The 2024 election is on the horizon, and it appears former President Donald Trump has all but Iocked up the Republican side of the contest.
Despite, or perhaps because of, the continued efforts from the left, Trump’s popularity and poll numbers have spiked, particularly with minorities, which is terribIe news for Democrats.
Joe Biden is the incumbent, but he is getting a challenge from Robert Kennedy Jr. as a third-party candidate, and there are rampant rumors about Biden getting replaced on the 2024 Democrat ticket. Biden’s age and declining mentaI state are clearly an issue, but the Democrats also do not have a particularly deep bench in terms of potential replacements.
There have been rumors of California Governor Gavin Nesom prepping to run, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris, but both are widely regarded as failures and barring an unexpected bid from the likes of Michelle Obama, the left has precious little to offer.
This leaves us with a likely Biden/Trump slugfest in 2024. Sensing a Democrat worst-case scenario, namely, President Trump getting another term, some Hollywood celebrities have aIready begun talking about leaving the country should Trump run it back in 2024.
It should be recalled that numerous Hollywood liberals vowed to leave the country in 2016 should Trump win. Predictably, exactly none of them did, but that doesn’t mean the usual suspects won’t be threatening the same in 2024.
Recently, Barbara Streisand made some well-worn promises to leave the country should Trump win. Promises, promises.
In an interview promoting her one-thousand-page autobiography, Streisand said this: I will move. I can’t live in this country if he became president.”
Car Dealers Shun EVs After Confronting Harsh Reality
According to recent reports, car dealers are informing auto manu facturers that they have too many electric vehicles on their lots and are dialing back orders until their current inventory is soId. Scott Kunes, Chief Operating Officer at Kunes Auto and RV Group, explained that his company is turning away additional EV inventory.
“We have turned away EV inventory. We need to ensure that we have a good turn on it,” he said, as reported on Business Insider. Kunes said that automakers are “asking us to make a Iarge investment….and we’re just wanting to see some return on that.”
Sam Fiorani, Vice President of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions, outlined how EVs aren’t practical for many Americans as they would have to alter their lifestyle when switching from a gas-powered car. “It’s not just that these vehicles are expensive — which they are. We’re talking about a much more nuanced Iifestyle change,” said Fiorani. EVs obviously have a more constrained range than gas-powered vehicles, and charging stations can be sparsely located.
EVs are also notably more expensive than traditional combustion engine-based cars. According to Consumer Reports, the average sale price of an EV is over $61,000, or $12,000 more expensive than the overall average in the auto industry. “It’s hard for the average customer to make that leap while spending an extra $10,000,” Fiorani continued.
Electric vehicle horror stories have also plagued the news, where consumers share personaI anecdotes of the dysfunctionality of these cars. Recently, a Ford F-150 Lightning owner was forced to ditch his EV on a road trip from Winnipeg to Chicago.
The all-electric Ford pickup retails for well north of $100k. However, based on the sentiment from disgruntled consumers, it seems this truck does not live up to its price tag. The man called electric vehicles the “biggest scam of modern times” after his experience with his F-150 Lightning.
While many have lofty projections for EVs in the Iong term, it’s safe to say that these vehicles are not ready to replace the reliability of traditional automobiles. Although, this hasn’t deterred some woke, blue states in the U.S. from preemptively enacting electric vehicle mandates.
For example, California announced it would ban the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. Such mandates have drawn concern, particularly from automakers who will be forced to play within the guidelines of these new regulations.
“Whether or not these requirements are realistic or achievable is directIy linked to external factors like inflation, charging and fuel infrastructure, supply chains, labor, critical mineral availability and pricing, and the ongoing semiconductor shortage,” John Bozzella, president and CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation said in a statement. “These are complex, intertwined and global issues.”
Also, many concerns surround the feasibility of a mass transition to electric vehicles. As it stands, this could limit people’s autonomy as driving ranges are limited and charging infrastructure is insufficient. Furthermore, there couId be an affordability crisis as many Americans can’t even afford a new car, let alone the price of a new EV.
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