The attempt on the part of anti-carbon fanatics to impose electric vehicles on car owners in this country has been a rich source for this column.
If there were practical reasons to buy EVs, the government wouldn’t have to use a combination of subsidies and coercion to attempt to force adoption of the electron burners by the public.
The feds didn’t give tax breaks to buyers of Japanese vehicles in the 1980s or specify, through regulations, that consumers should give preference to Japanese vehicles.
Toyota and Honda cars sold because American consumers liked the product’s combination of price and quality.
This is not the case with EVs.
Reinforcing a losing proposition has never been a deterrent to government bureaucrats who are spending your money and not theirs.
They don’t care that American car buyers don’t like the EVs’ limited range, lack of charging stations, slow recharge times, and overall expense.
We’re grateful in a way that bureaucrats have provided us with so much material.
Here we discuss how recharging an EV is now more expensive that filling up at the pump.
Here are our thoughts on Biden’s plan to essentially ban the internal combustion engine through executive orders.
Here is Biden’s schizophrenic emissions order that closes electricity generating plants at the same time Biden is banning gasoline autos.
And here we revealed how real-world results collide with the fanciful range estimates provided by EV dealers.
Now we have another announcement from the market and it’s not good for the fossil fuel haters in the White House.
Hertz is dumping its fleet of EVs in exchange for more dinosaur–fueled cars.
Undoubtedly typing on a tear-stained keyboard the left-adherents at Reuters report," Rental firm Hertz Global Holdings is selling about 20,000 electric vehicles, including Teslas, from its U.S. fleet about two years after a deal with the automaker to offer its vehicles for rent, in another sign that EV demand has cooled.
"Hertz will instead opt for gas-powered vehicles, it said on Thursday, citing higher expenses related to collision and damage for EVs even though it had aimed to convert 25 percent of its fleet to electric by 2024 end."
The decision to jettison the hummingmobiles will cost Hertz almost $245 million off its bottom line.
And in spite of a cascade of tax subsidies, dealer rebates, government meddling and the applause of the regime media, the overall market for EVs is heading in a predictable direction — down.
"[Hertz’] decision underscores the bumpy road EVs have hit as their sales growth slows, causing carmakers like General Motors and Ford to scale back production plans.
"Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said in a note Hertz's move was another sign that EV expectations need to be 'reset downward'."
And the market fallout isn’t affecting only the manufacturers and other corporate fat cats.
Current EV owners who have seen the error of their ways and want to sell their battery jalopy are in for a rude awakening, too.
"Meanwhile, wholesale used-EV prices fell for most of 2023 as prices for new EVs fell and inventories of unsold electric vehicles rose, according to Cox Automotive data."
Hertz is unloading some Tesla 3 models for half of what the rental firm originally paid for the vehicle.
Our advice is to avoid EVs unless the vast majority of your life is lived within a 50-mile radius of your home.
The market may not always be correct, but its track record is far superior to that of government paper pushers.
(A related article may be found here.)
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Michael is an in-demand speaker with Premiere speaker's bureau. Read Michael Reagan's Reports — More Here.
Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now With Added Humor!)" Read Michael Shannon's Reports — More Here.