The car manufacturing companies in the U.S. are coming out with hybrids and not all electric cars.
1. Do they feel that nobody would buy an all electric car? 2. Do they think the hybrid a safe way to go? 3. Is this a good way to make the transition from IC engines to electric by combining the two systems?
It would seem to me that if the car manufactures could save a lot of money by eliminating the gas/diesel engines and pass a portion of the savings on to the consumer and sell the car for less. Granted, the car companies have a large investment in tooling of the IC engine, transmission, cooling system, exhaust system, pollution controll system, etc. But, couldn’t they recover a large amount by converting their tooling to the building of batteries and electric motors? Or, is it that the oil companies, because of environmental pressure, will allow the hybrid to be built.
Remember, hybrids use oil products and the oil companies can just raise the prices at the pump and recover the same amount of big profits by selling less.
The small manufacturing companies, that are building all electric vehicles, are of very little threat to the oil companies because, these small organizations do not have the wherewithal to make cars in numbers so the price for these small amount of cars is more than the average person can afford.
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September 26th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Simple answer : the $40,000 “pure electric” (battery-only) Mistsubishi will cost $3,000 more than the Volt, accompliksh no more than that car in either avoiding emissions or avoiding gas, and cn’t function as a viable alternative car. Anyone who owns one HAS to own a gas powered car for those destinations over 40 miles away. Pure electrics only make sense when a practical, fast recharging battery appears. None are here yet. Get it?
September 29th, 2008 at 3:25 am
Well, there was one, GM’s EV-1 car was the first viable all electric car but EXXON or some big oil company like them bought the company which owns the battery which powered the car and had all existing cars recalled and destroyed and stopped productioon of the auto battery in those cars, limiting the technology of those batteries to cellphones and small pisswilly stuff, I wonder why …..
September 30th, 2008 at 11:27 am
I think that auto manufacturers are still wary of how skeptical people still are about EVs, and they seem to want to hedge their bets thinking that people may not be ready for pure EVs yet. However, i think that people are more than ready for EVs, in fact the sooner they come out the better.
October 3rd, 2008 at 3:58 am
The car companies believe, perhaps rightly, that buyers are afraid they will have no range and no ability to “refuel” with an all electric car.
October 15th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Duh!… Either you never leave your neighborhood or you’re just plain myopic.
The biggest problems are price, range and recharging.
I only have an 18 mile round trip to work each day (which in this area - Metro Washington DC - is a short commute) - part of the trip is creeping in bumper to bumper traffic and part is in highway speeds of 65 mph (plus), but if I make just one side trip, or a trip to meet a client, which happens 4 out of 5 days each week and is rarely predictable, then I’m left standing on the side of the road with my thumb out if I’m driving an EV.
And if I want to make a trip to visit my family, I STILL need a gas vehicle to make the 90 mile trip (one way), or if I visit my inlaws, it’s 280 miles (one way).
Personally, I’m not even interested in a hybrid, let alone an EV, because they don’t perform as they are hyped and are still more expensive over the life span than an internal combustion car. I’m waiting for the fuel cell cars… till then I’ll keep driving my 10 year old 27 mpg Civic which has been paid off over 5 years ago and has just turned over 90,000 miles - it’s just getting broken in… Even if gas goes to $10 a gallon, it’s still waaaay cheaper than buying a $40,000 EV…
If somebody came out with an EV, with enough room to sit 4 adults plus briefcases and rolls of drawings, that had a range of at least 120 miles, that would recharge in 5 minutes, for less than $20,000, then I MIGHT be interested…
Get a clue… most people can’t live with the limitations of electric vehicles.
October 15th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
You’ve fallen for the myth that electric cars are impractical and too expensive. The problem with the main stream electric car companies is that they are forced to pay huge amounts for cars that just are not practical because of small economies to scale.
There are many electric cars that run over 100 miles per charge and go up to 50-60 miles per hour. Of course you will have to put some work into buying the part parts or having a professional convert a car, but it is a great alternative to the combustion engine.
October 15th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
I have not “fallen” for anything. It is no myth. If it won’t take me at least 200 miles on a charge, then it’s impractical - plain and simple. I OFTEN take a 135 mile round trip to Baltimore (from DC)in the evening right after I’ve gotten home from a roundtrip to work, along with a trip to a job site in the middle of the day. Now tell me how a 100 mile range works for me… YOU CAN’T DO IT.
And driving 50-60 mph on the beltway or I-95 will get you killed.
Like I said, if it doesn’t meet the criteria that I listed, it doesn’t even approach my needs. I can’t afford to have two cars sitting in my driveway, one gas and the other electric, one of which would be practically worthless to me. And if I can’t buy it off the lot, ready to run, then I don’t have time to deal with it, or buy the parts that you mentioned, or even plug it in every night. I don’t have time to get done what I need to do now. I certainly don’t have time to “baby” an electric vehicle, let along have one built or convert one myself, even though I probably have the skills to do so (but no garage at my house). I need a car that I can jump into, run with it, and fill up every two weeks or so.
Also, your 100 mile range doesn’t get me to New York City, or even to Baltimore and back, from DC. Therefore, it is NOT a myth that it is “impractical”. It is a FACT.
Your statement that “it is a great alternative to the combustion engine” doesn’t hold any truth for me and MOST people. It might work for the proverbial “little old lady who only drove it to church on sunday”, but it doesn’t work for most families. I don’t know what kind of world YOU live in, but most people I know drive more than 100 miles ON A REGULAR BASIS. How do you respond to that? YOU CAN’T.
A 100 mile range EV might be fine for a round trip to work and even a trip to a job site and back to the office, but that is not the only thing I use a car for.
If I can’t recharge on the road, then it means I need an additional gas vehicle, which is out of the question.
Also, I often haul large amounts of stuff (groceries, luggage, kids, cub scout den, lumber, furniture, etc, etc, etc.) in my little Civic, and it’s a struggle. Tell me how some scaled down little lunch box of a car will work for me. YOU CAN’T DO IT.
Regardless of the reasons for their cost (economy of scale as you claim), if it doesn’t operate to the same range and refueling capabilities of a conventional car, I have no use for it, although the cost is a HUGE factor for MOST people. I can’t afford a $25,000 to $30,000 car, even in anticipation of future savings in fuel. The up-front cost is too high. A hybrid MIGHT meet my needs, except they don’t perform anywhere near as efficiently on gas mileage as they would need to be to make the cost of buying a new one come close to paying for itself.
Sorry, I would like nothing better than to have an EV, but they ARE impractical and too expensive.
For the time being, EVs are practical for tooling around the golf course (which I certainly don’t have time for), trolling for fish (again, no time for that), and scooting around in the city (never really make it into the city that much), IF you have a gasoline vehicle to do your REAL driving.
October 15th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
I actually drive my converted car all around new york and it works great. I live in Queens and for my purposes it works great. I often haul parts I need for cars from the junk yard to my garage. I can travel perfectly well on express ways and on regular roads. I’m able to carry everything I need, I drive at a steady pace of about 30 on regular roads (the speed limit) and accelerate above for express ways etc… The previous summer I went out to long island to the beach which worked out well. What else do I need? Why would I need gasoline? In addition, my conversion cost about $3500, which I found acceptable.
October 16th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
“I actually drive my converted car all around new york and it works great. I live in Queens and for my purposes it works great.”
That’s exactly what I said. They are great for scooting around town. But the BQE or the Soutern State Pkwy is nothing like the beltway or I-95 around here. If you aren’t driving 70 mph, you are going to get rear-ended and cause an accident.
NYC driving is a completely different driving situation than the typical suburban driving. I would say that you have an ideal situation for an EV, including the fact that you have a garage to recharge your car. A LOT of people don’t. They live in apartments or townhouses and can’t run an extension cord out to charge up their cars. My workmate drives 95 miles one-way to get to the office. Granted, his commute is a bit extreme for most people, but it’s not uncommon for people around here to be driving 60 miles or more (one way) to get to their office.
You didn’t mention what your range is between charges. What would you do it you had to drive to Syracuse? How many days would it take you (that is, allowing for recharges and staying in hotels and running an extension cord out to your vehicle)? You would at least need a hybrid to make it in one day.
Until there is a way to recharge your vehicle in about the same time as it would take to fill your gas tank (and we know that’s not going to happen), then the idea of an all electric car to fit the average person’s needs is a pipe dream. That is why the car companies are building hybrids and not all-electrics. It is not because of the oil companies surpressing technology or any other type of conspiracy. (I’m not saying the oil companies don’t do that, I don’t know, I’m saying that’s not why the car companies don’t build all-electrics). The car companies are not stupid. The are going to produce vehicles that they can sell tens and hundreds of thousands of units. The only reason GM is producing the Volt is for public relations purposes, so they’ll appear to be PC. How many of those things do you think they are actually going to sell at those prices?
Again, when the range goes way up and the price comes way down, then I MIGHT be interested. It still wouldn’t serve my long distance needs though.
Now, with the range issue in mind, is there a roof top solar arrangement available that could act as sort of a trickle charger to help charge your batteries as it is sitting in a parking lot or while on the road?
December 26th, 2008 at 11:35 pm
Biggest challenge facing the automakers to date is lack of money generated through the maintenance of the vehicles.
GM makes more money from parts than it does from vehicle sales. It was a very good business decision to stop producing the EV1. Not a very good decision for the general public, but a good decision for GM.. Yes they would have sold all of them.. Then what? everyone needs tires and brakes. EV’s don’t need new pistons or hoses or anything like that. Never mind the battery manufacturer being bought by standard oil.
EV’s are quite capable of long ranges. Specially with hybrids. Not the Prius rendition, but the new mini version where a generator charges the battery while under way. Ok.. Still need the fuel, but a Mini that gets 900 miles per tank of fuel with acceleration of 0 - 60 in 3 seconds? That’s my kind of car.
Eestor has started a new technology based on ultra capacitors and are touting an energy box that would power a standard EV for about 400 miles then charge up from a 440 volt station in about 15 minutes. When this tech is readily available (About a year or so) there will be no need for hybrids anymore.