Will Electric Cars Rule? If So, When?

1899 -- "La Jamais Contente"

"Nothing ages so quickly as yesterday's vision of the future."
~ Richard Corliss 

About two decades ago I was looking through the 36-page car section of a Popular Mechanics when the following article by Roger Huntington caught my eye: “How Far Can We Go With The Piston Engine?”  The article begins like this. “An early death for the age-old internal combustion piston engine is the prediction of some people.  They say the exhaust can’t be cleaned up enough to meet future air-pollution and antismog laws and that we’ll be running around with batteries, steam, fuel cells and atomic engines in another ten years.”  

This was written in 1969. Seems to me these words could have been written in ‘79 or ’89 or ’99.  Or even yesterday. Is this picture of the near future more relevant today than it was then? For sure the EV has come a very long way. 

IT’S ELECTRIC 

1895 -- The Thomas Parker Electric Car

One way to get a perspective is to look back to the first days of automobile transportation.  Did you know that electric cars were the rage then as well?  

When first developed, the internal combustion engine did not take the motoring public by storm.  Though many inventors produced various designs for this novel approach to mobility, Gottlieb Daimler is often credited with developing the first prototype of the modern gas engine, including a vertical cylinder with gasoline injected through a carburetor. A year later, in 1886, Karl Benz obtained the first patent for a gas fueled car and the horseless carriage was soon on its way out.  

During this same time period carriages were also being powered by fuel cells. As early as 1842 an electric road vehicle was powered by a non-rechargeable battery.  Improvements in the battery made battery powered vehicles increasingly practical, and by 1899  there were more electric cars on the road in Britain and France than there were gas powered vehicles. In the late 1890’s there was even a New York City taxi fleet composed of electric cars.  

Electric cars were quieter, cleaner, and offered a much more pleasant motoring experience. And they could run at a pretty decent clip as well. In 1899 a Belgian built electric car called “La Jamais Contente” was clocked at 68 miles per hour, setting a world land speed record. The gas-powered counterpart was a hand-cranked contraption that smelled, vibrated a lot and made a lot of noise.  The hardest part of all was changing gears, which you didn’t have to do in an electric car. 

EdNote: There were even some deaths caused when a car in a garage lurched forward, causing the man turning the crank to be crushed against the back of the garage.

Electric vehicles did have their limitations. First, they were expensive. Second, they had a range of less than 20 miles, which became problematic in a wide open country like the United States.    

END OF THE ROAD

It was only a matter of time before the internal combustion engine would overpower the electric motor. Times were changing and America’s sprawling highway network was beginning to unfold. Motorists needed a car that could go the distance. Gas power was also helped by the discovery of Texas crude oil, making gasoline abundant and affordable. Gasoline filling stations sprang up not because of government subsidies, but because people wanted to take advantage of this new opportunity to make a profit. 

Charles Kettering’s invention of the electric starter in 1912 had a big impact on the desirability of gas powered cars, and Henry Ford’s mass production processes brought the price down to where almost anyone could afford these vehicles. A gas-powered Ford, at $650, became far more desirable than an electric roadster that cost over a thousand dollars more.

SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE

I cite the Pop Mechanics article because it has a direct bearing upon our expectations regarding the future of electric vehicles. This past week Robert Bryce made a presentation to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee regarding EV hype in the media in general and some of the impediments to rapid EV adoption. By rapid I mean ten years from now. 

Bryce began by reciting the numerous examples over the past 100 years in which the media has announced the imminent death of gasoline-powered vehicles because EVs were on the rise. The last of these was Tony Seba's prophesy that "by 2025 gasoline engines will be unable to compete with electric vehicles."

Naturally our government wants to run roughshod over what the public wants, creating mandates to force this shift. It ought to be obvious that we're not ready.

Tesla sales have been dramatic, but who is buying Teslas? Wealthy people who can afford a second car to take vacations in because EVs still don't have the range that gas-powered cars have.

What prompted Bryce to speak up at this Senate hearing was an EPE mandate being proposed "that would require two-thrds of new vehicles sold in the U.S. to be all-electric by 2032."

So, auto manufacturers will be forced, coerced, to fill their lots with EVs. But will Americans buy them? 

It's a solid, fact-filled read with lots of charts and data. I would encourge you to check it out. You can find it here: My U.S. Senate Testimony On EPA's EV Mandates: "Unrealistic And Unattainable"

Robert Bryce is author of Power Hungry: The Myths Of “Green” Energy and the Real Fuels Of The Future,

Unspeakable Beauty: Chopin

Photo taken in the year that he died.

What can I say? I was in love with Chopin's music from the first time my piano teacher introduced me to a Chopin Polonaise when I was eight. It was a simplified version, no doubt, as I was but a beginner on the piano. But my appreciation for Chopin's music has never wavered. 

Here are a dozen or more quotes about his music with some links at the end.

"Chopin wrote poetry that only a soul could hold."

-- George Sand

"Each of Chopin’s compositions is a conversation between two souls; one never perceives a distinction between a soloist and an accompanying instrument."
-- Robert Schumann

"Chopin's work is one of the peaks in the development of piano music. You could say he was a prophet of the piano. He was different from the people of his time. He created a new epoch."
-- Vladimir Horowitz

"Chopin was a kind of creator who valued ideas and emotions more than anything. He was always eager to provide unexpected harmonies."
-- Ignacy Jan Paderewski

"Chopin is the border between romanticism and modernism."
-- Artur Rubinstein

"Chopin spoke in his music directly to the hearts of the people. His music is direct, spontaneous and clear."
-- Arthur Honegger

"Chopin's music resembles a universe. It is self-contained, it is perfect, it is complete."
-- Leopold Godowsky

"Chopin has written some waltzes that are actually love letters." 

-- Wilfrid Mellers

"Chopin is the only soul who has revealed the genius of that instrument."
-- Franz Liszt

"Chopin is the greatest of them all – he reached the highest point of enlightenment and I have the feeling he is speaking directly to me with each piece."
-- Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

"His creation was spontaneous, miraculous. He found it without searching for it, without foreseeing it. It came to his piano suddenly, complete, sublime, or it sang in his head during a walk, and he would hasten to hear it again by, tossing it off on his instrument. But then would begin the most heartbreaking labor I have ever witnessed. He would spend six weeks on one page, only to end up writing it just as he had traced it in his first outpouring."
--George Sand

"After playing Chopin, I feel as if I had been weeping over sins that I had never committed, and mourning over tragedies that were not my own."
--Oscar Wilde

 * * * 

Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; (1 March 1810 – 17 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leading musician of his era, one whose "poetic genius was based on a professional technique that was without equal in his generation" --Wikipedia

"The most vigorous applause seemed not to suffice to our enthusiasm in the presence of this talented musician, who revealed a new phase of poetic sentiment combined with such happy innovation in the form of his art."--Franz Liszt

* * * 

You may remember this from The Truman Show, where Truman first meets Lauren, the girl who captures his heart.

Simplicity is the final achievement. After one has played a vast quantity of notes and more notes, it is simplicity that emerges as the crowning reward of art.
--Frédéric Chopin

TW0 MORE FAVORITES

ETUDE  Opus 10 No. 3

PRELUDE  Opus 28 No. 4

Life, Death, Speed and Passion: Michael Mann's "Ferrari" is a Winner

Adam Driver as Enzo Ferrari

This past week I went to see Michael Mann's latest film without reading the reviews first. Ferrari! I had watched the trailer and knew I needed to see it, having fallen in love with Italy last spring, and being a longtime fan of Penelope Cruz. Being a lifelong racing fan added to my confidence that I would not be disappointed. And I wasn't. 

The film opens with black and white footage of race cars from what must be the 1920s, the camera close up on the grinning face of a young man driving as fast as he can. That smile... exactly the expression on my face the first time I raced in a stock car. We know the man in the film is Enzo Ferrari, who would one day establish Ferrari as one of the most desired brands in the world for its elegance, performance and history. 

This is not, however, a racing film per se. It's a very human story with combustible emotions and tragic flaws. 

Adam Driver is the embodiment of Enzo Ferrari, the fiery founder of the iconic automobile brand, while Penelope Cruz smolders as Laura, his fiercely loving, yet deeply frustrated wife. The film, like a high-octane race across Italian landscapes and tumultuous decades, plunges us into the heart of Ferrari's world, where ambition and passion threaten to consume him.

The film is an exploration of a complex man driven by obsession, though beneath the steely exterior is an inwardly vulnerable human being full of irreconcilable emotions. Driver captures this duality of Enzo Ferrari who is, on one hand, a visionary, pushing the boundaries of automotive engineering and creating coveted symbols of speed and luxury. On the other, he is an obstinate businessman, haunted by the death of his son and consumed by a hunger for validation. 

The problem many people seem to have with this film is not the film itself, because the script by Troy Kennedy Martin and Brock Yates is (in my opinion) flawless. Rather, the problem is that Driver delivers this duality with serious subtlety, conveying both the chilling charisma of a titan and the vulnerability of a man crippled by grief and even fear. He's already lost a son and is on the verge of losing the Ferrari enterprise as well.

Cruz stands tall beside him as Laura, a woman whose resilience and fiery spirit match Ferrari's own. Their relationship is a tempestuous dance of love, defiance, and betrayal, reflecting the emotional toll of life in the fast lane. Their simmering tensions and explosive arguments crackle with raw emotion, highlighting the price of living in the shadow of a legend.

What's amazing is how much of the story is told in the very brief opening scenes. First we see young Enzo racing, then we cut to a morning bedroom. The man is waking, a woman beside him still half asleep. He rises, dresses and we note that the woman is not Penelope Cruz, though we do not yet know who she is. Cut to: Enzo enters his home in Reggio Emilia a moment later his wife Laura enters the room holding a gun, gives him a dressing down and fires a shot past the left of his head. Message is clear: "Do I have your attention? We had an agreement." 

The gun in Laura's hand immediately brought to mind Chehov's rule about guns. Don't bring a gun into the play unless you intend for it to go off. It doesn't take long for Mann (or Laura) to settle that question.

The scene indeed gets your attention, setting up the roiling undercurrent of Ferrari's personal life. In addition to wrestling with the personal crises he's grappling with, he is also being forced to face up to the potential bankruptcy of the Ferrari factory.  

Michael Mann directed the film and I cannot imagine any other setting that would have worked. The story required being filmed on location.  Nothing captures Italy's allure like those sun-drenched Italian landscapes, manicured trees and gleaming race circuits. Mann went out of his way to capture the feel of 1950s Italy, much of it still there today. On my Italy trip I passed through Reggio Emilia where the Ferarri's home was located. At one point I'd hoped to visit the Ferrari factory while being so near, and would have had I known this film was in the works. Alas. 

Though he knew he was on the verge of bankruptcy, he also knew that winning a major race like the thousand mile Mille Miglia would re-ignite interest in the vehicles he was producing, hence the third component of this story. Racing!

Racing has always been a risky business, but it's unbelievable that back in the fifties they didn't have roll cages or any of the safety features we find on today's cars. Ferrari himself understood the game from first hand experience. He'd also lost friends. He knew both the risks and rewards of the sport.

What makes it a near perfect film is the weaving together of these various strands so that the racing sequences, as well as his philosophical admonitions to the drivers, become a metaphor for Ferrari's internal struggles. I look forward to reading the screenplay some day.

Some might say the film is a meditation on the seductive yet destructive nature of obsessions. I think it's more than that, but for sure it does show how greatness has a sometimes soul-crushing cost.

The reviews at imdb.com are mixed. I suspect that in some cases it's due to the expectations people brought to the film. Here are some of them, with the ratings the reviewers offered:

Brilliant characterisation impressively Italian.      10

This film has some serious flaws.      5

7 1/2 stars really… Penelope Cruz was amazing.          8

Not one of Michael Mann’s best movies but still solid.         6

I was expecting more….      5

Stylish biopic with strong characters and great performances.       9

A lot of missed potential.       6

My favorite of the “Ferrari” movies.        8

Very disappointing.       4

A palpable emotional drama.       8

Intense, vibrant and emotional movie.       10

A misfire on all 12 cylinders.       1

One reviewer said the film lingers long after the credits roll. I agree. I've been thinking about it all week. I have but one regret. That I didn't follow through last April on that inner tug to take a day trip to the Ferrari factory in Maranello while staying in Parma. If I could do it all over again I would have added one additional day to that trip of a lifetime.  

MUCH more can be said here, but this is were I sign off. 

Related Links

Where was Ferrari filmed? Uncovering the real Enzo Ferrari in Italy

16 Stories from My Italy Adventure

The Alarming Rise of Suicide in America, Plus One More Thing to Think About

"He was a most peculiar man
That's what Mrs. Reardon says, and she should know
She lived upstairs from him..."
--A Most Peculiar Man, Simon & Garfunkel

Painting by the author.

A Wall Street Journal story about U.S. suicides caught my attention last month. It made me think about a blog post I'd written about Golden Gate Bridge suicide-attempt survivors. Tonight, while listening to The Essential Simon & Garfunkel (CD) I noted two songs on suicide, "A Most Peculiar Man" and "Richard Cory." 

I'm certain that one of the reasons Paul Simon's songs connected with so many young people in the Sixties was the angst he was able to capture in songs like Sounds of Silence, I Am A Rock, The Boxer. It was a post-JFK world during a war we didn't understand. We were coming of age and looking for America, but with our innocence somewhat stripped away.

The WSJ story by Julie Wernau was titled U.S. Suicides Reached a Record High Last Year, subtitled Older men are at highest risk, while suicide rates among young people have declined. 

One feature of the story was how Wernau tied the suicide data to a mental health crisis. She followed this by stating that nearly 50,000 people in the U.S. lost their lives to suicide in 2022. That's a pretty alarming figure, the highest since 1941 and a pretty grim milestone.

The Wernau article brought to mind a blog post I'd written a couple years ago on Medium about a stat that you don't often read about. It had to do with suicide attempts made by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The stat that struck me was not the quantity of people who have leapt to their death from that bridge, nearly one every 16 days, but rather it was this: all 29 people who survived their suicide attempts off San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge said they regretted their decision as soon as they jumped.

That’s a mind-blowing statement. Each and every one who survived was immediately regretting their decision to leap to their deaths.

In my post I referenced an article titled The Jumpers, by Steve Taylor, Ph.D. The Jumpers opens by introducing us to a Ken Baldwin who had struggled with depression much of his life. Taylor shared details of what brought him to this point, then segues into several details about suicides on the Golden Gate.

From the beginning there have been 20 suicides a year at the bridge, he wrote. He went on to say, “Every jumper has a 98% chance of success, a much higher percentage than for hanging, drug overdose, or shooting. The bridge is 225 feet high, and after a four second fall, jumpers hit the water at a speed of 75 mph, with a force equivalent to a lorry crashing into a wall.”

The moment Ken Baldwin let go of the railing he immediately thought, “What am I doing? This was the worst thing I could do in my life.” He instantly thought of his wife and daughter and didn’t want to die.

He recalled realizing that everything he thought was unfixable was totally fixable — except for having just jumped.

* * * 

A second article Google found for me had a slightly different angle. Instead of being about people who survived after attempting to jump to their deaths, this one was about people who intended to jump but were stopped by police.

This article, by Stacey Freedenthal, Ph.D., LCSW., was titled Where Are They Now?: The Fate of Suicide Attempt Survivors. What Dr. Freedenthal found was that of 515 persons who intended to jump from the bridge and were stopped, only 7% went on to actually kill themselves at some point later in life. It was "a remarkable testament to the fact that a suicidal crisis is often — very often — temporary.”

One of the reasons I find this topic important is because it dovetails with another issue that I am concerned about, the legalization of physician-assisted dying. (Often referred to as doctor-assisted suicide.) I have written about this topic a number of times since the early 90s after doing a series of articles for a seniors publication on ethical issues in terminal health care.

The editor who handed me the assignment stated that I had to write four articles as a journalist before writing the fifth in which I could lay out my own conclusions. I found it to be a remarkably rewarding experience as I interviewed ethicists, oncologists, nurses and proponents (a member of the Hemlock Society, for example.)

The final article in the series was titled The Pros and Cons of Physician Assisted Suicide. In that article I began by noting the four reasons it seemed logical to legalize assisted dying. (Mercy argument, patient’s right to self-determination, economics and the reality that people are already doing it.)

But in my readings and in online forums, I discovered a range of concerns and red flags that ought to be considered. One of these red flags was this:

Many, if not most, people have wished they could die rather than face some difficult circumstance in their lives. Doctors who are given authority to grant this wish may not always recognize that the real problem is a treatable depression rather than the need to fulfill a patient’s death wish.

In a General Debate Forum on America Online someone shared this perspective:

“I know many individuals with significant disabilities: quadriplegia, post-polio survivors, persons with MS, etc. A number of them have tried committing suicide in the past and are now thankful that a mechanism wasn’t in place that would have assured their death, because they got over whatever was bothering them at the time and are happy with life again.”

As I read the stories of people who attempted to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge. I could not help but connect it again to this argument against legalization of assisted suicide.

Currently there is a lot of money being invested in legalization. I would urge caution.

Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

Related Link
The Bodyguard and Richard Cory

How Red Tape Silliness from Government Bureaucracies Stifles Growth and Wastes Resources

At the recent global climate gathering COP28, 22 countries including U.S., Canada, France and U.K. pledged to triple nuclear power capacity by 2050. Will it happen? Within days of the December 1 announcement I was reading criticisms of the idea. I recently read that in this country, nuclear energy regulations and red tape are 100 times more stringent than other power generation systems. 

The other day Reason magazine ran a headline stating Biden Issues 'A.I. Red Tape Wishlist.' The subhead reads, "Biden's new executive order will slow the development and deployment of artificial intelligence technologies." 

When will they "get it"? Their "intentions" are always good, but realistically, it's results that matter. 

Here's the opening paragraph of the story:

"The National Institute of Standards and Technology is charged with setting up the additional safety standards with which the AI developers are supposed to comply. Complying with such reporting requirements will likely slow down the process of safety and security testing undertaken by Big Tech developers while at the same time driving out smaller competitors who cannot afford the costs of dotting regulatory i's and crossing bureaucratic t's."

* * * 

When it comes to the economy or troubles in our cities, name a problem, any problem, and it would not surprise me to have been either created or exacerbated by government interference and "red tape." Here are some of the ways bureaucratic rules are a drag.

Hindered innovation and progress
Stringent regulations and complex approval processes can stifle innovation, particularly in fast-paced sectors like technology and healthcare. Budding entrepreneurs may get bogged down in paperwork and permits, discouraging them from bringing their ideas to life.

Waste of time and resources
Navigating red tape can be incredibly time-consuming for both individuals and government agencies. Filling out endless forms, attending unnecessary meetings, and complying with bureaucratic procedures can divert resources and personnel away from more productive activities.  (See: The F-35 Boondoggle.)

Slow and inefficient response to crisis
When disaster strikes, natural or otherwise, navigating the maze of regulations and approvals can cripple the speed and effectiveness of relief efforts. Delays in bureaucratic procedures can exacerbate the initial damage and leave people suffering for longer. Or worse, decisions are made quickly with no plan as regards implementation. The "heroic" posturing results in the public having less confidence rather than more as regards their elected officials. 

Unequal access to resources and opportunities
Bureaucracy can disproportionately affect marginalized communities and individuals. Complex application processes and lack of transparency can create barriers to accessing essential services like healthcare, education, and social support, perpetuating inequalities and hindering upward mobility. Just being poor is a barrier. When complicated red tape is generated by well meaning bureaucrats, the haves are armed with CPAs and accountants. The masses get strangled while those with means go merrily on their way.

Loss of public trust and confidence
Frustrating experiences with bureaucratic hurdles erodes public trust in government institutions. Delays, inefficiency, and a perceived lack of accountability all work together to breed cynicism and disillusionment, reducing cooperation and participation in civic life. (I have a number of examples I could cite here. Let's start with "Do Not Call" lists. What a farce.)

* * * 

Pocket's Selection of the 43 Most Iconic Short Stories in the English Language

A Writer's Life

You've probably noticed that people love making lists. Top ten drummers of all time. Top 100 novels of the 20th century. The fifty most influential books of all time. The seventeen most important inventions of history.

The other day I saw a web page announcing, in their opinion, the 43 Most Iconic Short Stories in the English Language. The title caught my eye and, despite the fact that 43 is such an arbitrary number that I can't take it seriously, I had to see what they listed. I followed the link. As it turns out, out of the first dozen I'd read nearly all of them, and overall it really is an impressive list. I decided to share the first dozen or so here.

Disclaimer: I am a big fan of well-crafted short fiction. I used to acquire short story anthologies and collections like The Best Stories of 1981 or 1985 or whatever year I came across. Norton Anthologies helped guide me to new writers as well. 

The "43" list starts with 2 stories by Washington Irving: "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Irving knew how to tell a story and both of these are deservedly classics. (I will call this "One.")

Next we find Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart." Poe crafted so many engaging stories, I suspect that these selectors no doubt had a hard time selecting just one.

When I was in junior high I acquired an anthology of Edgar Allen Poe's works, both stories and poetry. "The Tell-Tale Heart" definitely made an impression on me. So many others did as well, including "The Mask of the Red Death," "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," and "The Gold-Bug."

Four: "Bartelby, the Scrivener" by Herman Melville. I read it as I went through my brief Melville phase. His epic novel Moby Dick is deservedly a classic. So I selected a couple follow-ups, including Billy Budd and this one. I read it but remember nothing, so evidently it didn't make the same impression.

Five: "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce. First reading was in junior high. When I read it decades later, I tried to imagine writing this myself. It's an impressive and engaging story about a condemned Confederate soldier during the Civil War. Perfect pacing throughout, Bierce's story is a masterful work.

Six: "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Gilman. I've never read this one, so no comment, but as time permits I will seek it out.

Seven: "The Turn of the Screw" by Henry James. Not sure why I didn't get into Henry James even though I know he is an important writer.

Eight: "The Lady with the Dog" is probably one of Chekhov's most well-known stories, but anyone who stops with this one will be missing a treasure trove of fine stories, some quite serious and others hilarious. One of my favorite all-time stories is "The Bet." A must read. My first Chekhov story was actually a one-act play titled, "On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco." It's hilarious.

Nine: "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs. Exemplifies the adage, "Be careful what you wish for." A powerful and chilling story.

Ten: O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi." This is another that we were introduced to through public school. To learn more about this prolific short story writer who was master of the twist ending, see A Brief Glance at the Life of William Sydney Porter, a.k.a. O Henry.

If you like short stories...

Eleven: "The Dead" by James Joyce. Read it. Didn't get into Joyce when I was reading his books in college. Was I too young to appreciate what they had to offer.

Twelve: "The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka is classic. I first read it in a small volume called Continental Short Stories. One morning Gregor Samsa wakes up to find that he has become a cockroach (or something similar.) The absurd premise is carried out to the full measure. If interested, Haruki Murakami is written a sequel to this very strange tale that you might find interesting.

To find Thirteen through Forty-Three: You'll have to follow this link. I think it somewhat ironic that the title of this list says "in the English language." Chekhov and Kafka no doubt wrote in their native tongues, but since they have been translated I will over look that.

* * *

When I was young, Hemingway's In Our Time inspired in me a desire to be a writer. The power of Heingway's prose prodded me to work hard at it. I was especially attracted to writing short fiction. My first short story collection is titled Unremembered Histories. If you have read it please leave a review at Amazon. If not, read the existing reviews and add it to your cart.