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I will be buying a new car in a year or two and have considered going electric, but this article has me rethinking of going exclusively with a gasoline powered vehicle.
If its just about economy a VW TDI can be hypermiled into the mid 60mpg range easily, likewise something like a Yaris can get 35-40mpg all day long and up around 50mpg on the highway.
Electric isnt a bad way to go if you have an appropriate highspeed charger and off street parking and just drive the car under 40 miles a day around town,downsides are high initial cost and long waiting time for a recharge, up around 16 hours from 110V wall outlet which makes it kinda useless for any kind of long distance trip, and if you do run out of charge you will have to get the car towed to a charging station....
Mortortrend named the Tesla car of the year, an electrric. Granted their credibility is pretty much shot and their objectivity is under scrutiny, last year they picked the Volt. The Focus was snubbed. Hmmm, I guess the pickings were pretty slim looking at the cars they had to choose from.
A Prius or an Insight would be much better more economical and practical choices if you go the hybrid route.
Regarding the oil, wasn't there an article showing the US exported more oil than we imported?
I think our big trucks etc will always be on oil, but we will slowly make the move towards electric cars. Don't let some media article change your choice of vehicle.
Now, about that crack/meth pipe ... can we make it explode?
When the price of electric cars come down to fair prices AND they can travel hundreds of miles on a single charge, I will buy one. Otherwise... never...
When I heard this story earlier in the day on the radio, they interviewed someone (didnt catch the entire story) but he was saying that gasoline per gallon would be alot cheaper, a couple of dollars cheaper. Hard to believe but thats what I heard. Maybe someone can chime in, if they know more about this scenerio.
Energy independence does not equal cheaper gas. Just ask Canada. Oil is traded and priced on a global scale so more domestic production does not make it cheaper.
There are good reasons to choose or not choose an electric car or a hybrid or an exclusively gasoline or diesel powered vehicle. None of those reasons relate to the amount of domestic oil production.
Electric and hybrid cars still have an upfront cost penalty that for most people would not be recouped in the fuel savings, but if your budget and driving patterns allow there's no reason not to choose one if you want it.
One interesting thought for the future might be, though, will there be an increase in natural gas-powered cars with all this "newfound" natural gas supply? The only thing missing for that is more fueling stations.
Electric cars do have a place on the roads. They're good short range commuter vehicles. They're not good for interstate or long range driving. With a gasoline or diesel powered vehicle, run low on fuel and a quick 2 to 5 minute stop and you're tank is full and you're on your way again. With electric, you have to find a hotel that'll allow you to plug in your vehicle and check in for the night. Hopefully your batteries will be fully charged by morning after breakfast. Even with the addition of roof solar panels, that's not a good driving range especially if running the stereo or climate control system (AC/heat). Not many people can afford an electric commuter car AND a gasoline/diesel car. Seems more efficient to own a gasoline or diesel car and use public transportation (if available) or bicycle/motorcycle to commute within the city.
Hold the presses on this energy independence thingy, the feds just closed 1.5 million acres of land to oil/gas in the State of Colorado a couple days ago.
Plus, our electrical distribution infrastructure in this country is so rickety, that it couldn't stand a massive increase in demand from electric cars.
This is factually both untrue and immaterial. First off, companmies like SCE (Southern California Edison) already say they are ready to replace at least half the current amount of private cars with electrics right now in places like California, if people use smart chargers that charge at off peak hours.
Secondly, and this is most important, manufacturers cant MAKE cars fast enough. Even if they all switched to ONLY making electric cars, it would STILL take 30 years to make enough to replace even HALF the cars in the US alone. There is no physical way for there to be a massive increase in demand from electric cars, Just can't happen even is everyone decided right now that they wanted an electric car. Can't make enough of them. So there's no problem with the infrastructure being upgraded as we go along.
When the price of electric cars come down to fair prices AND they can travel hundreds of miles on a single charge, I will buy one. Otherwise... never...
Think about the early days of gasoline cars, Not along range, always braking down, flat tires everywhere and no refueling infrastructure. You sould like a horse owner at the turn of the 20th century. "I'll never switch from my reliable, easily refueled horse!"
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