This is an April Fools joke right?

So reducing our dependence on foreign oil oil puts us in a position of power because it eliminates opec from the equation but reducing the dependence overall does not?

biggill wrote:

So reducing our dependence on foreign oil oil puts us in a position of power because it eliminates opec from the equation but reducing the dependence overall does not?

Canada and Mexico are by far our most dominant supply of foreign oil. But both lack the infrastructure to ramp up supply on the spot. And with the keystone pipeline getting the axe for example investors are not willing to put money down with such a risk of no return on investment.

Only the Middle East has the infrastructure in place to rapidly increase and supply the world markets.

That’s why they are the power players. And they are slowly turning towards China and away from the US.

The US has the capacity and investors to supply European markets with liquified natural gas for example and rid their dependence on Russia. But politics gets in the way.

We have lived a sheltered life since WW2. And forgotten history, basic chemistry, and economics.

National security has been taken for granted for generations.

We have become so dependent on global resources. It puts the US at great risk.

We don’t have the chemicals, the natural resources to go green.

Matt Moen wrote:

It’s not generations til EV’s are mainstream. Tesla ranks close to top 10 in total vehicle sales in NA already. Demand is driving this.

They absolutely don’t work for some people…but for the vast majority of commuters they are a better option than gas.

If you tow consistently they aren’t an option yet, they also aren’t an option depending on where you drive given the charging infrastructure.

Electric vehicles are the future and it’s not some huge conspiracy. Gas will be around for generations but we need more energy independence. Even Musk says we need to produce more oil on our own since EV’s aren’t ready yet. It will probably be a balance between the two til long after we’re gone.

Plus, electric cars are fast as hell. The flat torque curve of electric motors are amazing. If you can’t get behind that I can’t be your friend….and I’m a guy who owns a couple big displacement V8 cars. Teslas give them a run for their money every time…and against the plaid model it’s not even a race.

What country did Tesla sign contracts with for their lithium? They can’t make electric cars without this contract.

Dependance on Exxon, Conoco ,BP , Marathon , Chevron , Phillips 66 and the lists goes on . They are sitting on a conservative 4.3 billion barrels in the Bakken . Hundreds if not 1000,s of oil wells drilled and capped . Still cheaper to import oil from Canada and other countries for now . On the average Americans use about 21 million barrels of oil PER day . 40 percent is for gasoline . Oil and gas is not going away anytime soon . Yet when all the major makers are producing electric vehicles the hand writting is on the wall .Freightliner electric trucks this year with a new fleet. Tesla has numerous electric trucks already working . Volvo, and Kenworth added to mix . The future will be electric . Does anyone think for a minute the corporations are not mapping this out , if gas and oil are the future are all these mega corporations getting it wrong ? I think not .

biggill wrote:

Front differential rebuild (bearings shot), timing chain cover gasket replacement due to leakage, timing chain replacement (preventative since they were in there) and vacuum lockout hubs (3rd time). I think it was closer to $3.5k but I had a valve cover gasket replaced last summer due to leakage as well. None of the leaks were enough to make it to my garage floor. Just caked on the engine.

Had them investigate a turbo/exhaust chirp. Assumed it was the turbos.

Back to my original comment since this was about EVs, none of these would’ve been necessary in an ev.

Ev have a entire different list of problems. You can’t just trade gas for electric and think the world’s issues are solved. Batteries alone are a major issue, not only to dig for the material, building them, and then no way to recycle them. Major issues.
Other then that 4k adds up quick. At a shop. Lol that’s never a fun bill to flip.

This can all be changed with votes. But will it?

People here seen to always forget about hybrids in these discussions. Regular hybrids already have a big boost to mileage. My car gets 55mpg if you aren’t leadfooted, is way more peppy to drive than a ~40mpg ICE if you want it to be, and has a relatively tiny battery compared to an EV.

Plug in hybrids will be the main bridge between ICE and EV though I think. You can run strictly as an EV for going back and forth to work and shopping and use the ICE when you’re stranded on 94 in a blizzard or whatever scenario worries people here so much.

Reef W wrote:

People here seen to always forget about hybrids in these discussions. Regular hybrids already have a big boost to mileage. My car gets 55mpg if you aren’t leadfooted, is way more peppy to drive than a ~40mpg ICE if you want it to be, and has a relatively tiny battery compared to an EV.

Plug in hybrids will be the main bridge between ICE and EV though I think. You can run strictly as an EV for going back and forth to work and shopping and use the ICE when you’re stranded on 94 in a blizzard or whatever scenario worries people here so much.

Pulling a boat 20 hours 1 way, or camping in rual areas, parking on lots for a week in arctic Temps. Those are my concerns. Plenty more concerns. But those are daily activities for Many many people

Bearcat89 wrote:

Pulling a boat 20 hours 1 way, or camping in rual areas, parking on lots for a week in arctic Temps. Those are my concerns. Plenty more concerns. But those are daily activities for Many many people

I don’t think those are daily activities for most people and are we still not understanding the requirement is a fleet average? There are a lot of cars on the road now and them getting 50+ mpg is what brings the average up, not changing trucks for those who need them.

I’ll also say parking in arctic temps a hybrid is better. I have a much larger battery than any ICE car and it’s partitioned so even if I run out the starting battery part I can press a button to connect partitions and jumpstart myself off the rest of the battery.

And camping in remote areas? Even a plug-in hybrid doesn’t need electricity and can run off just gas. The 600 miles on a 12 gallon tank that I get sounds like a huge advantage there too.

Reef W wrote:

And camping in remote areas? Even a plug-in hybrid doesn’t need electricity and can run off just gas. The 600 miles on a 12 gallon tank that I get sounds like a huge advantage there too.

I’m talking ev, not hybrid. I’m not thinking that a battery ran machine is the better choice to pull a ice house up to lotw, drive out 18 miles and park for 2 weeks. I guess you probably won’t change my mind on that either. I can see a million ways a ev will benefit many people same with a hybrid. And there are tons of people who travel, camp and fish in bfe all day every day. Driving 10 hours in to Canada isn’t that unheard of. But if you’ve ever been, I’m sure you understand that recharging may be a issue.my buddy has a full electric dirt bike and that thing is wild. But he has battery issues with it in the cold and heat where my 250s, and 450s don’t have a single hiccup.

Bearcat89 wrote:

I’m not thinking that a battery ran machine is the better choice to pull a ice house up to lotw, drive out 18 miles and park for 2 weeks. I guess you probably won’t change my mind on that either.

Where did I try to change your mind on that?

Hey wrote:

Do you understand what a global economy means?

Our oil and gas comes from the US, Canada, Mexico for the most part. Around 18% comes from the Middle East and others. We could end that today and get 100% ourselves.

Your info is off about where our oil comes from. The US is the #1 producer of oil in the world. In 2021 we produced 18.61 million barrels per day. We are also the number 1 consumer or oil at 20.54 barrels per day. So over 90% is domestic production. If we conserved just a little we could get by on all domestic production.

Top producers and consumers of oil