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'Lektrik Carz — Parallax Forums

'Lektrik Carz

ercoerco Posts: 20,260
edited 2010-11-24 17:38 in General Discussion
http://www.manufacturing.net/News/2010/11/Automotive-Nissan-Leaf-Gets-Equivalent-Of-99-MPG/

Some interesting and polarizing reader comments after the article about the Nissan Leaf & Chevy Volt. Clearly, you can't please all of the people any of the time.

Can't we all just get along?

Comments

  • davejamesdavejames Posts: 4,047
    edited 2010-11-24 10:35
    "...get along"?

    Um, NO!

    (smiles)

    Actually, I thought the comments brought up some good pro/con points.

    DJ
  • BeanBean Posts: 8,129
    edited 2010-11-24 10:43
    It is a backlash from people who feel that that the goverment is "force feeding" us the electric car.

    If the electric car is so great and is going to save so much money in fuel, why do we need huge tax breaks (about 20% of the purchase price) to entice people to buy it ?

    When the electric car makes sense in a free-market, then it will take off. Then the government will have to pay people to buy gasoline cars.

    Most electricity is produced by coal, so electric cars aren't really as "green" as they are made out to be. Now I live near Three mile island, so if I got an electric car it could be said to be nuclear powered. And as such very "green".

    P.S. I'm not against electric cars. But the government should not be giving the big tax rebates. Why don't effecient gas cars get rebates ? Or motorcycles, or scooters, or etc...

    Bean
  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    edited 2010-11-24 13:24
    Electric cars have a lot of advantages but are hampered by being a relatively immature technology, lack of infrastructure, and having to compete with a mature, well established industry. Like bringing electricity to the entire country in an earlier time it needs government support.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,260
    edited 2010-11-24 14:44
    I suppose the "evil oil companies" will eventually nix these electric cars, just as they did GM's EV-1, Toyota's electric RAV-4s, hydrogen-based cars, coal-dust-based cars, propane cars, natural gas cars, HHO-powered cars, and every 200 MPG carburetor ever invented.

    But I still haven't heard anyone's convincing argument exactly why a 300-pound motorcycle can't get 200 MPG (they should get 400 MPG, but that would sound crazy).

    Honda should beg forgiveness for these attrocious MPG numbers: http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/MotorcycleFuelEconomyGuide/Honda.htm

    Less rolling resistance, less weight, less net drag (higher Cd, but smaller profile), less pollution controls (catalytic converter only) than a car. OK, I'll give in that hotdogging and jackrabbit starts might reduce MPG from 250 to 200. But they're not even even trying: 50 MPG is a high-side average for street bikes. No better than a Prius, with no crash protection! Only slow, smoky 2-stroke Mopeds ever claimed over 100 MPG. Can't somebody do better?
  • icepuckicepuck Posts: 466
    edited 2010-11-24 17:38
    How much you what to bet that when the new hybrids and electrics come out the price of oil will drop?
    If any one was alive the during the seventies hopefully you will remember what high oil prices did to the American muscle car. It pretty much killed it.

    What happen next? Once everyone ditched their fire birds/TA's and 500cid Cadillac's for little honda civics and toyotas the price of oil magically dropped.

    Then next there was the hummer and other gas hungry SUV's. Gas is cheap so why not buy one? So every one bought big SUV's, GM killed the EV1,Chrysler killed their TEvan(the electric caravan), Ford killed their electric ranger pickup.

    Can you guess what happened next? The price of oil magically went sky high($5/gal) and people suddenly found themselves spending most of their money on fuel and not being able to pay mortgages, credit cards, and other bills.

    Then couple that with the lost of jobs that went south of the border(thanks maytag and electrolux) and to other low wage countries. Then analysts can't understand why there are so many bankruptcies. People think I'm racist when I tell them the reasons why I'm unemployed,why I lost my house and business. I'm not, I'm just telling the bloody truth!

    Now--What I've noticed when out job hunting is that more hybrids are now showing up cheap at used car lots.
    I Bet when most all of the hybrids have been traded off and the new electrics and hybrids hit the road guess what will happen with the price of oil?

    What I've been telling people... now is the time to buy a hybrid or electric or diesel when the prices are down. This even goes for solar, because you know what's going to happen.
    Hopefully there will be enough smart people around to figure this out and to look out for themselves, because we all know no business or government will.
    -dan
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