Challenger and Charger are both gone after 2023/24. At least as we know them.
There has been some rumors of Dodge working on a revised V8, whether it will be Hemi or not, I'm not sure. But is is an absolute. The Mopar LS platform (Charger, Challenger, 300) are done.
So what domestic vehicle will police officers drive? No more cars? All SUVs? That’s pretty irritating. They have to spend all that time idling, and taking up an obnoxiously huge amount of space too.
No, they are most certainly sitting in their cars looking like morons in a Walmart parking lot while their "green" vehicle charges. That is, as long as the charger is functioning correctly.
Getting back to the "stupid" comment:
Stupid, would be thinking people beep and wave at empty cars.
That’s why I think it’s stupid. So you actually see people sitting in them? What on earth are they doing? Twiddling their thumbs? They’re supposed to be shopping at that Walmart. That’s one of the reasons businesses want those chargers there. In fact, at some places, usually level 2 charging, not fast, they are offered FOR FREE, because they want you to spend an hour or two shopping at their mall.
But fast charging is mostly a road trip thing, so you’re supposed to get out and walk around since you’ve been sitting for so long. Typically you go into the business that hosts it and get lunch/shop. The only reason I will sit in my car is because the place sells a ton of food, but offer no tables/chairs to eat at, assuming you’ll treat it like a Sonic. This used to be how gas stations were back in the early days. Think Route 66. You had a service shop and cafe usually built right in with the gas station.
I stopped at one supercharger and didn’t need a meal, and honesty couldn’t get one even if I wanted to. Ended up killing time inside a Car Toys which doesn’t really offer anything for modern vehicles. Ended up using their restroom, and buying drinks from their vending machine, but I bought something, where I wouldn’t’ve had there not been a supercharger. Ended up walking next door and checking out their pets, which naturally my daughter wanted. Point is, we did leave and did stuff.
Being directly outside the city, it was super busy, so it’s a bit awkward to abandon your car, for the exact same reason it was bad etiquette to do it at the gas station, preventing everyone else from being able to actually fill up, like I mentioned earlier actually happening to me when I wanted gas. So I returned to the car, spent some time calculating to see if I could reach another one along my route, so someone else could have my spot. So if you’re in a busy location, the owners may not be planning on staying that long, or feel awkward, fearing that an abandoned vehicle may not actually be charging, but instead blocking a very important space.
During my trip though, I revisited stops, and did not want to eat at the same places, so we picked up subway, drove to the location, and again, ate in the car, and even played on the internet for a while because, no lie, I was coasting on watts. It said I had 7 miles left, when I plugged in. That was mostly because I left the busy station earlier than I should have. So it had a much longer time to charge, since it was dead empty. You never want to charge it from empty, or charge it to full, as it depleted battery life, so if you are doing what you’re supposed to, you’re really only there for 30-60 minutes.
Now this is still a hotly debated subject...
As of now, producing an EV in a factory produces more carbon than producing an ICE vehicle in a factory does. There's one demerit.
As of now, the mining rare earth metals like Lithium and Cobalt is a toxic process and either destructive or disruptive to the environments from which they are extracted (oh and if it's being done in Africa then it's being done by children, most likely supervised by warlords, and most likely controlled by China). There's another demerit.
Lithium batteries are volatile. You can't ship them commercially. EV fires bring down entire ocean freighters. EV fires burn down homes, and some times their own passengers. Disposal at EOL is still a quagmire. Lithium fires can't be put out like most other fires can - you just let it burn until it stops burning. There's a whole lot more demerits in case the first two weren't bad enough.
Theoretically, the carbon emissions of EV production can be lessened in the future. And EVs emit little to no carbon on the road. But given all the negative factors (and maybe others still), I'll just say no thanks. I drink coffee straight up, sometimes with real creamer. I don't go for the soi boi special.
We bought our 2015 Model S in 2018, and 2014 RAV4 EV in 2021, so no negative impact if you buy use. It’s like the artificial vs natural Christmas tree debate. There are environmental negative impacts, but the longer you have it, the better it is for the environment. EVs are dirtier to build, but cleaner to drive. They say it can take anywhere from 28k to 68k miles for an EV to become carbon neutral. The problem is that many first owners get rid of their car before then. There is one owner however who has driven his 2014 Model S for 1.2 million miles so far, so just imagine how much benefit he alone has done. Our mustangs will still put out emissions for however long we want to keep them on the road, and we will never become carbon neutral, yet this guy has not only paid off the sin of production, but our sins as well.
Also, EVs can be parted out. We currently have 2010 Nissan Left batteries in a 1955 GMC, but have purchased several long range Tesla batteries to not only swap over, but to install in a 1957 Chevy Belair. (4 door, so don’t crap yourself)
The thermal runaway fear is a bit annoying. Again, a lot more people have been burned alive in an ICE vehicle than an EV. Recently, just a few miles down the road from me, a large massive auto auction house caught fire. Basically insurance companies bring vehicles there for evaluation, auctioning, and salvaging. So naturally, everyone is thinking “EV.” (Still under investigation) It honestly could have been. …or, an EV could be getting the blame. Either it wasn’t involved at all, or someone purposely set fire to it.
So here’s my reasoning: this location apparently has HORRIBLE reviews. They apparently won’t accept phone calls, make people wait, and when they try to pick up their car, get things, or take delivery on one they bought from auction, the vehicle is trashed, stuff stolen, parted out, etc. Apparently this is common for them. So my own theory is potential arson, either by a fed up customer, or the company them self, trying to cover up evidence. Fire started Christmas Eve morning, where no one would be around. Company is also off the beaten path in the middle of no where, so no witnesses.
So will EVs be used as a new way for insurance fraud, set fire on purpose? When an EV is in an accident, companies try to keep that car separate for days. If it were to catch fire from the accident, it would have done so by then. It could be weakened, and a fire start because of a flood, or because someone tried to charge it, which makes the batteries hot. That’s why 1) Tesla disables supercharging from salvaged vehicles, and 2) all EVs have a pyrofuse that blows during a sudden impact. This isolates the batteries. They can’t be charged the normal way. They also can’t touch one another. Think of it like removing AA batteries from a device, and sitting them out on the table next to each other. They aren’t connected, and they can’t charge/discharge each other. Can they still catch fire? Maybe. But it’s super rare. Put the batteries in some Chinese electronic, like those hoverboards that were once popular, and then leave it on the charger. The hoverboard catches fire, possibly even the house with it. Was it the batteries that caught fire, or the act of charging the batteries?
This is why EV fires either start because 1) bad collision or 2) sitting on the charger. There are plenty of gas stations that catch fire. Plenty of ICE vehicles catch fire after a crash. The only difference is that it’s a little more obvious when a fire starts in an ICE vehicle. And even when that happens, sometimes the vehicles parked around them also end up catching fire as well, every vehicle involved: ICE.