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Funny to see that quote "This requires a massive, 100-year change [..] to the way Americans drive" when this has no real effect on a century of autocentric land

Funny to see that quote "This requires a massive, 100-year change [..] to the way Americans drive" when this has no real effect on a century of autocentric land use in the US and only represents an even heavier subsidization program. Even if the motors change this is entirely aligned with the way Americans drive/live.

smileysteve 3y ago
> 100 Year Change This seems off by a matter of scale; 100 years ago, the average car was the Model T; and in 1929 (94 years ago) 20% of Americans owned a car - 1 car per household. The highway act didn't pass until 1956 (67 years ago), much less was it constructed. Finally, we have the internationalization of the automobile and other manufactures being bigger than the US, and 100k mile cars; starting in the 70s, but Toyota didn't produce more than GM until 2021.
- ismokedoinks 3y ago
  That quote is an auto industry representative saying the transition to electric vehicles will take longer than the federal government is urging (which is to say, it'll take another 100 years by their measures). On my end I meant the 20th century rather than an exact 100 year period.
  - rntn 3y ago
    Yes, the changes to the transport alignment you referred to in the original comment are likely to be on a much larger scale than a century, absent some far more intrusive infrastructure changes than the EV.. Consider the Roman and Medieval patterns that still persist in much of the European cityscape.. Ironically, these make for a much less expensive return to non motorized personal transportation (which was never a good fit for cities designed around animal powered vehicles). The design decisions that were common sense in the America of the Highway Act era - which are still being built out - are likely to have huge impact on future transport infrastructure decisions for much longer than a single century.
hot_gril 3y ago
The only way I can imagine an EV being a "huge change to how I drive" is that I have to consider where I charge it. Which is a real problem today but has potential future solutions.

smileysteve 3y ago

> 100 Year Change This seems off by a matter of scale; 100 years ago, the average car was the Model T; and in 1929 (94 years ago) 20% of Americans owned a car - 1 car per household. The highway act didn't pass until 1956 (67 years ago), much less was it constructed. Finally, we have the internationalization of the automobile and other manufactures being bigger than the US, and 100k mile cars; starting in the 70s, but Toyota didn't produce more than GM until 2021.

ismokedoinks 3y ago
That quote is an auto industry representative saying the transition to electric vehicles will take longer than the federal government is urging (which is to say, it'll take another 100 years by their measures). On my end I meant the 20th century rather than an exact 100 year period.
- rntn 3y ago
  Yes, the changes to the transport alignment you referred to in the original comment are likely to be on a much larger scale than a century, absent some far more intrusive infrastructure changes than the EV.. Consider the Roman and Medieval patterns that still persist in much of the European cityscape.. Ironically, these make for a much less expensive return to non motorized personal transportation (which was never a good fit for cities designed around animal powered vehicles). The design decisions that were common sense in the America of the Highway Act era - which are still being built out - are likely to have huge impact on future transport infrastructure decisions for much longer than a single century.

hot_gril 3y ago

The only way I can imagine an EV being a "huge change to how I drive" is that I have to consider where I charge it. Which is a real problem today but has potential future solutions.