I live in Podunk (in Montana, 150,000 sq miles with just over 1M people). Yeah, in the boonies there will probably always be a need for personal transportation. But in urban areas of nearly any size from postage stamp up to Mexico City we should design spaces differently. Sure, trains and subways are great but so are bikes and good old shoes. I wrecked my shoulder in March and do PT a block from my home but it's almost necessary to drive there to avoid being killed in the intersection. In the Netherland you can find cities with four or five grocery stores on each block plus mixed residential and business buildings. It's pretty easy in other parts of the world to walk or bike without getting killed. And it's very easy to rent a car that you need for two hours a month vs having one 24/7/365 that will be parked 99.2% of the time.

I own a Subaru (kind of the official vehicle of the Montana resident). Everyone in America seems to think cars are freedom, but are they? Aside from being an extremely inefficient way to move one person a few miles it's also a pretty big expense. There's the payment, the insurance, and the fuel. Then there's the parking when you get there and the need to park it when you're not driving it (which is most of the time). Sure, it's "freedom" in the sense of just being able to survive but you're a slave to the car, and that's not freedom. And what about the lower income classes that can't afford a car? It's not really freedom so much as another master.

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Phaedrus wrote: Wed Aug 18, 2021 3:32 am I live in Podunk (in Montana, 150,000 sq miles with just over 1M people). Yeah, in the boonies there will probably always be a need for personal transportation. But in urban areas of nearly any size from postage stamp up to Mexico City we should design spaces differently. Sure, trains and subways are great but so are bikes and good old shoes. I wrecked my shoulder in March and do PT a block from my home but it's almost necessary to drive there to avoid being killed in the intersection. In the Netherland you can find cities with four or five grocery stores on each block plus mixed residential and business buildings. It's pretty easy in other parts of the world to walk or bike without getting killed. And it's very easy to rent a car that you need for two hours a month vs having one 24/7/365 that will be parked 99.2% of the time.

I own a Subaru (kind of the official vehicle of the Montana resident). Everyone in America seems to think cars are freedom, but are they? Aside from being an extremely inefficient way to move one person a few miles it's also a pretty big expense. There's the payment, the insurance, and the fuel. Then there's the parking when you get there and the need to park it when you're not driving it (which is most of the time). Sure, it's "freedom" in the sense of just being able to survive but you're a slave to the car, and that's not freedom. And what about the lower income classes that can't afford a car? It's not really freedom so much as another master.

Designing our cities and communities better would be a more logical start than continuously expanding freeways to accommodate an increasing commuter need.

Self driving EV cars on demand. Wife and I have two Hybrid RAV 4 that sit 90% of the time. If we had an EV on demand by calling on the Cell phone it comes to the house I get in and tell it to take me to the Kroger. It takes me there I go in to shop and just before checking out I call for another EV to take me home. I go out and it is waiting for me. I get in and it takes me home. In between calls it parks itself at the nearest charging station to recharge batteries. The cost to me is less than the cost of owning the SUV sitting in my garage. For longer distances, but still shorter than air flights, like to Austin the EV trains and get an EV car there.

sikacz wrote: Wed Aug 18, 2021 7:27 am
Designing our cities and communities better would be a more logical start than continuously expanding freeways to accommodate an increasing commuter need.

Yeah, it wouldn't be instant but a process. Nor would it be something new and novel; it would more of a return to the way we built before WWII. I'm not saying we need to put all the toothpaste back in the tube and return to the days of ancient Rome. The interstate highway system was a tremendously perspicacious and forward thinking bit of socialist infrastructure connecting the country. The mistake was turning all of our city streets and roads into mini versions of interstates.

So many of these things are interrelated. Many of us aren't fond of Walmart and Amazon for many reasons including the way the former kills small business and the latter exploits workers. But as much as I like Costco there's also something to be said for small local markets and stores. Much like government can be very localized or very centralized, urban life can be very localized or very centralized. In theory of town of 500,000 could have four giant supermarkets, one in each quadrant, but imagine how congested those four centers would be. Then imagine one caught fire or was destroyed by a tornado.

Again, I'm not trying to steal anyone's minivan. But as I get older I see how many lies and how much bullshit I was raised with. And it's easy to think that the way things are are the only way they could possibly be. That's true with everything from institutionalized racism and sexism to fossil fuels and urban planning.

Ultimately we can't save our species simply by going from 2 billion ICE cars to 2 billion electric vehicles. We'll have to think more collectively and imagine new ways to order our society if civilization is to endure much beyond the next century or two.

TrueTexan wrote: Wed Aug 18, 2021 10:22 am Self driving EV cars on demand. Wife and I have two Hybrid RAV 4 that sit 90% of the time. If we had an EV on demand by calling on the Cell phone it comes to the house I get in and tell it to take me to the Kroger. It takes me there I go in to shop and just before checking out I call for another EV to take me home. I go out and it is waiting for me. I get in and it takes me home. In between calls it parks itself at the nearest charging station to recharge batteries. The cost to me is less than the cost of owning the SUV sitting in my garage. For longer distances, but still shorter than air flights, like to Austin the EV trains and get an EV car there.

That would be the near ideal model! Car shares make more sense on many levels than owning a car, at least for some people. There will always be people that want to own a cow but most people just want milk. I love my Crosstrek; if I have to be saddled with owning a car at least it's useful for my lifestyle (living in Montana and pretty much living to camp & hike). It would be better still to just use an app to summon one when I need it.

Bozeman is kind of a hippie-dippie town and we have a lot bike lanes but they suck. They're just paint, not truly areas for bikes. They merge into and vanish at intersections. There are more sidewalks here than in some places but not enough and not very good intersections. I'd like to walk more or even get a new bike but cities here make both options suboptimal.

GM is out with a recall on the Bolt.

General Motors is recalling another 73,000 Bolt EV and EUV electric vehicles in the United States and Canada for a problem that could cause the vehicles to catch fire.

GM had earlier announced that the recall would cost $800 million, but that was before the recall was expanded to cover all remaining Bolt vehicles. The recall is now expected to cost an additional $1 billion.

The recall comes after GM had previously recalled about 70,000 Bolt vehicles for the same potential problem. The recall now covers Bolt EV and EUVs from 2017 to 2022.

The recalled Bolt vehicles can catch fire after being charged due to a manufacturing defect, the company said. Until the batteries in the recalled vehicles can be checked and replaced, if necessary, GM recommends the vehicles be set to charge to only 90%. Owners should also charge their vehicles more frequently and avoid allowing the battery to be depleted to less than about 70 miles of driving range. The vehicles should also be parked outdoors right after charging and should not be charged indoors.

GM now says it is pursuing reimbursements from Korean battery manufacturer LG, the company that made the batteries that, GM said, are the cause of the problem.

LG did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/20/business ... index.html


I got a recall on my car not a Bolt, to replace the coil. They recalibrated it about 5 months ago, but now will replace it. It's a 3 hour job so I'll wait until it's much cooler.