Posted on 09/30/2008 10:35:32 AM PDT by shove_it
We've taken a good look at each of the three electric vehicle concepts that Chrysler took the wraps off of last week, plus one extra for good measure. For various reasons, none of these vehicles really seems quite ready for prime time - one is based on a Lotus sportscar chassis, two require huge battery packs and the last is limited to 25 miles per hour. Tough bring those to market. Still, Chrysler says it plans to launch one of them by 2010 in the U.S. with European delivery scheduled a bit later. We'll see. If that does happen, Chrysler's EV would join the Chevy Volt as the first mainstream(-ish) cars in the States not powered by gasoline in a very, very long time.
If Chrysler's predictions are accurate, though, don't expect the market to stay petroleum-dependent for long. In fact, Chrysler's executive vice president of product development, Frank Klegon, has said that half the cars sold here in 2020 will feature electric power. That's a long way to go in just a decade. In any case, the future promises lots of interesting things for the domestic auto market.
I have been trying to figure out if the energy problem would be easier to solve on a micro level or macro level, and that answer will probably decide how products including cars evolve.
Where is the electricity going to come from? If there’s going to be this much demand for the stuff, shouldn’t we be building more power generating plants?
That's been my thinking. They want electric cars? Fine, let's start building the infrastructure to support the electrical needs and get working on building up our nuclear power capability. Seems like a good way for the country to add new engineering and construction jobs while at the same time removing our dependence on overseas oil.
Houston still has areas of town with no power 2 weeks after a storm.
Get a gas burning generator to keep at home and to charge up your electric car. That’s the Green solution, shifting the problem from one area to another. Nothing solved but they feel so good doing it.
Those poor folks would be pushing their watt burners around looking for a live outlet.
Licensing for 30 new nuclear plants is underway right now. Even former hard-core opponents are beginning to soften their positions. It seems to me the main problem is developing affordable battery technology and solving the nuclear waste dilemma. Breeder reactors seem like the logical answer to the waste question — we don’t seem capable of stopping nuclear proliferation anyhow. Even Venezuela will have the bomb soon (with Russia’s help).
If they will be plugged in at night they’ll be using what is now unused capacity.
2050 Future Headline - “Car batteries causing environmental problems, time to ban the electric car?”
Is this what we’ve bailed them out twice for?
That sort of cooled my enthusiasm for electric cars -- at least 100% electric motorized cars.
(*And LOTS of other folks in this part of the state)
With residential based wind turbines coming down in price (not to mention solar cells going up in efficiency) and EV makes allot of sense, especially with designs like GM has with the volt (40 Miles on electric and then a small gas generator kicks in to give you 300 more if needed).
With that attitude Chrysler won’t be in business in 2020.
“With residential based wind turbines coming down in price (not to mention solar cells going up in efficiency) and EV makes allot of sense, especially with designs like GM has with the volt (40 Miles on electric and then a small gas generator kicks in to give you 300 more if needed).”
Just keep your Tonka Toy out of my way!
And I’ll still be driving the largest horsepower/torque car I can find, well engineered cars don’t have to be gas guzzlers, and by that time I’ll be filling up with gas from ANWR.
LOL! No,no, no, my dear Domandred, tax. A special yearly enviromental-impact tax (license, whatever you want to call it), as well as a special tax at the filing station, and the additional one you pay up front, in addition to regular sales tax, when you buy your electric car.
Ban it, indeed! Ha-rumph Shows how much of a career you have in politics. (grin)
By 2020, Chrysler will be making about 6 cars a year. Half of them will be electric, but nobody will care.
Well, that resolves my concern about overloading the grid ;0)
....and if you give us $25 billion more we’ll make’em fly
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