ASK DR. BOLI.

Dear Dr. Boli: Electric engines are much more efficient and deliver much more torque than gasoline engines. Yet, among my acquaintances, the ones who talk the most enthusiastically about powerful cars are the ones most opposed to electric cars and most stuck on internal combustion. Why is that? —Sincerely, An Avid Bicyclist.

Dear Sir or Madam: Because there’s no fuel like an old fuel.

Comments

  1. Fred says:

    Indeed, I don’t know why more cars don’t run on whale oil these days.

    • Dr. Boli says:

      This is an excellent suggestion. Put the romance back in the oil industry! And the epistemologically metaphorical quests and whatnot!

  2. KevinT says:

    It would seem that the bicyclist is also propelled by internal combustion. An external combustion cyclist would be a sight to behold.

  3. von Hindenburg says:

    If I could play the Petrol’s Advocate: From the perspective of the enthusiast, modern electric cars are even more difficult to work on or modify than other modern vehicles, which are both deliberately locked down by the manufacturer and legitimately difficult for a shade tree mechanic to maintain or modify because of their complexity.

    In addition, the tools and techniques that an enthusiast may have spent decades acquiring are suddenly of no use on an electric vehicle. Is it any wonder that they’d want to continue to cling to what they know and can work on?

    I won’t pretend that there isn’t a cultural/political aspect to all of this, but there’s a practical side as well. Electrical cars of the 2010s and 20s just don’t offer much for most enthusiasts to get excited about.

    • RepubAnon says:

      I get excited about my electric car every time I get a flyer for a discounted tune-up and oil change, or a “minor maintenance” deal … when I take my electric car to the dealer for routine maintenance, all it needs is the tires rotated…

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