What is Digg?109 Comments
- Modestexcuse, on 06/23/2008, -0/+70I don't believe it's much of a "bandwagon". I am of the opinion that electric cars are the future. The manufacturer who produces the best electric vehicle soonest, will lead this evolution.
- sustainablogger, on 06/23/2008, -0/+32Gas prices stay at the levels they are, and they won't be able to keep these on the lots... nice!
- eengineer, on 06/24/2008, -1/+22With the right leaps in solar and other renewable sources that can be generated at home and the right battery/capacitor/nano-structured storage devices, electric cars could potentially lead to a zero cost commute for most people (of course minus the cost of the vehicle and panels or whatever). Were not there yet, but this technology could save the American economy. Of course it's good for other countries but the US layout requires longer commutes and our public transportation sucks and will probably never get better.
- Ganja420, on 06/24/2008, -0/+19will there be an AMG version electric??
- Narcism, on 06/24/2008, -1/+17I'd sooner look into making friends that didn't weigh 300 pounds.
- SnowBladerX, on 06/24/2008, -0/+14IF GM was smart they would have continued the EV1 project to full production years ago, They were way ahead of the competition.
- phreak79, on 06/24/2008, -0/+13Not to mention, Mercedes have some tricky EU mpg legislation to abide by, and they've been quite prickly about the levels up until now.
- HiddenCanuck, on 06/24/2008, -0/+11Your family won't; it's a 2 seater!
- inactive, on 06/24/2008, -1/+11If Smart weren't owned by Daimler, a private company, Smart would be decent stock.
- guillebravo6, on 06/24/2008, -0/+10good move by Mercedes, why not get some of that market share!
- GrandmasterB, on 06/24/2008, -0/+10I'm sure the Mercedes will be pricey, but once production "amps" up on other models they'll have to bring down the sticker prices. Let's hope anyways.
- tinoproductions, on 06/24/2008, -0/+10Batteries have plenty of power, and 100% torque from 1RPM onwards.
Its the range and quick filling times that are the biggest barriers. - inactive, on 06/24/2008, -0/+9I agree... I DON'T want to drive my family sitting on a 10000PSI super cold highly flammable hydrogen storage. Electric car is the future.
- opmike, on 06/24/2008, -0/+9Mercedes won't be giving up entirely quite so soon, good lord.
- Narcism, on 06/24/2008, -1/+10I suspect my comment contained too much clever for you to handle. I apologize.
- iamjames, on 06/24/2008, -0/+8Agreed. GM would take over the market if they brought the EV1 back and sold it for 20k, especially if they slapped a little 5hp lawnmower engine in the trunk as a generator.
- Morphinity, on 06/24/2008, -1/+8And they will never make a profit - they're not a charity organization.
- BinaryFragger, on 06/24/2008, -0/+7The regular Smart cars are already flying off the dealer lots here in Ottawa.
Despite their relatively-high price, they're becoming very popular.
The question is, will is be a sales success in America, too. - inactive, on 06/24/2008, -0/+7They had their GOLDEN opportunity with EV-1... and that was almost 10 years ago! And what they did with it? They made sure that every single EV-1 is properly shredded into the pieces.
- Rickler, on 06/24/2008, -2/+9Sorry no, I can't forgive GM for killing the electric car. I hope they go bankrupt with all the H2s they can't sell. The ultimate irony; they become the oil companies bitch and now get screwed over.
- inactive, on 06/24/2008, -0/+6Very cool.
- inactive, on 06/24/2008, -1/+7People said the same thing about the combustion engine.
- TheLoneHoot, on 06/24/2008, -1/+7maybe a small diesel generator that could run on biodiesel or veggie oil?
- apeweek, on 06/24/2008, -0/+5This is great, but the first serious EVs to hit the market (besides the Tesla) will probably be one of these two, which are almost ready:
http://phoenixmotorcars.com
http://www.milesev.com/#hsv.swf - spartacvs33, on 06/24/2008, -1/+62010? not soon enough....
- scamper22, on 06/24/2008, -0/+5I'll mod you up even though this kind of question has been addressed before.
1. Pollution can be controlled better in large plants as opposed to on an automobile. So even if all the energy used to charge your electric car comes from a coal/oil fired plant, it is still better as they can install scrubbers and other techniques to make the plant more environmentally friendly.
2. Now you're talking about the economics of it all. The price of electricity would probably go up but it's not as simple as that. Much of the electricity we generate actually goes to waste. You can't just turn a coal plant on and off for example. It has to keep running and stay ready and warmed up for when power is needed. So during the night a lot of our power is actually wasted. If electric cars are charged at night then this 'waste' is put to good use. Now would we need more power than just the 'waste' electricity... maybe. So the price would go up, but not as much as with oil.
This is also why solar/wind power will not get rid of coal/nuclear power. When the sun don't shine and the wind don't blow, you still need these coal/nuclear plants running to take over and provide 100% of the current electrical needs. Otherwise you end up with blackouts.
3. From a future point of view, it is better to have electric vehicles as then the power source can be changed without worrying. Electricity is a very flexible medium. - apeweek, on 06/24/2008, -0/+5A hydrogen fuel cell car IS an electric car.
Including batteries, since the fuel cell doesn't make enough current to accelerate.
So take a perfectly good EV and add a fuel cell and H2 tank on top. The FCV will be heavier and more expensive than the equivalent EV - and less efficient, too, not just because of the additional weight, but because of the wasted energy it takes to extract, store,and ship hydrogen.
Now, new nanotech batteries negate any fast-fueling advantage H2 might have. Altairnano batteries, for instance, can charge in 10 minutes, and last 20 years.
Sorry, but this is the future. H2 is an oil-industry pipe dream - they would love to have something to still sell us after we are driving electric cars. - BigPapi, on 06/24/2008, -1/+6If you want to buy American, get an Aptera. GM doesn't deserve to prosper in the new age of the electric car.
- apeweek, on 06/24/2008, -0/+5The cool thing about electricity - it's easy to make your own. An EV-sized solar panel for your garage can be had for as little as $1000. And solar prices are plummeting.
This is what will keep electricity prices in check.
Why do you think the oil industry is so afraid of EVs? Sure, you can theoretically make your own ethanol or biodiesel, but it's no picnic. Making your own electricity is easy. - minhajali, on 06/24/2008, -1/+6wow thats wonderfull
- mgill3, on 06/24/2008, -1/+6FINALLY. I've been waiting for this... as someone who both loves Mercedes-Benz cars, and someone who would love an electric car, this is great news. I'd much rather have something powered by electricity that emits no emissions, and doesn't require me to buy gas anymore. I've been wondering if anybody out there would offer electric conversion kits for older Mercedes (My S320) but obviously that would be WAY, i repeat, WAY to expensive to do... so, turns out I'll be able to buy a new one by Mercedes-Benz in the future. :) I just hope they are able to do it cost effectively so they can bring electric cars to the masses and not just the rich. For example, an electric C-Class for under $40,000.
- cardinalgill, on 06/24/2008, -0/+5How long until one of these major manufacturers buys up Tesla Motors for their battery array?
- YagLana, on 06/24/2008, -0/+5Just give up galvo.
- inactive, on 06/24/2008, -0/+5Only the electric ones... the gas/mileage is ridiculous for Smart - 33 city/41 highway! Scion XB 2004 gets 31/36 for about the same vehicle price as Smart + huge difference in passenger/cargo space in Scion's advantage.
- TheCarDude, on 06/24/2008, -1/+5Nice nice. Sign me up.
- TheLoneHoot, on 06/24/2008, -1/+5If we were not driving petroleum fueled cars, and we got our electricity from sources that don't use it either, then I'd say we'd moving well away from oil dependency.
Now, if you had your own personal solar grid at home to power your house, you could plug your car into that and really stick it to the oil market.
If you could manufacture tires from something besides rubber, you'd be set. - KMartSheriff, on 06/24/2008, -0/+4History just repeated itself. You think people were A-OK with having a tank of gasoline next to them when cars first came about?
- tushyd, on 06/24/2008, -0/+4The article doesn't say anything about WHERE it's going to be sold. EU? North America?
- davidryal, on 06/24/2008, -0/+4tesla's battery array sucks. it's a bunch of laptop batteries. exxon and chevron bought the patents for the best batteries, and are waiting till oil is gone to commercialize them.
- nard3456, on 06/24/2008, -0/+4Maybe smart cars will begin to catch on.
- cazlar, on 06/24/2008, -2/+5Maybe, but the Scion is the fugliest vehicle on the road, while a smart car actually looks nice. I wish they still made their roadster (and I could afford it!)
- PathmarkPolice, on 06/24/2008, -0/+3If electric cars aren't hideous and are priced in the low to mid-range, ain't no one gonna buy a gas powered car. Seriously, all I need is something to take me to work and back and occasionally to a friend's house. I'll keep my old taurus locked away for a long ass trip should I ever need to take one.
- tushyd, on 06/24/2008, -0/+3I'm pretty sure electric propulsion is also that old.
- cadmiumpaint, on 06/24/2008, -0/+3I"ve already seen a smart car with a Mercedes Benz badge on it driving around. It looked just like the smart car pictured above with Mercedes stuff all over it. Maybe it was an advance release or something?
- apeweek, on 06/24/2008, -0/+3Only about 3% of electricity generation, nationwide, comes from oil. For the most part, petroleum is too expensive to waste making electricity.
- Flytrap, on 06/24/2008, -1/+4Yeah, right...
In South Africa, the primary electricity producer recently asked the independent electricity regulator to approve a 53% electricity tariff hike... they got 27% this year and a commitment to approve between 20% and 25% over the next 3 years!
...and South Africa is not dependent on oil for electricity generation (we use primarily nuclear and coal)
I'm going to bet that the cost of electricity will go up at the rate as the commodities such as coal, uranium and oil that are used to generate most of the world's electricity. Suddenly, the massive three gorges project to generate renewable hydro electric power is looking like such a genius decision.
As demand shifts to electricity, generation capacity will become an issue (South Africa is spending billions on building up generation capacity after regular blackouts reminded us that we had neglected the sector for too long). South Africa currently has tenders out for 3 more nuclear power stations, the first of which it expected to come on stream in 2016, and several coal fired stations. - Skysurfer27, on 06/24/2008, -0/+3If you contrast that to the billions of dollars per year the American car companies have been loosing. I think Daimler is in pretty good shape.
- TheLoneHoot, on 06/24/2008, -2/+5Oh man, I feel one of those Newt Gingrich/Nancy Pelosi TV commercial moments coming on...
OffPiste, as much as I totally disagree with you on political issues, I totally agree with you on the concept of buying American EV. Tesla, Chevy, whoever. I'd like to see the US take the lead here. I'd like to see us rebuild our auto market intelligently and responsibly. - dstz, on 06/24/2008, -0/+2"best electric vehicle soonest"
That doesn't make sense. I get that it's why you're dugg up, but still :)
you could have said '"he first to make an electric car that is as useful -for any kind of commute- as is a combustion engine". And that is a matter of batteries, so about every manufacturers that have a little know how will manage good cars. When those batteries exist.
A fully electric car in 2010, for example, will never be bought by people living in any sort of suburbia, for self evident reasons (autonomy, namely). Maybe in European cites, but suburbia way of life appears here too anyway.
There are many levels of electric car. If there is a moment for 'best' it is now because there is not much choice. When the battery revolution come, it will be like any car, best will depend on what people intend to do, and there will be a lot of choice. - inactive, on 06/24/2008, -0/+2This is great news, we need more car companies to get onboad.
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