autobloggreen.com — Written by a blogger with 20+ years in the auto industry, this clever, descriptive post looks at the issues holding back sweet cars like the Tesla Roadster from being within everyone's budget, and why it will still take many years for electric cars (like the Chevy Volt) to be a legitimate option for major auto manufacturers. Edumacate yourself.
Feb 26, 2007 View in Crawl 4
aliengoodsFeb 27, 2007
"Barak Obama is getting a ton of free publicity"Sort of like Bush got in the first election from MAINSTREAM MEDIA for being the son of a former president. He had more than double of the campaign contributions of any other candidate before a single primary.
knowickiFeb 27, 2007
Very Edumacating!
nicepantsFeb 27, 2007
To get the same amount of power from batteries as you get from Gasoline would require 3 - 100x as much space for your "fuel". Not practical for anything but short trips unless you've got a very LARGE car.
apeweekFeb 27, 2007
Well there's a lot of rampant judgements about batteries here that has to be put in perspective.-Rescuers are in no great danger pulling people from wrecked electric vehicles. There is no reason to run high voltages into the passenger cabin, just like there's no reason to run gasoline lines in there. Plus, DC current is less agressively ground-seeking than the AC we are all familiar with. Also, I assume most of us have heard of fuses, breakers and other failsafes? It's a lot easier to detect and stop errant electrical flow than to stop the flow of gasoline.-New Li-Ion battery designs have licked the fire/explosion problems. This includes the Altairnano batteries in the Phoenix EV. These batteries have been tested by crushing and puncturing.-Batteries with gasoline-like performance are finally approaching. The Phoenix EV with Altairnano batteries can travel up to 250 miles per charge, can charge in ten minutes, carries 5 passengers plus cargo at 95 mph, and has a bettery life of 250,000 miles.-There's even more exciting stuff than the Altairnanos coming. EESTOR ultracapacitors promise to charge in minutes, have a nearly infinite life, and be inexpensive as well. Firefly energy has developed a new version of the classic lead-acid battery that improves energy density nearly to li-ion level. These batteries will be cheap, much lighter than old-generation batteries, and extremely durable.
apeweekFeb 27, 2007
Okay, since I'm being dugg down here, let's prove it.The Toyota RAV4 EV gets 3 to 6 miles per KWH. This can be googled. This page, for instance, says 4 miles per KWH: <a class="user" href="http://baltimorechronicle.com/2005/083005Korthof.shtml">http://baltimorechronicle.com/2005/083005Korthof.shtml</a>Overnight, off-peak electric rates as low as 3 cents per KWH are available. That's what I pay. Here's the rate card from my utility. My rate is D1.7: <a class="user" href="http://my.dteenergy.com/myAccount/pdfs/rates.pdf">http://my.dteenergy.com/myAccount/pdfs/rates.pdf</a>Now do some math. 3 cents divided by 4 miles is less than one cent per mile. That's what it costs to drive on electricity.
rslcFeb 27, 2007
Agree. I really think Tesla is the Apple of the automotive industry.Pushing forward with Revolution and consumer needs.Now is the transition of a revolutionary in the automotive industry.Those who do not follow the trend shall be left behind.Like how iPod/iTunes left everyone else behind.
foamweaponsFeb 28, 2007
What a BS article. 'Oh, look how great major auto-manufacturers are for making gasoline cars run in all temperatures, look how much money they invest in research to increase fuel economy and promote new technology, look at the risks they have to take to make a slim profit.'BS. History shows one thing increased fuel economy in the US. Mandatory regulations. CAFE standards increased new car and truck fuel economy by 70 percent between 1975 and 1988. In 1988 fuel economy peaked in the US. Then the CAFE standards stopped being increased, car manufacturers did nothing to increase fuel economy.Same thing for electric cars. What's the only reason auto companies made electric cars in the first place? They were required by law. Look up the California EV Mandate. Yes, they HAD TO make some electric cars otherwise they could not sell cars in California.(which is a big market to lose) Then Andrew Card, former GM lobbyist and future Bush Chief of Staff acted as a plaintiff against the State of California, attempting to sue the state for pushing the EV mandate. A few years later, the Department of Justice under the Bush administration filed an amicus brief supporting GM and other automakers. The automakers were very clear, they didn't want to make electric cars... so much so they even took back and crushed every EV they leased. If you make an investment like that, why not make some profit, by selling them as $1 million novelties some celebrities were willing to pay... why did they have to crush them? It wasn't just GM, it was all of them, tons of new electrics were being made (the Toyota RAV4, the Honda EV) then all of a sudden when the EV mandate was taken down everything stopped. (and the scam of hydrogen was sent in to replace it)So this article can keep making excuses but the fact is that the technology is here for electric cars. It's just that it takes $400 million to enter the car manufacturing market (due to safety testing costs etc.) and only silicon valley and a few other entrepreneurs are willing to take such a huge risk for a NEW company. It wouldn't cost nearly as much for a big manufacturer to enter the market, but they don't want to. They've made that abundantly clear already... anything else is just PR.
apeweekFeb 28, 2007
Okay, here's what you said:"if you don't factor R&D, each EV-1 cost GM $45,000 in parts and labour to build."That's a believable number, since that's about what the Phoenix EV is now selling for, for hand-built cars. Obviously, if GM put the car into full factory production, the cost would fall dramatically.Here's what you said: "...But as I previously stated, they weren't practical in cold weather."Baloney. Here's where I know what I'm talking about. I drive an electric vehicle, and I live in Michigan, one of the coldest states there is. Here's what happens on a real cold day, assuming the car isn't plugged into the charger (which would keep the batteries warm.): When I begin driving, I'm pulling 100 to 250 amps, continuously, out of those batteries, at 100 volts. Do the math, that's about 20,000 watts. In five minutes or so, those batteries are toasty warm.Here's what you said:"In the case of the famous EV-1 waiting list, people backed out once they were informed of the limitations of the car along with the no buy out clause in the lease contract."Well, of course, that's GMs version. I understand it was very tough to get on that list, so personally, I think those people knew what they they were signing up for. Also, the 'no buy out clause' in the contract was GM's own attempt to limit the appeal of the EV1, that hardly counts against the demand for the car! Again, 5,000 people in the face of a GM "anti-marketing" campaign is pretty astounding.
pledomobilMay 16, 2007
Well... This is too common nowadays.
e4diggJul 31, 2008
THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE TO HIGH PRICED LITHIUM BATTERIES!A company called Firefly Energy ( <a class="user" href="http://fireflyenergy.com">http://fireflyenergy.com</a> ) has developed a lead acid battery that uses a lead foam rather than lead plates inside the cell. This will produce batteries up to 50% lighter with up to 400% the capacity of a standard lead acid battery - all at roughly the same cost as regular lead acid batteries.I am converting a car to be all electric ( <a class="user" href="http://www.ZeroGasoline.com">http://www.ZeroGasoline.com</a> ) and I would love to get my hands on some of these batteries from Firefly. Unfortunately they are only currently available in large orders to long haul trucking companies.Keep your eye on this company. Once their production begins to increase I will bet that you'll see a large increase in the number of people doing their own electric conversions.
sentaiSep 9, 2008
<a class="user" href="http://www.r29.info">http://www.r29.info</a> congratulations mate for this good written article, there is good info in it