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Comment by null0pointer | Hacker News Reader

This should not be a blanket ban. Actually I don’t think they would even need to implement any policy at all. By 2030 I would expect electric cars to be so economical that it’s the only viable choice for the majority of people.

Not to mention that there will still be plenty of valid use cases for ICE cars in 2030. Need to go anywhere without the charging infrastructure? Need to travel a long distance? Need to travel in an emergency like a blackout?

The other part which is just kind of sad is that this is another nail in the coffin for the hobby of building and modding cars. Parts supplies will dry up and working on older cars will just become more and more prohibitively expensive. It’s already happening. To be honest when a car is just another computer it ceases to be interesting.

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> this is another nail in the coffin for the hobby of building and modding cars.

I confess ignorance about this hobby, but I had imagined it might be easier for a hobbyist to build an electric car than an ICE one (once the parts become more available). I thought there were fewer moving parts in electric cars, and maybe fewer fluids (gasoline obviously being the big one)?

The electronics are a big hurdle. Also, electric cars tend to be pretty locked down. I doubt it’s easy to upgrade a battery pack in an EV. Or switch motors.

Turbo cars are usually pretty easy to get extra power out of. Want a different sound? Get an exhaust. Slap a bigger turbo on. Etc.

I haven’t looked much but most “modded” EVs I’ve seen required a whole team.

Many hobbyists don’t enjoy electric cars. I really liked the idea of a Tesla model 3 before I drove one. The fact that electric cars are being politically “shoved” up our throats doesn’t help there. That just creates more hatred. Also let us not forget how hard it is to charge them for many people. Many newer cars already have a lot of engine choices canceled because of questionable emission laws. It all just increases the dissatisfaction with politics from car enthusiasts. It is theoretically easier to make an electric car faster, but in practice that needs hacking of software etc and is a far cry from what tuning cars was/is. Also tuning electric cars is very expensive and there is less diy. There surely are people who enjoy tinkering with electric cars but those are probably more IT nerds than car nerds. Choice is cool. Ever heard of hydrogen internal combustion engines?

I consider the ban to be more like a political signal to all involved parties to get going. Like building the required charge infrastructure. To accelerate the development which would happen any way, but might be to slow to react on climate change.

I would be interested which actual need for ICE cars there would be in 2030. Good electric cars are already quite comparable today and they keep getting better. Electricity is available everywhere, "charging infrastructure" can be created by installing a socked on the outside of buildings. Long distance travel is already no problem and in a blackout, you cannot refill your ICE car either, because fuel stations require... electricity.

Judging on how many modding projects, like converting old ICE cars to electric, do exist, car modding might get even easier.

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