Last Call

As the world charges head first into economic chaos arising from the insane "woke" movement, we witness yet another foolhardy sacrifice made upon the altar of global climate change.  I refer here to the announcement by Dodge this week that they will no longer build American iconic muscle cars. That's right. The uber-sporty muscle car models Challenger and Charger are to be eliminated so Dodge can rebrand them as electric vehicles. 

Even Ford, who has debuted the electric Mustang, didn't completely eliminate the model.  But Dodge is owned by Stellantis N.V., which is a multinational automotive manufacturing corporation formed in 2021 on the basis of a 50-50 cross-border merger between the Italian-American conglomerate Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the French PSA Group.  So that explains that.  The French and Italians, despite having some serious performance automobiles themselves - think Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Alfa Romero, and to some extent even Peugeot - just don't understand American fascination with a 400 cubic inch engine turning out 400 horsepower.  As the Beach Boys once noted in their song Little Deuce Coup, it's hard to steer when I'm getting rubber in all four gears.

Ironically this overture to go woke and push useless electric vehicles on a public who has adamantly stated that they don't want them, is suicide.  Chrysler Corporation has been bought and sold more times than a Vegas hooker.  What do they think will happen now?  

An interesting point about the gasoline engine that as been ignored by one and all in the media is the vast amount of efficient energy it produces.  At the extreme top end of the gas engine's power scale, consider the fuel dragster.  These are lightweight, high output engines, usually built on a V8 426ci hemi - designed by Chrysler, by the way - and can produce 8,000 horsepower, turn 9,500 RPM, and achieve a top speed of about 330 MPH.  The dragster accelerates to over 4G to enable it to exceed 300 mph in four seconds; and for it to attain 200 MPH before half-track, the launch acceleration gets to 8Gs. That's faster than an F/A-18 being launched from an aircraft carrier.  A dragster, of course, only runs its engine for about 10 seconds, but this exemplifies the huge power available in a gas engine. In  more practical use, that gas engine in virtually any modern automobile will provide a 200,000 miles-plus service life.

So given this readily available automotive power, why the push for EVs?  There are many reasons, and all of them invalid.  They're ecologically sound?  Hardly.  Lithium ion batteries are deadly, and pose a huge disposal problem.  Further, when they get hot, they ignite.  Do you want to sit atop 2,000 pounds of inflammable toxic batteries?  Me either.

How about resources?  Lithium is not particularly rare, but is found in only a few countries.  Currently, most of it comes from China.  The problem is in mining and extraction, as Lithium - a soft metal - has a high reactivity, so it's typically only found in compounds, or mixtures with other chemical elements.  You gotta separate 'em, as the Offspring have noted.

What about disposal?  End-of-life gas engines are simply melted down, and recycled into other practical uses.  Unlike alkaline batteries, lithium batteries are reactive and contain hazardous materials like cobalt.  So how do we  dispose of  Li batteries on a large scale?  Drop them off at the recycle collection center at Home Depot?  Nope, it's worse.  Globally, fewer than a dozen facilities recycle EV batteries today, with a combined annual material processing capacity of less than 100,000 metric tons. Yet real disposal is an unaddressed problem, and certainly not good news for the environment.

How about utility?  EVs fail every time.  A study was done recently wherein an EV Ford  F-150 pulled a common camper type trailer.  Even when fully charged, the EV failed dismally to reach even the advertised rage of 230 miles before needing to be recharged. Running lights, wipers, AC, and sound system reduces available range in an EV.   And charging may take up to 12 hours.  Contrast that with a gas powered F-150, towing the same camper, running lights, windshield wipers, phone chargers, and sound systems, and even with an highway average of 18 MPG,  still provides a range twice that of the EV. 

So what really is the game plan here?  Well, it may be that personal mobility is under attack.  The powers-that-be don't want you to have or enjoy the personal freedom of mobility - they need you confined in a small, yet definable circle.  You know, so they can keep an eye on you.  More tyranny, less freedom.

So it seems Dodge's name badge for the 2023 Challenger and Charger is prophetic:  Last Call.