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Sure, but that ignores other factors like safety, infrastructure, and winning over public opinion. In my opinion, there's also the question of whether we reall

Sure, but that ignores other factors like safety, infrastructure, and winning over public opinion. In my opinion, there's also the question of whether we really want to further cement America's dependence on cars. We could be investing this money / effort into laying down bullet trains, expanding public transportation, and reforming zoning laws to make future cities more human-friendly.

pmorici 7y ago
The top three safest cars ever tested by the NHTSA are all Electric. Tesla alone has been doubling the number of deployed charging stations every year and there are a handful of other entrants building out networks as well. Every home owner with a garage has the infrastructure needed to charge an electric car (aka: a wall outlet). I've not yet met a single person who after riding in a Tesla Model 3 doesn't want one.
- mavhc 7y ago
  Here in uk about 20% of garages aren't built straight onto the house, which was annoying when I was searching for a house to buy.
  - arethuza 7y ago
    When we were looking at houses a couple of years ago in the UK one thing that I always noticed is that almost nobody seems to use their garage to hold cars - 1 house out of the 20 or so we looked at had a car in it - the rest were full of miscellaneous stuff.
  - rypskar 7y ago
    Isn't it possible to get electricity to a detached garage in the uk? My garage is 10 meters from my house, but I do still have two circuits from the house to the garage
    - mavhc 7y ago
      Probably, but expensive to have to have a trench dug. It does seem rare for people to use their garages for cars. Half the time they're too small to get a car in and a human out though.
- dsfyu404ed 7y ago
  >The top three safest cars ever tested by the NHTSA are all Electric Because the people making electric cars know the buyer demographics and know those people have enough money to justify paying a premium for that thereby making it a marketable feature. Nobody is wasting the money putting tree-trunk A-pillars and foot thick doors in a Chevy Aveo competitor because protection against something that's less than a once in a lifetime event for most people let alone the vehicle is not high on the priority list of those buyers.
SuoDuanDao 7y ago
That would be nice, but America is unusually rural for a developed country, and that affects the culture even in the cities in a big way.
raxxorrax 7y ago
I doubt you would be able to restrict personal transport again. Anyone with relatives outside the immediate vicinity probably wouldn't want to rely on public transportation. And even if so, let's be honest, having your own vehicle gives you many opportunities and public transport is often inconvenient.
- GVIrish 7y ago
  It wouldn't be that personal vehicle ownership would be banned, it would just be drastically reduced. In its place there'd be far better public transportation options, maybe better fractional car usage options, bicycles rideshares, etc. Many people would still need cars, but instead of every family needing two cars, many could just have one. Then even for the people with cars, they might not drive as many miles on average with the new options open to them. Obviously it would be easier to reduce car ownership in denser areas so that's where the bulk of the shift would happen.
adrianN 7y ago
Changing cities happens on a timeline of decades. We need to get rid of ICEs running on fossil fuel completely until maybe 2040, 2050 at the latest. That is, if we manage a linear GHG emission reduction starting yesterday. Electric cars are the only option that can be rolled out fast enough. Of course we should start the transformation away from car dependence at the same time, just don't expect meaningful effects until after ICEs are already obsolete.

pmorici 7y ago

The top three safest cars ever tested by the NHTSA are all Electric. Tesla alone has been doubling the number of deployed charging stations every year and there are a handful of other entrants building out networks as well. Every home owner with a garage has the infrastructure needed to charge an electric car (aka: a wall outlet). I've not yet met a single person who after riding in a Tesla Model 3 doesn't want one.

mavhc 7y ago
Here in uk about 20% of garages aren't built straight onto the house, which was annoying when I was searching for a house to buy.
- arethuza 7y ago
  When we were looking at houses a couple of years ago in the UK one thing that I always noticed is that almost nobody seems to use their garage to hold cars - 1 house out of the 20 or so we looked at had a car in it - the rest were full of miscellaneous stuff.
- rypskar 7y ago
  Isn't it possible to get electricity to a detached garage in the uk? My garage is 10 meters from my house, but I do still have two circuits from the house to the garage
  - mavhc 7y ago
    Probably, but expensive to have to have a trench dug. It does seem rare for people to use their garages for cars. Half the time they're too small to get a car in and a human out though.
dsfyu404ed 7y ago
>The top three safest cars ever tested by the NHTSA are all Electric Because the people making electric cars know the buyer demographics and know those people have enough money to justify paying a premium for that thereby making it a marketable feature. Nobody is wasting the money putting tree-trunk A-pillars and foot thick doors in a Chevy Aveo competitor because protection against something that's less than a once in a lifetime event for most people let alone the vehicle is not high on the priority list of those buyers.

SuoDuanDao 7y ago

That would be nice, but America is unusually rural for a developed country, and that affects the culture even in the cities in a big way.

raxxorrax 7y ago

I doubt you would be able to restrict personal transport again. Anyone with relatives outside the immediate vicinity probably wouldn't want to rely on public transportation. And even if so, let's be honest, having your own vehicle gives you many opportunities and public transport is often inconvenient.

GVIrish 7y ago
It wouldn't be that personal vehicle ownership would be banned, it would just be drastically reduced. In its place there'd be far better public transportation options, maybe better fractional car usage options, bicycles rideshares, etc. Many people would still need cars, but instead of every family needing two cars, many could just have one. Then even for the people with cars, they might not drive as many miles on average with the new options open to them. Obviously it would be easier to reduce car ownership in denser areas so that's where the bulk of the shift would happen.

adrianN 7y ago

Changing cities happens on a timeline of decades. We need to get rid of ICEs running on fossil fuel completely until maybe 2040, 2050 at the latest. That is, if we manage a linear GHG emission reduction starting yesterday. Electric cars are the only option that can be rolled out fast enough. Of course we should start the transformation away from car dependence at the same time, just don't expect meaningful effects until after ICEs are already obsolete.