I’m a big fan of EVs, and I think it’s high time they become the default commuter vehicle in the U.S.A. Not because they’re slick and shiny. Not because they’re futuristic and advanced. But because they have the potential to last four times as long as internal combustion cars and cost us a fraction as much to drive each mile. Every automaker should offer barebones EVs that are practical, durable, and cheap. But the industry has been doing the opposite.

Many automakers are positioning EVs as luxury vehicles. To this end, they load them up with expensive bells and whistles. This includes relatively harmless features such as useless LED running lights spanning the grille and powered charging port doors (which are literally falling off EVs). It also includes useless digital dashboards (1.6 million of which have been recalled). But worst of all, it includes expensive and incomplete self-driving technology (which is literally killing people), and powered door handles (which are also literally killing people).

The sad saga of powered door handles

Tesla was the first mass-produced vehicle with these powered door handles. They sit flush against the body of the car until you hit the “unlock” button on your phone or key fob. Then they rise up as if to greet you. Very futuristic. But not very functional in the real world. In cold weather, Tesla door handles can freeze shut. And when the EV battery dies in hot weather, parents have to break a window to free trapped children.

The damage to the industry was already done. Because Tesla had powered door handles, most automakers followed suit. Now Ford is facing lawsuits for Model-E door handles trapping passengers. And after multiple teens died in a burning Cybertruck, while bystanders tried to open the doors, Tesla is also facing lawsuits. The automaker has finally announced it will re-engineer its door handles. It will start by combining the regular interior door handles and interior emergency release button (for when the car loses power). Let’s hope it will re-engineer the powered exterior handles to something safer.

The phrase “reinventing the wheel” refers to redesigning a technology that wasn’t broken in the first place. With the EV revolution, automakers haven’t tried to reinvent the wheel. But they do seem intent on reinventing every other aspect of the automobile. But over the 100 years of internal combustion development, the free market has done a darn good job perfecting most aspects of the automobile. So while it’s time to offer durable and reliable EVs, we might as well stick with the familiar and dependable aspects of our old cars that worked fine. Including the trusty door handle.