On Wed, 2006-12-20 at 11:29 -0500, Martin Klingensmith wrote:
> I think the big thing in the next 5 years will be diesel-electric
> hybrids. Which people will then modify, like the prius, to be plug-in
> vehicles by adding 500 pounds of batteries and charging circuitry.
> 
> Few people in our culture want to be potentially limited by not being
> able to drive their car all day every day, even though we don't. This is
> a main reason that people aren't as quick to adopt electric vehicles.
> The person trying to sell it says "It has 120 miles range" and the
> potential buyer says "that's not enough" though they probably only drove
> 30 miles that day.

Very true, but you are forgetting something that is VERY big with
electric cars: refilling takes forever.

I can stand a car that doesn't have a huge range. But at least with gas,
I can refill the car in 5 minutes (at MOST). An electric car takes
HOURS.

I've had this discussion with a colleague of mine. While we disagreed on
many items, we both felt that the distance limitations ARE serious
because of the refill time. Yes, one may only drive 30 kms a day, but
what about the weekend where you want to drive to a provincial park to
do some camping on crown land? It's 400km away, and there is nowhere to
plug your car in. So even if your electric car had a range of 1000kms,
it's still not enough (what if you have to reroute because of
construction).

Sure, you could rent a car, but that is so limiting, and annoying.

It's the same reason that most people want unlimited internet. Most
people rarely use any large amount of bandwidth, but at the same time
they don't want to WORRY about using up their bandwidth.

A solution would be a "reverse" hybrid. Make an electric car with a
range of say 1000kms (minimum). Put a small gas generator in powerful
enough to let you drive say 80km/h on flat terrain. This sort of setup
gives you the benefit of the electric car, but also gives you an "out"
in case something does happen. Sure, you won't be able to drive 120km/h
up a hill, but at least you won't be stranded for 10 hours waiting for
your car to recharge (assuming you are stranded somewhere with a power
outlet).

Of course, none of this discussion tackles the fact the electric cars
are NOT zero emission. The manufacture of the batteries can be VERY
energy intensive, and even after you have the car in your hands, how
clean is that electric power coming over the wires? Does it come from
hydro, or is it mostly coal in your area? Another fact many people
ignore.

TTYL

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