Electric car

[ExactlyMyPoint]

My son and his buddies showed me this. If this actually works, it will substantially change the way we drive.

Tesla Motors

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[David in FL]

My son and his buddies showed me this. If this actually works, it will substantially change the way we drive.

Tesla Motors

Base price is $109,000.

The technology certainly exists. Unfortunately, not at a price point that most of us can afford. Maybe some day.

[airbornerangerboogie]

Base price is $109,000.

The technology certainly exists. Unfortunately, not at a price point that most of us can afford. Maybe some day.

+1 on that.
Also consider the maintanence and up keep on it. How much does it cost to replace the batteries. How much will your electric bill go up on a recharge....
I'm looking at the Smart Car as a next purchase a loaded model for under $16k.
smart center Dallas - smart fortwo - Official smart center website – new smart car – pre-owned smart car – smart car finance – smart car service

[retsupt99]

I've seen a few around town...not my cup of tea...won't be much left in an 'accident'...OMO...not much safer than my Harley...

[rodc13]

I've had my Honda Insight since 2003. It's been a great value with 0 trouble. In town mileage, 56. Highway, about 67.

[Kerbouchard]

I think it's pretty, but 6 figures is a little out of my price range for something that I have to plug in every 200 miles.

And how do road trips work? If you stay at a hotel you just run your extension cord out to your car? I don't think that will go over too well. Or if you go to visit relatives. Do you just ask if you can plug in your car?

The electric car world has a long way to go. While it is a neat novelty item, I hardly see it as revolutionary. We had electric cars before. We got rid of them because of the same problems that these are bound to encounter. While they may be the most efficient kid on the block, they are far from convenient.

[SIXTO]

Honda just came out with a hydrogen car, it looks pretty neat. Its for lease only, and the cost to purchase would be 100k., I would imagine that will drop once mass production has a chance to take effect and the infrastructure is in place to support it.

Honda FCX Clarity - Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle - Official Web Site

[airbornerangerboogie]

I'm for anything that would allow the US to tell the Arabs to stick their oil where the sun don't shine.

[Der Alte]

I'll stick with my Jetta TDI for a while. Its 34 mpg in town and 44 on the highway and a price of less than 1/4 of the Tesla make it worth hanging onto.

[my2cents]

I have a friend at work who is building his own electric car. He recently bought a small truck body less engine in great shape for $400.00. The entire price will be about $6700.00. There is tons of information about them on the Internet. I'd love to build one also. Maybe someday ....

[Cupcake]

I'm holding out for the Chevy Volt, and hoping it ends up affordable. I think they're making a mistake by going with a hi-tec engine. I think they should throw in the cheapest geo-metro engine they can produce to keep the costs down. The engine is only for occasional use for the target market, including myself
. Chevrolet | New Electric Car - Concept Chevy Volt

[TacticalCompact]

The problem with electric cars is that they aren't really efficient overall. The energy they consume has to come from somewhere, and generally that means a fossil-fuel burning power-plant.

My favorite is the compressed air car:

YouTube - The Air Car

This, couples with one of these:

Pacwind - Products

Would allow you to be completely self-sufficient energywise. You could even install the solar water heating coils on your roof, and some solar-panels as well.

I like the idea of powering an air compressor with electricity generated by a windmill, that will be used to drive a car. Love it.

[Cupcake]

Compressing air is a hugely inefficient way of converting energy. There is so much heat of compression that just goes away. That represents energy just thrown away. Batteries have their losses too, but I don't think it comes near the compressing losses.

[WarHorse1961]

I'm holding out for the Chevy Volt, and hoping it ends up affordable. I think they're making a mistake by going with a hi-tec engine. I think they should throw in the cheapest geo-metro engine they can produce to keep the costs down. The engine is only for occasional use for the target market, including myself
. Chevrolet | New Electric Car - Concept Chevy Volt

I've had my eye on that one for a while. I can't remember where I saw it (Jalopnik?), but it'll be in the $40K range. Sorry, that's a little too pricey. If they kept it around $25-$30K, it'd sell lot hotcakes. Too bad.

[Sky Pilot]

After 21 years in the emergency services, serving simultaneously as a lawman and a paramedic, I've seen wrecks from barely-bump to rip-in-two.
I'm reserving judgment on the electric cars until I see 'em on the road for a few years.
Batteries are my first concern. All batteries have an electrolyte; most battery electrolytes are either acidic or caustic. On collision these will rupture. Guaranteed, amigos pistoleros, with some of the wrecks I've responded to, the batteries will rupture! -- my concern here is that the patients, in addition to blunt force trauma, will now be anointed with either an acidic electrolyte, or a caustic electrolyte, thus adding chemical burn injuries to traumatic injuries.
This may also turn the scene into a haz-mat incident.
I've heard the arguments that "Carbon fiber bodies are very strong."
Um, sorry. After some of the wrecks I've seen ... no.
My second big concern is the energy contained in the batteries. Again, in the mauling destruction of a collision, what happens when these marvelous repositories of propulsive power go to dead short? Please don't tell me that's why God invented fuses. Again, in the massive, twisting deformations that occur in a collision, I'm concerned with a dead short on these wonderful new high capacity batteries.
I'll freely -- very freely! -- admit that it's possible these new electric cars may indeed have these problems solved. It's quite possible that people who are younger, smarter and better looking than I, have these problems solved already, and my fears will prove completely unfounded.
If that's the case I will be a happy man indeed!
Until then, my 24 MPG buggy starts and runs whether it's 40 below or 105 above, its quick steering and throttle response have kept me out of two wrecks so far, and I can afford to keep up payments on what I've got.