The Conservative Cave
Current Events => Political Ammunition => Topic started by: thundley4 on April 19, 2009, 04:48:51 PM
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President Barack Obama and others are calling for a boom in electric vehicle production, which seems simple enough on the surface: Build the cars and plug them in.If only it were that easy.
When a Chevrolet Volt is plugged into a 240-volt outlet, it will use about 3.3 kilowatts of power, or about the same amount of power as a dishwasher or air conditioner.
Most people are already familiar with what can happen when thousands of air conditioners are plugged in and running at the same time during the summer: brownouts.
"The last thing we would want is for everyone to come home ... and plug them in at 5 or 6 o'clock on a hot, muggy summer afternoon ... when we are at our peak," DTE Energy Chairman Anthony Earley Jr. told the Free Press in an interview last week.
Link (http://www.freep.com/article/20090412/BUSINESS01/904120472/Power+challenges+to+grow+with+electric+cars++sales)
Even at the current rate of electricity many people could not afford the added cost of charging an electric car. Just imagine the cost when the Dems push their "cap and trade" through. The electrical grid can barely handle the load now in most parts of the country, and in the large metropolitan areas, forget it.
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There's no damn way they are going to get me to drive an electric vehicle in a Minnesota winter.
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One of the arguments for plug-in hybrids is their ability to store power for non-peak use and act as a kind of distributed storage to reduce demand on the power grid. Never mind that the plug-in add-ons to the Prius will void the warranty and the only other plug-in hybrids are the Tesla and the Volt, which is not even on the market.
http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/23/prius-its-not-just-a-car-its-an-emergency-generator/
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You can convert a light truck or sedan to an electric vehicle for around $6000 with some basic electrical knowledge. A manual S-10, Ford Ranger, or Mazda B-series truck with a blown motor are a dime a dozen. I've posted this before, but it looks like it might be a fun project to do.
http://greenflightev.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2006-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2007-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=7
If I did this, I would have a run a 30-foot extension cord out my front door to plug my car in. Definitely not user-friendly.
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Using one energy source to make another is an idiotic solution to our energy problem. Electric vehicles, Ethanol, Wind, Solar do not have the infrastructure and all are more expensive in comparison to oil and natural gas. However, have no fear, Obama and the democraps are going to jack up the price of gasoline to EU price levels. Obama can then blame the oil companies and the dummies will fall for it. Federal taxes will fund the greenie programs.
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My question would be: Is it less expensive to run a vehicle on gas or electricity?
Do we trade high pump prices for high electric bills?
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My question would be: Is it less expensive to run a vehicle on gas or electricity?
Do we trade high pump prices for high electric bills?
I guess it depents on the electrical rates in your area. The TVA charges around 7 cents per watt/hour.
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I guess it depents on the electrical rates in your area. The TVA charges around 7 cents per watt/hour.
That should be kilowatthour, right? Does the TVA use mostly hydroelectric power? They probably would not be allowed to build their dams today, with all the environuts protesting.
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That should be kilowatthour, right? Does the TVA use mostly hydroelectric power? They probably would not be allowed to build their dams today, with all the environuts protesting.
It varies... I think they use mostly coal now. Yeah, that was supposed to be kilowatt-hour... sorry.
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My question would be: Is it less expensive to run a vehicle on gas or electricity?
Do we trade high pump prices for high electric bills?
It's cheapest to run a car on petroleum gasoline, all bio-fuels are far more expensive to buy...and to make. Even if it works out that electric cars take less money to charge than a gas tank to fill, they still cost a horrendous amount to build...especially the batteries (which take harmful metals and petroleum to build...and transport...and recycle.) The greenies have definitely NOT thought this through. (Except the ones, like Gore, that have bought into companies that will pay back handsomely on the government forced carbon trades)
Of course, for Gore, there is nothing about global warming he actually believes...he's just a salesman pushing his product.
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It's cheapest to run a car on petroleum gasoline, all bio-fuels are far more expensive to buy...and to make. Even if it works out that electric cars take less money to charge than a gas tank to fill, they still cost a horrendous amount to build...especially the batteries (which take harmful metals and petroleum to build...and transport...and recycle.) The greenies have definitely NOT thought this through. (Except the ones, like Gore, that have bought into companies that will pay back handsomely on the government forced carbon trades)
Of course, for Gore, there is nothing about global warming he actually believes...he's just a salesman pushing his product.
At no time in the life cycle of a liberal does "thought" come in to play.
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It's cheapest to run a car on petroleum gasoline, all bio-fuels are far more expensive to buy...and to make. Even if it works out that electric cars take less money to charge than a gas tank to fill, they still cost a horrendous amount to build...especially the batteries (which take harmful metals and petroleum to build...and transport...and recycle.) The greenies have definitely NOT thought this through.
Have you seen a nickel mine from space? Everything for miles around is dead. Not to mention that extracting metal from ore is a nasty, toxic business. There are hundreds of old mines across this country that will be leaking acids into the groundwater and soil for centuries because of the mining practices at the time.
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I guess it depents on the electrical rates in your area. The TVA charges around 7 cents per watt/hour.
Lucky bastard. Do they give you one charge for generation (the actual electricity) and another for transmitting (wires) it to you?
Combine the two and I'm paying nearly 20 cents a KwH.
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Lucky bastard. Do they give you one charge for generation (the actual electricity) and another for transmitting (wires) it to you?
Combine the two and I'm paying nearly 20 cents a KwH.
Nope. Turns out our rate is .09392/KwH... that's what I get for not paying attention (I thought it was around 7.5 or 8). I'm paying something called a "customer charge" of $9 a month.
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Nope. Turns out our rate is .09392/KwH... that's what I get for not paying attention (I thought it was around 7.5 or 8). I'm paying something called a "customer charge" of $9 a month.
Just pulled up my last bill from March.
398 KwH at .0992/KwH, "customer charge" of $9, and several delivery charges totalling 0.0533/KwH.
Basically, I'm paying over 15 cents a KwH, plus taxes and fees. This. Is. BULLSHIT. Now run a 2500 lb car 100 miles a day while charging it on electricity that costs that much and tell me people could afford that.
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You can convert a light truck or sedan to an electric vehicle for around $6000 with some basic electrical knowledge. A manual S-10, Ford Ranger, or Mazda B-series truck with a blown motor are a dime a dozen. I've posted this before, but it looks like it might be a fun project to do.
http://greenflightev.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2006-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2007-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=7
If I did this, I would have a run a 30-foot extension cord out my front door to plug my car in. Definitely not user-friendly.
Actually Ford built a number of these as prototypes that eventually found their way into the hands of the public, and a friend of mine has two of them (electric Ranger pickups).......in factory configuration, they have a range between charges of...........wait for it...........25 miles!
The electric car is just about as useful for general transportation as a golfcart..........
Regardless of how much the liberals desire it, you just can't rewrite the laws of physics......
doc
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You can convert a light truck or sedan to an electric vehicle for around $6000 with some basic electrical knowledge. A manual S-10, Ford Ranger, or Mazda B-series truck with a blown motor are a dime a dozen. I've posted this before, but it looks like it might be a fun project to do.
It can be done for far less than that. A friend of mine turned a Ranger into an Electric vehicle for less than $3k, including the vehicle.
I forget how far he's able to get on a charge, but it's enough for him to run most errands and use it as a daily vehicle.
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It can be done for far less than that. A friend of mine turned a Ranger into an Electric vehicle for less than $3k, including the vehicle.
I forget how far he's able to get on a charge, but it's enough for him to run most errands and use it as a daily vehicle.
I drive eight miles a day to work and back; an electric vehicle would more than suit my needs during the week. I usually do a bit more driving on my days off. (http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/6623/manual.gif) I have my eye on a '76 Mercedes 230CE that might be a good candidate.
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I drive eight miles a day to work and back; an electric vehicle would more than suit my needs during the week. I usually do a bit more driving on my days off. (http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/6623/manual.gif) I have my eye on a '76 Mercedes 230CE that might be a good candidate.
I drive over 2300 miles a month for my job - electric not so good.
Oh and I LOVE it when idiot dems howl about taxing milage - like paying for the ****ing gas isn't tax enough.
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I really can not see how battery based electric vehicles can ever be viable until several issues are addressed.
Coal generated electricity still provides much of our electricity, and it seems to me, that the more steps involved between the power source and the end use just means more losses. I think the only true hybrids will come only if there is a breakthrough in hydrogen fuel cell technology. Then there has to be consideration of the batteries themselves. How much pollution is caused and how much energy is consumed in their production?
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I really can not see how battery based electric vehicles can ever be viable until several issues are addressed.
Coal generated electricity still provides much of our electricity, and it seems to me, that the more steps involved between the power source and the end use just means more losses. I think the only true hybrids will come only if there is a breakthrough in hydrogen fuel cell technology. Then there has to be consideration of the batteries themselves. How much pollution is caused and how much energy is consumed in their production?
They're interesting in a weekend-project kind of way, but you're right. The toxic chemicals and runoff from mining and extracting metal that mostly happens in unregulated third-world countries, the limited supply of lithium and other metals... the battery-powered car is an environmental disaster.
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It's cheapest to run a car on petroleum gasoline, all bio-fuels are far more expensive to buy...and to make. Even if it works out that electric cars take less money to charge than a gas tank to fill, they still cost a horrendous amount to build...especially the batteries (which take harmful metals and petroleum to build...and transport...and recycle.) The greenies have definitely NOT thought this through. (Except the ones, like Gore, that have bought into companies that will pay back handsomely on the government forced carbon trades)
Of course, for Gore, there is nothing about global warming he actually believes...he's just a salesman pushing his product.
The electric cars have alot of extra risks in case of vehcile accidents! Batterys like to go "bang" and make sure the fire dept does not cut into that big yellow wire with the jaws of life when trying to get you out of that ****ing folded up cracker box they call a car. :evillaugh:
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Now run a 2500 lb car 100 miles a day while charging it on electricity that costs that much and tell me people could afford that.
They can't, plus it would create more drain on the utility companies, just causing them to expand and raise rates!
But it sounds good to the DUmmies.
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The car companies will be pushing these whether they work or not... they need an artificial way to lower their CAFE standards by 2013, or whenever the new standards take effect.
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It's an evil scheme to limit the mobility of the general public. As it stands now, you can jump in your car and go from coast to coast or border to border in a couple of days. If the government were to shut down petroleum production you could still steal enough somewhere to make it. But if they shut off the electrical grid, most would be stranded within a few miles of home.
.....evil government conspiracy mode is now disabled/off
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Now, let me get this straight.............I need to double my electrical usage to save the planet......... :hammer:
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Now, let me get this straight.............I need to double my electrical usage to save the planet......... :hammer:
Not only double it but double it when you get home from work - in other words peak electrical usage times -can you say Brown Out.
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Toyota loses money on every Pirus sold. Now, can you imagine a 31 year old car czar running GM who know nothing about the business? These greenie cars the public will not buy on a major scale will be a complete failure from a profitability standpoint. They will not be able to give them suckers away.
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Toyota loses money on every Pirus sold. Now, can you imagine a 31 year old car czar running GM who know nothing about the business? These greenie cars the public will not buy on a major scale will be a complete failure from a profitability standpoint. They will not be able to give them suckers away.
That's what tax hikes are for...
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Not only double it but double it when you get home from work - in other words peak electrical usage times -can you say Brown Out.
We already have times when PG&E wants us to "watch" our usage. This from a state that has a VAST ammount of hydro power, oh, wait, the Hollywierd crowd dosen't want us to USE the water in certain lakes because they woulden't be able to use their private docks........ :thatsright:
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What can't you run a small 2 or 4 cylinder engine that powers a generator that then sends power to electric motors in a car? I wonder what kind of gas mileage that would give you?
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What can't you run a small 2 or 4 cylinder engine that powers a generator that then sends power to electric motors in a car? I wonder what kind of gas mileage that would give you?
It would require a pretty large generator to provide the electricity needed , which would add to the already large weight of the drive motor(s). I'm sure that this has already been tried and discarded as unfeasible.
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I looked up the specs for a Honda generator to power a standard 144v DC motor... according to Honda, it will run eight hours on 1.5 gallons of gasoline. The Chevy Volt is similar to that setup, while the Prius runs the gas and electric motors to turn the drive wheels.
I see the new Prius model finally got around to adding a solar cell to the roof to run the electric AC compressor.
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What can't you run a small 2 or 4 cylinder engine that powers a generator that then sends power to electric motors in a car? I wonder what kind of gas mileage that would give you?
Anytime you use one consumable resource to create another, you have a lose/lose situation. Think of it this way, why not use the gas engine to power the car in the first place?
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Anytime you use one consumable resource to create another, you have a lose/lose situation. Think of it this way, why not use the gas engine to power the car in the first place?
That makes too much sense for the dunces in DC and the Env. kooks. We should take the nuts that came up with subsidizing Ethanol out and replace them.
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I see the new Prius model finally got around to adding a solar cell to the roof to run the electric AC compressor.
Actually the solar cells don't produce anywhere near enough power to run the A/C compressor........they only run the FAN that circulates the cool air inside the cabin. I suspect that it is an expensive option that only makes the owners "feel good" about themselves, while seperating them from some more of their cash..........which is really what the hybreds are all about.
Unless all you do is stop and go city driving, with absolutely no highway runs of any distance, owning a hybred vehicle is of no advantage from the point of consumed fuel economy........just an expensive toy that has limited practical application, and that appears to have reached market saturation, judging from the build-up of dealer inventory, and the manufacturers advertising expenditures.......
Proving once again that fortunately.......there is only a limited number of hippy environmental weenies.........
doc
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Car purist would not have one of those electric cars. Part of driving pleasure is revving the rpms up so you can hear the roar of the engine.
At auto auctions like B.J., I see many middle and old aged farts buying muscle cars of the 70's and 80's so I doubt that many rich hippies have that much interest in electric cars. If the mfg. and the government did not subsidize them they would go under.
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Car purist would not have one of those electric cars. Part of driving pleasure is revving the rpms up so you can hear the roar of the engine.
At auto auctions like B.J., I see many middle and old aged farts buying muscle cars
Well......I would have to agree.......as an "old fart" my wife and I just purchased an "almost new" Jeep Grand Cherokee with a hemi V-8........it tweaks my nostalga a bit to drive a 5000 pound 4-wheel drive SUV that can manage 0 to 60 in about 5.5 seconds, and a standing quarter mile in 14.9.......it will eat Prious's for breakfast on the interstate....and if driven at 70 mph on cruise control, will average 21.1 mpg.....
doc
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Well......I would have to agree.......as an "old fart" my wife and I just purchased an "almost new" Jeep Grand Cherokee with a hemi V-8........it tweaks my nostalga a bit to drive a 5000 pound 4-wheel drive SUV that can manage 0 to 60 in about 5.5 seconds, and a standing quarter mile in 14.9.......it will eat Prious's for breakfast on the interstate....and if driven at 70 mph on cruise control, will average 21.1 mpg.....
doc
I have driven/ridden hundreds of miles on an electric golf cart. Nothing fun about driving a piece of crap like that. I just bought a new Nissan 350z sports car and in the next year or two I will buy a used corvette with T-tops. The friggin idiot in the W.H. is going to kill or make it so expensive to buy a high performance vehicle in the upcoming years.
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Without a quantum leap in battery technology, making them about two orders of magnitude more efficient for the weight and without making them out of something even more toxic than they use already, the electric car is a dead end for anything but short-distance urban driving. Fuel cells, hybrid technologies (which would require only one order of magnitude battery improvements to be worth it), and hydrogen (but produced by nuke or hydro plant electrolysis instead of cracking hydrocarbons for it like we do now) are all far more promising.
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I just bought a used Crown Vic Police Interceptor. Came from a guy I know that goes down to AZ and buys them from sherrif Joseph M. Arpaio. It has 200,000 miles on it and runs like a new car! The oil still looks new! One of the finest cars I have ever owned! That guy knows how to take care of shit!
When the Feds and the Staters start buying these little electric soap box cars I'll think about it. Until then, screw the Big O!
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Car purist would not have one of those electric cars. Part of driving pleasure is revving the rpms up so you can hear the roar of the engine.
At auto auctions like B.J., I see many middle and old aged farts buying muscle cars of the 70's and 80's so I doubt that many rich hippies have that much interest in electric cars. If the mfg. and the government did not subsidize them they would go under.
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.
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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.
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. .
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I think those torque curves and performance capabilities thrill even many car or racing purist.
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.......
doc
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Winding Road has a comparison of the Tesla Roadster and the Lotus Elise the car is based on. The electric car doesn't come out very well in the comparison.
http://wrmag.nextautos.com/issue/47/
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Winding Road has a comparison of the Tesla Roadster and the Lotus Elise the car is based on. The electric car doesn't come out very well in the comparison.
http://wrmag.nextautos.com/issue/47/
Shifting and hearing the roar of the engine at redline is half the fun of owning sportscar. What this article did not state were the track times. The Lotus would probably have a better time. The author did not want to rain on the mfg. parade. At half the price, I would choose the Lotus over the Tesla. These Eco nuts can go screw themselves.
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Shifting and hearing the roar of the engine at redline is half the fun of owning sportscar. What this article did not state were the track times. The Lotus would probably have a better time. The author did not want to rain on the mfg. parade. At half the price, I would choose the Lotus over the Tesla. These Eco nuts can go screw themselves.
You can get a Mazda RX-8 for half the price of the Lotus. Judging by the way Jeremy Clarkson was able to whip that thing around their test track, it looks like a blast. But the Lotus is a convertible while the Mazda is not.
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You can get a Mazda RX-8 for half the price of the Lotus. Judging by the way Jeremy Clarkson was able to whip that thing around their test track, it looks like a blast. But the Lotus is a convertible while the Mazda is not.
The lightweight 2000 pound Lotus will eat the Mazda alive on a roadcourse. That's all the Lotus is good for. It is cramped and does not make for a good daily driver car.
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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.......
doc
Exactly right they're talking about THREE HOUR CHARGE TIMES. 3 FRICKIN' HOURS!?!?!? Not to mention the people that actually have to provide the electricity to power these cars are terrified about what is going to happen when tens of thousands of electric cars all plug in at peak times, specifically 5-6PM as commuters get home from work.
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Exactly right they're talking about THREE HOUR CHARGE TIMES. 3 FRICKIN' HOURS!?!?!? Not to mention the people that actually have to provide the electricity to power these cars are terrified about what is going to happen when tens of thousands of electric cars all plug in at peak times, specifically 5-6PM as commuters get home from work.
All Electric cars are going to go over about as big as a lead balloon. They will be much more expensive than a hybrid. The Telsa sells for over 50 grand and the roadster for around 120 grand. So there will be a piddling few of the Eco wienies driving them. Of course, you never can tell with all the screwballs out there.
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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 :cheersmate:
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.
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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.
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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 :cheersmate:
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.
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(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