Hold your breath -- it could be as soon as next year. Look at this imported Chinese car:
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http://www.milesautomotive.com/products_xs200.html
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It gets 200 miles to the charge, does freeway speeds, and only costs $28,500.
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These are the batteries in the car:
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http://www.everspring.net/product-battery.htm
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If the chart on this page is correct, 1100 charges times 200 miles per charge mean that the batteries are good for 220,000 miles before replacement!
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You also should consider how the fuel savings from driving an electric vehicle could afford you a more expensive car. In my city, we have a special electric rate if I charge overnight, of only 2.5 cents per kilowatt-hour. An EV gets about 4 miles per KWH. For the 1300 miles per month I drive, that's just a little over EIGHT DOLLARS. In my 18mpg gas-powered sedan, with gas at $3.10, that would be $224 per month! That means I can pay at least $200 more per month in a car payment, and not even notice it. Maintenance is much cheaper, too, because electric motors are maintenance-free (no oil changes, coolant, spark plugs, etc.)
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Powering an EV is so much cheaper because of the vastly greater efficiency with which fuel is used. Sending energy by wire is much more efficient than sending fuel by truck, for instance. Improved efficiency also means far less pollution, even when dirty fuel is burned by power plants.
2006-08-24 04:33:22
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answer #1
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answered by apeweek 6
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According to Tesla Motors head honchos, not that long. Check out the two links below. The second one outlines their business plan for the future which boils down to:
" 1. Build sports car
2. Use that money to build an affordable car
3. Use that money to build an even more affordable car
4. While doing above, also provide zero emission electric power generation options "
This seems promising; I have never seen a company as devoted to creating an electric car that performs at the level of the gas cars we own today. Their Tesla Roadster reservations were snapped up as quickly as they were available, and I would expect the same to happen with their expected economy models. As for large commercial vehicles, I am not sure how those will fare. Battery technology will need to make a few advancements before those could viably be converted to electric. As for a solid figure concerning when everyone can afford one? That depends on a lot of different factors, but I guess 10yrs or less for what that is worth. We have the technologies currently (batteries, power electronics, motor drives, computers/software, efficient motors); it is just a matter of improving them further until they have more benefits and less drawbacks than the gasoline vehicle.
As for now, the major automotive companies are designing "plug-in hybrids" which will essentially work like the hybrids we have now except with the ability to store and use energy from the electric power grid (see PopSci link). These types of cars solve one of the main problems with the electric vehicle: operating range. I hear there are reasonably-priced unofficial kits available for converting a hybrid to a plug-in variety, but it voids your warranty. So one could argue that an "electric car" is within everyone's price range today if one can afford a hybrid plus the time, effort and money to install a plug-in conversion kit.
edit: silverburch, check out the first link. Electric power transmission is on average very efficient and clean. Electric motors are also VERY efficient compared to internal combustion engines. Overall, there is a big savings in efficiency compared to creating, distributing and using gas. Plus, you could install a set of solar panels at home to help offset any fossil fuel used by the power plants if that troubles you. The link goes into more detail (also check out their "white papers" for some very interesting stats).
2006-08-23 13:33:53
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answer #2
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answered by Ubi 5
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What is so great about electric cars? Where does the electricity come from? Normally, it will be a gas, coal, oil or nuclear power station, so all you are doing is shifting the point of pollution to somewhere else.
Because the production and transmission of electrcity is not 100% efficient, there may be a case for saying that petrol driven cars are more efficient, but I would have to let an expert argue that one.
2006-08-23 13:23:55
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answer #3
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answered by Anonymous
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They will get more expensive, not cheaper. Why not get a horse and buggy? The problem with pure electric cars is their range. They can only go about 30 minutes. Don't even think about using one to tow a trailer. You need 2 tons of batteries to run a decent sized car, then charging them, your electric bill would be out of site.
2006-08-23 13:17:59
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answer #4
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answered by Anonymous
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Law of supply and demand. If enough people demand electric cars so that a company can justify and assembly line, then the price will come down.
2006-08-23 13:04:03
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answer #5
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answered by wizard8100@sbcglobal.net 5
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Your kidding right? Simple law of supply and greed. When there is approx. 30 TRILLION dollars worth of oil still in the ground, you think that all the greedy bastards worldwide are going to let it go? Electric cars in every home will be around when oil no longer is....
2006-08-23 23:52:38
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answer #6
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answered by Yuri 1
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we have to supprot an entire middle east region so dont hold your breath....we can go electric in no time at all...but think what would happen to the middle eastern economy and what kind of terrorist breading ground it would be them....we are committed to this region until they find other sources of natinal income sufficient enough to supplant their oil revenues
2006-08-23 13:09:19
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answer #7
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answered by ducati900ss_2002 1
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Maybe everyone does not want one ??
2006-08-23 17:41:49
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answer #8
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answered by Anonymous
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