The AutOmObile Critic says…

     Welcome to the first edition of The Automobile Critic If you want to know more about the author please read the caveat at the end of the column.
     So much is assumed about automobiles. I find, coming as a writer: mostly writing a column since 1972 about social, political and life’s concerns, most people can’t seem to think out of the box. They look at what is, but can’t seem to stretch into what will be. Of course all “what will bes” are assumptions. I firmly believe in The Butterfly Effect, where if even one change happens what follows may be NOT be what we assume.
     That’s why it took 14 years to write two version of my book: Autocide.
     Let’s examine electric automobiles…
     Why in hell should electric automobiles be political? IMO, that’s, as an old NYC area ad used to say, INSANE!!!!!!!!!!!! But people line up in rather predictable ways (left v. right) for electric/against electric, and they’re ALL making assumptions, mostly based on what is NOW, or even WAS and no longer IS (Sounding Bill Clinton-ish am I?), that simple may not follow. Any single change is often followed by progressively bigger changes.
     Let’s start here: all the doomsday talk about the future of electric automobiles has some basis in possible outcomes, yet looking at what is, how many burned out Teslas do you see these days? Un-toasted Teslas are all over the place, at least from I observed in Nashville. Even here where I live now, in the Central Adirondacks, I see more un-toasted Teslas than I would expect. Few Leafs, they’re just not as popular because Tesla has better, more controversial, reputation considering the controversial ‘owner’ of the company. (He pisses off all sides of the divide. He must be doing something right, or wrong. Haven’t made up my mind. Both?) Nissan is more of a background builder of cars, and when’s the last time you saw an ad for either? Probably none, unless you haunt the trades or specialty auto magazines.
     If you listen to the recliner/net-based critics, you would think there would be broken down, out of juice, burned out Teslas EVERYWHERE. Now I see burn free EVs in places I wouldn’t expect: like out for long drives to the Adirondacks. Not a lot of locals own Teslas here.
     So many manufacturers are switching to electrics: not just new ones builders or the small fry. Your telling me Ford, GM and the imports are being managed by stupid people, bad investors and horrid designers? The employees morons. Armchair, internet pundits, brilliant?
     Yeah, right, and the Easter Bunny just passed me in his basket car, using fake plastic grass for gas, and colored eggs for wheels.
     Is fire a concern? Hell, yes. However, yet how many burned out gas cars have I seen? Plenty. I understand: there are far more gas cars. I see few burned out diesels. But if you listen to the critics then broke down, used up, burned out EVs should be all over the place. They’re not.
     I am all for alternate power sources for cars. May the best win. I am all for the public having choices. Buyers will learn. However, if you look back to the start of gas-based propulsion, there WERE burned out, broke down, cars everywhere. Our roads sucked. Like there are different, questionable, batteries being used, there were several (poorly) refined fuels some dared call “gas.”
     If the armchair/internet-based critics had had their doubts forced on all of us way back then not a single automobile would have ever have been driven on our interstates. Interstates, if we had any at all, would be filled with horses and paved with horse poop.
     I kind of like THIS version of what happened when it came to cars, and look forward to the future.
     How about you?

     The Automotive Critic is a column by Ken Carman, who has been writing a weekly column since 1972 called Inspection, as a beer judge several beer judging and beer industry-based columns. Ken is also the author of Autocide: which he started researching over 20 years ago. Autocide is alternative automobile history filled with funs, odd twists and quirky characters. Autocide is also a murder mystery. Mr. Carman lives in Eagle Bay and Beaver River, NY. He is kind of/sort from there originally, but moved from Nashville, TN, his winter adverse wife, Millie Carman, to go back home.

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Ken Carman and Cartenual Productions
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