a minute or two to do it all again. Also, gas powered cars are getting better and better gas mileage which in tern means you are creating less pollution with a more efficient use of the gas and you have to fill up less which everyone loves.
To conclude, what I have said only scratches the surface of this new era of cars and to which much more can be said. Right now, electric cars are just not better and at their current percentage in our society they aren’t really doing any harm yet. They could be harmful in the future unless we transition to clean methods of creating energy and should be something we transition to. This all depends on how we move forward. I will also leave with a few remarks as things to think about or something to find an answer to both for this conversation but also for the car industry. What about long-distance travel or camping? Everyone always says that electric cars are great and living in cities makes that’s easier to say but what about when you go on a trip? Do you really want to wait hours to recharge your car in the middle of no where or be stuck in a place without a station to charge it? What about the feeling of the car? Do you care about the feeling an engine gives you, the ability to customize the engine? What about car culture?
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