islander wrote:

Just anticipating the next move. In order to propose a program to address a crisis you first have to have a crisis—in this case, one generated by all the previous programs, proposed to address the previous crises.

 islander wrote: 

in a nutshell he's probably referring to a form of fatal conceit (past, present and future)

if i, in a gesture of good intentions break your leg and then posture as a hero/savior for bringing you crutches and putting you on welfare to survive

what have we accomplished?

intellectually honest analysis like divorcing ambitious political intentions from their actual results is sorely lacking in our society

often the results aren't immediately obvious which makes it all the more difficult

should politicians intervene in a problem when they don't know what they're doing?

cash for clunkers obviously had serious unintended consequences

 NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote: 

probably with a few caveats (needless to say political ignorance and capture)

scale and affordability along with charging infrastructure

the masses have to see the value and be willing to pay for it

se vw's meb platform stuff (they're going whole hog on this idea)

also some really cool and promising aluminum battery tech is here (way more storage and lightning fast charging)

tesla makes a great car and their autonomous system is scary good

and they've got infinitely more data for their system than everyone else

transportation tech is at the beginning of what i think is a fantastic transformation

islander wrote: 
what is it with the recent news that Tesla have patented a new battery design that has 10x the capacity of existing ones?  (and they don't seem to be the only ones out there with exciting new battery designs).. given that range is the one issue holding back buyers from electric cars, won't there soon be a flood of ICE cars out there cos no one will want to drive one.  

 Lazy8 wrote:
 
I don't see a call to government action anywhere here at all.  I double checked the article and it seemed to me to be pretty much informational, and informative. It even had a quote noting that the market would adjust for the problem at hand: 

“But there’s a reality check coming and many subprime buyers will be forced to find more affordable transportation.”

Red_Dragon wrote:

So what government intervention is this hand-wringing leading up to?

• Another cash-for-clunkers boondoggle? No. wait, that's partly responsible for the used car shortage.
• More subprime lending? No, wait, that's putting people on the hook for things they can't afford.
• Subsidized car sales? No, wait, that will further reduce supply and drive up prices.
• Mass transit! Yeah, herd 'em all into buses and subways that require massive subsidies. And get back to me when they actually meet the needs of people who don't live in urban centers.

But whatever, it's capitalism's fault.

Rising old used car prices help push poor Americans over the edge

 Red_Dragon wrote:
 
Reviews are tepid to suck, so this whole thing is starting to smell very hypey.

Security stepped up as 'Joker' opens in U.S. movie theaters

 MrsHobieJoe wrote:
  Worse, I think it's not especially unique.

 cc_rider wrote: 


Interesting and troubling article.

 romeotuma wrote:
Exactly.

 hippiechick wrote: 

This is exactly like things that happened in the 1930's during the Great Depression...  this could be straight out of John Steinbeck's novel, The Grapes of Wrath, from 1939...

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