I’m a minority in the classic car and automotive universe due to my love and support of electric vehicles. My status in the industry is not an exact science with quantitative backing, I base it on the comment section of our Facebook page. I also support converting classic cars from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles, and in certain circles that can lead to feeling like a gearhead pariah.
As a Bubba Wallace and Danica Patrick fan I have developed some thick skin over the years. Also, my divorce toughened up my resolve, so feel free to say what you will. I may not like everyone’s opinion, but I respect a thoughtful retort that isn’t in all capital letters with too many exclamation marks.
My ideology as an environmentally conscious dude has me geared towards fuel efficient vehicles with lower emissions and good gas mileage. This isn’t too shocking as my daily driver is a Mini Cooper with a turbo 1.5-liter three-cylinder engine that produces 134 horsepower. The engine is about as big as a Singer sewing machine and has a lot of turbo lag, but I love driving it. I find it more fun to drive than my 2012 Camaro RS, and it has better gas mileage to boot.
I’m also a former EV owner and I dug that Volkswagen ID.4, but alas it was stolen by someone who wanted it more than me. Between a Mini Cooper and former ownership of an VW ID.4 I feel like I am fulfilling every stereotype of a liberal raised in Northern California that worries about the environment. I check a lot of those boxes, but I loathe being a regional cliché. Ultimately, I like to keep waste to a minimum, recycling is a good thing, a fuel-efficient vehicle is my preference and electric vehicles are the future.
Of course, all the aforementioned ideologies are awesome to me, but my high school history teacher doled out some good advice to me when he said, “It’s good to be an idealist as long as you are a realist.” Sage wisdom that I still use, and it keeps me realistic about diverse opinions and actions by different folks. After 44-years I know my convictions aren’t always realistic. I hold my opinions dear. Some of my takes are misguided, selfish and dumb, but they’re mine.
Will EVs become the norm? I believe they will in my lifetime. This is largely an opinion, but vehicle manufacturers like Volvo are phasing out ICE and California is looking to require all vehicles sold in the Golden State have to be electric or plug-in hybrid by 2035. The future is becoming certain and clear. I can’t foresee ICE vehicles being outlawed and pulled off the street in the future, they’ll probably be grandfathered like a 1970 Chevelle and a cultural shift to EVs will be slow and gradual.
Diversity keeps the world interesting, and different opinions are the foundation of our collective automotive passion. We all love cars, but please be respectful for those of us that like EVs. We’re not a bad bunch, we just dig different technology in our cars and ultimately we’re just gearheads. Unity is always better than discord.
I’m another one like you.
DPC- I ashamed to admit how much time I spent trying to decode DPC. We aren’t a rare species, we’re just low key and allow our actions to speak for themselves. Not a bad thing in a rational universe.
It’s good to know that there are other Daves out there that like EVs