ENVIRONMENTALISM: Challenges to grow with electric cars' sales

[Gratiot]

The roadster sells for around 130 grand fully loaded and will only go around 200 miles with a full charge which takes 3.5 hours. It is fast but certainly not a touring car. I would take a Ferrari, Porsche or Vette over a Tesla.

The Model S sells for over 50 grand. My $35k Nissan 350Z matches it in performance and I can drive it to the beach which is 250 miles on a tank of gas and I do not have to worry about finding a place to charge it to make the trip back home. Also, I would be willing to bet some cash that my Z will beat the Model S on the roadcourse infield track at Texas World Speedway.

If you do not live in the kool-aid state, you are going to be SOL getting it repaired plus your selection of qualified mechanics will be far and few between.

I don't presume that the average Tesla purchaser is buying it as a full fledged touring car or for identical purposes as many purchase a Ferrari, Porsche, or Vette.

Without a doubt, I'm certain your Z will beat it on most any road course.  Without it's dreadfully heavy batteries though, I think the base platform Lotus would give you a nice run for your money.  If I was honestly in the market for a weekend toy car, I doubt there's a car less than 50k that I'd even consider ahead of a nice Lotus Elise or Exige

Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I presume the average person willing to nonchalantly drop 130k on a weekend toy wouldn't be particularly concerned with possibly more difficult maintenance procedures. 

It's most certainly a niche produce in a niche market for now.  I don't think anyone could argue otherwise.

[Gratiot]

What about Tesla Roadster or Model S even?  Or the electric race bikes which ran at the Isle of Man TT this year.  I think those torque curves and performance capabilities thrill even many car or racing purist.

(Quoting to preserve the context of the the following post, at casual glance)

True, to the extent that an electric motor does not have many of the performance limitations of an internal combustion engine.......the problem is now, and will always be endurance.......the power has to come from somewhere, and as DAT mentioned earlier in this tread, unless battery capacity improves several orders of magnitude, electric vehicles will remain severely limited in practicality........

I have a friend that is into electric vehicle research and design, and when he and I have discussed the consept from an engineering perspective on several occasions I have stated the obvious design criteria......."when I can use my electric vehicle exactly the way that I presently use my gas powered one.......with no changes in my lifestyle or usage habits to do so, they will then, and only then, become practical"........until that point, they are still just overgrown golf carts.......

I'm in absolute agreement that electric vehicles are certainly a niche product as far as practicality is concerned.  Where we may differ in opinion though, is that I don't require the same lifestyle or usage habits from all of my vehicles.

I change my driving habits when operating a motorcycle with a 2 stroke motor as opposed to 4 cylinder one.  The engine characteristics necessitate such, and I whole heartedly enjoy both different styles.

My lifestyle habits of how I use and handle, or handled, my v8 powered truck differentiate from how I used my v6 powered suv or perhaps even more glaringly... my 4 cylinder car.

Some types of vehicles are just more suited for different circumstances.  Hence we have such a diverse array of vehicles available to choose from.  Just because a given platform isn't universally proficient in all areas, shouldn't discredit it, if its more than sufficient in several others. 

There is no question that current battery technology is the most significant hurdle to electric vehicles being a direct replacement to gasoline or diesel ones.  My personal belief is that they will never, in the for seeable future be such.  That they'll always be a niche product for certain uses, albeit with slowly expanding uses.   

[Lacarnut]

I don't presume that the average Tesla purchaser is buying it as a full fledged touring car or for identical purposes as many purchase a Ferrari, Porsche, or Vette.

Without a doubt, I'm certain your Z will beat it on most any road course.  Without it's dreadfully heavy batteries though, I think the base platform Lotus would give you a nice run for your money.  If I was honestly in the market for a weekend toy car, I doubt there's a car less than 50k that I'd even consider ahead of a nice Lotus Elise or Exige

Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I presume the average person willing to nonchalantly drop 130k on a weekend toy wouldn't be particularly concerned with possibly more difficult maintenance procedures. 

It's most certainly a niche produce in a niche market for now.  I don't think anyone could argue otherwise.

You could get an Elise for around 50 big ones but the Exige would cost you 15 grand more. For that kind of money I would go for the the Porsche Cayman S. The two Lotus cars would definitely be weekend or track cars. With the Porsche you could use it as a daily driver and a track car.   

[Chris_]

(Quoting to preserve the context of the the following post, at casual glance)

I'm in absolute agreement that electric vehicles are certainly a niche product as far as practicality is concerned.  Where we may differ in opinion though, is that I don't require the same lifestyle or usage habits from all of my vehicles.

I change my driving habits when operating a motorcycle with a 2 stroke motor as opposed to 4 cylinder one.  The engine characteristics necessitate such, and I whole heartedly enjoy both different styles.

My lifestyle habits of how I use and handle, or handled, my v8 powered truck differentiate from how I used my v6 powered suv or perhaps even more glaringly... my 4 cylinder car.

Some types of vehicles are just more suited for different circumstances.  Hence we have such a diverse array of vehicles available to choose from.  Just because a given platform isn't universally proficient in all areas, shouldn't discredit it, if its more than sufficient in several others. 

There is no question that current battery technology is the most significant hurdle to electric vehicles being a direct replacement to gasoline or diesel ones.  My personal belief is that they will never, in the for seeable future be such.  That they'll always be a niche product for certain uses, albeit with slowly expanding uses.   

By "lifestyle changes" I was referring to a broader definition.......for example, when my wife and I decide to take a cross-country trip, we typically cover approximately 500 miles per day, and I doubt that within my lifetime will I see an electric vehicle that has that much uninterrupted range.  When I want to go, I turn the key and it goes......I won't change my driving habits to allow for charging cycles, just to drive an electric vehicle.....

doc