Posted on 09/29/2014 7:29:45 AM PDT by LogicDesigner
Electric cars aren't selling nearly as well as many predicted. Why is that?
Research suggests a host of reasons—including a basic lack of familiarity, a high price tag, misconceptions about the cars—and ineffective government incentives.
Consider the lack of familiarity. In a survey by researchers from Indiana University and the University of Kansas, respondents couldn't correctly answer basic factual questions about plug-in electric vehicles more than 60% of the time. Some 75% of wrong answers underestimated the beneficial aspects of the vehicles.
The survey, the most exhaustive on consumer perceptions of electric cars in recent years, was published in the journal Energy Policy last year, and was based on field work conducted in several U.S. cities in 2011.
Key Differences
Many respondents didn't realize that all-electric cars require less maintenance than gasoline-powered cars. Oil changes aren't necessary, for example, and there are fewer breakable parts. The study also found that people often underestimated the fuel savings electric cars offer.
"The lack of accurate information about electric vehicles certainly [has] contributed to their small adoption," says Rachel Krause, an assistant professor in the School of Public Affairs and Administration at the University of Kansas, and a co-author of the study.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Lets just say that the difference in your small yard and my larger property is equivalent to the difference between driving 4 miles to work and driving 25 miles to work.
If I have a really small yard, I might consider an electric mower...as I might consider an electric car if I only drove a few miles to work...in a sunshine state...and I had another car in case I wanted to take a day trip somewhere.
But that’s a lot of caveats.
This rules requires reduction of total electric power plant emissions, not just an increase in efficiency. IOW, the more electric power a state uses including the by electric cars by the pinheaded pimps on this thread, the more we all will be punished for it with much higher electricity prices.
I just debunked your bogus claim: an electric car gets the equivalent of 38 mpg. Either back up your claim or stop repeating it.
Tell me I can run the batteries for 250,000 miles so realistically won't have to replace them in the useful life of the car and I'll admit it is cheaper to run it.”
Well you would spend about one-third on electricity than you would spend on gasoline, assuming average electric rates. However, a lot of electric companies have started to offer discounted or even free nighttime charging so you could end up saving more.
I tend to prefer the Chevy Volt over pure electric cars. You get 40 miles of electric range plus 340 miles of gasoline range when your battery is low. The internal battery prevents charging over 80% and it switches to gasoline mode when you get down to 30% state of charge. The battery also uses active liquid cooling instead of passive air cooling found in most electrics. The anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that these two things turn out to dramatically increase battery life. For example:
http://insideevs.com/op-ed-point-will-chevy-volt-battery-show-signs-range-loss/
GM indicated that their 8 year, 100,000 mile battery warranty would cover any loss of capacity below 70%. However, they have test Volts with 200,000 miles on them that have not fallen below that threshold. Even in the hypothetical worst case scenario where the battery falls to 70% a day after the warranty expires, you would still have 27 miles of electric range followed by 340 miles of gasoline range. You would not have to actually replace your battery. Also, the battery packs are highly modular so if one component fails, it can be replaced alone.
If you are up for a more detailed article on the subject, you might want to check this out:
http://www.hybridcars.com/what-happens-when-your-volt-or-ampera-battery-gets-old-46185/
There is an electric car rally on the western slope of colorado coming up. They advertised on the radio noting one reason for the rally is to bring attention to the FREE public charging stations. Utopia on the backs of the taxpayers for playthings for libs.
Why aren’t electric cars selling? Short range, lack of charging stations, battery life and high cost of replacement...
What happens when you go up hill? Turn on the Air Conditioner or Heater? Good luck with either of those.
You haven’t answered as to the correctness of your statement that
>>3. A gasoline engine is only about 20% to 30% efficient. Most of the energy is wasted as heat. Whereas an electric motor is over 90% efficient.<<
Not true when you add in where the electricity came from.
But doesn’t that really mean that in some shape form or fashion it still takes a fossil fuel (for instance a coal fired generating plat) to charge them?
plat = plant
I do at least 70 miles a day, just to work and back, on some hills and sometimes in the snow.
Electric car-Ain’t gonna happen.
Congrats.
Apparently you are the beneficiary of government wealth redistribution programs.
Other people are paying for your Prius.
“There is an electric car rally on the western slope of colorado coming up. They advertised on the radio noting one reason for the rally is to bring attention to the FREE public charging stations. Utopia on the backs of the taxpayers for playthings for libs”
Not to mention you can blaze up without fear of retribution from THE MAN. lol
The rest of your co-workers should sue your company because you are getting an unequal bonus. They should get a fuel surcharge equal to your benefit.
Not just you but every person with an electric car.
The only Tesla I ever see around here is the one owned by Dean Kaman(inventor of the Segway among other gadgets).
Of course, he owns his own helicopter too. They are about as common as an Aston Martin around here.
About 2 weeks ago I saw a Mclean Spider. All 616 horse power twin turbo V8. First time I have ever seen one. What a car.
I had a station wagon with a gas gage just like that in the late eighties.
Always feels like it’s night when it runs out.
14 cents per kWh times 12 kWh (full charge) to go 38 miles in a Volt is $1.68 .
Electric utility taxes are minimal, adding at most 10 cents to the above. In contrast gasoline taxes are 36 cents here in relatively reasonable Virginia, and added to that is 5.3% sales tax. At 3.09 / gallon the 38 MPG conventional car costs $2.57 to go 38 miles.
Your 1/3 number is BS.
And I just debunked your debunking. Did you even read my comment? I directly addressed what you said. Here it is again, step-by-step:
“Electricity requires 1 gallon of petroleum per 12 kWh, google eia petroleum kwh and click the top link.”
That is *if* your electricity is coming from petroleum. Less than 5% of total electricity generation in the United States comes from petroleum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_sector_of_the_United_States). The google search you referenced comes up with http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=667&t=2 which if you actually read it indicates that petroleum is only one of several possible sources of electricity in this country.
“It takes about 12kWh to charge the Volt battery which will take you about 38 miles. Therefore the Volt costs about the same to operate as a gas car that gets 38 mpg.”
Thank you for making my job easy. 12 kWh times the average electric rate of $0.12 per kWh is $1.44 for 38 miles using electricity. Do you pay $1.44 a gallon for gasoline? Furthermore, many electric companies (like those here in Texas) offer discounted or even free nighttime charging that makes the comparison even better.
Taking it even further, I believe I read that PG&E in California, where the average price of gasoline is $3.70, offers plans with $0.05 per kWh for nighttime charging. This (admittedly best case scenario) would come out to one-sixth the cost for electricity compared to gasoline.
Actually, for in town driving, they still don’t make sense. I work with a guy who live a couple blocks from work. His idea of a journey is a 20 mile drive. He owns a Volvo and fills up maybe once every month or two. At that level of driving, a 1974 Oldsmobile station wagon with a 454 engine is still pretty economical.
Leasing would be the logical choice to avoid the replacement cost of the battery. My wife and I are retired and the vehicle would make sense since 90% of our trips are below 40 miles round trip. But even with a lease the price is prohibitive. We can by a relatively low mileage car for 25% of the cost of an electric. $30,000 buys a lot of gas!!!
Speaking from experience, the answer to number 3 is way off. Replacing the smaller of the two batteries on a Prius was over $800 dollars and the repair of a malfunction took almost two months of waiting for replacement parts, during which the car was useless. Yes, I was provided a dealer car to use after three weeks of waiting, but who wants that hassle?
Had the Prius not been under warranty, the costs for the repairs above would have been (minimally) triple the cost of a non-hybrid electric car.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.