.....an electric car??
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.....an electric car??
No. Too many miles out in the middle of nowhere for me.
Tim
...and the fact is, eventually we'll all be buying electric cars.
Cheers for electric cars !
MontanaMoose
Not until it's a truck.
No way! Id buy a vehicle with a Briggs & Stratton in it first.
No or at least not until the technology gets substantially better! Rather have a gas turbine.
Not just electric, but would consider a hybrid if the mpg was substantially better than the 40+mpg I get on the highway with my '07 cobalt.
Not as my only vehicle. I would also have to see what the cost of replacement batteries is. If 5 years down the line to sell it I would have to buy new batteries for more than the car will be worth then the resale value is zero and I wouldnt purchase one.
Eric
I would if my situation changed or I felt confident the technology would get me 15 miles to work and 15 miles home at -50. Sometimes , even gasoline lets me down.
Eventually we will have to supplement oil as a transportation energy source. Natural gas and electricity are both contenders in this field. Electric vehicles, at present, are a reasonable alternative if you live in a city and are using it for short range transportation to and from work and shopping/errands. They are not reasonable for country dwellers, people who haul large payloads, or for long vacation trips. So they seem to be a reasonable choice for a second car for the city commuter.
Be aware that they are not emission free. The electricity has to be generated somehow so, at present, they have a carbon footprint. Half of our electricity is generated from coal. This will not always be the case but it is for the near term. So you global warming fans out there had best be careful.
Also, major changes will have to be made in the electric grid to handle the power requirements of a few million electric vehicles shoud we choose that path. The cost of electricity will increase to cover the changes so any energy cost savings you realize are liable to be short lived. Add on, also, the carbon tax on electricity should we be folly enough to sign Kyoto.
Bob
No way. electric cars don't reduce pollution... they actually increase it in most cases. (Since as others have mentioned electricity is produced by coal primarily...)
Additionally... Resale value. These cars need to be dirt cheap, because you will not be able to sell it to anyone and it will have nearly zero trade-in value because of the battery issue.
Safety. These cars are built cheaply because the entire cost is in the battery. No advanced technology to help make the car safter, such as ABS brakes, AWD, stability control etc. The frame is skimped on to lighten it up. Thus it will just crumple into an accident. Imagine if a battery becomes exposed as well. Highly volatile and dangerous chemicals & fumes... many times more dangerous than fuel tanks on our current cars.
Lastly... I live 2 hours from the closest shopping mall. The car would barely be able to get me there and back, assuming optimal conditions... and this is Wyoming... where extreme cold is the norm in the winter time. Cold and batteries don't mix!!
Paul
Not at current technology levels, no. Too impractical for the driving that I do. Give it a bit, though, and the tech will, hopefully, increase the useful mileage and abilities of the cars.
My agency has a couple hybrid vehicles. The sedans work well for road trips and errands, except for when the battery gets damaged and needs replaced. The trucks, well... they aren't the most functional vehicles.
No I wouldnt for a few reason.
#1- I am a "car guy/gear head"...got a 1/4 mile drag car and love muscle cars. If it isnt internal combustion then I don't want anything to do with it:lol:
#2- I think the "idea" of electric is cool for the masses, but its too much in the starting stage. Maybe 50 yrs from now it will be easy to charge and no issues, but for now I dont see it as "easy" to use.
Steve
I commute 110 miles round trip every day, 100 of that is all Interstate in a 65 zone. Get behind a semi at a safe distance (enough for a car to fit in between if they want) and reset your Economy reading on your Driver Information Center (DIC). Drafting in the right weather/temp will get you 50mpg on a flat straight away easy. Got over 65 mpg at 55mph for a 20 mile stretch on time. Then try it on a down hill stretch. 'Pegged' mine at 99mpg for nearly a mile! :D
I said years ago I would NEVER get a speeding ticket on the way TO work!
Buy 'em up ya'll. I work in a coal burning plant that is OFFLINE right now! 1500 Megawatt potential just waitn' for the onslaught of Battery chargers.
Me, I'll stick to my '84 Nissan pickup. It has 2 sparkplugs per cyl. (z24 engine) so it gets a more complete burn than other similar 4 bangers. Very small carbon footprint
aa
http://www.flytheroad.com
I'm on the waiting list. and this one will be low on the MPG (full electric with gas backup.. I've seen estimates for others getting hundreds of MPG when using the gas generators) but this one looks like TOO much fun to not drive.
? Accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in approximately 6 seconds
? Reach top speeds of approximately 100 mph
? Achieve fuel economy of 75 + miles per gallon
? Provide an all electric range of at least 20 miles
? Provide a total driving range at least 400 miles
on a six-gallon tank of gas
I'd own this one in a heartbeat too..
http://www.aptera.com/
I would buy one before I drove a Fred Flintstone car, but that's the only way I want one. At least until the tech gets much better.
As soon as we can get away from generating the elecricty by burning coal/oil/gas. Right now you're just distancing yourself from the carbon footprint rather than shrinking it. Now if they get around to harnessing the wind energy generated by congressional debates....
one size is not going to fit all as far as transportation. here in the Washington area, we could mostly use electric cars just fine. out in a rural area, fugeddaboudit.
i bought my Prius in Jan of 2002 and it still gets 40 mpg week over week, city+rural driving. surely i've saved some gas over that time, if not much money. when the plug-ins can live outdoors year-round, i'll try one of them.
I may open a can a worms...I would not get an electic car to support the idea that it is a major cause of the supposed global warming, I would buy one
if and when the can match or exceed what motorized vehicles and does not cost a fortune...I do think that we have come along way with curbing pollution problems, I recycle and do try to be a good steward, but alas I am a frail human with my own opinion and ideas.
Flyfisher121
Yes, it will hold one other person and 2 sets of golf clubs.;)
Sure,
But I could care less about 'carbon footprints', global warming, or any kind of 'polution' or 'environmental concern' associated with my vehicle. I need a vehicle to accomplish certain tasks. Those tasks are 'need', not just want, so they aren't negotiable. Nor am I willing to 'change' my lifestyle or driving habits to suite a vehicle. I'ts up to the vehicle manufacturer to make a vehicle that suites 'me', if he expects me to buy it, not the other way around.
If an electric vehicle did what I need a vehicle to do and it saved me money, I'd buy one.
I'll make my purchasing decisions on that basis as long as I can drive.
Buddy
I would buy an electric car if I could afford it. I think it is the right thing to do, if you can afford it, to use less fossil fuels and pollute less. Electricity can be made from solar, wind, and hydro. It would be for my wife and I to use around town and such. I have to drive a truck to work, and we have an suv for family trips. She works at home and we are in no position to buy a new car right now. Nissan is supposedly going to offer an electric car next year!
Maybe when pigs fly, but I doubt it. My 2002 Ford Ranger pick up is paid for and just turned 66K miles. Gets 17 mpg in town and 20 on the highway. Since I quite burning ethanol blended gasoline I picked up 2 more mpg.
Our other vehicle is a 2004 Subaru Forester that is also paid for and has 105K miles. Gets much better mileage than the truck.
Hi John,
I'd have to take a pass on that one. Being motorized, I wouldn't be allowed to ride on our network of designated bike pathways anymore. Then I'd have no choice but to ride on the streets, alongside all of those text-happy automobile drivers we're always hearing so much about.
Although if my electric heating bill gets any higher, I might start looking around for one of those bike driven generators that Gilligan used.
Best, Dave
Yes but only if it weren't called a "green" something or other.
May be in a few years when solar and battery technology improves.
One of my best friends from childhood moved to the Villages in Florida last year. Lots of their transportation is my "golf carts" but boys being boys they go for fancy body styles and/or hot rod carts. My friend has a friend there whose cart will run about 35 mph. No bad for batteries and small tires.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej_jw...eature=related
The the little white Datsun is all electric!
Better gas mileage for sure but battery replacement costs scare the XXXXX out of me.
Well, lets look at some of the things we have.
Present FUEL based cars.
Require energy to pump/grow/distill etc to make the fuel.
Require energy to transport the fuel to the fuel stations.
The combustion engines are VERY VERY bad on the efficiency involved in converting the fuel to motion.
This new Hydrogen fuel cell crap is hype - it has all the losses stated above.
Unless they come up with splitting water for HHO gas engines, or some other chemical reaction that gives adequate Hydrogen on demand Hydrogen isn't the solution.. Can you say Hindenburg?
ELECTRIC. Tech has been here for ages, and Better tech on the way.
The electric grid is already in place. Granted it needs updating to smart grids, but the grids are designed for PEAK usage where normal usage outside of that hour or two a day run at what, 50% capacity? With solar improving, and wind power improving alternative "clean" non hydro (dam) solutions are looking good. And are looking to be implementable NOW.
PROBLEMS... Charge time. At safer lower voltages it takes too long.
Range.. Battery technology isn't cheap enough yet.
BUT.. New solar is out that will be able to deal with charging you up.
New regenerative braking transfers braking energy back to batteries, and the new (EXPENSIVE) nano capacitors have the capacity of flash charging and holding a charge like a battery.
Like everything else.. Get enough people to buy it, and the money and tech will follow. As long as my early adoption has a gas hybrid range extension, I'm good and am willing to dish out the 20K or so for a lower end unit. If I was wealthy... I'd own a Tesla, that car is way too cool, but 100K for a car is not what I'd call doable..
Granted oil is actually more plentiful than we thought as the rotting vegetation seems to be seeping back into the old wells that were thought to be tapped out. But the removal capacity for oil is far greater than the exploration is. Of course at 7 -8 dollars per gallon, the US has LOTS of oil in shale etc.. It's just too expensive to extract right now. None of the carbon emission fuels are going to be good for pollution standards in populated areas no matter how you slice it. GIVE ME ELECTRIC and soon. Most small trips to the store or to the mall etc, are well within the all electric car range. I'll plug in at home and enjoy my 3 cents per mile ... :)
http://www.ecoworld.com/articles/ima...ectric_car.jpg