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IMO, electric cars are too slow, battery charging is too slow, range is too limited, until we get a network of service centers where batteries can be swapped out in a minute or two and the vehicles can maintain highway speeds the electric vehicle will remain on the golf courses.
Last edited by Mike from back east; 06-02-2010 at 02:01 PM..
leaving aside the fact that the OP is a spammer for a moment, let's address this:
Quote:
Originally Posted by jambo101
Too slow, battery charging is too slow,range is too limited, until we get a network of service centers where batteries can be swapped out in a minute or two and the vehicles can maintain highway speeds the electric vehicle will remain on the golf courses.
You really don't know much about electric cars, do you? Firstly you sound like one of those horse fans back at the turn of the last century talking about those newfangled "automobiles." "Oh, those will never catch on. They're noisy, unconfortable, dont' go more than a couple miles without needing work and ther'es no infrasturcture to support refueling or even good roads. Horses will be around for the duration and this 'fad' will go away."
Electric cars have zero problem maintaining highway speeds. Even hobbyist built ones have no problems with that. I know a guy with an electric converted Datsun that runs 10 second quarter miles and stomps on Vipers and Corvettes. Other friends build very quick street electric cars from normal cars. Here's an electric Tesla on I83 southbound into Baltimore. I see this guy out on the interstate all the time in it at highway speeds:
No, Electrics aren't for everybody. But very few cars are perfect for everyone. Sports cars suck for towing or carrying lot's of people at once. Big trucks suck for commuting or going around the track. Luxury sedans often suck at real offroading. Real offroaders often suck for luxury sedan use. Not every car has to be 100% perfect for 100% of the possible uses 100% of the buyers might have. That's why there are differnt choices.
But... Electric cars will work perfect for vastly more cummuters than car manufacturers can build for. The average commute is 30 miles round trip. An electric would be perfect to use as a commuter for those people (my commute is 14 miles. I could commute for a week on a single charge in the average modern electric car). I did the calculations with a Chevy Volt and it's 40 mile range on pure electricity. If I only used it for commuting, I'd only use electric, never use the fuel in the gas tank, and still only cost me, at today's electric rates, only a buck and a half a week to keep charged. That's impressive. A Nissan Leaf could go for a couple weeks with no recharging for me.
Even if an electric car is perfect for only 1% of drivers in the US, that's still a potential market of 2 million cars. At 150,000 cars per year, it would take 10 years of production for a manufacturer just to get close to filling that need. But electrics, even now, would be viable for at least 10% of car buyers, if not more. That makes it an absolutely HUGE business opportunity, even if it's only good for 10% of modern drivers in the US. So, it doesn't HAVE to be perfect for everyone. And considering how long it would take to build and sell enough cars to equip that 10% of drivers with electric cars, the grid would ALSO have no problem keeping up.
I have no problem with electrics, and am kin of curious about the hot rodding potential:
If i only drove around town i'd have no problems with an electric car but living in an apartment complex where would i plug it in?,i also drive from Montreal to Florida at least twice a year and take extensive summer vacations,what would be my charging options every couple of hours during the trips?,Yes there are some super fast electric vehicles but they are mostly home made and the ones like the Tesla are outrageously expensive and not very practical , the Chevy Volt has promise but will the price be low enough to attract enough people to buy it to make it economically viable.I like the idea of electric cars and hope that we will all be using them in the future that's If the power grid can handle that many cars all on charge everyday but for now i'll stick with my Toyota Yaris.
If i only drove around town i'd have no problems with an electric car but living in an apartment complex where would i plug it in?,i also drive from Montreal to Florida at least twice a year and take extensive summer vacations,what would be my charging options every couple of hours during the trips?,
So what? because it's not perfect for YOU it shouldn't be built? That's stupid.
if you drive that far twice a year, you COULD rent something. It's like saying you NEED a crew cab dually on hand all the time because twice year you and four friends tow a 32 foot speedboat to the lake.
Ever think of people that own, oh, more than one car? Or, that, say, DON'T live in an apartment? Typical, you can't think outside your own situation.
Not driving an electric car, yet, but will some day. It's coming.
One only needs to look at the Tesla, to see how good some electrics are at this time. Though the Tesla is pricey enough, they're partnering with Toyota to make electric cars here in the USA, in Fremont, CA.
The Tesla is rated for 245 miles on a charge and has neck-snapping speed.
I can't wait to see 50,000,000 electrics on the road and we can tell OPEC to take a flying .... leap...
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Not driving an electric car, yet, but will some day. It's coming.
One only needs to look at the Tesla, to see how good some electrics are at this time. Though the Tesla is pricey enough, they're partnering with Toyota to make electric cars here in the USA, in Fremont, CA.
The Tesla is rated for 245 miles on a charge and has neck-snapping speed.
I can't wait to see 50,000,000 electrics on the road and we can tell OPEC to take a flying .... leap...
the problem with electric cars is as others have said if run out of juice on the side of the road it's not like you can bring a jerry can of electrcity to get you to a charge station you will need to have it towed. Also if the power comes from a coal fired power plant it will pollute more than regular gas powered car's ever would.
if you want maximum fuel economy the best green car out there IMO is a small diesel powered car or truck because unlike hybrids they don't required tons battries that once used up cannot be made and recycled without using more energy plus battery acid is terrible stuff.
Bio-diesel is the wave of the future because the basic infrastucture is already in place and older diesel cars and trucks are easy to convert to run on it and they are easy to fix and find parts for.
The technology needs time, range and better charging will come, then we just have to figure out how the hell to make enough electricity.
build a bunch of modren nuclear power plants and for the waste shoot it into the sun which is a gaint nuclear reaction anyways problem solved
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