Who would commit to an alternative fully electric vehicle.?

Question

If there were an alternative electric vehicle that could be delivered by January 2009, for $35,000.00 and it were truly comparable, speed, distance etc, is there 100,000 people that would commit to the first 100,000 produces?

What would the gas price per gallon have to be to get 100,000 contracts in america?

Answer 1

Who would commit to $35,000 for a noisy, smelly, complicated infernal combustion engine car if they had an smooth, refuel at home or work, with cheap renewable energy, 250 miles per charge, 10 minute recharge, 20+ year battery life electric option?

the whole electric vehicle (ev) driving experience is so superior it is no wonder we are never given the choice. also in UK £0 road tax, £0 London congestion charge, free parking in cities like Westminster

the technology exists, it just requires investment for mass production to bring the price down. evs are much simpler, so should be much cheaper to make than infernal combustion engines with all their complicated transmission, fuel & exaust management, high temperature metalurgy & lubricants etc
www.teslamotors.com
www.phoenixmotorcars.com

Answer 2

The air car is only 15000. 35 is way to high . You have to think about the little people to not everyone can afford 35 thousand . I'm hoping the the nano detonators work out there only 50 bucks a month and adapt to any gas or diesel engine just like changing the spark plugs with a few modifications you can drive all month and then some with those non stop. There's so many people here now that don't have there gas guzzlers paid for yet its unreal

Answer 3

$35,000 is a little high. I know I won't be able to afford any car that expensive by '09. If such a car existed, and I could afford it, then yes, I would consider it. I think it would sell much better if the price could be brought down to $25,000 or less. That is the average price of a conventional car, right in Honda Accord and Toyota Camry territory. I would tolerate some compromises in range, speed, or luxury to bring the price down. A simple, small electric car capable of handling the short trips around town and my commute to work would make an excellent second car. I could use that for up to 80% of all car trips and save my 30mpg Dodge Intrepid for the longer trips. Just a basic car like that could be made for around $10,000. They already have them in China.

Answer 4

Getting one that has the range of an Internal Combustion engined car is going to be a real problem for you because our battery technology just isn't up to it. Using Li-Ion batteries you can do it but they cost a lot of money and will need to be replaced every few years or so.

Comparable speed is easy to do though (but probably unnecessary given that no one needs to exceed 200 km/h) and comparable acceleration is easier because electric motors can provide full power at all speeds allowing electric cars with rather low top speeds to beat much faster petrol cars in acceleration.

Now if you want the range of a petrol powered car with reasonable price you could just stick a small petrol engine in it, optimise that engine for high efficiency at the expense of power and size it to provide enough power for sustained highway driving and use the batteries and electric motor to get acceleration. If that sounds like the Toyota Prius there's a reason for it (namely it's the only way to get an affordable electric car with the range of something with a petrol engine).

Adding solar panels to the roof of a car is really just a waste of money because solar power is too diffuse to be of much use powering a useful car (the stunt cars used in solar races aren't really any good for carrying your groceries home).

Answer 5

$35,000? no way. costs too much.

Make a 4 passenger electric vehicle that can do 60 mph for 60 miles for under $20,000 then you can compete with fossil fuel vehicles that the average person can afford.

If people can't afford it... they won't sell.

If they don't have adequate space, they won't sell

If they can't go far enough per day, they won't sell.

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As an option, have a solar cell roof panel available so the car can collect energy. Appx $1000 option would potentially extend the daylight between charge range 20%.

Second option... an appx 20 hp fuel powered generator. That would keep up with level pavement power demand at 55 to 60 mph... battery drains when accelerating or going uphill... battery recharges when stopped, slowing or going downhill.

The Hybrids really aren't done right.... inefficiency abounds.

Answer 6

I wouldn't be able to financially commit to it, as I don't even make that much in a year's pay! However, if they could make one cheaper than that, I would definitely look into it. Either way, I wouldn't be able to afford a new car by Jan 2009.

Answer 7

The electricty network is approahing its limit now so the extra burden of transport cannot be supported without a lot of extra generating and transmission capacity.

I think the best option for local commuting are electric scooters. Available now for ~$2000. Cheap to run now and in the future

Answer 8

Money really doesn't matter to me personally when I have to switch to a hybrid car.

On Economy aspect, I agree with Fred that we need to make the hybrid cars more viable economically both while buying and operating.

Answer 9

$35,000 to rich for my blood, I got a family to feed
why don't they lower the price ? so everyone can afford them, its the only way I think people will start buying alternative fuel vehicles

Answer 10

Intriguing but what electric power source and would it be convertible to solar? I would like to know more than price and feasibility prior to a commitment.