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Some reality begins to creep into nuclear aspirations

Some reality begins to creep into nuclear aspirations -- My Manila Times column for Tuesday, November 5, 2024.  This was the last column be...

Toyota chief throws shade at EVs

 

Toyota chief throws shade at EVs -- My Manila Times column for Sunday, October 20, 2024. 

I think the Toyota Motor Corp. has a sensible view toward EVs, given the current state of the technology. The personal view of the company's chairman may be taken with a grain of salt, because the more he talks about EVs, the more it becomes apparent that much of his attitude is simply based on them not being to his taste. He is certainly not the only "car guy" that I know with that kind of attitude. 

Being an old "car guy" myself, I have what most people consider an unhelpfully complex attitude toward electric vehicles. From an environmental standpoint, EVs are obviously the better choice on the simple basis of greenhouse gas emissions vs. no greenhouse gas emissions. From an engineering standpoint, electric motors for propulsion are superior to internal combustion engines; they use energy more efficiently, are more flexible, and simpler. The big hang-up with EVs, however, is that battery power is not only terribly inefficient, the battery supply chain is frankly environmentally horrifying. The problems of charging infrastructure could be solved, but the real point is, something better than batteries needs to be developed; at the very least, battery technology needs to be very much better than it is now.

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