Posted on 08/12/2019 7:35:28 AM PDT by DUMBGRUNT
Toyota, Ford plan to keep hybrids as core part of their lineups, showing split in auto industry
“If I had a dollar more to invest, would I spend it on a hybrid? Or would I spend it on the answer that we all know is going to happen, and get there faster and better than anybody else?” GM President Mark Reuss
Last week, Continental AG , one of the world’s biggest car-parts makers, said it would cut investment in conventional engine parts because of a faster-than-expected fall in demand—yet another sign the industry is accelerating the shift to electric vehicles.
Today, auto companies generally lose money on each electric car they sell, mostly because of the high cost of lithium-ion batteries.
VW and GM are focused on all-electric cars largely because of China, where new regulations require car companies to sell a minimum number of zero-emissions vehicles to avoid financial penalties.
or now, both hybrids and electric cars are more expensive to produce than comparable gas-powered vehicles. A hybrid system can add roughly $2,000 to a vehicle’s cost, while a fully electric version is an additional $6,000 to $10,000
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
OK, serious question:
Over that time period, how many times did you have to replace the batteries (if any), and how much does battery storage drop over time?
Also, how does storage capacity change in extreme weather with heater or AC running (Maine is a good test state).
Thank you.
~mach3!
the laws are not violated. The idea is wrong.
Electric vehicles are a niche, commuter vehicle... and until you can get a minimum of 300 miles (real world miles) per full charge, and fully charge in 10 minutes or less, its a NON STARTER as a primary vehicle for most people.
Yes, my daily commute is about 35 miles... An electric vehicle could satisfy my daily commute. However, I also drive 500+ miles at a clip as well several times a year, and sometimes thousands of miles at a clip.
I can purchase a vehicle that and fill all of my needs, or I can buy a vehicle that serves 80% of them and deal with the additional cost and inconvenience of having to deal with some other mode of transport that it does not support.
I am not anti electric cars, but until they can go at least 300 and preferably 400-500 on the highway fully loaded and recharge in the time it takes all of the passengers to use the restroom... Electric is a NON STARTER for MOST folks.
ANd that’s not even getting into the reality of whether or not electric vehicles ACTUALLY do anything beneficial from the whole GreenHouse Gas thing they claim. Combustion creates CO2... If its coming from your tailpipe or a power plant smoke stack, its still being created.
Someday they may have electric vehicles that meet that criteria, and when they do, folks will purchase them.. but until then.... Sorry, I won’t spend that much money for an 80% solution, and most others wont either.
Ah, you did the math, too. And that doesn’t include the cost of electricity.
Not to mention, no replacement cost of hugely expensive battery packs.
Toyota warranties the battery in my wife’s Prius for EIGHT YEARS/ 1OOK MILES. (10 years or 150,000 miles in California)
The Prius traction batteries have an exceptional track record.
And the Prius will run OK with a dead battery, not great.
How many cars park at the Pentagon on Monday morning?
What happens when the Warren Administration mandates electric vehicles, and
40,000 cars plug in simultaneously at 8AM?
That’s because they are COMMUTER VEHICLES... once thats all you have are electrics, you will need to be able to charge them “on the road”, and without MILLIONS of places to do so, its a non starter.
They haven’t solved the RANGE/BATTERY ratio issue
Once that is solved you will need to solve the recharging issue.... Not only, as others pointed out, ON THE ROAD recharging, but the power grid itself being able to handle all new load draw.
No big deal if one house in 100 has an electric vehicle, but if you want 1-2 electric vehicles in every garage, the existing power grid cannot produce or deliver that kind of power, so you are talking BILLIONS (and honestly TRILLIONS of infrastructure upgrades that will be needed to be built and put in place)....
The “electric vehicle” being the PRIMARY vehicle is a DREAM... that would require TRILLIONS OF PUBLIC INVESTMENT to make happen, and do you see any money flowing to upgrade and improve the power grid happening????
If you do, you are wearing some rose colored glasses.
Its a nice dream, but its DECADES AWAY even if the fed decided TODAY to make it a priority
electric cars, to save the environment, have to be one of the most hypocritical decisions a consumer could make.
I’m still concerned - I though energy demand was highest when everyone came home and turned up the AC - I really don’t know. I just think this needs a more through study before jumping head-long into the unknown. The number of people driving great distances (trucks, vacations, traveling salesmen) also needs to be factored in. I just do not believe we are ready for what this glorious future has in stock for us.
Nor the tax payer-funded subsidies to the manufacturers...
The math is about right. He saved ~25 miles/per gallon into 660,000 miles, gives you number of gallons saved. Multiply that by about about $3 per gallon and the numbers are pretty close to his estimate.
My opinion is that Hybrids make sense (for some users), while full electrics do not.
Full electrics still require the energy from the grid and the grid is less efficient at energy storage than petrol in a tank. So ‘someone’ is picking up the cost of electric, and while it should be the driver, that may not always be the case if public charging stations are used.
Hybrids make use of the energy storage of the petrol and get energy from the conventional gas engine, so the right person is paying for the energy and he gets the increased efficiency of the electric motor. No public services required and funds required for a new infrastructure and social engineering.
Yup. The unwashed, myopic, Mr. Magoo Prius owners do not know this. Electric cars are coal-powered cars, and battery disposal is an environmental nightmare; but that’s okay, we send them to India and China. China is building coal plants at an unbelievable rate.
GM and Volkswagen are not what they used to be.
Yup, and with the exception of the Tesla, coal-cars are butt-ugly, gay looking things driven by flaming liberal Moonbats.
Only the nutty ones talk 100%EV.
That said, there is a diversity factor with greater value when home charging after work.
Not many can fuel their ICE in their own garage.
Therefore not as many public charging are needed.
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