Electric cars are a pipe dream

[Light Travelling]

This thread is about EVs and not other alternative energy sources,

Well I'm sorry, i'll say no more on it than this then

but I bet there is one main problem with algae:

It CAN NOT be produced in sufficient quantities so it could quickly replace petroleum based vehicles.

It can actually that is why aircraft companies and US govt are investing in research. Area required to grow alage is far less than other types of biofuels, and it is incredibly efficient giving a higher energy output per kilo than even petrol itself.
It also absorbs as much carbon during its growth period that its gives off when burnt - carbon neutral.


thanks

 

[Syzygys]

I can't decide if the whole algae thing is worthy of its own thread (probably not), but a quote from the linked article:

"When they do arrive, however, the planes could help EADS achieve its goal of flying 10% of its fleet with biofuel by 2040."

10% in 30 years doesn't sound like an incredible fast solution....

 

[jaqes]

The electric car came back in the middle of the 20th century, languishing in the hands of small companies run by patchouli idealists who honestly thought minuscule old cars with cripplingly ugly body lines were the wave of the future. And the crickets chirped for many years.

 

[iceaura]

"For E.V.s to become popular, they must mimic the experience and performance that drivers have become accustomed to," Deloitte notes.

They already beat the current gas standard on performance, price of fuel, and convenience of use - no more stopping at the gas station every week, dealing with the fumes and stench and mechanical unreliability and oily mess, etc.

If electrics were standard now, and somebody were trying to introduce the Rube Goldberg contraptions we have become accustomed to, they'd be laughed at.

 

[Syzygys]

They already beat the current gas standard on performance, price of fuel, and convenience of use -

My ass. Plugging it in every night isn't not super convenient...Watching the gauge and praying that you don't run out of juice is not convenient either...

 

[phlogistician]

They already beat the current gas standard on performance, price of fuel, and convenience of use - no more stopping at the gas station every week,

Horse poo. Several times each year, our vehicle needs to tow 1000kg of caravan just under 300 miles. The vehicle needs to accommodate two adults, three dogs, and two surfboards. Our current vehicle can make this journey on less than one tank of gas.

Show me an electric vehicle that can do this.

 

[ElectricFetus]

Horse poo. Several times each year, our vehicle needs to tow 1000kg of caravan just under 300 miles. The vehicle needs to accommodate two adults, three dogs, and two surfboards. Our current vehicle can make this journey on less than one tank of gas.

Show me an electric vehicle that can do this.

Yeah you at like 2% of the population need a full SUV, good for you, I and most people on the other hand could go with an electric car.

 

[spidergoat]

Horse poo. Several times each year, our vehicle needs to tow 1000kg of caravan just under 300 miles. The vehicle needs to accommodate two adults, three dogs, and two surfboards. Our current vehicle can make this journey on less than one tank of gas.

Show me an electric vehicle that can do this.

You aren't going to need to do that in the future where electric vehicles are necessary. Americans are going to have to rethink our vacation practices.

 

[spidergoat]

The electric car came back in the middle of the 20th century, languishing in the hands of small companies run by patchouli idealists who honestly thought minuscule old cars with cripplingly ugly body lines were the wave of the future. And the crickets chirped for many years.

Your insults notwithstanding, those cars had to compete with cheaper more practical gas powered vehicles. It was also a time before we realized the oil wasn't going to last forever.

 

[phlogistician]

You aren't going to need to do that in the future where electric vehicles are necessary.

Utopian naivety.

I'll still be surfing in 10 years. Unless I've moved closer to the sea, I'll still need to do the miles and have the towing capacity. What you seem to implying, is that I won't be able to do so with an electric vehicle. So I shan't buy one.

Americans are going to have to rethink our vacation practices.

You are free to do that. Us Brits will keep our fuel vehicles meanwhile.

 

[phlogistician]

Your insults notwithstanding, those cars had to compete with cheaper more practical gas powered vehicles. It was also a time before we realized the oil wasn't going to last forever.

But electric vehicles, with current battery limitations, are not the future.

Where was the insult btw? Unless you're some damn hippie who reeks of patchouli, there was none. That would make you a hippie. Oh dear.

 

[iceaura]

My ass. Plugging it in every night isn't not super convenient...Watching the gauge and praying that you don't run out of juice is not convenient either...

And nobody has to watch their gas gauge, or make extra stops and trips to buy gas they have to pump themselves - getting gas on their hands, standing out by the pumps in all weather, checking their oil, remembering their credit card or standing in line at the till, etc.

Not to mention the oil and grease on their driveways and garage floors, the constant dealing with minor mechanical hassles like the gas cap and the oil cap and the hood latch, and so forth. Plugging in every other night is a minor detail, in comparison. How much hassle is it to, say, dial the washing machine and press start? Make a pot of coffee? Those are both much more onerous than connecting to a waiting plug.

You could even use your garage as a comfortable sitting room, clean and fume free, instead of the grease barn a gas car requires.

You're just habituated to a constant damn nuisance, is all. If it were the other way around, and electrics were standard, you'd never switch to this nonsense; accept the extra expense and inferior performance and unreliability and dirt and hassle in return for a range extension 90% of the cars on the road would use less than twice a year - what rental is made for.

Where was the insult btw? Unless you're some damn hippie who reeks of patchouli, there was none.

Classic.

Insults are so routine, from this political faction, so much the standard form of discourse, a projection of fantasy so firmly entrenched as a world view they aren't even aware of them or the special privileges of bizarre assertion they take for granted in all discussion.

 

[Syzygys]

And nobody has to watch their gas gauge,

the HUGE difference is that you can:

1. Find a gas station usually in less than 20 miles.
2. You can fill up it under 5 minutes.

Try that with your EV. And there is a more complicated charging station what you might have to install in your home so it isn't just like plugging it into the wall..

When I can do a US cross country trip under 4-5 days with an EV fully loaded with 4 people and luggage, give me a call...The future is the hybrids' for at least 20 years. After that we shall see...

 

[X-Man2]

Honestly EV's can work very well even with their limited range.Not to mention they will get better and better range as more research is put into them.But if the US ever decides to get serious about EV's like some other Countries are starting to do,range is not going to be a problem.All it takes is battery changing stations dotted all over the place like gas stations are now.It's laughable to read people saying EV's wont work due to range.Another option for those that wish to drive farther without stopping for battery changes or for those out in the boonies,I could see the use of a pull trailer with a huge battery for this purpose. Most likely the US will be in last place with EV's and renewables since we are in LOVE with oil and gas.Hard to change that.

 

[chaos1956]

personally I'm liking the Tesla motors at the moment. The roadster does 0-60 in 3.7 seconds with 288 horses and 295 lbs of torque. 247 miles per charge but 3.5 hours to charge. the sedan they are coming out with seems more impressive with a 45 minute charge and a one minute battery swap. Also says it plugs into almost any outlet in the world.
http://www.teslamotors.com/

 

[phlogistician]

personally I'm liking the Tesla motors at the moment.

Can you afford one?

 

[ElectricFetus]

Can you afford one?

Its a matter of mass production, its like your asking if we could afore a CD player back in 1990. Early adopters will buy up these EVs bring down the price as infrastructure grows to allow for higher and higher production rates. Heck Nissan is just going straight to reasonable priced EVs (Leaf). Other Car companies are starting out with hybrids, now plug in hybrids as the batteries get larger for the same price.

 

[Syzygys]

Not to mention they will get better and better range as more research is put into them.

If you actually read the thread 100 years of research gave the exact same range.

EV's like some other Countries

Name those other countries with battery changing stations. They don't exist...

personally I'm liking the Tesla motors at the moment. The roadster does 0-60 in 3.7 seconds with 288 horses and 295 lbs of torque. [/URL]

Idiot. That is not going to solve mass transportation, but it will solve overpopulation for sure....

 

[Syzygys]

Its a matter of mass production,

Not with the Tesla. Try mass producing Porsche and see how much its price comes down. Oh wait, it is already mass produced, and still expensive...

So far any argument for EVs was about the future sometimes or just plain dreaming...

 

[ElectricFetus]

Not with the Tesla. Try mass producing Porsche and see how much its price comes down. Oh wait, it is already mass produced, and still expensive...

So far any argument for EVs was about the future sometimes or just plain dreaming...

Yeah you got me on there, I mean the Leaf and Volt are only going to start physically selling in December for $30k so that technically is the future.