January 2024
“I would like to die on Mars, just not on impact.” -Elon Musk
Recently, I drove my first electric vehicle. It was fun. I needed some work done on my vehicle in the Twin Cities area. The people at the dealership know me and know my time is valuable. Whenever I take my car in for maintenance or repairs, they provide me with a loaner vehicle so that I can visit my clients who are in the area and attend meetings.
This time they asked me if an electric vehicle would be alright with me. I hesitated, having a few questions. Would I have to charge it? Would I need to worry about range? None of the people I needed to see lived anywhere near each other. Finally, confirming that the car would not be one of those tiny little things that look like a glorified golf cart, I agreed to try their electric vehicle.
They showed me to my loaner. It was a handsome shiny black sedan and to the casual observer nobody would know that this was an electric vehicle. I got in and they showed me a few quirky things I would need to know, like how to make it go, and away I went.
Within just a few blocks I was smiling, and thinking to myself, wow! This thing was punchy and responsive. When the traffic light would turn green, it would take off from a stop like some kind of sports car. Boom, I was immediately out in front of everybody. Maybe too fast because some straggler running a red light would not expect me to be in the intersection so quickly.
The other noticeable thing was that as soon as I took my foot off the accelerator, the car would start slowing down rapidly. Unlike other vehicles that sort of coast for a bit when you lift your foot, this thing was indeed braking. It was recapturing energy to feed back into the batteries. A neat gauge on the display even illustrated this.
My first hour of driving was rapid acceleration, and rapid deceleration, with a smile and a wow. After that, my stomach started to feel a bit woozy, so I figured out how to apply just the right amount of pressure to keep my ride smooth and easy. This was not too difficult and soon I found myself thinking, “ya know, I see the appeal of something like this.”
Oh, and did I mention how quiet it was? That was the other very noticeable thing. Now I don’t drive a noisy truck or one of those little rice burners with a Folgers coffee can for a muffler. In other words, my normal vehicle is not necessarily loud. However, the quietness of that electric car was so wonderfully peaceful. It was awesome. I could hear my music without the volume being turned up. The only noise was the hum of the tires and the others around me. When I told Harrison about it, he asked me to imagine what one of those new electric speedboats would be like, just the sound of the water against the hull.
I am not rushing out to buy one tomorrow. Neither are most other people. They are neat, quiet, and fun but still have a long way to go. We recently witnessed the calamity that ensued when cold weather hit the north country and not only would many electric vehicles not operate, neither would the charging stations they relied upon. Hertz, which had invested 30% of their rental fleet in electric vehicles, announced that they are going to start selling them off. People don’t want them; they don’t even want to rent them, according to the company. The idea was that people would rent them for a weekend and then go buy one. It turns out that people don’t want to get stuck on a highway with no way to refuel. They choose the gas-powered engine instead.
Manufacturers have seen the same thing. In order to fill demanding quotas by the current administration, they ramped up production and filled car lots with electric vehicles even when other models were still in short supply. Now most of those same manufacturers are slashing production dramatically and putting up huge incentives to move those cars since demand has been nil. A group of them recently lobbied the Biden administration for more lenient mandates saying demand was not there nor was the infrastructure ready.
I still cannot get rid of the neat feeling I had driving one. Perhaps this will become the second vehicle for many families. Do you know anyone who bought an electric vehicle and wants to switch back? I don’t. (If you do, please let me know.)
It’s leap year! Therefore, we will have an extra day this year which will take place on February 29th. Did they choose to put it in February because it is the month that already has an extra letter in the name? What will you do with your extra day? If you happen to be in the Fargo that day, please save the date. Collins and Krank is bringing back “movie night!” This time we have partnered with a longtime friend and movie aficionado in the area to make the event bigger than ever with the Mighty Wurlitzer pipe organ playing early, followed by movie trivia before the show. My friend Brent has been doing this for years and invited us to partner with him for our event.
Sincerely,
Brien Krank
Financial Advisor, RJFS
Senior Portfolio Manager
Managing Partner – Collins and Krank
Hear me on the radio Wednesday mornings from 7:35am to 8:55am on 1100am The Flag and 970 WDAY.
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