this post was submitted on 08 Jan 2024
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[โ€“] [email protected] 27 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Fuck cars of all types. Our entire capitalistic hellscape is built around the automobile.

[โ€“] [email protected] 21 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Japan manages to have a capitalistic hellscape with many fewer cars...

Cars are a problem, but they definitely aren't the only problem.

[โ€“] [email protected] 9 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I think the "fuck cars" movement has latched on to one particular symptom of a problem and are laser-focused on it, which probably isn't the best way to address it in the long run.

[โ€“] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Addressing actual issues by proposing workable solutions like more public transport is actually the only way in the long run to do anything useful. While I agree with the overall sentiment, vaguely gesturing at capitalism is far less actionable and useful and more often than not stifles more useful activism.

[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

It's not capitalism that I'm vaguely gesturing at, it's city planning. Public transport is one element of that.

[โ€“] [email protected] 0 points 8 months ago (1 children)

except you dont actually say that in the comment i responded to... thats like the definition of being vague

[โ€“] [email protected] 0 points 8 months ago

I didn't gesture at anything in particular. "Capitalism" was entirely from you.

[โ€“] [email protected] -1 points 8 months ago

they definitely arenโ€™t the only problem

Who's even claiming this, though

[โ€“] [email protected] 24 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Why not? Itโ€™s just a distraction from real dreams of not having my city clogged with pedestrian maiming cars.

[โ€“] [email protected] 15 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Want to save the electric car dream? Subsidies aren't enough. Large EVs are far more expensive than conventional large vehicles, and road-tanks like the F150 represent a threat to the kind of small vehicles that we should be supporting. Subcompacts, e-bikes, and new things filling the space in-between (eg enclosed electric motorbike-class vehicles like the Arcimoto) are an important part of the post-fossil-fuel future, but they're not safe to take on to a road full of gigantic motor bricks. I drive a Prius Prime and the darn thing's roof is lower than the hood of some jacked-up pickups.

I'm not saying that pickups and similar vehicles should be illegal, but we need stronger disincentives for people buying such things. Like rate vehicles based on various objective criteria - bumper-compatibility, mass, front cross-section, front visibility, visual obstruction to other drivers, etc. and then classify the more dangerous ones as "high risk vehicles", and give those ones stricter licensing requirements (like a class D) and stricter penalties for infractions. Need a pickup for your job? Then you're a professional, and you can deal with professional vehicle licensing requirements.

I mean, if you need one to pull a boat? Well, you can afford some extra fees (or fines for infractions), and to go through a stricter licensing process.

Also, PHEVs are a seriously underrated option. I think we leapfrogged something important with this jump to full BEVs. I love my Prius Prime - I live in Hamilton, which is built as an old-fashioned streetcar-suburb, and daily commute rarely hits the gas-engine.

[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

PHEV is nice (my wife has one) but it adds mechanical complication to the car. I still like it and only rarely need the gas engine except to run the heater or if i drive 100km to the Big City.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

I agree they're a trade-off, but they're a necessary middle-step in the process of getting off of carbon fuels while the battery industry develops enough to fully convert the rest of the auto industry.

I'd rather see every passenger-vehicle made after 2020 be a PHEV than a handful of guys driving around in Teslas and Lightnings with bloated batteries while 95% of new cars on the road are still gas-burners.

[โ€“] [email protected] 10 points 8 months ago (5 children)

Electric cars sound great, it just sucks that they are all luxury vehicles right now. Like thereโ€™s no $3000 used electric car out there for regular people to buy. Hell there isnโ€™t even a new $20k electric car.

Most people wonโ€™t do mass transit because theyโ€™ve been socialized to see it as gross. And it is gross. In my town there are always crazy people riding the bus harassing the driver because they are lonely, and the bus smells like pee. And the bus never gets you there faster than a car, so why ever ride it.

[โ€“] [email protected] 9 points 8 months ago

Mass transit is not a bus. Buses are one of the lowest tiers of transit.

Many people would use mass transit if it was well maintained, clean, easy to use, and as fast or faster than a car. That level of transit service is rare in Canada.

[โ€“] [email protected] 5 points 8 months ago (1 children)

When there finally are $3000 used electric cars, the batteries will be completely shot and they'll have a range of 10 miles.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

Yep. There will be no affordable used electric cars, all the cost is in the battery.

[โ€“] [email protected] 5 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

I do think the "used cars not around" criticism is a little silly. Cars have to be new before they're used, and used cars will come down the pike eventually.

More availability on the cheaper end would be nice. Tesla really missed the boat on that, I think, focusing on the Cybertruck instead of working on a light vehicle for the Asian, European, and Indian markets. As a result, BYD may eat their lunch.

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Thankfully in Vancouver public transit is quite good, though intercity options aren't that great. If only conservatives weren't allergic to bike lanes... the city has the potential for great transportation projects. Mass transit is still in its infancy here, it needs to grow.

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Welcome to 2010, there's no good 3k$ used cars anymore!

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

I used that number because I just sold my used car for $3k.

[โ€“] [email protected] 9 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Electric bikes is where it's at. Cities has to be built with bikes in mind though

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

How am I supposed to carry my 40-count toilet paper pack for my big fat American ass? I'll have to use my daily commuter tractor trailer