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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Nissan Leaf electric car will get the equivalent of 99 miles per gallon according to its official EPA fuel economy label rating.
Since the Leaf uses electricity and not gasoline for fuel, the EPA had to create an "mpg-equivalent" rating.
Who cares...you have to CHARGE the batteries using more energy anyway, so whats it matter?
Huh? It has to get its power from somewhere but the point is that EVs are up to 90% efficient with their energy use compared to an internal combustion engine that max out at about 35% efficiency.
how bout the efficency of the coal fired powerplant it will be pluged into every night
still probably higher than most gasoline engines.
Note that the savings going from an efficient car to a plug-in is less going from a gas guzzler to a normal efficient car. Let's saying you drive 10,000 miles / year (if your mileage is different the figures would change but the result would be the same.)
10,000 miles @ 20 mpg = 500 gallons
10,000 miles @ 40 mpg = 250 gallons
10,000 miles @ 80 mpg = 125 gallons
Going from a 20 mpg car to a 40 mpg would save 250 gallons while going from a 40 mpg to an 80 mpg would save only 125 gallons.
Did they ever release what the price of the battery packs will be? Estimates were 10-24k and there was talk of Nissan actually leasing the batteries to reduce the cost.
Sorry, but leasing is for idiots... not going to play that game and if the costs are as high as estimated, then we know this is another sucker scam as I seriously doubt the facts concerning the true costs (subsidies) are going to be released.
I am all for more efficient, but it has to come with "better". I really think we need to stop letting emotional idealistic zealots run our technology as the result will be steps backwards in progression of development. These cars weren't on the market in the first place because they were a money pit.
I was glad to see that Nissan admitted the cost of their battery as in excess of $12,000. Doesn't that make the whole discussion moot?
Of course, Toyota has lied about their battery by listing at $3000 in their parts department but not making it available so that buyers would not realize that they were spending $.10 per mile on a battery before they even turn on the motor. All of these batteries will cost $12000-15000 to replace plus labor when the time comes rendering the 5-7 year old car scrap value unless further government subsidies are in place.
5-7 year old car getting a battery replaced? Where have you heard that? Prius batteries are covered for 8 years or 100k miles I believe.
Sure batteries die, heck, in Texas here they die much much faster due to the variation in weather. That said, when you replace a battery in a normal car, the cost is anywhere from 39-100 dollars.
Now, if you read my post, the estimated cost of those battery packs were 10-24 thousand dollars (as they have not reported the actual cost and are thinking about leasing them because of it). The "8 years" part of the warranty is likely never to be reached other than by those who simply never drive much. Putting 100 thousand miles on a vehicle is a walk in the park. I look for a vehicle to last for 200-300 thousand miles before I get rid of it.
Having to spend 10-24 thousand dollars after 100 thousand miles is incredibly stupid due to the already worthless investment that a vehicle is concerning its cost. Likely someone will hit 100 thousand miles in the first 2-3 years of having it and if the batteries go (they won't last the same in every place, nor as long as is claimed) and so the vehicle will be a stupendous money pit past that of even a regular car.
There is a reason these were not put on the market until the government started handing free cash to them to manufacture them. They were impractical and too costly to for production.
I just wish people would use their heads more than emotionally running around like a chicken with their head cut off following every fad that comes about. People need to grow up, grow a brain and start thinking with some responsibility concerning these products. Only then might we make some progress in the development of new technologies. They won't move forward if they can get idiots to keep buying these worthless products and they certainly won't make any progress if the eco-fascists are able to use government to force everyone to have these worthless products.
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