I’m sure that any modern German turbo-diesel car is by far greener than any electric counterpart.
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 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.
What's next in Mars Rovers?
(Earth isn't warming)
Sheesh.
when comparing energy delivered to the wheels.
liquid fuel(diesel or gasoline) costs five to ten times as
much as electricity
coal powered cars are great
no Arabs
no Exxon
everybody wins
“Where is the automobile headed in our gradually warming world?”
No where at $112,000 a pop for the tested Tesla.
After reading this article, and especially the comments here, I kept waiting to see a “Willie Green Happy Choo-Choo Thread” graphic pop up.
Electric cars may (note “may”) be workable at some point in the future. But right now they are just not usable in most of the country for most of the year.
In the Indiana part of this “warming world” we live in, I’m already running the car’s heater. In an electric that would cut my mileage to the point where I couldn’t make it to and from work on one charge.
As to California producing so much power, I understand that they still buy LOTS of electricity from other states, much of which is produced by burning coal. (Summer rolling brown outs anyone?)