Would you be interested in buying an Electric Vehicle?Just watched 'Who killed the Electric car".I want one...

Question

the Electric car runs on batteries, no smog emmision, less mantance, quieter, NO Oil. only thing is GM, Chevron/texeco, goverment killed it.

Answer 1

The good news is that most of the technologies that were in the E.V 1 have been improved.

There was a car produced called the Tzero that used this technology.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_Propulsion_tzero

There is a "soon to be available" car called the Tesla roadster
http://www.motortrend.com/features/auto_news/2006/112_news060808_tesla_motors_electric_vehicle/

This has been driven by many motoring journos. It is very quick 0-60 mph 3.6 sec and a range of 300+ miles a charge.
If recharged from coal fired power it still returns co2 emissions comparable with a hybrid. From green energy it is zero.

The company manufacturing it does not make petroleum vehicles and is reliant on its success.

The down side is that it is very expensive. I want one. If it gets cheaper I may even get one. Until then I will keep riding my bicycle as often as I can,

Answer 2

First, that movie was very biased. You can tell the quotes from those who said the electric car just wouldn't work were very selectively picked. They probably interviewed each of those guys several hours to get the 10 second sound bites they were using.

Still, GM blew it. They had essentially a beta test car out there in the EV1, and were years ahead of other manufacturers. They should have continued the program, using the rich early tech adopters and greenies to continue funding, developing and selling the cars.

Contrary to what one of your earlier answerers said, the batteries had valuable material in them and would be recycled.

Range isn't a big problem. Towards the end, the EV1 came with batteries that gave it a range of 120 miles. I would think a four seater the size of a Camry could get 80 miles on a charge. That's enough for probably 95% of daily driving. If they could make one that didn't need a special charging station, so I could just grab a cord and plug it into any 110 V outlet, it can be recharged virtually anywhere.

Bottom line, if I could buy one that wouldn't be a hassle to charge, for a price that was within $3k to a similar gas engine cars, I would.

Answer 3

The only thing that killed the electric car was the fact that it was not competative in the market place. To be competative, an electric car must have performance equal to or better than equivelent gasoline/diesel powered cars and cost the same. For example. I would only consider an electric car as a replacement for my existing car if it had the following capabilities.

1) It must have a range of at least 200 miles while maintaining all of the performacne criteria listed below.

2) It must seat at least two adults comfortably, and be capable of carrying enought luggage for these adults on a weakend trip.

3) It must meet all current safety standards.

4) It must be rechargable from empty in no more than 10 minutes.

5) It must be rechargable at numerous convientient locations both in town and on the highway.

6) It must maintain a comfortable cabin temperature when outside temperatures are as high as 100F or as cold as 0F.

7) It must be capable of repeated accelerations from 0-60 mph without a loss of the range specified in 1)

8) It must be able to cruise at 100mph or better for the full 200 mile range.

9) The cost of a full recharge must be no more than US$40.

10) The purchase price including Tax, Title and License must be no more than US$50,000.

No such electric car has ever existed and I personally doubt that one will exist any time in the near future.

Answer 4

My short answer is absolutely. But it is a bit like the chicken and the egg. In order for people to purchase the electric car the battery technology and the refueling capabilties need to be mass produced and made more efficiently. I believe we will see great advancements first with Hybrid Cars which will lead ultimately to Non Fossil Fuel vehicles!

Answer 5

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Answer 6

I'm actually dying to buy an electric car as long as one comes into my price-range that's not silly looking and/or dangerous, and still able to go over 65 mph, and around 100 miles without a recharge. In other words, the working-man's Tesla Roadster.

Answer 7

After watching "who killed the electric car" it made me want one too. I think if they made a "plug in hybrid electric vehicle" PHEV it would be more accepted as it would still have the gas engine as a backup. The ideal configuration would be to use the new Li-Ion or Li-Po batteries and a diesel engine using bio diesel and have a solar charger using storage batteries so you could charge during the day or night.

There are people converting the prius to plug in and claim up to 100 mpg. If your commute doesn't exceed the capacity of the batteries you won't use any gas. I've also seen Prius diesel conversions.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2003768350_sundayhybrid01.html

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=118788

Answer 8

Nope! Batteries release deadly gasses, are made with deadly materials, can't be recycled (most parts), and would be an enviro-nightmare to dispose of. Electric motors wear out, are expensive to fix/replace. The more you charge a battery, the less time the charge lasts.
They don't go fast enough. long enough or far enough to be practical. They are far from being perfected, would cost way too much, and may not ever be fully accepted because of the realistic drawbacks they inherently have.
You really have to think such things out. The bads far outweigh the goods in this case. And that's another inconvenient truth.

Answer 9

Absolutely. ZAP is coming out with a couple of great electric vehicles in 2008 called the ZAP-X crossover. The first to come out will be able to go up to 100 mph, 100 miles per charge, and cost about $30,000. The other will be able to go up to 155 mph, 350 miles per charge, and cost around $60,000. Both will be able to recharge in just 10 minutes.

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070622/aqf032.html?.v=9
http://www.zapworld.com/ZAPWorld.aspx?id=4560

I already own a 2007 Prius and $30,000 is slightly out of my price range, but this is very promising. I would love to own a ZAP-X.

Answer 10

I have just sold my old ev. but would like another

this was a 20 year old 205 conversion with lead acid batteries, but still had a range of 30 miles, sufficient to get to local town/rail station & back, & 60mph.
It is an eyeopening experience to drive an ev
quiet smooth & smell free, just turn the switch & go

the new technologies available are fantastic, but not yet in mass production.