A little poll about electric cars
Poll: A little poll about electric cars
Total Members Polled: 143
Discussion
A little poll about electric cars.
Two things often said by the detractors from electric cars
First thing that is said
Electric cars are terrible as they have a tiny range and take 8 hours to recharge to go 5 miles they will never sell. i see them only selling 5 to some hippies
Second thing often said
Due to the HUGE amount of electric cars sold the governement will have to tax electric cars to make up for the lost fuel duty due to no one buying fossil fuels any more.
So it can't be both.
They can't be bought by only 5 people and cost the governement millions in lost revenue.
So which one is it
Two things often said by the detractors from electric cars
First thing that is said
Electric cars are terrible as they have a tiny range and take 8 hours to recharge to go 5 miles they will never sell. i see them only selling 5 to some hippies
Second thing often said
Due to the HUGE amount of electric cars sold the governement will have to tax electric cars to make up for the lost fuel duty due to no one buying fossil fuels any more.
So it can't be both.
They can't be bought by only 5 people and cost the governement millions in lost revenue.
So which one is it
Having driven one recently and been very impressed I am convinced they will sell well in London and other big cities to those with short commuting distances.
However, people will still need to vehicle capable of driving longer distances and as a result will still need an IC car.
Thus, I conclude that there is a market for them, and similarly to the Prius will sell to those who wish to be seen to be green while keeping an RRS/Merc/BMW in the garage out of view of their 'green' friends.
They will sell, maybe not in millions, but they'll sell well.
ETA, your poll options are crap. So I've not bothered voting.
However, people will still need to vehicle capable of driving longer distances and as a result will still need an IC car.
Thus, I conclude that there is a market for them, and similarly to the Prius will sell to those who wish to be seen to be green while keeping an RRS/Merc/BMW in the garage out of view of their 'green' friends.
They will sell, maybe not in millions, but they'll sell well.
ETA, your poll options are crap. So I've not bothered voting.
Timeframe? They'll probably sell millions... over the next 100 years 
As for 10 year who knows...
TBH you can't really predict the future; next year someone could develop a battery which outperforms current lithium batteries, doesn't degrade, is cheap/lightweight etc.
... or someone could work out how to efficiently produce hydrogen from solar energy
... or a way to collect cow farts on a mass scale
... or produce biofuel from algae (from the other thread http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/07/14/14greenwir...
... or make fuel-cells cost-effectively
... or find a massive oil well with enough to supply the world for the next 100 years...
As for 10 year who knows...TBH you can't really predict the future; next year someone could develop a battery which outperforms current lithium batteries, doesn't degrade, is cheap/lightweight etc.
... or someone could work out how to efficiently produce hydrogen from solar energy
... or a way to collect cow farts on a mass scale
... or produce biofuel from algae (from the other thread http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/07/14/14greenwir...
... or make fuel-cells cost-effectively
... or find a massive oil well with enough to supply the world for the next 100 years...
Edited by MarkRSi on Monday 16th May 13:21
Looked at the Teslas when I was in London for the Paul Rodgers gig (old hippy?). Fast, quick, desirable but hugely expensive and still with limited range but wont appeal to eco-hippies. With an infrastructure that allowed recharging or exchanging batteries (a bit like the government forcing the issue on LPG availability) there is no reason why they shouldn't sell if they can crack the expense issue. Having said that give me a pair of carbs and some pushrods anyday...Again didn't vote as I don't agree your options tell the full story.
thinfourth2 said:
A little poll about electric cars.
Two things often said by the detractors from electric cars
First thing that is said
Electric cars are terrible as they have a tiny range and take 8 hours to recharge to go 5 miles they will never sell. i see them only selling 5 to some hippies
Second thing often said
Due to the HUGE amount of electric cars sold the governement will have to tax electric cars to make up for the lost fuel duty due to no one buying fossil fuels any more.
So it can't be both.
They can't be bought by only 5 people and cost the governement millions in lost revenue.
So which one is it
But it can be both.Two things often said by the detractors from electric cars
First thing that is said
Electric cars are terrible as they have a tiny range and take 8 hours to recharge to go 5 miles they will never sell. i see them only selling 5 to some hippies
Second thing often said
Due to the HUGE amount of electric cars sold the governement will have to tax electric cars to make up for the lost fuel duty due to no one buying fossil fuels any more.
So it can't be both.
They can't be bought by only 5 people and cost the governement millions in lost revenue.
So which one is it
Because you've not limited to any markets or timescales. Over a large market and suitable timescale scale millions could still be very few in percentage terms.
Just to add
Point one is a reason why they won't sell at this point in time as they're hardly desirable traits.
Point 2 is what will happen if they do appear in large numbers. They aren't mutually exclusive.
LPG is currently the best comparator for minority road fuel groups and probably shows what will happen to EVs as the take up increases. Its not taxed anything like as bad as petrol or diesel. But then neither was diesel until it became popular in the early 90s. Once EVs hit a tipping point of no return then the tax will start to be added up and someone in the treasury will have a new tax orgasm when they decide to tax electricity as a transport fuel.
Point one is a reason why they won't sell at this point in time as they're hardly desirable traits.
Point 2 is what will happen if they do appear in large numbers. They aren't mutually exclusive.
LPG is currently the best comparator for minority road fuel groups and probably shows what will happen to EVs as the take up increases. Its not taxed anything like as bad as petrol or diesel. But then neither was diesel until it became popular in the early 90s. Once EVs hit a tipping point of no return then the tax will start to be added up and someone in the treasury will have a new tax orgasm when they decide to tax electricity as a transport fuel.
The take hours to charge thing is true at the moment but not for much longer. Researchers have already created batteries that can be charged in five minutes rather than five hours and still maintain their capacity. There is a lot of investment in battery research and I am sure that the obstacles will be overcome.
They'll sell if the prices come down significantly. An EV would be perfect for the kind of driving my parents do. Rarely more than 20-30 miles from home and never fast.
Personally, I think we should be putting more effort into delivering electric vans, taxis and buses (i.e. vehicles that tend to operate start/stop journeys in urban areas and don't stray far from base), hell you could even use a basic, lightweight EV to deliver milk...
I stumbled on this recently - I've seen TNT operating one of their 7.5 tonners in Glasgow City Centre, can't help feeling that the Royal Mail and few of the council departments could easily incorporate electrics into the fleet & make a decent saving on fuel costs etc.
Personally, I think we should be putting more effort into delivering electric vans, taxis and buses (i.e. vehicles that tend to operate start/stop journeys in urban areas and don't stray far from base), hell you could even use a basic, lightweight EV to deliver milk...
I stumbled on this recently - I've seen TNT operating one of their 7.5 tonners in Glasgow City Centre, can't help feeling that the Royal Mail and few of the council departments could easily incorporate electrics into the fleet & make a decent saving on fuel costs etc.
plasticpig said:
The take hours to charge thing is true at the moment but not for much longer. Researchers have already created batteries that can be charged in five minutes rather than five hours and still maintain their capacity. There is a lot of investment in battery research and I am sure that the obstacles will be overcome.
how many more times does this need o be said....even if you could make a battery that can charge in 5 mins, where are you going to get the power from?
For example, Tesla's battery is some 57Kwh, in 5 mins that's 240A @240V ignoring any in-efficiencies, ie, mid-sized commercial feed....
They will sell millions, but not for a decade or so.
Plug in hybrids will sell more.
Plug in hybrids will sell more.
Thesaint01708 said:
Electric cars are too expensive and too limited to be a serious contender. Its also not the answer to climate change.
By the time battery tech meets the day to day demands of most people it will be overshaddowed by hydrogen fuel cells imo
i vote - no million sales..
Your opinion is wrong. Sorry.By the time battery tech meets the day to day demands of most people it will be overshaddowed by hydrogen fuel cells imo
i vote - no million sales..
McSam said:
Hydrogen. That is all.
What about it?Range extended vehicles are an interesting concept, google 'Jaguar Limo Green' an XJ with a 1.2l 3 cylinder lotus engine powering electric motors = 1200 miles on a tank and reasonable performance.
As for hydrogen it is only an energy carrier, like a battery, it is not a fuel that we can extract. Then we have to use half of its calorific value to compress and cool it into a liquid for storage.
As for hydrogen it is only an energy carrier, like a battery, it is not a fuel that we can extract. Then we have to use half of its calorific value to compress and cool it into a liquid for storage.
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