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Can't see it, I mean look at them.
Yea you're right. I wouldn't be driving in that at all.
I think they look stylish… I'm looking forward to more electric cars in the future…
Not if they only get 40 miles to the charge.
Way back in the dawn of the automotive age, we had steam and electric powered cars and trucks. We also had cars that were powered by alcohol – the Wright Flyer was powered by an alcohol burning combustion engine – and NONE of them turned out to be a practical means of vehicular transportation.
I think we need to actually LEARN from our past and not make the same mistakes all over again!
It's not a matter of mistakes at this point. It's a matter of technological ability. We absolutely do not have the ability to effectively build a battery package that will propel a 4 person vehicle at highway speeds for long distances. Our batteries have made great strides in the last 10 years with the advent of Lithium Ion, and Lithium Polymer packages but it's not enough power and it's not enough life. To keep a car going for more then 40 or 50 miles the car would be ridiculously heavy due to battery weight, and wouldn't get the needed mileage anymore.
Solution for the long term: battery research. If I could buy an electric car that had a 250-300 mile capacity I'd buy one.
The "look" of the car is based solely on aerodynamics. The electric car automakers (all of them) know that they need every ounce of saved energy they can squeeze from these things. So less aerodynamic drag means a few more minutes of battery life on the all electric models. Like-wise the regenerative breaking, and motor shut-down options are all attempts to regain or stop-loss the juice already stored. Improvements on battery efficiency could lead to a line of cars that look "normal" but run completely electric.
Not at this time honestly. None of the technologically "advanced" countries in this world currently have the capability of creating an effective all-electric vehicle. The science is just beyond us at the moment. Further breakthroughs in battery technology, low-temperature superconducting, and electric motor efficiency, are needed to make this vehicles move farther and faster than they are capable of currently. And I'm not talking about "around-the-corner" breakthroughs here. We need a completely new battery unlike the life expectancy of our newest and "greatest" Lithium Polymer powerhouse. We need electric motors that can deliver massive amounts of torque using a minimum amount of starting current (the current needed to break ground friction). And conductive elements that transfer far less power burned off in the form of heat…. We've got quite a few major hurdles before an all-electric vehicle can let me visit friends and family off Long Island…. And hopefully they're nice enough to let me recharge when we get there…. I hate to say it, but burning dead dinosaurs isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
Its not only capacity, L/T, but it is recharge time AND cost! If you really want to get away from "oil" or coal generation, you have to look at either natural gas or nuclear generation. If you have a world full of electric cars and the electricity is produced by oil or coal generators, you haven't done a thing to solve the pollution problem.
With all this talk about the stealth cap & trade thing that Obama is pushing for, in his own words "Utility costs will skyrocket", the cost of recharging an electric car will be most likely more than the cost of gasoline – again you have not solved the problem.
The mistakes of the past = It takes a very long time to recharge an electric car, electricity costs more than gasoline, electric cars do not go as far as gas powered cars. Those mistakes are still here, and until those shortcomings are overcome pushing (or forcing) the public into electric vehicles is just plain stupid!
I hate to be the one to tell you this, but crude oil does not come from "dead dinosaurs". It never has.
Actually, it is carbon based. And, believe it or not, carbon is a renewable source of energy. (it is actually EVERYWHERE in the Universe)
Agreed completely. Effectivity would definitely require a complete shift in the infrastructure of how our country generates electricity. Unfortunately there are many ridiculous far left maniacs who refuse to admit the benefits of solar/wind/nuclear power. (Ted Kennedy was a huge example of this) The man refused to allow wind generation off the coast of Nantucket because the windmills would be seen in Hyannis Port as 1/2" tall "eye-sores"…. Meanwhile the proposed generation facility would power 75% of residents in the town….
And don't get me started on nuclear…. Properly regulated it's a fantastic form of energy generation…. Not to bring France into this but they use a very well regulated nuclear generation system, electricity is extremely cheap by comparison to us. And I've never heard of a three mile island in France….
We need to get our heads out of our bottoms here and revamp our aging and decrepit infrastructure in this country…. electricity, roads, trains… we're one of the leading developers in cutting edge technology and we can't use half of the items we create….
I'm not even talking about people losing jobs, I'm talking about shifts in skill sets where people could evolve their work abilities… We need to get off our butts and re-energize this place!
You're nuts.
I'm betting on Moose as the future of transportation. They're big, they can survive major car accidents and they double as lawn care providers. All for the price of some pine cones and snow. I mean you can't beat that.
PapaDawg is actually correct. The majority of crude oil comes not from the remains of animals but from the remains of plants.