So, if we REALLY want to save the planet, where's our eletric cars???

Answer 1

electric cars are smooth, quiet and smell free.

Current offerings have range 200 miles, 0-60 in 4 secs http://www.teslamotors.com; can be recharged in 10 minutes http://wwwphoenixmotorcars.com, battery life >15 years, fully recyclable, less nasty metals than infernal combustion (ice).
much more reliable as few moving parts; Tesla has 7 in the whole drive chain.

Efficiency of electric as a traction souce is far superior to ice, even if the electric comes from fossil fuels because the generator & motor operates at optimum load and temperature, constantly monitored and maintained (most car journeys the engine never gets properly warm); also close to fuel source so no refining or tankering; a very efficient grid will deliver it direct to your home or work.
Plus regenerative braking and no fuel consumption when stationary; max torque from 0rpm, from cold.

to answer your question http://www.whokilledtheelectriccar.com
unfortunatly the RAV4ev has also been discontinued http://www.toyota.com/html/shop/vehicles/ravev/rav4ev_0_home/index.html, in part because patents for the NiMH batteries used are held by an oil co. who only allows them in sizes sufficient for a hybrid, not for plug-in 100mile range.

since the big manufacturers don't want to upset their fiends in the whitehouse; probably your best bet is a DIY conversion, see book by Bill Brandt; & join local club.
for more info there is a Yahoo group http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/diy_ev_cars/

It may not save the planet, but is a much more pleasurable driving experience, cheaper, independent from big oil, and less environmental impact too. so why not

Answer 2

There are many "neighborhood electric vehicles" for sale, new or used.

If you want a REAL electric that can do freeway, build it yourself. That is, convert a gasoline car to electric. The technology isn't particularly hard, a high school shop class could put one together. Thousands of people have done electric vehicle conversions and the technology is available off-the-shelf.

You can get unlimited cruising range by putting a small generator onboard or towed behind on a trailer. (though the smog laws are a little tricky here).

Only thing is, you have to pay cash for the parts, hard to get financing on an electric you're building.

There are also a few companies who will convert a car to electric for you, for a fee.

Answer 3

EV's are coming along. There are many more people looking into them. Where I am staying for the summer small EV's are all over the place. True most of them are on golf cart frames and they usually don't run faster than 35 mph but they do everyone here well and we do save on gasoline.

If you research electric cars through a Goggle search you will fine that there are EV's that can run for 2/3 hundred miles before needing a recharge and can do it at highway speeds.

Problem is Big Oil and car manufacturers do not want to see this happening. Only those that want to see us get away from that dependence are making the change when ever it is practical.

Answer 4

The electric car is not a good idea for the environment. They use power plant produced electricity to charge the batteries. This power is more polluting and inefficient. A typical power plant is only about 25-30 % eefficient in converting fossil fuel to power. Many are much less efficient.

Then we have the batteries to deal with. They only last 3-4 years and also pollute. They are very expensive also.

Electric cars are good for the city because they just move the pollution from the car to the power plant location. Overall pollution to the earth is still more than a good hybrid or small engine car.

Answer 5

They became a serious threat to the big gas companies at all angles; the gas car makers, the gas companies, the stockholders of all of that. It is amazing that they just keep hanging on and recruiting more people as time goes on. My Dad is 85 and he is always asking how come the oil hasn't run out yet? They had a whole fleet of electric cars down in LA; you couldn't buy one you could only lease them and people waiting on the list for years to get one of those cars. Then a few years back the word came down from some demigog whoknowsfromwhere and the order was given to crunch and munch them...so they did. Who knows how long it will before electric cars are on the street in mass now that the so called "Hybrids" seem to be the only acceptable alternative allowed at this stage of the game...I seriously doubt that I will live long enough to see it.

Answer 6

They're disguised as hybrids. We still need to rip out the gas motor and replace it with a Searl generator, a Hutchisen zero point battery, or a Bearden MEG. Or any of a dozen other alternate power supplies which can be found on the Net. Just do some research.

Answer 7

It's not a conspiracy. They're not worth it. Most of our electricity is produced by coal. Neither oil nor coal are very good for the environment. If we really wanted to cut down on fuel use we should start enforcing the speed limits. If everyone dropped their highway speed five miles per hour it would save a lot.

By the way, the planet is fine. A few species are in jeopardy and climate changes are hurting more than they are helping, but the Earth isn't going anywhere.

Answer 8

The GM EV1 was a very popular electric car, but GM pulled them off the market and destroyed them for reasons not fully explained. Some of the people who were leasing them even offered to buy them, but GM refused all of their requests. Read the section labeled "Controversy" at the first link below.

I'm generally skeptical of all conspiracy theories, but this sounds like a conspiracy to me. I can understand discontinuing the model if it wasn't profitable, but why destroy all of the ones they'd already built when they could have recouped some of their money by continuing to lease them?

Toyota makes an electric version of the RAV-4 which is available at dealerships in California and by special order elsewhere (see second link). It's a shame Americans aren't as committed as the Japanese to reducing dependence on fossil fuels.

Answer 9

Unfortunately most of our electricity is generated by fossil fuel. The carbon dioxide production is merely transferred to the location of the power plant.

Essentially electric cars do not get you a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions unless you use a source of electricity that does not use fossil fuel, such as wind power.

However windpower even has its critics. There is a proposed group of wind turbines off Martha's Vineyard that is being sued by of all people those wonderful environmentalists, the Kennedy's because they do not a bunch of wind turbines iin their backyard.

Go figure.

(edit) Note to perfect angel.

Water is not an energy source. Hydrogen can be produced electrolytically from water. The hydrogen can then be used to power the car.

It requires approximately 50 kilowatt hours of electricity to produce an amount of hydrogen with an energy equivalence of one gallon of gasoline.

That is a lot of electricity.

Answer 10

You can get an electric car now. It's called a golf cart. Of course many people whine that it's too slow.

You can get a hybrid, but the cost is higher. There are always tradeoffs.