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Electric cars, especially when solar power is effective for providing the charging, will be a true (massive) win-win for American industry. We can become almost immediately 100% energy independent almost overnight.

Instead of prefacing your post with an "IMHO" howabout you change your opinion from "humble" to "reasonably well informed" by actually reading about energy consumption in the United States. The suggestions in your post are beyond ludicrous.

Do you have any idea how many barrels of oil the US uses daily? How about tons of coal? How about natural gas? What about propane, butatne and other NGLs? All of this information is readily available. Convert all these forms of energy into to Giga Joules (GJ). Then figure out the energy available from sunlight that hits the surface of the United States every day. Give yourself a 20% efficiency for converting solar energy into electricity. Now figure out how much of the United States you would need to cover in solar panels to displace fossil (not "fossile") fuels. You're looking a covering several entire states with solar panels...like maybe Kansas AND Nebraska. We haven't even discussed the costs of storing the energy, since we happen to need it at night and in cloudy weather too. And batteries are made of materials that are TERRIBLE for the environment.

There is absolutely NO WAY that solar energy will ever be anything other than a niche energy provider.

No Apollo-like Project will ever figure out how to get more energy out of sunlight than is actually IN sunlight.

The reason we use fossil fuels is because they are cheap and abundant. If and when they eventually become expensive in several HUNDRED years, we will replace them with fission or fusion. But once again, it is critical you understand that there is just not enough energy in sunlight for it to EVER replace fossil fuels.

jas3

Instead of prefacing your post with an "IMHO" howabout you change your opinion from "humble" to "reasonably well informed" by actually reading about energy consumption in the United States. The suggestions in your post are beyond ludicrous.

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(blink)

Folks must have been like this, when Edison was inventing the light bulb. :)

If you could find it in your brain to stop ranting for a moment in knee-jerk noodlehood, take a look at this link, and tell me the idea is absurd:

http://www.hybrid-vehicles.net/venturi-astrolab.htm

A full-functional, (plug in) solar car which goes 70, with a backup motor. EXACTLY what I'm talking about. They're starting production.

Unfortunately it doesn't have a roof, nor doors, and it costs $100,000, but it's a (very good) start. To make matters worse, it was created by the French. Who are going to ask us to surrender in this market if we're not alert.

Then this one (happily being built by Americans):

http://www.teslamotors.com/index.php?js_enabled=0

200+ miles on a charge, can plug into the wall outlet in your garage, and do 0-60 in FOUR SECONDS.

Oh, already being sold - they'll start delivery early next year.

Now. Let's discuss why the next Billionaire will be the first person who gets a truly affordable electric car to market.

Game over for gas engines. And FREEDOM from needing oil from people like Hugo Chavez.

So some oil companies will need to refocus. Fast.

If they're smart, they're investing in all this technology right now, to get in front of this massive wave.