Posted on 05/15/2008 10:17:52 AM PDT by Red Badger
The motor of Renault-Nissan's electrically-powered vehicle, built on the Megane model, is shown to the media in Tel Aviv, 11 May 2008
Record high oil prices and sluggish sales are forcing the world's biggest automakers to turn to electricity to power their vehicles.
Nissan Motor Company is the latest automaker to move in that direction, officially announcing Tuesday it plans to introduce an all-electric vehicle for sale in the United States and Japan by 2010.
Nissan's chief executive officer says the company will mass-market electric cars globally by 2012.
Nissan also forecast its profits will decline by 30 percent this year to $3.4 billion compared to $4.6 billion last year.
Nissan, Japan's number three automaker, joins Toyota and Honda in predicting smaller profits, as car buyers shun fuel-thirsty vehicles.
The senior editor of the Web site GreenCarAdvisor.com, John O'Dell, tells VOA many auto industry executives will be watching Nissan to see if its electric car venture succeeds. He says Nissan is trying to become the market leader by being the first major automaker to promise - and deliver - an all-electric vehicle for sale in a large market by a certain date.
The associate editor of the Web site WardsAuto.com, Mike Sutton, says the announcement is "fairly significant," but Nissan's move is mostly about market positioning.
Sutton tells VOA that other major automakers are also planning to introduce electric-powered vehicles in 2010.
American car company Chevrolet plans to introduce the Volt, a plug-in hybrid, in 2010. And Toyota says it will unveil the next generation of Prius hybrid vehicles the same year.
Hybrids use less fuel than conventional vehicles because they combine a gasoline engine with high-tech batteries and electric motors.
Chrysler, Mitsubishi and Subaru are also working on electric cars.
Fuel-efficient vehicles have recently been the lone bright spot for the auto industry. Toyota says sales of its hybrid cars have jumped 42 percent in the past year. Some dealerships in the United States say they have waiting lists for would-be buyers.
Plugging in at night, something like 70% of the United States vehicles could be charged using the current infrastructure.
Just wait till they start the “Londonistan” tax. You have to pay a fee to get your car into the city everyday!...........then pay to park it somewhere!.......
Not a problem. Just stick a generator in the trunk, fire it up for a couple hours to recharge. Oh, and carry some gas for the generator.
You have to wonder how the Tesla roadser can get 200 miles on a charge and no other company can get anywhere close.
Has anyone ever noticed the similarity of the B2 bomber and Batman?
Both came out at the same time.
Coincidence? I think not!
You have to wonder if Tesla is being a bit over selling their product. Why isn’t it on the showroom floors all across the USA?.........
Very little electricity is made from oil. Much of the petroleum that is used is petroleum coke and residual oil. These are refinery "leftovers" after the gasoline, diesel and other fuels are removed from the crude oil.
U.S. Electric Power Industry Net Generation, 2006 
EIA, Electric Power Annual
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epa/epa_sum.html
Because they just went into production, the entire model year is sold out prior to them being built. Not that many are being made. Nobody paying that price wants their car to sit around at the dealership after they already paid for it.
http://www.teslamotors.com/media/press_room.php?id=841
Tesla Motors opened its first dealership in Santa Monica, Calif., on Friday, (May 2) attracting a gaggle of reporters.
http://www.news.com/8301-11128_3-9935829-54.html?tag=nefd.only
It makes you wonder, if Tesla and Fiskar can do this, why can’t GM-Ford-Chrysler-Toyota-et al, do it?...............
If dollars are not a concern, I would believe the others could do it as well. Tesla uses a high quality, but relatively standard design 18650 form-factor, Li-ion cell. About the size of a AA battery. The catch is they use 6,800 of them.
For $80,000 to $109,000 they probably could as well.
But that isn’t a market sized to support many customers.
Just what I was thinking.
http://www.worldcarfans.com/2060724.006/pml-builds-640hp-electric-mini
The previous article I read stated it has a diesel generator.
how do you highlight a link?
Hawaii is developing quite a bit of wind energy, which makes sense for that area given the cost of importing diesel. What are retail rates there, something like 40 cents/kwh?
Anybody can build a few garage specials and be a star on the internet.
Cranking out hundreds of thousands at an affordable price while making a profit is a bit tougher.
As for plug-ins, I’m sure our govt is working hard on a phalanx of new affordable nuclear electric plants to supply the need /sarcasm off
For more than you want to know, 10 years of data for each state and type of producer and type of fuel:
Net Generation by State by Type of Producer by Energy Source
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epa/generation_state.xls
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