Many here seem to think that electric cars are not available because GM sucks. Many have said technology is there for awesome hybrids, so I just wanted to inject some realism. Battery technology It's just not there yet. Possibly in another 10-15 years it will be usable but it still will be crap next to gasoline or propane. The best weight/power battery is Lithium Ion. They are pretty dangerous though. If you remember the cell phone explosions that's what I am talking about. The bad thing is, they get exponentially worse when you have many of them together. You need EXTENSIVE balancing circuitry to keep them all the same charge level. Otherwise BOOM. Plus they get MUCH MUCH worse booms the larger they get. The largest widespread made Li-Ion cell is 18mmx65mm cyl. used in Laptops. That means hundreds for a car. That means EXPENSIVE circuit, and high possibility for failure. New tech is coming along most notably LiFePO4 which is the same idea just much more tough. This comes with half the capacity and more weight though. Basically deal killer for cars. Most cars (Prius included) have NiMH batteries which are OLD tech. They are reliable and SAFE. So all the people saying I am full of crap ask yourself why would they use heavier older batteries instead of the Li-Ions. My hobby is RC and flashlights. We are on the LATEST cuttig edge in batteries for obvious reasons. Driving a car is not coming anytime soon.
But didn't GM come out with an electric vehicle in the 90's? but then they pulled the program for no apparent reason?
It will take some time for battery technology, but it's inevitable. Infrastructure for electric vehicles also has to be built. Over the next 10, 20, 30 years, electric vehicles will phase in while gas and hybrids phase out. From year to year, the transition probably won't be noticeable.
They have a ~20-40 year window for the driving fleet to transition to a different tech. Something tells me fuel efficient 40-60mpg diesels would have been a less painfully disruptive option.
Ok let me ask you this nostradamus, what is infastructure? Charging stations? Battery swap stations? Battery swap stations are crap because you cannot tell how many cycles (ie how much battery life is left) on a pack. So why would I trade my good pack for a crap pack? Charging stations will be worthless when the good tech gets here. The latest cells can be charged in 15 minutes. Why would I pay extra for it when I get it at home for on the cheap? There is no infa pork to build, sorry.
Also 10 years is a freaking pipe dream. I doubt the tech will be there in 10 years, and even if it is it will not be competitive with the latest gasoline or LP engines, which will be much more efficient by then.
here ya go. www.candlepowerforums.com I cannot really "explain" other than to say if it is 50% chance of rain people carry umbrella, there is a 100% chance it gets dark. We basically try to stuff as much light and power into a small package. I have on hand all the battery chemistries. A123, Emoli, LiPo, Li-Ion, Mn,Fe,Co, NiMH LSD.
DON'T STOP...BELIEVING... fyi, it's buttloads expansive, but the Tesla Roadstar does show that electricity is a viable alternative, even at the top level of performance. plus it looks sexy.
The Volt is scheduled to hit the market in 2010. I've seen report after report of this on CNBC and other media sources. Just to make sure I understand you...you're saying that it won't happen?
plus a huge mass of consumers with poor judgement (ie america) willing to buy gas guzzling cars -- allowing for companies like gm to to keep their business structure the same for so many years. as soon as gas prices went down consumers in this country went right back to buying suvs. this is old but just to verify that ^^ statement. http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/22/autos/trucks_back/index.htm arent electric cars only offsetting fuel consumption for energy produced by coal plants. how green are hybrids and electric cars really?
Top Gear had a great episode with both the Tesla Roadster and the fuel cell Honda Clarity. Jeremy Clarkson claimed to dislike the Tesla as it lacks the practical potential of the Clarity. However, he drove it like a typical Top Gear road test, which may be part of the reason that it died so quickly on him. James May drove the Clarity, which may be why it lasted so long. I just don't think the infrastructure is there for either of the technologies, especially the fuel cell. I don't pretend to be an expert on this subject at all, which is why I'm quoting Top Gear. However, I wish that fmullegen would quit calling an infrastructure "infra-pork." I'm sure you'd rather go back to the days of dirt roads and candlelight, but it ain't a bad thing.
