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Batteries v. gas - so far, it's no contest
Globe & Mail [Toronto] ^ | 11/27/10 | Richard Gilbert

Posted on 11/27/2010 7:04:00 PM PST by Nachum

Richard Gilbert is a Toronto-based consultant who focuses on energy and transportation. His latest book is Transport Revolutions: Moving People and Freight without Oil, written with Anthony Perl.

My last post suggested that two types of transportation fuel could replace oil products. One kind – including natural gas and biofuels – could be used in versions of the internal combustion engines (ICEs) that today provide propulsion for almost all road vehicles. The other alternative fuel – electricity – would require a switch to electric motors (EMs) for propulsion. I concluded that electricity is the best alternative, especially where there is a surplus of electricity generation or it could be readily expanded.

(Excerpt) Read more at theglobeandmail.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: batteries; contest; efv; electricity; energy; gas; recharging
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1 posted on 11/27/2010 7:04:04 PM PST by Nachum
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To: Nachum

The hybrid vehicle is the only vehicle that gives the best of both worlds:the gas can be used on long distance trips and you can drive it like a regular car and for in town and round-about trips, you would drive it like an electric car, saving on gas.

The Toyota Prius has proven such a vehicle has a market. Its already produced.


2 posted on 11/27/2010 7:09:55 PM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
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To: Nachum

At an EPA equivalent 99 mpg the electric cars will be more expensive than gas/diesel once the EPA is finished jacking up electricity costs with ever more burdensome regulations. Expect electricity to double in the next five years with this EPA.


3 posted on 11/27/2010 7:10:35 PM PST by 69ConvertibleFirebird
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To: Nachum

>> I concluded that electricity is the best alternative, especially where there is a surplus of electricity generation or it could be readily expanded.

Where is this magical place? Do they have unicorns there? Can I walk on rainbows to get there?

Every year the power grid and generation capacity in industrialized nations gets stretched thinner and thinner. Stupid liberal jackwagon! Sheesh!


4 posted on 11/27/2010 7:12:03 PM PST by Bryanw92 (Obama is like a rocket scientist....who's trying to do brain surgery with a hammer.)
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To: goldstategop
The Toyota Prius...

I love it that my 30 year old diesel VW Rabbit pickup gets better highway mileage than the Prius. It did cost me a pretty penny, though - $2500 five years ago.

5 posted on 11/27/2010 7:13:02 PM PST by 69ConvertibleFirebird
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To: 69ConvertibleFirebird

The problem with electric cars is the weight and expense of the battery and the absence of fast acceleration. Unless it is solved, their future is rather limited.


6 posted on 11/27/2010 7:13:38 PM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
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To: 69ConvertibleFirebird
At an EPA equivalent 99 mpg the electric cars

And the basis for that 99 MPG figure is...

...complete fiction, no?

7 posted on 11/27/2010 7:14:09 PM PST by sionnsar (IranAzadi|5yst3m 0wn3d-it's N0t Y0ur5:SONY|Why are TSA exempt from their own searches?)
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To: 69ConvertibleFirebird

And don’t forget to add in the cost of disposing of old batteries. I am sure the “re-cycling fees” will be substantial.


8 posted on 11/27/2010 7:15:27 PM PST by csmusaret (Q: How do they say incompetent failure in Kenya? A: Barack Obama)
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To: Nachum

i hope i’m dead bfore i have to drive an electric or hybred car!


9 posted on 11/27/2010 7:18:00 PM PST by dalereed
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To: goldstategop
on long distance trips and you can drive it like a regular car

Driving from Salt Lake City to LasVegas, after a hundred miles or so, eighteen wheelers pass Prius going up hills.

The Prius goes up the hills about 35 MPH.

I guess a regular car can go that slow if you have the patience.

10 posted on 11/27/2010 7:19:07 PM PST by Dan(9698)
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To: goldstategop
If you're talking the old lead-acid batteries, I agree 100%.

But with today's lithium-ion batteries and soon ultracapacitor batteries, battery packs can be VASTLY smaller (e.g., less interference with interior space of the car) without sacrificing range. The use of Li-On battery packs is what makes the Nissan Leaf possible. And the EPA has worked out methods to recycle these new battery types safely, too.

11 posted on 11/27/2010 7:19:37 PM PST by RayChuang88 (FairTax: America's economic cure)
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To: Bryanw92
Where is this magical place? Do they have unicorns there? Can I walk on rainbows to get there?

I have to laugh that the first folks to embrace this sort of thing live in CA. The land of rolling blackouts.

12 posted on 11/27/2010 7:20:57 PM PST by mylife (Opinions ~ $1 Half Baked ~ 50c)
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To: Dan(9698)

Don’t worry...the DOT will soon have a national speed limit of 40 mph. Any faster than that and you’ll get pulled over.


13 posted on 11/27/2010 7:21:35 PM PST by Joe 6-pack (Que me amat, amet et canem meum)
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To: Joe 6-pack

The cops won’t write tickets anymore. It will be impossible to exceed the speed limit.


14 posted on 11/27/2010 7:24:30 PM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
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To: sionnsar
And the basis for that 99 MPG figure is...

The EPA. And it's at least as reliable as their Global Warming® proclamations.

nissan leaf epa mpg label

15 posted on 11/27/2010 7:28:54 PM PST by 69ConvertibleFirebird
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To: 69ConvertibleFirebird
The below is for the Nissan Leaf. It is based on $0.12/KW/Hr. Electricity will be double that if Obama gets his wish. That will make the cost to drive an electric vehicle that needs charged for seven hours, once per each hour of driving, roughly the same as driving a VW Jetta diesel - that needs filled once per 500 miles - refueling taking about 10 minutes.

nissan leaf epa mpg label

16 posted on 11/27/2010 7:36:56 PM PST by 69ConvertibleFirebird
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To: Nachum

Hybrids and electric vehicles may well be well suited for city driving.I’ve read that that’s true and have no way to refute such suggestions.But 90% of my driving is highway driving and my diesel *loves* the highway.It gets 42mpg on the highway,has 425 ft lbs of torque (which can pin you back in your seat) and has all the latest gadgets and creature comforts.It’ll be a cold day in hell before I own a hybrid or electric.It’s diesel for me from now on.


17 posted on 11/27/2010 7:39:27 PM PST by Gay State Conservative (''I don't regret setting bombs,I feel we didn't do enough.'' ->Bill Ayers,Hussein's mentor,9/11/01)
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To: RayChuang88

“without sacrificing range”

Range? What is this range of which you speak? They have no range to begin with


18 posted on 11/27/2010 7:40:14 PM PST by Figment ("A communist is someone who reads Marx.An anti-communist is someone who understands Marx" R Reagan)
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To: Nachum

All electric vehicles will never be a viable option for the masses, even if electricity were free. I can buy an economical vehicle that will haul 5 adults uphill and downhill in 100+ degree heat with the air conditioner running for as many miles as the fuel tank will allow and refuel in munutes.


19 posted on 11/27/2010 7:40:23 PM PST by umgud
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To: RayChuang88

I thought those batteries didn’t need recycling, they ignited and cremated themselves on their own.


20 posted on 11/27/2010 7:42:16 PM PST by battlecry
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