Featured Hertz is selling 20,000 electric vehicles to buy gasoline cars instead

A volcanic erruption is the one thing that can change the world's weather the quickest and most drastically, with the exception of a meteor impact.

 

I think you made the same mistake I did- he's talking about cooking over coal coal. Anthracite.

I've only done it a few times, but it really is kind of special.

 

I once tasted beer made from coal smoked barley. Don't think I finished it. ... lesson's learned.

Bob Wilson

 

I think there's a place for burning wood.

Around here all the forests are dying off from pine beetles. The government is chopping down entire sides of mountains and making several large burn piles that they burn one after another.

I wonder why they couldn't just use it to make charcoal or something similar.

 

And I brought it up because for some places in the world, all meals are cooked over coal, and it is done inside the house. Indoor pollution is even worse, yet those complaining about changes to NG use for cooking here would likely complain about losing their coal there.

I wouldn't be able to not think about the heavy metals and radioactive isotopes ending up in my food if cooked over a coal fire.

Peat smoke for Scotch is great though.

Charcoal needs more prep and time to do in the field. The goal is to kill the insect and reduce its spread. that limits what it could be used for, and transporting it is not an option.

There are portable pyrolysis prototypes. If they were in production, we could be turning the wood and bugs into oil and biochar.

 

There are some old coke ovens (where they made charcoal) that are along the sides of some roads. Of course they haven't been used in 100 years and so probably would need a lot of work to get going again. Some are crumbling due to their age.

But the original point was, yes, you can chop down too many trees. The beetle problem has been linked to an over population of trees that become weak from lack of water due to competition. If the trees had been thinned a bit from before the beetle problem the beetle problem probably wouldn't have become a problem.

 

Know what you are doing, and you don't need ovens. Making charcoal just is not a fast process. Also a waste if the charcoal isn't used. Isn't BBQ charcoal made from hardwood?

Aren't the trees they are cutting down infested ones?

 

Ya, I'm not saying that there was much of a choice. I'm no expert, it's just sad that the wood couldn't be burnt up for something more useful. I've been to poor countries where it's below freezing and people have no way to heat their homes. Not that bringing a bunch of beetle infested wood accross country boarders would be a good idea.

The entire forest is infested. The ones they are cutting down are the ones that are completely dead. There are very few that are still alive. Those are probably infested too, but if you cut down all the infested trees there would be no forest left. There are some areas now like that though, no more trees due to the infestation.

 

Got to love PC .... where we start w/ Hertz EV rentals & swing to barbecue & then head to pine beetles.

.

 

Maybe it's the pine beetles that are actually hurting Hertz EV rentals?

 

We do eat smoked meat ... bacon anyone? Presmoked bar-b-que?

 

to segway back onto topic ....
setting up a car rental in middle tennesse for april/may. Model 3 from 'Budget' short range goes for $397.79 for a week ($54/day) of rental. Wonder why Budget car rental is NOT unloading their EV car rentals. Maybe it isn't making the rounds in the drama news because it defies the narrative? ....

 

I have smoked on the grill. I suspect the wood chips I used contained less nasties than coal.

Budget doesn't appear to have a rental program for gig drivers. Could the real issue Hertz be gig drivers are just too rough on cars in general? Then maybe Budget didn't make such a huge commitment to EVs to begin with.

 

SIXT, a big rental company in Europe, has switched its Tesla order to Stellantis. Citing depreciation and repair costs as a concern.
SIXT drops Tesla, buys 250,000 rental cars from Stellantis | Electrek

 

Depreciation, understandable, they have just cut down the price of the Model Y in Europe to a point that it's more affordable than a Model 3!

Tesla Slashes Model Y Prices Across Europe - Drive Tesla

 

So they lost money compared to what they expected from this, but doesn't it also mean replacement cost is now lower?

Or is their depreciation complaint really more about them not getting a discount from Tesla? They likely get a discount from other brands. That means better returns when selling used at retail prices. Paying retail for Tesla means they don't get that, but suffer the actual depreciation rate like the rest of us.

 

I tend to favor Sixt in certain cities anyway. Hadn't noticed any Teslas at their LAX installation lately, but there were BMW hybrids and EVs. Also a few Polestars.

 

That's also true in the USA considering the M3 no longer gets the tax credit but the MY does. So unless you don't qualify for the federal tax credit, the Model Y is now cheaper than the Model 3 in the USA.

 

A rental company like Hertz can get the commercial EV credit of $7500 on any car. So while they 'lost' money on the depreciation of current cars in the fleet, they'll be able to replace a Model 3 for less than personal buyers.

 

I'm on an EV tests thread at the VW TDI site and it has 100 pages that are all over the place.