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Good question. My own personal criteria for an electric car to meet before I'll buy is competitively priced with an entry level car like a Honda Civic, 200 miles or more on a single charge and highway speeds. Add to that enough room to seat at least one other passenger and some trunk space and I'll be happy.
This Alias car is a real breakthrough because if you look at the other cars on the market they almost all get around 40 miles per charge with a top speed of about 25 to 30 mph. It will take time but eventually these cars coupled with new battery technology will be able to compete with our existing fleet of gasoline and diesel fueled vehicles.
Information on the cost of replacing the battery pack every couple years is hard to find but I did find one link. It claims these batteries will last only 2 years and cost $10,000 to replace.
If this will be the case then electric cars will never catch on.
Many links I found all claim the same thing though. The technology for electric cars are here now but technology for the batteries are not.
Information on the cost of replacing the battery pack every couple years is hard to find but I did find one link. It claims these batteries will last only 2 years and cost $10,000 to replace.
If this will be the case then electric cars will never catch on.
Many links I found all claim the same thing though. The technology for electric cars are here now but technology for the batteries are not.
In due time the price will drop. Supply and demand. Remember how much the first LCD TV's cost? And within a few years the prices dropped. Now you can get a 23" to 27" LCD TV for the same price that I paid for a 15" in Nov. 2004. Give it time.
I just had a few random thoughts on how to avoid stopping to charge or how to make it better.
to make the charging experience better
Have charging station, like gas stations, but more like restaurants where you can stop to get food (300 miles is about 6 to 5 hours of driving) that way you have something to do for those twenty minutes
How to make i so you don't have to charge
put fans inside of the car, so its powered by wind power, the faster you go, the faster the fans spin, letting you go faster.
or put solar panels all over the car and the car would store energy, which you would regulate the percentage, for night time driving, though I guess the moon and the numerous light posts could give off enough energy to power it, if the moon is reflecting the light of the sun.
It looks like some people who have made posts are under the impression that we in the US are the only ones on the planet who are having to pay a lot more for gasoline these days. They make it sound like it's our love of evil SUVs and NASCAR that has brought us to this crisis. People who think that clearly have no understanding of how a global economy operates, and they clearly have an anti-capitalist agenda.
I was reading in the paper the other day that these high gas prices might actually cause some manufacturers to start manufacturing in the US again. The cost of gas has also gone up in China, India, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Mexico, and pretty much everywhere else. That and the low dollar are the reasons Kia is building a huge factory in Georgia, Toyota is building a huge factory in Mississippi, Nissan has moved some manufacturing from Mexico to the US, and Volkswagen is going to build a huge factory in either Huntsville AL or Chattanooga TN (announcement to be made next month). It'll be a heck of a lot cheaper to manufacture cars here in the US that are going to be sold in the US rather than ship them all the way here from Korea, Mexico or Germany.
I can guarantee you that if the high cost of gas means it'll be too expensive to ship DVD players from China to the US, some entrepreneur will open a DVD factory right here in the US.
The point I'm trying to make is this: if gas prices remain this high, it won't be the end of the world. Things will be tight for a while, but over time we'll learn to adjust. An article in the paper the other day said that more people are growing gardens because of the higher food prices. With the recent tomatoes/salmonella outbreak, that's probably not such a bad thing. And because of our love of suburbia and homes with lawns, most Americans can actually grow gardens (unlike most of our European friends who are relegated to live in government apartments).
I'm seeing more people carpool, more people ride their bikes, and more people walking.
So, I say let the free market continue to work its magic. Fewer people will buy cars, but more people will buy bikes or scooters. Fewer people will buy prepacked salads, but more people will buy gardening equipment. Fewer people will go to Disney World, but more people will spend their money closer to home. And so on.
Those of us who are old enough to remember the fiasco the last time the government tried to control a gas crisis also remember the long lines, the gas rationing, the cheating and the black market. It was Soviet-style economics, and it was rotten. Thank you, Jimmy Carter.
BTW, I want to say a special Thank You to WILWRadio when he said that not all Swedes agree with the OP. I'm half French, and I can assure everyone that many French (maybe even a silent majority) are tired of socialism and government interference in their economy. Not all Europeans are die-hard socialists.
People who suggest increasing the gas prices are likely either teenagers living at home with their parents so they have no worries or they have no idea how the economy works. This economy is on the verge of collapse because of $4 gas. People no longer have disposable income to spend at the mall or at restaurants so those places are starting to drop like flies. Some may think thats good, but remember all the jobs that are being lost. As retailers go, manufacturers are next, and its just a domino effect. Don't forget the tourist industry. Higher gas prices are NOT a good thing. Its in our nation's best intrest for them to get down into the $2.50-$3 level. High enough that everybody isn't rushing out to buy a Hummer but low enough that people still have some disposable income.
Edit: Just checked his profile and it looks like hes a high school kid. You have no right to wish for higher gas prices when mommy and daddy supply all your needs on a silver platter.
a thing to think about when looking at alternative sources is what happens if they take off?
what will the down the line impact be if you get 50M users. With electric cars will the battery packs break down? Are we going to be able to create enough clean electricity to run them? Will charge stations be used or will it be through you home? Will electric prices increase for business and residents? What about states that have to do rolling blackouts right now - how will they cope with the increased demand?
Corn Ethanol - I think we've seen some of the impact of this with increase in feed prices, etc.
I'm all for an alternate, but we can't be short sighted either
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