From the outbox of Meyer’s inbox:
Back in the 90’s, somebody killed the electric car. They even made a movie about that. But like Frankenstein’s monster (or the many sequels) the electric car is alive and kicking and rolling off the assembly lines of auto makers all around the globe. Here, General Motors is charging in with their Chevy Volt. Good news: with rebates and such the ticket price is around 32K but that’s dropping as technology improves. The bad news: you’ve got to plug it in for eight hours to get a full charge to take you a hundred miles. Just think of it as one huge cordless drill that needs to be charged after every use. What’s the consensus? Would you buy an electric car?
CAN THE CHEVY VOLT RECHARGE GENERAL MOTORSby Brian Dumaine writing for Time Magazine.
The documentary Who Killed the Electric Car? accused General Motors of conspiring with the oil industry and politicians to shelve its popular and promising EV1 in the 1990s. How things have changed. On Wednesday GM unveiled its long-awaited and much-hyped electric Chevy Volt, just one of a fleet of electric cars that will soon be whirring through your neighborhood.
These battery-powered vehicles, charged in your wall outlet like some oversized cordless power tool, will revolutionize not only the auto industry but also the way Americans live and drive. At least that’s what major automakers are betting billions on. Tesla’s high performance $101,000 roadster is already the must-have toy for Silicon Valley boys. This fall, more-affordable cars will roll out. GM’s Volt will sell for about $40,000, with federal tax rebates that knock the price down to $32,500. Around the same time, Nissan will begin selling its all-electric Leaf, a $32,780 compact that the Japanese carmaker says will average 100 miles on a charge, and Daimler will lease an all-electric version of its Smart Car. Not to be outdone, BMW, Chrysler, Ford and Mitsubishi, among others, will have electric models within a year or so. Even Toyota, long a proponent of hybrids, announced in May a venture with Tesla to develop electric-car technology in California.
Huge roadblocks remain. How many drivers will be willing, or able, to charge their cars seven or eight hours a day for only 100 or so miles of driving? More than a few will surely suffer from the dreaded “range anxiety” — worrying that they’ll run out of juice in the middle of nowhere. Price is an issue too. Electrics cost considerably more than comparable gasoline-powered cars and are too expensive for the average buyer.
The good news is that, unlike in the mechanical world, where improvements are incremental, electric-car technology is advancing quickly, and the price is dropping as it does.
To read the rest of this electrifying piece, go here.
3 Comments
The Electric cars were made in the 90s. The EV prototypes worked great but were killed by the auto and oil industry. Check out the bonus material on the DVD of “Who killed the electric car?”
There are not enough incentives to buy electric cars these days.
Update on Tesla:
Tesla Motors and Toyota announced that the two companies have signed an agreement to initiate the development of an electric version of the RAV4. With an aim to market the EV in the United States in 2012, prototypes will be made combining the Toyota RAV4 model with a Tesla electric powertrain. Tesla plans to produce and deliver a fleet of prototypes to Toyota for evaluation within this year. The first prototype has already been built and is now undergoing testing.
The all electric car is surely on its way, but there is a little problem. Just like the article says, not a lot of infrastructure in the US to support it…aka charging stations. Some folks commute long distances to work. With that in mind, your electric car may have enough juice to get you there, but without a recharge, may not havy the range to get you back home. I’m sure the large cities will have charging stations, and those who do not have a long commute will be fine. My question is, who’s paying for the electricity for recharging the car? Would the owner be on some sort of meter and pay as they go? Just like in the portable PC world, battery life will be the key.
Oh, and last I heard, Tesla went belly-up…
-RAM