5 ms·

I know in my mind and heart that electrification is the way of the future. But a part of me is sad to lose iconic machines such as these. I'm a GenXer so I stra

I know in my mind and heart that electrification is the way of the future. But a part of me is sad to lose iconic machines such as these. I'm a GenXer so I straddle that line of the past and the future. We're at the end of an era...

mrelectric 4y ago
No worries, nothing is gone. It'll come back. Also see: restomod vs pro touring.
AtlasBarfed 4y ago
The main point is getting 99% of consumer transport electrified. If you take your old stick shift gas car out for a 100 mile drive once a month, who cares. You'll have plenty of cars to pick from when EVs start ushering out the old dirtburners into obsolescence. Hopefully the EV drivetrain gets so cheap that it becomes a tsunami. It's not like EVs won't be fun to drive with low center of gravity skateboards and hyperfast acceleration. I would guess that after a few decades of driving EVs, the ICEs and their gear shifts and smell will quickly lose their charm with practically everyone. I hope that with a really cheap and compact EV motor+battery, classic cars get massively retrofitted to be electic. You already see it in some auction cars. An electric motor is not that big. If/when a good compact solid state battery is mass produced, then you can probably cobbly a kit for the standard engine mounts that has the electric motor + batteries in one engine block replacement kit. They can pipe in simulated engine block sound. I will so miss stick shift however.
- linksnapzz 4y ago
  EV batteries just need to get to get...an order of magnitude higher energy density, so they can take up as much space and weigh as much as a full tank of gas, while giving the same amount of spare power to run the heater/AC and go 500 miles between charges, which (for a full one) should take no more than ten minutes. As an aside, electric restomods are the height of gauchery. Like having a Patek Phillipe case with a Timex digital face.
  - brodouevencode 4y ago
    This is a good summary of the primary challenge of every EV maker.
  - AtlasBarfed 4y ago
    For pleasure drives? No they don't. Your requirements are fotlr rural americans
    - linksnapzz 4y ago
      Your assertions are valid, for a certain segment of the pleasure-driving public, but not for huge number of people.
pwarner 4y ago
People still ride horses. We should bet on what will be the last production stick shift, the last production ICE only cars.... Mazda Miata is my crazy bet for both, but what do I know.
- brodouevencode 4y ago
  The Cult of The Miata is strong, and I wouldn't be surprised if you're correct.
  - wing-_-nuts 4y ago
    Ye gods tho. An ev miata could be an absolute blast if it adhered to its original principals.
    - brodouevencode 4y ago
      Maybe, but half the fun of a Miata is the manual. An automatic Miata is just gross.
      - wing-_-nuts 4y ago
        Ok buzzkillington. I test drove both the 6 spd auto and the 6 spd manual. The manual was alright but the auto was way more livable in stop-and-go city traffic, especially for someone like myself with a messed up ankle. Better fuel economy, quieter on the highway, same acceleration, and if I want to mix things up on a curvy mountain road, I can pick gears with the flick of a paddle shifter. Go for the stick if you want, but don't hate on people who choose different.
        brodouevencode 4y ago
        :) to each their own. I always thought of Miatas as weekend cars. If it's your daily then yeah the stick would get old quick.
    - nebula8804 4y ago
brodouevencode 4y ago
They both disappeared before (three times each), only to come back each time with a lot of fan fare. As long as the electric versions look like the originals (quite unlike the Mach-E) they'll do fine when they resurface. Vehicles are interesting in that for the people that enjoy them there's a tendency towards brand loyalty in ways that don't exist for other products. This is especially true with the older generations. There are/have been web series, magazines, books, TV shows dedicated to Mopar, Ford, and GM. I can think of 5 "Ford guys" in my life without even trying. While that brand loyalty has waned a lot over the past couple of decades it still exists, and Dodge will most likely bring back a version of these to satisfy that base.
- nebula8804 4y ago
  Tesla is the Gen-Z(possibly also Gen-Y) loyalty brand. OEMs will realize this a decade from now when the old people loyal to the big three start to die off, the people who don't care start buying the Chinese EVs, and the remainder stay loyal to Tesla.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - runeb 4y ago
    My experience in my circles is the opposite regarding Tesla. They had first mover advantage of building an electric vehicle people actually wanted, but as great alternatives have started appearing, Teslas poor build quality becomes a bigger and bigger issue and to top if off their founders antics and politics rubbing younger people the wrong way. I now hear millennials and gen-z people actively avoiding the brand.
    - nebula8804 4y ago
      The sales numbers seem to indicate otherwise. Tesla has like ~70% marketshare even after all that has happened. However as an addendum, my comment is a prediction 5+ years from now. I fully believe that the numerous Chinese brands that are coming will capture most of the people you are talking about. The way you described it, those people seem like they are EV curious but not passionate. Tesla still has that loyal brand following and I believe it will still account for them being #1. I could see them at 25% marketshare when all is said and done. All the Chinese combined might be 30% and the the rest is divided among a handful of remaining companies.
karaterobot 4y ago
That's strange to me... I loved the Challenger growing up (Vanishing Point!) but always thought the mid 2000s relaunch of these muscle cars was a bit unimpressive and kind of soulless. Maybe that's just a "when did you grow up" thing; maybe they were objectively good cars. But, to me that era has been gone for quite a while.
- brodouevencode 4y ago
  The base models are basically useless. When you get into the SRT/Hellcat trims and packages things get wild. The funny thing is that there's very little inbetween. You go from zero to insane very quickly.

mrelectric 4y ago

No worries, nothing is gone. It'll come back. Also see: restomod vs pro touring.

AtlasBarfed 4y ago

The main point is getting 99% of consumer transport electrified. If you take your old stick shift gas car out for a 100 mile drive once a month, who cares. You'll have plenty of cars to pick from when EVs start ushering out the old dirtburners into obsolescence. Hopefully the EV drivetrain gets so cheap that it becomes a tsunami. It's not like EVs won't be fun to drive with low center of gravity skateboards and hyperfast acceleration. I would guess that after a few decades of driving EVs, the ICEs and their gear shifts and smell will quickly lose their charm with practically everyone. I hope that with a really cheap and compact EV motor+battery, classic cars get massively retrofitted to be electic. You already see it in some auction cars. An electric motor is not that big. If/when a good compact solid state battery is mass produced, then you can probably cobbly a kit for the standard engine mounts that has the electric motor + batteries in one engine block replacement kit. They can pipe in simulated engine block sound. I will so miss stick shift however.

linksnapzz 4y ago
EV batteries just need to get to get...an order of magnitude higher energy density, so they can take up as much space and weigh as much as a full tank of gas, while giving the same amount of spare power to run the heater/AC and go 500 miles between charges, which (for a full one) should take no more than ten minutes. As an aside, electric restomods are the height of gauchery. Like having a Patek Phillipe case with a Timex digital face.
- brodouevencode 4y ago
  This is a good summary of the primary challenge of every EV maker.
- AtlasBarfed 4y ago
  For pleasure drives? No they don't. Your requirements are fotlr rural americans
  - linksnapzz 4y ago
    Your assertions are valid, for a certain segment of the pleasure-driving public, but not for huge number of people.

pwarner 4y ago

People still ride horses. We should bet on what will be the last production stick shift, the last production ICE only cars.... Mazda Miata is my crazy bet for both, but what do I know.

brodouevencode 4y ago
The Cult of The Miata is strong, and I wouldn't be surprised if you're correct.
- wing-_-nuts 4y ago
  Ye gods tho. An ev miata could be an absolute blast if it adhered to its original principals.
  - brodouevencode 4y ago
    Maybe, but half the fun of a Miata is the manual. An automatic Miata is just gross.
    - wing-_-nuts 4y ago
      Ok buzzkillington. I test drove both the 6 spd auto and the 6 spd manual. The manual was alright but the auto was way more livable in stop-and-go city traffic, especially for someone like myself with a messed up ankle. Better fuel economy, quieter on the highway, same acceleration, and if I want to mix things up on a curvy mountain road, I can pick gears with the flick of a paddle shifter. Go for the stick if you want, but don't hate on people who choose different.
      - brodouevencode 4y ago
        :) to each their own. I always thought of Miatas as weekend cars. If it's your daily then yeah the stick would get old quick.
  - nebula8804 4y ago

brodouevencode 4y ago

They both disappeared before (three times each), only to come back each time with a lot of fan fare. As long as the electric versions look like the originals (quite unlike the Mach-E) they'll do fine when they resurface. Vehicles are interesting in that for the people that enjoy them there's a tendency towards brand loyalty in ways that don't exist for other products. This is especially true with the older generations. There are/have been web series, magazines, books, TV shows dedicated to Mopar, Ford, and GM. I can think of 5 "Ford guys" in my life without even trying. While that brand loyalty has waned a lot over the past couple of decades it still exists, and Dodge will most likely bring back a version of these to satisfy that base.

nebula8804 4y ago
Tesla is the Gen-Z(possibly also Gen-Y) loyalty brand. OEMs will realize this a decade from now when the old people loyal to the big three start to die off, the people who don't care start buying the Chinese EVs, and the remainder stay loyal to Tesla.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- runeb 4y ago
  My experience in my circles is the opposite regarding Tesla. They had first mover advantage of building an electric vehicle people actually wanted, but as great alternatives have started appearing, Teslas poor build quality becomes a bigger and bigger issue and to top if off their founders antics and politics rubbing younger people the wrong way. I now hear millennials and gen-z people actively avoiding the brand.
  - nebula8804 4y ago
    The sales numbers seem to indicate otherwise. Tesla has like ~70% marketshare even after all that has happened. However as an addendum, my comment is a prediction 5+ years from now. I fully believe that the numerous Chinese brands that are coming will capture most of the people you are talking about. The way you described it, those people seem like they are EV curious but not passionate. Tesla still has that loyal brand following and I believe it will still account for them being #1. I could see them at 25% marketshare when all is said and done. All the Chinese combined might be 30% and the the rest is divided among a handful of remaining companies.

karaterobot 4y ago

That's strange to me... I loved the Challenger growing up (Vanishing Point!) but always thought the mid 2000s relaunch of these muscle cars was a bit unimpressive and kind of soulless. Maybe that's just a "when did you grow up" thing; maybe they were objectively good cars. But, to me that era has been gone for quite a while.

brodouevencode 4y ago
The base models are basically useless. When you get into the SRT/Hellcat trims and packages things get wild. The funny thing is that there's very little inbetween. You go from zero to insane very quickly.