Hutzpah: blame the cure for the disease

Source: Fury after Exxon chief says public to blame for climate failures | Climate crisis | The Guardian

The world is off track to meet its climate goals and the public is to blame, Darren Woods, chief executive of oil giant ExxonMobil, has claimed – prompting a backlash from climate experts.
. . .
Woods argued that big oil is not primarily responsible for the climate crisis.

The real issue, Woods said, is that the clean-energy transition may prove too expensive for consumers’ liking.

“The dirty secret nobody talks about is how much all this is going to cost and who’s willing to pay for it,” he told Fortune last week. “The people who are generating those emissions need to be aware of and pay the price for generating those emissions. That is ultimately how you solve the problem.”
. . .​

My history shows each technology change has brought my costs down:

• 1991 Camry manual to 2003 Prius - MPG went from 35 to 52.
• 2017 Prius Prime to 2019 Tesla Model 3 Std Rng Plus - EV range from 25 mi to 240 mi.

In the past, I've speculated that had Toyota replaced the Prius Prime ICE, 211 lbs, 40 lbs exhaust, 20 lbs intake manifold, 20 lbs radiator, 40 lbs fuel tank and 265 lbs battery, a total of ~600 lbs, with batteries it would have made a ( 600 / 800 ) * 240 mi ~= 180 mi EV range. It would have been more sedate than my Tesla Model 3 but over time, achieved equivalent range. We can speculate but not replay history.

Bob Wilson

 

With today's Prius Prime, I can agree:

My history:

• 2014 BMW i3 REX - brilliant EV with Range Extender Engine turned me on to adequate range EV with REX giving long distance, gas capability.
• 2017 Toyota Prius Prime - fatally flawed, short EV range with forced, blended EV and gas. Although bought new, it soon became hated driveway, sheet metal art.
• 2017 BMW i3 REX - excellent EV range for local trips, it reduces the charge cycles that age my 2019 Tesla Model 3 Std Rng Plus. It still has long distance, gas capability.
• 2024 Toyota Prius Prime - improved EV range but still forced, blended EV and gas. Not even close to being tempting.

Tuition in the school of hard knocks:

• 2014 BMW i3 REX - paid $29,000 and went with ex-wife.
• 2017 Toyota Prius Prime - paid $29,000 and trade-in $18,300.
• 2017 BMW i3 REX - paid $15,000.
• 2024 Toyota Prius Prime - no interest $0.

This shows how well each PHEV met my daily requirements:

I might have tolerated the 'blended gas and EV' of the current Prius Prime because both BMWs have an engine maintenance cycle for 15 minutes every 60 days. But the lack of a hard EV mode was irritating.

Bob Wilson

 

I just wanted to share my experience with EV range of a PHEV needed to match typical driving profile.

I thought the 2017 Prius Prime would soon replace the 2014 BMW i3-REx but side-by-side, the Prime lost badly. The Prime 25 mi EV it not enough when the BMW i3-REx PHEV has nearly three times, 72 mi, EV range. Soon I realized I'd made a $29,000 mistake and the Prime was never going to get the usage of the BMW i3-REx.

So I traded in the 2017 Prius Prime, $18,300, for the 2019 Tesla Model 3 Std Rng Plus, $42,000. I only had to finance ~$24,000. A side effect, the BMW i3-REx remains a better City car than Model 3. But the Model 3 puts on long range EV miles much more comfortable (and slightly cheaper.)

As for the two BMW EV ranges:

• 72 mi - a little short that required occasional gas, maybe 20-30 gallons per year.
• 106 mi - fully meets my City driving needs and looks to be 2-3 gallons per year.

Bob Wilson

 

Is there a problem?


Bob Wilson