[mikevp]

One analysis I read ages ago showed that an electric car (even of that time) was enough more efficient than a gasoline or Diesel car that even if the electricity to charge the batteries came entirely from coal, it was a net CO2 win.

[mcswell]

Not saying that couldn't be, but it seems unlikely: you're going through several additional conversion steps: from heat to steam to electricity to chemical energy (in the battery), back to electricity and then to motion--whereas a gas engine has a single conversion step: from heat to motion. Given that each conversion step introduces new inefficiencies, I would be surprised if coal-> heat-> steam-> electricity-> chemical-> electricity-> motion path were more efficient than the heat-> motion path (even granted that coal-fired power plants are, considered alone, probably more efficient than gas engines).

Electric cars would, I suspect, only be more efficient in terms of CO2 if the production of their electricity did not produce any CO2, i.e. the electricity came from hydro, nuclear, wind or geothermal.

[EricE]

Want to talk about conversions? Look at the complexity in ICE vehicles vs. electric.

Let’s just look at fluids: Oil Cooling Brake Transmission Differential Power steering (although more and more ICE cars are coming with electric, so this is waning).

Many of those must be changed on a routine basis. Changed. That means old has to be drained and disposed of and new fluids have to be made to be used for replacement.

Look at all the parts in ICE vehicles that need replacement/maintenance - spark plugs, air filters, PCV Valves, accessory and timing belts - those are pretty common, but there are just more moving parts so more to potentially break beyond that stuff.

By comparison, electric cars are extremely simple. Brake fluid and windshield washer fluid are generally all they have. There are far fewer moving parts. If there is a transmission, they are dramatically simpler/less complex. Yes the battery packs are liquid cooled but it’s a sealed, non-serviceable system. The lead acid batteries in my ICE cars are sealed too.

This is one of the biggest reasons electric cars aren’t popular with dealers. Car dealers survive on maintenance, not new car sales. Fleecing people on used cars (buying or selling - most people suck at dealing with used vehicles) can be a significant source of revenue, but nothing beats steady service revenue. Hell just try to get a modern car that doesn’t flog you to see your dealer for routine service - whether it’s really needed or not.

Electric cars have dramatically fewer service requirements and this has a substantially positive environmental impact - has to. If you don’t have to create a bunch of stuff on a routine basis x millions of vehicles then there isn’t much of an environmental impact, eh?

That said, I still think current battery tech isn’t practical enough to totally supplant ICE vehicles. Electric cars make great commuter vehicles - except with the pandemic most people are teleworking :) Maybe the new Samsung solid state batteries will finally tilt things where electrics are a no-brainer.