What does an electric Hummer’s size and weight mean for its performance?

• If you think driving a pint Leaf Nissan as good for the planet as driving a giant electric Hummer, think again.
• The GMC Hummer EV uses significantly more electricity than other EVs, meaning it generates more pollution upstream.
• The electric Hummer weighs 9,000 pounds and the battery as heavy as a Honda Civic.

The new electric Hummer rolls through town without the shrill rumble of engines or toxic fumes, but it doesn’t really glide smoothly.

The huge truck weighs an incredible 9,000 pounds. (Think two Toyota Tacoma, three Honda Civics, or 24 Shaquille O’Neals.) Furthermore, the GMC Hummer EV is in many ways a super gas-guzzling car for a new era. It repackages many of the same flaws of the huge SUVs and trucks of years past – and proves that not all zero-emissions cars are created equal.

Electric vehicles can also consume energy

General, Electric Car use less energy than gas powered ones. But not all of them are equally effective.

No surprises here: The Hummer needs more electricity than any other EV on the market to move its elephant frame. The I have to go to school every day pickup truck rating at 47 MPGe (miles per gallon of gasoline equivalent). For comparison, the Tesla Model 3 car is nearly three times more effective, which received a rating of 132 MPGe. The Ford F-150 Lightningagain electric truckget 70 MPGe.

This has real consequences: Since the United States was 61% of energy comes from oil, coal and natural gasThe more electricity a car needs, the more pollution it creates upstream.

Like Union of Concerned Scientists put it: “Both electric cars and trucks are much cleaner than gas cars, but electric trucks are responsible for more global warming emissions than electric cars simply because trucks are bigger and heavier.”

The Hummer EV is also resource-intensive to manufacture, requiring a huge (and heavy) battery to give people the 300+ mile range they desire. you can produce three bolts Chevrolet with the same battery cell consumed by a Hummer. And the raw materials for batteries like lithium are ready shortage.

“How many more reasonably sized electric cars can we build if we just reallocate all the stuff that goes into that 3,000-pound Hummer EV battery pack to a sedan or reasonably sized car?” makes more sense, let alone e-bikes?” David zippera guest member at the Harvard Kennedy School Taubman Center for State and Local Government, told Insider.

4.5 ton elephant in the room

Hummer EV is a full version weighs more than 4,000 pounds than a good, gas-powered option Ford F-150. And it’s even louder than the original army-inspired Hummer H1 put your brand on the map. It is so massive that it Not allowed on Brooklyn Bridge and that common engine not required to show EPA Effective stats on window stickers.

The extra weight and size of a vehicle doesn’t just cause inefficiencies. Research shows it can also lead to increased emissions from tire and brake wear and greater risk to others in an accident (both from bigger blind spot and simple physics).

Answer questions about all of these, one GM The spokesperson noted that the Hummer EV is seen as a “halo vehicle” that showcases the potential of EVs. She also mentioned that GM engineers took mass into account when designing the truck’s brakes and other systems, as well as mentioning its safety features. Some research properties Pedestrian death rates have spiked recently due to factors other than larger vehicles, like Drunk driving, skirunningand infrastructure shortcomings, she added.

The new Hummer isn’t alone here. All battery-powered cars weigh more than their gas-powered counterparts – but it’s the biggest.

To be sure, converting Americans to electric cars will require giving them plenty of options across the car spectrum. Someone driving a diesel forklift isn’t going to suddenly embrace a cute little hatchback. And research has shown that electrified pickup trucks put a bigger dent in greenhouse gas emissions than do the same for smaller cars.

However, some transportation experts say more needs to be done to steer buyers away from giant, energy-hungry EVs. Zipper is a fan of the weight-based charges that have been introduced in Washington, DC, and Norway, a country at the forefront of the electric vehicle movement.

“People should be free to buy what they want, but we should make sure that the market forces them to pay the price their decisions can have on society,” Zipper said.

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