It’s hard to think of a worse environmental scandal in recent years than Volkswagen’s 2015 diesel emissions cheating.
The German automaker was rightly pursued by regulators, enforcement agencies, and class-action lawyers.
The scandal ended up costing Volkswagen an estimated $33 billion in fines and financial settlements—and revealed that diesel emissions cheating was endemic. [emphasis, links added]
In 2020 Daimler AG made a $1.5 billion settlement over emissions cheating in Mercedes-Benz diesel vehicles. (One of us helped secure that settlement.) Last year engine maker Cummins agreed to pay $1.7 billion to settle claims that it skirted diesel-emissions standards.
In all of these cases, regulators punished carmakers that had cut corners and misled the public.
But when it comes to electric cars, the government has a cheating scandal of its own. That scandal, grabbing far fewer headlines, is buried deep in the Federal Register—on page 36,987 of volume 65.
When carmakers test gasoline-powered vehicles for compliance with the Transportation Department’s fuel-efficiency rules, they must use real values measured in a laboratory.
By contrast, under an Energy Department rule, carmakers can arbitrarily multiply the efficiency of electric cars by 6.67.
This means that although a 2022 Tesla Model Y tests at the equivalent of about 65 miles per gallon in a laboratory (roughly the same as a hybrid), it is counted as having an absurdly high compliance value of 430 mpg.
That number has no basis in reality or law.
For exaggerating electric car efficiency, the government rewards carmakers with compliance credits they can trade for cash.
Economists estimate these credits could be worth billions: a vast cross-subsidy invented by bureaucrats and paid for by every person who buys a new gasoline-powered car.
Until recently, this subsidy was a Washington secret. Carmakers and regulators liked it that way.
Regulators could announce what sounded like stringent targets, and carmakers would nod along, knowing they could comply by making electric cars with arbitrarily boosted compliance values. Consumers would unknowingly foot the bill.
The secret is out.
After environmental groups pointed out the illegality of this charade, the Energy Department proposed eliminating the 6.67 multiplier for electric cars, recognizing that the number “lacks legal support” and has “no basis.”
Carmakers have panicked and asked the Biden administration to delay any return to legal or engineering reality. That is understandable.
Without the multiplier, the Transportation Department’s proposed rules are completely unattainable. But workable rules don’t require government-created cheat codes. Carmakers should confront that problem head-on.
Read more at WSJ
Τhis is a gгeat tiρ partіcularly to those new tⲟ the blogosphere.
Bгief but vvery accurate infߋrmation… Thanks for sharing thіѕ one.
A muѕt read post!
Ⅿy site :: efb press
Hі therе, јust ѡanted to tеll you, І enjoyed thіѕ post.
It wаѕ funny. Keep on posting!
Heere іs my site :: Penggantian Sparepart EFB PRESS MBL
We stumbled over here by a different web
address and thought I might as well check things out.
I like what I see so i am just following you. Look forward to going
over your web page repeatedly.
Or TL;DR:
“EVs are specifically manufactured for and marketed to people who are too stupid to do the simple math to determine that EVs are specifically manufactured for and marketed to people who are too stupid to do simple math.”
LOL
Getting desperate, he then claimed that his Tesla was just way cheaper to own, operate and maintain.
Again, diametrically opposite to reality… remember that this was years ago… with the increased cost of electricity relative to gasoline, the situation is even worse for EVs now.
Let’s talk economics! (Now updated to reflect actual average electricity price in Illinois, and a gasoline price above current average price)
Assumptions:
– A gas vehicle with 17 km L-1 fuel mileage
An EV with 88.9891 Wh/km/1000 kg consumption and 2107 kg vehicle + 85 kg driver = 2192 kg total weight, for 195.0641072 Wh km-1 total consumption.
482803.2 km driven
$1 L-1 for gasoline (~$3.785/gallon)
$0.1332 kWh-1 for electricity
The battery efficiency alone (power delivered to the battery vs. the power delivered by the battery) for Lithium batteries tops out at 90% for newer or highly-expensive batteries, and can be as low as 80% for older or consumer-grade batteries:
http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2010/ph240/sun1/
The Tesla charger has a 92% efficiency for 240V at 24A, and 94% efficiency for 240V at 40A/80A:
https://forums.tesla.com/discussion/18017/charging-efficiency
So, given that you have a used vehicle, we’ll be generous and assume 85% battery efficiency, and we’ll assume you’re charging at 24A:
100 * 0.85 * 0.92 = 78.2% “wall to battery” efficiency
Gas vehicle:
((482803.2 km / 17 km L-1) * $1 L-1) = $28,400.19
Electric vehicle:
((((482803.2 km * 195.0641072 Wh km-1) / 1000) / 0.782 efficiency) * $0.1332 kWh-1) = $16,041.50 + $13,000 battery replacement = $29041.50
Remember, that $13,000 battery replacement is a low-end quote… if can range up to $20,000, depending upon labor costs and complications.
$29041.50 > $28,400.19
I save $641.31 driving my ICE-powered vehicle 300,000 miles vs. your toy electric clowncar, even with gasoline price higher than it actually is. Gasoline prices are inflated in the US due to libtard politics… as of July 2021, the worldwide average price for gasoline was a mere $1.56 / gallon, making EVs an even worse choice outside the US.
He then went on to claim that while his rolling flaming deathmobile might burn more fuel per mile than a middling ICE vehicle, it emitted less… again, diametrically opposite to reality…
Let’s talk emissions!
According to the DOE EV Emission Calculator, an EV in Illinois driving 12,000 miles per year will emit 2389 pounds of CO2 equivalent.
The Tesla 100 kWh battery requires ~30,600 pounds of CO2 to produce. We’ll assume both gasoline and EV vehicle production requires 30,000 pounds of CO2 emission.
A gasoline-fueled vehicle with 40 MPG fuel efficiency will emit 5,960 pounds CO2 per year at 12,000 miles/yr, per EPA.
Production + (Annual * T_gas) = Production + (Annual * T_EV)
30,000 + (5,960 * T_gas) = 30,000 + 30,600 + (2389 * T_EV)
Solving for T (years required for EV to offset emissions) gives a breakeven point of 8.569029 years and 102,828.348 miles. Before that breakeven point, the EV has emitted more CO2 than the gasoline-powered vehicle.
Michael Buschbacher wrote:
“This means that although a 2022 Tesla Model Y tests at the equivalent of about 65 miles per gallon in a laboratory (roughly the same as a hybrid), it is counted as having an absurdly high compliance value of 430 mpg.”
And it’s considered 65 MPG is one only considers the “battery to wheels” efficiency. To compare ‘apples to apples’, one must consider the “fuel to wheels” efficiency for both EVs and ICE vehicles.
This is from years ago, when ‘RenewableGuy’ claimed his Tesla got way better efficiency and was way cheaper than an ICE vehicle… he claimed his years-old bought-used Tesla with an aging battery only consumed 250 Wh mile-1 (which is better than factory-stated efficiency).
250 Wh mile-1… let’s put that into a better context.
For your 50 MPH, that means you’re consuming 12,500 Watts every hour. Or 12.5 kWh.
That’s enough to run twelve 1000-watt room heaters for an hour, with enough left over to light five 100-watt lights.
That’s not ‘efficiency’, that’s wasteful. If someone told you to plug in twelve 1000-watt room heaters and five 100-watt lights and run them for an hour, you’d scoff at them.
Let’s say you drive for an hour and consume that 12.5 kWh. You’ve now got to put that energy back into the battery.
The battery efficiency alone (power delivered to the battery vs. the power delivered by the battery) for Lithium batteries tops out at 90% for newer or highly-expensive batteries, and can be as low as 80% for older or consumer-grade batteries:
http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2010/ph240/sun1/
We’ll assume 85% efficiency for your aged battery.
The Tesla charger has a 92% efficiency for 240V at 24A, and 94% efficiency for 240V at 40A/80A:
https://forums.tesla.com/discussion/18017/charging-efficiency
((12500 Wh / 0.85)/0.92) = 15984.6547 Wh
That’s how much you actually used, just from your wall plug to your battery.
Now, the grid itself is, per Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and DOE, only 34.831460674157303370786516853933% efficient.
So in actuality, you’re burning:
15984.6547 / 0.34831460674157303370786516853933 = 45,891.428 Wh worth of fuel… in a single hour.
So you’ve just wasted 33391.428 Wh worth of energy. In an hour.
That’s enough to run thirty-three 1000-watt room heaters, with enough left over to run three 100-watt lights.
And that’s just the amount of power you wasted.
All told, to drive a mere 50 miles, you used 45,891.428 Wh worth of fuel, for a ‘fuel to wheels’ consumption of 917.82856 Wh mile-1.
That’s far less efficient that even a gas-guzzling ICE vehicle.
My vehicle regularly gets 40 mpg (0.05880375 L/km).
A liter of gasoline has 45 MJ/kg, and 0.05880375 L weighs 0.04436029434375 kg and has 1.99621324546875 MJ of energy.
That’s 892.3872 Wh mile-1. That’s less than what you claim your glorified golfcart consumes. LOL
892.3872 Wh mile-1 < 917.82856 Wh mile-1
But your rolling flaming deathwish toy electric clowncar doesn’t consume a mere 250 Wh mile-1… that’s even better than the factory rating for your vehicle, and your old decrepit vehicle certainly can’t surpass the efficiency of a factory-fresh vehicle.
No, your rolling flaming EV deathmobile consumes ~88.9891 Wh / km / 1000 kg, as you admit.
Model S = 2107 kg + 85 kg driver (2192 kg)
That’s 313.92525 Wh mile-1, as you have admitted to.
That’s 15696.262523 Wh at 50 MPH.
(((15696.262526883839232515547485488 / 0.85)/0.92) / 0.34831460674157303370786516853933) = 57,625.91225 Wh worth of fuel burned.
And that’s 1,152.51825 Wh worth of fuel burned for every mile.
892.3872 Wh mile-1 < 1,152.51825 Wh mile-1
My vehicle only consumes 77.429% of the fuel yours does. Which means your vehicle gets the equivalent to 30.97 MPG.
The Eco-Freaks want to force us into Mas Transit and overcrowded cities and Beehive Apartments the Nit-Wits want to Control our everyday lives just like the UN wants to do
Volkswagen Jetta’s were popular with buyers because of their performance and fuel efficiency, so the greens decided to kill them. They deliberately set the emissions standards for diesels impossible to reach without turning them into dogs. When VWs met the standards, the greens knew that the diesels were “trick”.
The same greens discouraged consumers from buying plug in hybrids because they had a fuel tank. I say that EVs are the cheaters because they exist only by skirting free market rules. Everything about them is subsidized. Ask the victim-owners.
By going public with their EV experience, they’re doing us all a favour. Subsidies don’t get you home.