NSXman wrote: There are quite a large group of idealists out there who look at an EV and think that plug-ins are some sort of salvation. These are the same people that also think that your local power company should drop coal and use only solar and wind, or think that we can put wires in the pavement and get power from asphalt heat.
Those of us who prefer to be grounded in reality and not idealism know that EVs are just plain stupid. You are spending nearly as much or even as much on an EV as you are on a gas powered car. That EV will get you 100 miles maybe, followed by a 3-8 hour appointment with the charging station. There are only a few people that this will work with.
Then, there are people who expect employers to tear up their parking lots and provide charging stations for their employees. Then there are people who want to use tax dollars to install charging stations (which means that we need affordable oil so that we can tax it to afford alternatives no one wants).
EVs are a pretty face to appeal to governments and public relations campaigns. Our automobiles cost more than they need to because we are throwing good R&D money after alternatives we do not need. I don't really even like hybrids and they make 100 times more sense than EVs.
Honda spent an eon developing a 6speed auto, doesn't have direct injection, and their cylinder deactivation falls short of its promise. Why not put R&D money where it belongs...making cars that we need for our lives (cars that run on GAS) better.
Even if we were all on EVs tomorrow, we'd still be in the same boat. Trying to find a way to make sure the power plants keep running. Remember when California was doing rolling blackouts? Imagine if 10% of California was taxing the grid charging their cars while they were at work.
Agreed, for some reason, this year the announcements of EV from most every major automaker are all over the news.
Where are the customers?
If you remember, there was a moneygeddion where most of the makers went crying to their gov'ts for a bail-out.
Usually, this was granted on the promise of 'green technology' being developed by the makers, since most politiciunts discredited around the world see the green religion and the stories of annihilation as their saviours.
So it's not about engineering, or science or reason.
Doesn't take long to drop a blow-moulded body onto a milk truck chassis & call it the X-EV or whatever...
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