The Electric Car and Hawaii - match made in Aloha heaven? (Honolulu: condos, house)

[vrhunski]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

I noticed the Tesla has up to 300 miles per charge on the Model S - to bad the Leaf didn't beef up the battery.

Yes. Tesla Model S or Model X with 300 miles is awesome!!
I just wonder how to put charger in parking lot in my building !!

Don't know even who to ask for that. Any idea how to put charger in parking lot?

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by vrhunski

Yes. Tesla Model S or Model X with 300 miles is awesome!!
I just wonder how to put charger in parking lot in my building !!

Don't know even who to ask for that. Any idea how to put charger in parking lot?

The biggest short term challenge with the Tesla is you can't get the car serviced in Hawaii - of course, not needing gas and no combusition it shouldn't need much service - but if it does - you are in trouble. Its range is very intriguing.

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

I noticed the Tesla has up to 300 miles per charge on the Model S - to bad the Leaf didn't beef up the battery.

It's funny right...if they'd just spent a little more time on that one feature, they'd be 100% gold.

can't help but think they spent a bit of other time/money on other features that has no meaning compared to that one thing.

[terracore]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

It's funny right...if they'd just spent a little more time on that one feature, they'd be 100% gold.

can't help but think they spent a bit of other time/money on other features that has no meaning compared to that one thing.

Well the Leaf's battery is $18,000 compared to $38,000 for the Tesla. So its deciding whether or not the consumer wants to spend an extra 20k on a vehicle for more range when most people drive less than 35 miles a day. A leaf would make a good commuter vehicle and in theory the family would have a 2nd gas car for longer trips.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by terracore

Well the Leaf's battery is $18,000 compared to $38,000 for the Tesla. So its deciding whether or not the consumer wants to spend an extra 20k on a vehicle for more range when most people drive less than 35 miles a day.

Right, but there are several good reasons why gasoline engine cars don't just have a 2 liter gas tank, even though it might be all you would need for that daily commute. And one reason is that occasionally taking those long trips is part of the appeal of and the justification for owning a car.

Originally Posted by terracore

A leaf would make a good commuter vehicle and in theory the family would have a 2nd gas car for longer trips.

Errrrkkkk. Not every family is in the position of owning a "spare" car, so this is not a complete solution.

I think the Prius Plug-In concept is good, but it only has a 15 mile range on all electric power. I guess it will take a jump in battery technology to take that up to an all-electric commute range plus a gas engine for extended range.

OK, back to the drawing board... use solar power to break down sea-water... use the hydrogen to power fuel cells... <dreaming>

[whtviper1]

The price of the batteries and range will improve over time - just like anything else technology wise.

If a big Tesla sedan which looks like the size of a BMW 5-series can get 300 miles, certainly a small car like a Leaf doesn't need a battery like the Tesla and its $20,000 price difference in batteries. My point was - it seems as if the Leaf chose the least economical battery and if they beefed it up a little - they'd get tremendous more range out of it, lets say 200 miles - and it would certainly be much more appealing. In Hawaii - people can hit the 100 mile range but 200 miles (a day) in Hawaii is very rare. I bet $5K more in battery would have gotten that extra range.

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by OpenD

Right, but there are several good reasons why gasoline engine cars don't just have a 2 liter gas tank, even though it might be all you would need for that daily commute. And one reason is that occasionally taking those long trips is part of the appeal of and the justification for owning a car.

Well, partially. Moreso that people wouldn't want the gas station to be a daily routine stop.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

Well, partially. Moreso that people wouldn't want the gas station to be a daily routine stop.

Right. I said ONE reason was...

But think about it, daily recharging is also a chore, one that a lot of circumstances could interfere with. As simple an event as staying overnight with a friend could be a logistic challenge without some reserve capacity over and above what the daily commute required.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for experimentation and exploration of alternate energy sources and different transportation modalities, but I think one of the factors that has to be licked in order to get wide acceptance is that of total range.

[mdand3boys]

Originally Posted by OpenD

...Errrrkkkk. Not every family is in the position of owning a "spare" car, so this is not a complete solution...

If a family can afford a new $30,000+ electric car, they could easily afford a cheap second vehicle or two cheaper vehicles that use gas, instead.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by mdand3boys

If a family can afford a new $30,000+ electric car, they could easily afford a cheap second vehicle or two cheaper vehicles that use gas, instead.

Anything is possible, of course, but it's certainly not ideal to have to own a second car if they just want to occasionally take a little longer drive than the daily commute.

And then there's that matter of a second parking place... not an insignificant matter in parts of the Aloha State.