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Buying a new car is not better than keeping an old one
(lemmy.world)
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this post was submitted on 10 Oct 2023
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We will never consumer our way of of a problem capitalism created. And public transit is nearly always a better solution to spending on car infrastructure.
... but... If you're gonna buy a new car anyway, they have the potential to cause less climate impact (although they're still environmentally devastating in other ways). As power generation becomes cleaner, so too do the cars. ICE cars are already about as environmentally friendly as they're gonna get, but EVs still have a lot of potential improvement (both in emissions and in things like material mining).
Although the tire microplastics is gonna get worse.
They already do cause less of an impact than ICE powered cars. Anyone can Google the information that shows that even though battery production is unclean, fossil fuel production over the life of a car is worse.
If the EV last for more than about 5 years, it was worth it.
5 Years.... This is part of the problem.. What happens to this car after 5 years, it gets "recycled". The metal does and the rest goes into a landfill to gas off. Micro plastics are just part of it, the gasses are a major polluter too. The reason you can own and keep your old car is that they were built to last, our current disposable society is the problem. Electric cars are dirty! Let go dig massive hole in the desert, lets separate the wanted materials out with lovely chemicals, then we can throw it all away. So clean.... Right to repair, build to last, and strong public transport is the way to go.
No one is recycling still-working cars after only 5 years. Unless you're talking about insurance deciding to salvage a vehicle after a wreck, which is a different story. Even those don't always get destroyed, some are parted out and some are probably shipped overseas to get a second life.
New cars are cheaply made, with parts that sold in modules (parts attached to other parts) and are by far more expensive then their older counterparts. They also have been engineered to be a pain for mechanics to work on, they are no longer built to last or be repair friendly. Many parts are engineered with fasteners that break when you remove them, not making them friendly to being parted out. As for EV's they are a dirty bandaid to a dirty problem, the batteries alone are, made with rare earth metals lithium, manganese and cobalt. These are all pulled out of the earth using chemicals to separate the materials, these mining areas may never fully recover the impact is huge. We still do not have the technology to recycle them, they just like plastics are not fully recyclable. We could build an affordable, repair friendly car that would be a great trade in for Dads old beater, but that wouldn't get you into a New Ford Crapbox Deluxe.
Phew! My electric car made it five years, right to the theoretical break even point with a gas car. What will I do now? Keep driving it? No, I have a better idea. Drive it off of a cliff and go buy a new one. Yep, I love throwing money away for no reason.
That is not what I said, but good job taking care of you toy car.
You need help with reading comprehension and deductive reasoning
So cars are not cheaply made, nor are they unfriendly to repair. The experiences that my family members and I, who have worked on repairing cars is a mass delusion. Not to mention those delusional mechanics that have shared their stories. Everything is recyclable, mines are clean and beautiful. Is that better. Lets be happy!
..except not, how rich are you that buying a new car every 5yr is viable?! I need longer than "about 5yr!"
I know that's not what you meant but it made me chuckle.
I don't understand it either, but still, there is a very active used car market these days. It's not like those 5 year old cars are getting thrown in the dump.
But like you said, it's not what the original poster meant. That's just the cutoff for when it is less environmentally harmful than an ICE car.
That's the break even point for the environmental benefits to overtake production negatives for evs....what the fuck are you talking about? Of course they last longer then that that's my fucking point you dipshit
This is the crux of the joke, the joke being that I am too poor to afford a car every five years, which subverts the expectation of "what you were actually talking about."
I even said "I know that isn't what you meant but it made me chuckle." You really didn't get the joke?
That says more about you being a dipshit than it does me, frankly, considering I literally told you it was a joke.
Also you're rude.
Some people are also forced by their job to lease a new car every 4 years.
It so bad that I cant even lease a 400km old car from 2022 ... No I had to have a new one and if I dont want a car I need to find i different job.
Shit's fucking dumb.
Jeez, buncha moneybags around here that don't like a joke, huh?
What job forces people to lease new cars? Sounds like the job should be providing them if it's gonna be like that, like they do with cell phones they require you to use as "work phones."
It is like that, it isnt so much a personal issue as I can run the car as much as I want.
Its more of a "we want to be good for the environment... But everyone needs a new car. And its mandatory"
A well worded nuanced take on Lemmy? Where am I?
Yeah but by the time some of that potential is realised, your brand new EV is now a few years old and almost worthless cos the batteries are next to useless.
Modern EV batteries last for over a decade and still retain most of their original capacity even after a few hundred thousand miles.
As an example: My vehicles electric battery is warrantied for 10 years or 150,000 mi. Even with that being said, I have seen models of my car used well into the 300-400,000 mi range.
And while I'm not an expert on the matter, it is my understanding that there are recycling plants for electric vehicle batteries. Which I would imagine would reduce the environmental cost of electric vehicles.
Not to mention the research being done on different battery chemistries that are less environmentally hazardous, last longer, are more energy dense, and so on.