High Gas Prices Push People to EVs - Big Mistake

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:00]So, even if the war ends today, how quickly can gas prices drop? It's uh got a lot of people considering whether or not now is the time to buy an electric car. I'm so pleased right now to bring in founder of Car Coach Reports and Newsmax columnist Lauren Fix. Lauren, welcome to the show. Great to see you and man, we're getting hammered with the gas prices. It's so difficult for us to continue to have this as an affordability crisis. Is EV the option for folks? What do they need to consider?

[00:00:34]Well, a lot of people are looking at that as an option, but you have to look at a bigger picture. It's very easy to think, you know, I'll I'll get an EV, the price of gasoline is high today.

[00:00:43]But, as you said as you report on the news every day and I watch you every day, I know that you're constantly reporting on what's going on. Lots of changes and those changes could mean that within 2 weeks, according with Scott Bessent is saying, or up to 6 weeks, we might see prices drop dramatically. Cuz remember, we're taking oil in from Venezuela. We only use 3% of the oil that comes out of the Strait of Hormuz. And so, that could impact what's going on here in a very short period of time. So, I know it's painful right now for people. And if you're thinking about a new vehicle, looking at an EV might be an option. There are some great deals, but there's no longer a $7,500 tax credit and you truly need to know the impact. The impact is your insurance rates are higher. A lot of people don't think about that. And of course, you need a charging station. You're going to put one in your home? Great. That's not a problem.

[00:01:29]Big factor. If you do, you must tell your home insurance company that you have installed a charger in your home.

[00:01:36]If you don't, God forbid you have a problem and there's a fire, you will only get about 80% of your home's value.

[00:01:42]And that's not what you pay for insurance. But, you need to tell them like putting an addition on your home, "Hey, we put a covered patio in our backyard." You would tell them that as well. "We put a bathroom and a bedroom in."

[00:01:52]So, people don't think about that. Those are factors.

[00:01:55]Certainly is. And I think about where you drive your habits. Yeah, the resale. And I've heard also too when the battery dies, it's like you're out.

[00:02:05]You're completely out the cost. Can you talk to talk to us about that?

[00:02:09]Absolutely. So when you're looking at costs, let's say you bought a used EV.

[00:02:13]Let's say it was a an older Chevy Bolt or a Volt or maybe just an older Prius that and the battery side doesn't work.

[00:02:20]You're looking at between seven and eight thousand dollars. This is not something you would replace yourself like you just used to go to Sears and get a battery and put it in. Well, those days or Sears isn't here, but those days are gone. This has to be done by a certified ASC technician who specializes in electric cars. And that's expensive.

[00:02:37]Yeah, I'm getting the sense that you crunch the numbers, do what's right for your family, but really consider everything you just laid out so clearly. I thought it was interesting Jerry Seinfeld's getting a little bit of heat because he came out and talked about electric cars recently Lauren. He's he's not a fan. He says, "I'm not interested in electric cars at all. I think it's a big stupid virtue signal. Look at me," he says, "I'm saving the planet. Yeah, what about the lithium? It's all BS." And that's Jerry Seinfeld. We know how President Trump of course stands on EVs. I want to squeeze this in because there's an interesting story coming out of the Wall Street Journal.

[00:03:08]Um it is the secret team reportedly that is now looking at Ford's assembly line to make a $30,000 electric truck Lauren.

[00:03:18]Trying to guess what? Beat China at the EV race. It's called the Ranchero. It's slated to debut next year, but they pulled the plug on the 150 which was a flop, the electric 150. So why do you think a $30,000 EV that they're actually reconfiguring plants to make would be a business decision that Ford's interested in today?

[00:03:39]Okay, couple things. Ranchero was a Ford product back in the day.

[00:03:43]It was basically a car in front and a a bed in the back. I actually owned one of those way back when. But they're also competing against Slate. Slate is funded by Amazon and other companies and they're coming in at the $30,000 price range as well. And if China does ever get vehicles into this country, which we hope they don't and I know that Senator Bernie Moreno is fighting against that, Ford is the first one to say, "Hey, we need to come up with a solution."

[00:04:05]They've been working on this for a while and this could work for some people. If you need a $30,000 vehicle and you're thinking, "You know what? I can't afford something more expensive." But Ford does have the Maverick, which it's had great success with.

[00:04:19]There's such a wealth of information.

[00:04:20]I've been hearing that some of these Chinese vehicles are slipping in through the border and they'll pass through Texas. It's something to watch. And when you said a car and then a bed in the back, that's when we all used to ride around as kids and >> [laughter] >> we didn't really have seat belts and stuff then. Times have changed, Lauren Fix.

[00:04:35]If you like this video, give it a like and subscribe for more videos like this and check out our car review channel Car Smarts. You can support me by buying me a cup of coffee and if you want even more content, check out the links in the description. I'm Lauren Fix. Thank you so much for watching.