Posted on 09/14/2014 11:17:43 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Where is the automobile headed in our gradually warming world? Fully electric like the Chevy Spark, Nissan Leaf, or Mercedes SLS AMG Electric Drive? Plug-in hybrid like the Chevy Volt, Ford Energi models, or Porsche 918? Flying cars like the Terrafugia Transition? Something else entirely? One thing's for sure: Wherever it's headed, folks buying at the pointy end of the price pyramid will get there first and help field-test the tech for the rest of us. If you have both the means and the inclination to live your automotive life on the green-tech bleeding edge -- or if you need the world to think that's how you roll—allow us to present the two most compelling options available today.
The reigning green-car champ is the surprisingly high-performance, fully electric Tesla Model S P85+. The car world's lone successful Silicon Valley startup earned Motor Trend's 2013 Car of the Year calipers on the strength of its M5-like driving dynamics, giant iPad-esque user interface, innovative optional 5+2 seating, front and rear trunks, and epic 265-mile EPA-rated battery range. And during the year we've spent driving a long-term Model S, the expanding network of Superchargers has made long-distance electric travel (at least in our bottom half of California) a surprising reality....
(Excerpt) Read more at motortrend.com ...
I’m sure that any modern German turbo-diesel car is by far greener than any electric counterpart.
It takes 7.5-9 kilowatts of electricity to produce a gallon of diesel.
With that electricity used to drill and refine that one gallon of diesel you can drive 20-25 miles.
Not to mention the diesel it requires to deliver diesel to the service station. And the electricity required to pump the diesel from the service station tanks into your car. And the particulates you are putting into the air once you burn the diesel.
In short, modern German turbo-diesels are neither more efficient nor more Green than electric cars.
Plus you don’t get stuck in the middle of nowhere when the batteries run out. Southern California might have some of those charging stations, but in the rest of the country they’re rare.
The BMW in the story runs on unleaded premium gasoline. They were going to put a diesel in it when it was shown at the auto shows back in 2009, but they re-worked it. They basically cut the famous BMW 6 cylinder in half.
And one gasoline requires 6.5-7 kilowatts of electricity to produce.
How much coal does it take to charge a Tesla for one day?
On mine zero since it is powered by natural gas electric plant.
Very few Teslas are powered by coal.
Tesla has 110 superchargers in the US. And adds 2-5 per month.
Tesla has 106 240v chargers in various shopping centers and hotels and other popular destinations all over the country.
And there are over 50k public electric vehicle chargers in America.
That is less than than the 116k gasoline stations but there are less electric cars too.
There are no longer any coal-fired generating plants in California? Somehow I find that hard to believe with the whole BANANA (the new NIMBY) nonsense there against nuclear.
The battery packs for the 85 are warranted for 8 years. The current cost of replacement is estimated at $34K, so if you drive 100K miles, you need to add 34 cents/mile to your fuel costs to amortize your battery.
Tesla — through technological innovation and $1.3 billion from the state of Nevada — hopes to bring the cost of battery replacement down to $12K within that 8 year period, bringing the battery replacement cost down to 12 cents/mile.
The article says that the Tesla takes 4 to 6 hours to recharge. I can fill my old Mercedes with diesel in under 10 minutes. Which is more convenient for the average person?
That’s another thing you don’t hear about and reason # 3,216 that I’d stay away from any hybrid.
In California in 2013 we generated 201 Gigawatts of electricity.
1 Gigawatt was produced by coal.
And that was not in Los Angeles but somewhere in the Northeast corner of CA.
CA is where the largest number of Teslas are sold. Not very many in the Northeast Corner.
Highest percentage of Teslas is WA. That is mostly hydropowered.
Biggest foreign market? Norway. 99.6% hydro electricity.
The battery pack holds 85 kWh, so it is estimated that the car uses 70 kWh to go its 265-mile range. Not counting the battery replacement cost, a “fill-up” in Phoenix would cost around $4 (at summertime off-peak rates) or $14 (at summertime daytime peak rates), with only the gas-using peons paying the gas taxes to maintain the roads.
Once other states and countries start buying Teslas that is bound to change. China, for instance.
4-6 hrs while you sleep and your Tesla is in the garage.
Or you can refuel at a Tesla supercharger at the rate of 170 miles for 30 minutes. At no extra expense. Comes standard with the 85 kWh car or $2k one time fee for the base car. And the free charging is infinitely transferable.
What is more convenient for weekly refueling? Refueling while you sleep or driving over to the gas station?
China just signed a massive natural gas deal with Russia and is shutting down their old coal plants.
Installing solar panels is much cheaper in China than here. Many Chinese Tesla owners are going with that option. Without transportation from China to the US not only does the economics improve but the resource allocation picture for solar improves dramatically.
I go weeks between refills, as I only do errands around town for the most part. The relatively high cost of diesel fuel isn’t really hurting me and although heavy, my car gets around 25mpg. If I were commuting it might be a different story, but there are some nice comfortable cars that get 35-45mpg and don’t cost anywhere near the price of a Tesla or this BMW and don’t require battery replacement. Especially on the used market, which is where many of us buy these days.
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