why are people reconsidering electric cars?

Question

how come people are really starting to have second thoughts on electric cars?

Answer 1

People who are aware of recent advances in EV technology are indeed reconsidering electric cars. Technology hasn't stood still - and these are not the electric vehicles of 20 or 30 years ago.
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It is no longer necessary to change batteries every few years, for instance. And modern battery chemistries are fully recyclable, with minimal environmental impact.
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Take a look at the Phoenix electric pickup truck:
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http://phoenixmotorcars.com/models/fleet.html
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This electric vehicle - using new, advanced Altairnano batteries - can:

-Travel up to 250 miles per charge
-Carry 5 passengers plus cargo at 95mph.
-Charges batteries in as little as TEN MINUTES.
-Has batteries that last 250,000 miles (never need replacement.)
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The phoenix sells for around $45,000, and cars are being built (by hand) right now - it is not vaporware. The price has to be high, to pay for the necessary development costs of the technology. But someday soon, when mass production can commence, we will have very cheap - and very practical - electric cars. It's just a matter of time.
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Answer 2

Electric, just like hybrids, have not yet reached full potention for them to be a viable alternative to totally replace an internal combustion engine (ICE). Take a Civic Hybrid, or Escape Hybrid, and we see that while it costs thousands more than their regular ICE versions, it will take us about 7-8 years of ownership, to recoupe the extra initial cost for opting for the Hybrid version.

Toyota is now putting rebates on Prius'. IN that case, there is no regular ICE version, yet, the vehicle comes to play as what it is, with no ICE engine to compare it to.

Toyota has then taken the route of offering Hybrid offerings of their Lexus vehicles, with the emphansize of "performance', rather than 'economy' because if your spending money to buy a luxury ehicle, you don't care much on the economy aspect of it.

GM exited the electric market withthe Saturn EV1. The vehicle was limited in various aspects that most consumers would need. And the counter-thought on all electric vehicles is how much more coal do our powerplants need to produce, to recharge millions of cars at a daily rate.

There's no denying, the regular ICE engines have had hundreds of billions od dollars invested for many decades to bring them to todays standard. And even then, Hybrids have had a miniscule amount in comparison.

My guess is, we'll be seeing more engines, with other added technologies such as 42-Volt batteries, and some accessories being run by bigger batteries, rather than zapping power from the engine itself.

Maybe in about 10-20 years we'll see better integration with hybrids, but it's still too early to judge it as being truely effective, and should just be seen as a 'limited alternative".

Hope this helps...

Answer 3

because they are all tree hugging fools. But if they do the research they will see elctric can be more expensive - especially whethe batteries need to be changed at 70-80 thousand miles and then they are considered a hazardous material and carry a hefty surcharge to dispose of !!

Answer 4

Because you have to change the batteries ever couple years $$$$