Who will bring back the Electric car?

[rhaig 0]

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As long as the power comes from a coal driven power plant there is nothing green about it.

and battery disposal? what happens when you swap them out? Any ideas on how much the replacements cost and how long they last?

--
Rob

[normiss 897]

or the impact to the environment?

[Andrewwhyte 1]

Where are all the lithium mines and is there enough on the planet to do this?

[Amazon 7]

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Where are all the lithium mines and is there enough on the planet to do this?

Just think of all the lithium savings that were made with the closing of so many mental hospitals.

[kelpdiver 2]

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Not to drift the thread but to use my point, it is not the technology that is not ready for 90% of the population, it is that attitude of 90% of the polulation that is holding back the technology.

In part. But when a 40k Volt only meets some of your needs, it's a hard sell, even with 7.5k in credits. It's akin to the problem that had people buying massive SUVs in the 90s to tow their boat once a week.

It's expensive to have two vehicles. Twice the insurance, registration fees, and upkeep. And in a city like San Francisco, it's hard enough having 1 parking space, nevermind the classic American 2 or 3 car garage. Those who deal with street parking are resigned to a certain number of parking tickets plus the occasional tow. Most people would do fine in SF with the limited range - the city is only 7 miles across. But the dropzones are 75 - 120 miles away, one way. To me, being able to drive to Hollister and back without sweating the last few miles (ie, 200mi range) would be the standard to start with.

We do have emerging car on demand options (ie, zipcar) here and that could be the second piece to make it more attractive.

[ryoder 1,590]

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Torque requires a moment arm as well as a force to specify. Would that be 3319 ft. pounds or inch.pounds?

ft-lbs, but it is very misleading.
The rest of the world measures torque at the engine;
Audi's number is after it has passed through gear-reduction to the wheels.

Ref: http://green.autoblog.com/2009/12/04/audi-twists-e-tron-3319-lb-ft-torque-rating/

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[FastRon 0]

I think we ought to be careful of assessing "need" here. There is a group back East called Congress that is very into what we "need". Why do we "need" to jump out of aircraft? (Which are powered by fossil fuel.) I'm not sure "80%"of us need just a 40-50 mile range- If you drive 50-60, please stay on the surface streets, and don't "mingle" with the 65-80 traffic: My lifestyle requires certain transport criteria. I would buy the Tesla, Audi or whatever,if it delivers what I want from my transportation choice. I relish the day when the Middle East is reduced to selling lubricants instead of fuel, and coal plants are history. Batteries, fuel cells etc, will evolve as well. In my memory NiCad was cutting edge...

[DrewEckhardt 0]

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<<<<<<<<<<<<If something comes along that is cheaper than gas, I'll buy it!

Bicycle.

Unfortunately, not very practical for most people that work long distances away from their homes or work in offices while wearing business suits.

"Cheap" isn't always the best answer.

1. You don't need to wear the same clothes to bike that you work in. Most of the office buildings I've worked in have had shower facilities, where a formal dressing office worker could take their morning shower and change into something more business like.

2. Living far away from work is usually a choice. The alternative may mean a smaller home closer to business centers, or renting instead of buying where jobs aren't centrally located.

[Belgian_Draft 0]

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I think we ought to be careful of assessing "need" here. There is a group back East called Congress that is very into what we "need". Why do we "need" to jump out of aircraft? (Which are powered by fossil fuel.) I'm not sure "80%"of us need just a 40-50 mile range- If you drive 50-60, please stay on the surface streets, and don't "mingle" with the 65-80 traffic: My lifestyle requires certain transport criteria. I would buy the Tesla, Audi or whatever,if it delivers what I want from my transportation choice. I relish the day when the Middle East is reduced to selling lubricants instead of fuel, and coal plants are history. Batteries, fuel cells etc, will evolve as well. In my memory NiCad was cutting edge...

I didn't have big brother in mind while writing my posts. If you only drive 30 miles a day and never more, then all you "need" is a car with a little over 30 mile range for you normal daily transportation. But one problem with that is nobody, myself included, would be happy with a car that met our needs and offered nothing more.
I only "need" a balanced diet that meets my caloric requirements, but i "want" food that tastes good and not the same thing every day.

HAMMER:
Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a
kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the
object we are trying to hit.

[FastRon 0]

Does Drew... live at the drop zone? Lucky him! Lugging your gear bag around on public transportation (if they go there) or your bike (if it's not like 50 miles one way- 3+ hour ride for me!), may not be fun! Keeps you in shape though.
E-commuting may not work for all- but as soon as I figure out howmailing handcuffs to people with orders to come in for booking (riding a hybrid bus of course)will work, I'm moving there too. Or to a waterski lake- I haven't decided.