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Would you buy an electric car?

Would you buy an electric car?

  • yes

    Votes: 25 48.1%

  • no

    Votes: 8 15.4%

  • depends

    Votes: 19 36.5%
  • Total voters
    52
There are several reasons to buy an electric car . for instance; to tell the oil companies to take a hike, to tell the Arabs to take a hike, to tell the big 3 to take a hike. To be able to drive past a gas station posting $3 per gallon or more with a smile on your face because you are no longer at their mercy. and 1 more reason: to KNOW that you are no longer financing terrorists every time you fill up your tank. Just think, no more oil changes, no more costly engine repairs. Their are hundreds of moving parts in an internal combustion engine. Only one in an electric motor. They are quiet, and most are capable of doing 0 to 60 in 4 seconds or less. Even though they will eventually be able to compete with a gas car in distance, if you buy one that only goes 90 miles on a charge, that is more than enough for most commuters.:doh
 
Not until I can drive it for 10 hours without having to recharge it. I have a tendency to drive very long distances and the electric cars I've read could not handle that. Would be pointless for me to spend the money on one.
 
NEUROSPORT said:
i answered NO.

i recently drove from NY all he way to California in my GASOLINE powered car. at one point i was in some kind of a desert in nevada or some rocky mountains or some such nonsense and it occured to me that there may not be any gas stations for a while.

so i peek at the instrument cluster and it says range 90 miles ( about 1/4 tank was left ). then i go to my GPS and it says the next gas station is in about 110 miles. i turn around and drive 20 miles back to the last gas station i passed. a full tank gives me 400 mile range and with this newfound confidence i drive across the desert.

now how you gonna do that in an electric car ? can you drive from one coast to the other in your Tesla ?

NO !
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The market for the electric car is not necessarily a replacement for a gasoline powered vehicle for all purposes but one to make daily commuting (the bulk of personal transit) ran on electricity rather than petrol gasoline. It is assumed consumers would keep their gasoline powered vehicles for longer trips.
 
Anima said:
If they came down to an affordable price, were truly efficient in terms of energy usage, and had decent mileage before needing recharged, sure. At some point we're really going to need to cut down on ou oil consumption, and this seems like a pretty good way to do it.
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they already are INSANELY energy efficient. you won't see any improvement in this particular area.

the one area where there is likely to be most improvement is time needed to recharge. right now you basically have to charge it overnight but someday in the future you might be able to recharge your car while eating your burger at Wendy's

but ultimately the success of electric vehicles hinges on the same issue as success of ethanol does - there needs to be a distribution network for the fuel / power.

before electric cars take off all manufacturers of electric vehicles will have to agree on a standard charing station design. then they will need to invest HUGE amounts of money to actually put those stations in places where people can use them. until these two things happen electric vehicles will essentially be useless for anything but a second or third car.
 
SE102 said:
The market for the electric car is not necessarily a replacement for a gasoline powered vehicle for all purposes but one to make daily commuting (the bulk of personal transit) ran on electricity rather than petrol gasoline. It is assumed consumers would keep their gasoline powered vehicles for longer trips.
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no. there is no market for them as of now. but in the future they will likely replace all gas powered vehicles. when will that happen ? probably the same time Oil will end or in about 30 years.

by that time they better figure out a way to charge them. hard to say at this point which technology will eventually win out. too early to say.

it is even possible that they will come up with a way to recharge the car AS you are driving. to me the only concern with that technology is that i don't get microwaved inside the car as that is happening !

:)
 
NEUROSPORT said:
no. there is no market for them as of now. but in the future they will likely replace all gas powered vehicles. when will that happen ? probably the same time Oil will end or in about 30 years.

by that time they better figure out a way to charge them. hard to say at this point which technology will eventually win out. too early to say.

it is even possible that they will come up with a way to recharge the car AS you are driving. to me the only concern with that technology is that i don't get microwaved inside the car as that is happening !

:)
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Have fun cooking a ham sammich in your car lol

Well recharging it as you are driving to the point you charge as much as you drive is scientifically impossible if Im not mistaken. What I meant in 'market' was the assumed market for the vehicles as they come out with the technology becoming available. It's battery technology that is lagging (maybe not accurate, batteries are amazing) behind the rest of the technology.

Werent the next generation of US army HMMWV (hummers) going to come out with an electric system on them, or a hybrid engine?
 
I'd have no issue with an electric car. I don't really care about what propels my car, I care what it can do. Give me an electric car that is:

1. Competitively priced in the $10,000 - $15,000 dollar range new.

2. Range would need one of three things. To be like the Volt, with AT LEAST a 40 mpg range (prefer somewhere closer to 80) on electric but with gasoline to extend it. Or, to have an extremely large range, ala 500-600 miles. Or, to have a good 200-300 range but have hot swappable batteries. This goes away if it ever becomes possibly to find a good network of rapid recharge stations, but at this point that's not the case.

3. Speed. I need to at least be able to go 85-90 MPH. Is that illegal just about everywhere? Yes. However, at times driving in certain locations if you're going under that people are trying to run you over.

4. Look. Call me superficial, but this would help me a bit. If you could get an electric car that actually looks like a decent looking CAR rather than a curved wedge on wheels it'd go a long way.

5. Infastructure. If there's any actual movement towards having rapid recharge stations, or complex's making ports available at parking spots, that would help a lot. Right now I live in Northern Va in an apartment and soon will be living in a town house. Neither case am I going to have an easy way to get a plug out from the house/apartment to a parking spot to charge. So in that case, what exactly am I supposed to do with an electric car?

I'm not against electric cars because they're electric, but until they are actually competitive and there's a legitimate reason for me to use one outside of just "it helps the environment"...or at the very least its not such a sacrifice on every other facet of buying a car just to get to the point of "helping" the environment...then I'm not going to buy one.

The first two are really the important part though. Is
 
Now that I have a feel of some people's feelings, here is some of the information from the EV1 car that was put out by GM from "96-'99. These cars were available through lease only.

[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EV1]General Motors EV1 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]
EV1 Frequently Asked Questions

The Chevy Volt, this is a new hybrid electric due to be released next year

[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Volt]Chevrolet Volt - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]
Chevy Volt | Electric Car - Future Cars | Chevrolet

The price is about $40K not counting the tax credit. It does come out to a little less than twice the other most available hybrids.

Toyota Side-by-Side Comparison

Looking at the information, I think they will definitely have to work a little on the miles per charge, but it sounds good. I doubt I'll be able to afford one anytime soon. It would make a nice car for me if I could though, just for those small errands.
 
If the Volt was sold for $20k instead of $40k, I'd be far, far, far more likely to buy one the moment they became available.

If the volt was sold for $20k AND looked closer to the original concept of it I'd be at the front of the damn line on day 1.
 
Within 3 years electric cars will be (if not interfered with) able to do 1000 miles or more on a charge, you will eventually have solar powered charging stations in every parking lot. When you go to work your car will be charging;) out in the parking lot for 8 hours. When you go shopping you just plug into the nearest post or let your solar roof panel on your car do the charging. In 30 years (if not interfered with) you won't need to plug into anything, The entire paint job on your car will be solar collectors. However, there is always the probability that the greedy pigs will not allow this technology to happen because they will want their hands in your pocket at every turn. Enter the hydrogen charging station! Bush's best.
 
confuseus say said:
Within 3 years electric cars will be (if not interfered with) able to do 1000 miles or more on a charge, you will eventually have solar powered charging stations in every parking lot. When you go to work your car will be charging;) out in the parking lot for 8 hours. When you go shopping you just plug into the nearest post or let your solar roof panel on your car do the charging. In 30 years (if not interfered with) you won't need to plug into anything, The entire paint job on your car will be solar collectors. However, there is always the probability that the greedy pigs will not allow this technology to happen because they will want their hands in your pocket at every turn. Enter the hydrogen charging station! Bush's best.
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Source? Or are you just making inferences?
 
SE102 said:
Have fun cooking a ham sammich in your car lol

Well recharging it as you are driving to the point you charge as much as you drive is scientifically impossible if Im not mistaken.
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regenerative braking is not sufficient yes. that wasn't what i was talking about.

instead:

[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inductive_charging]Inductive charging - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

is very possible. so possible i have enough education to design a system myself. in fact delivering power wirelessly was one of Tesla's visions. he envisioned delivering power wirelessly over long distances while i am talking about transferring it over about 5 inches between the road and the car.

my only concern with such a technology would be for my own health. such a strong magnetic field is likely to be bioactive. i don't think we have the data to know what the long term effects would be for the users. we're talking electromagnetic radiation approximately 10,000 times more powerful than that emitted by your cell phone ...
 
Zyphlin said:
I'd have no issue with an electric car. I don't really care about what propels my car, I care what it can do. Give me an electric car that is:

1. Competitively priced in the $10,000 - $15,000 dollar range new.

2. Range would need one of three things. To be like the Volt, with AT LEAST a 40 mpg range (prefer somewhere closer to 80) on electric but with gasoline to extend it. Or, to have an extremely large range, ala 500-600 miles. Or, to have a good 200-300 range but have hot swappable batteries. This goes away if it ever becomes possibly to find a good network of rapid recharge stations, but at this point that's not the case.

3. Speed. I need to at least be able to go 85-90 MPH. Is that illegal just about everywhere? Yes. However, at times driving in certain locations if you're going under that people are trying to run you over.

4. Look. Call me superficial, but this would help me a bit. If you could get an electric car that actually looks like a decent looking CAR rather than a curved wedge on wheels it'd go a long way.

5. Infastructure. If there's any actual movement towards having rapid recharge stations, or complex's making ports available at parking spots, that would help a lot. Right now I live in Northern Va in an apartment and soon will be living in a town house. Neither case am I going to have an easy way to get a plug out from the house/apartment to a parking spot to charge. So in that case, what exactly am I supposed to do with an electric car?

I'm not against electric cars because they're electric, but until they are actually competitive and there's a legitimate reason for me to use one outside of just "it helps the environment"...or at the very least its not such a sacrifice on every other facet of buying a car just to get to the point of "helping" the environment...then I'm not going to buy one.

The first two are really the important part though. Is
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getting a sexy $10,000 car is tough even when it runs on good old gas.

how much is a Scion TC ? i think that's the cheapest "sexy" car.

i agree with you that a car that will not do at least 90 mph is not safe. especially around Los Angeles and San Diego where people drive at 90 mph routinely. i think most hybrids can do about 100 mph, not sure about electrics.

the real issue i think is going to be merging into traffic moving at 90 mph. for the most part i am deeply impressed with the ability of ****ty cars like Prius or Smart to navigate the road with the big boys. but one time a few days ago i nearly ran over a Honda Insight when he was trying to merge onto the highway - he was clearly having a hard time accelerating to 80 mph quickly.

in the end cheap **** is cheap **** whether it is electric or gas. but a $120,000 tesla offers performance comparable to only something like $70,000 Lotus of which it is made out of. so right now electric cars are not yet competitive in terms of price/performance.
 
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roguenuke said:
It discussed all the possible reasons that the electric cars didn't last long. One of which said that people didn't want to buy them. Now if they were available at affordable prices, which is very possible, would you buy one? If not, why?
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Well, in the early 1900s, two British businessmen did prove that electric buses were economical and profitable. The reason that died was because there was embezzlement. Sad really.

I'd buy an electric car. My commute is well within 50 miles that most electric cars peak at.
 
Devil505 said:
I'm not a greenie & the incentive for almost anyone to buy one is to save money & keep U.S. money away from our enemies in the ME.
(Is it not possible to avoid personal attacks in any thread??)
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Then don't go wishing for gas to go up. It's an artificial argument to support a cause. If you truly want it based on economics, then let the market decide. Otherwise, you ARE a greenie plain and simple. Fight to get the govt to drill on its own soil for oil. We have plenty of oil, but greenies lobby against it. They don't believe in letting the market decide.
 
NEUROSPORT said:
getting a sexy $10,000 car is tough even when it runs on good old gas.
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Very true. Been a while since I went looking for a new car ;) I guess it'd better to be said...comparable in price (at $2k-4k above) to a gas powered equivilent
 
American said:
Then don't go wishing for gas to go up. It's an artificial argument to support a cause. If you truly want it based on economics, then let the market decide. Otherwise, you ARE a greenie plain and simple. Fight to get the govt to drill on its own soil for oil. We have plenty of oil, but greenies lobby against it. They don't believe in letting the market decide.
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Don't forget to factor in the enormous oil lobby. ;)
 
If it were everything I wanted at a price I was willing to pay, then sure.

Of course, I'd say the same thing about something with a 427 Chevy...
 
Gas powered cars have been around for a hundred years and they're still improving in fact arguably faster than ever. Many cars nearly doubled their power in the last two decades. It's gonna take quite some time until electric car technology matures to any degree.
 
The internal combustion engine is archaic and obsolete and it should have been scrapped a long time ago. The "higher mileage" cars that are coming out now are shelved technology that was weaseled away from their original inventors then shelved to keep the oil companies happy. Electric car technology is the technology that is growing at a fast rate. Once people start buying electric cars the technology will take off and before long internal combustion engines will only be seen at car shows and car museums. That iis my opinion.
 
NEUROSPORT said:
Gas powered cars have been around for a hundred years and they're still improving in fact arguably faster than ever. Many cars nearly doubled their power in the last two decades. It's gonna take quite some time until electric car technology matures to any degree.
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Technically, electric cars were used about a hundred years ago too. They just couldn't compete with the look or easier use of combustion engines (ever see those cars with cranks in the front). I am glad to see electric cars reemerging for actual sale this time so that they can't be taken back for fear that people will realize that the technology is out there. We, as humans, are rather inventive for improving on our own technology when we want something bad enough. I don't think it will take too long for electric cars to improve to the point were they are just as good or better than gas-powered and just as affordable.
 
To go with my electric chair
 
confuseus say said:
The internal combustion engine is archaic and obsolete..
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Only if you change the definition of 'archaic' and 'obsolete'.

The "higher mileage" cars that are coming out now are shelved technology that was weaseled away from their original inventors then shelved to keep the oil companies happy.
Click to expand...
Cite a specific example of this, and support for the related assertion.
 
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