Posted on 09/29/2014 7:29:45 AM PDT by LogicDesigner
Electric cars aren't selling nearly as well as many predicted. Why is that?
Research suggests a host of reasonsincluding a basic lack of familiarity, a high price tag, misconceptions about the carsand ineffective government incentives.
Consider the lack of familiarity. In a survey by researchers from Indiana University and the University of Kansas, respondents couldn't correctly answer basic factual questions about plug-in electric vehicles more than 60% of the time. Some 75% of wrong answers underestimated the beneficial aspects of the vehicles.
The survey, the most exhaustive on consumer perceptions of electric cars in recent years, was published in the journal Energy Policy last year, and was based on field work conducted in several U.S. cities in 2011.
Key Differences
Many respondents didn't realize that all-electric cars require less maintenance than gasoline-powered cars. Oil changes aren't necessary, for example, and there are fewer breakable parts. The study also found that people often underestimated the fuel savings electric cars offer.
"The lack of accurate information about electric vehicles certainly [has] contributed to their small adoption," says Rachel Krause, an assistant professor in the School of Public Affairs and Administration at the University of Kansas, and a co-author of the study.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
So what you are saying. .. boils down to these these being feasible only for people who can afford to have more than one personal car.
Who on this thread are you debating against, exactly?
Do you pay $1.44 a gallon for gasoline?
So have you accounted for the road use taxes that are going to have to be charged to electric vehicles?
Agreed, if you barely use any gasoline in the first place then you are not gonna save a lot on gasoline costs by switching to electric.
Not enough stupid people.
Adequate, I suppose, for those who don’t have to drive much more than around their golf course.
Those cast won’t go away....those oil powered plants have to have it!!
You're working on the false assumption that I (or anyone else) actually WANT an electric vehicle
It takes about 5 seconds to plug it in at night and 5 seconds to unplug in the morning
Really? You're pulling that crap here? It takes HOURS to recharge. I can fill my gas vehicle in a couple of minutes.
If you have a household outlet in your garage you can recharge 40 miles of range while you sleep at night. If you really need a faster charger it costs a few hundred dollars to install.
Again you're missing the point (deliberately I suspect)They're worthless on any trip longer than half of the (piss poor) expected range of the vehicle. IF (and that is a false assumption right there) I can find a recharging station when I need one. If I go from Atlanta to Birmingham I start with a full battery, but by 60 miles I'm flat. Recharge for 3 - 4 hours and drive another 60 miles - flat again recharge 3 - 4 hours. Get to Birmingham and find a recharging station for another 3 -4 hours before I can drive around the city. Gas vehicle. Fill it in Atlanta. Drive to Bham. get there 6 to 8 hours ahead of the poor fool with the electric vehicle.
Depending on your driving habits, the cost premium can pay for itself.
Really? Let's do the math. Leaf $31,250 Nissan JUKE $20,500. Let's make the very generous assumption that you're able to drive 30,000 in the LEAF over three years and the same for the JUKE. LEAF fuel cost = 24 kwh per charge * $.092638 /kwh = $2.223. Multiply by 2 to give a very generous 50% efficiency on battery charging to get $4.45 per charge. Allow a generous 60 miles on a charge and that's 500 charges to go 30k miles. Do the math yields $2223 for the electricity.
Juke 30000 miles/ 27 comb mpg = 1111 gal. Multiply by $3.50/gal get $3888 fuel cost. SO saving for the LEAF is $1664.69 over three years. A long way from the $10,750 difference in purchase price. No savings there.
If a majority of Americans and Europeans switched to electric cars, the rewards would be massive
More unsupported fantasy from you. I don't want whatever you're smoking it damages the intellect too severely. Have a great day.
American people are just too stupid to know how great these cars are!
Source please.
I’m unaware of any incentives on Prius hybrids. I believe tax incentives for them were phased out many years ago. There is one for their Plug-in, so maybe you’re confused.
You may be comparing apples and oranges if you are comparing the cost of a new electric with a used gasoline car. A new Volt costs $35,000 before the federal rebate, $27,500 after. So unless someone is paying you $2,500 to take their used conventional car, I doubt it is $30,000 less.
There are used Volts on the market that you could look into.
Also....look into what it takes to manufacture the batteries. It is a global process involving shipping the materials all over the place multiple times. The greenies just want you to focus on the emissions from the tailpipe which is a poor measure of overall “environmental friendliness”.
Im unaware of any incentives on Prius hybrids. I believe tax incentives for them were phased out many years ago. There is one for their Plug-in, so maybe youre confused.
So that means the Prius is actually FREE?
Heck - Where do we sign up for these free cars?
We can increase the sales volume by a stupendous amount in no time at all.
Of course you are right...but if your argument for buying an electric car if for operating cost then it is not the best alternative....also don’t count on those free fueling stations in the future!!! Unlike others I don’t blame you for taking advantages of our governments stupidity!!
Some people have driven an electric golf cart, half way up steep hill...opps.
Oh I see. Trouble reading too.
——>”COSTS US”.
As in ‘in addition to’ our regular expenditure. Never said “free”.
The fuel savings pays for most of the lease payment. Moving some other accounts around saved us more than enough to take care of the balance. Then of course the lease is a business write off too.
Or are you against folks taking advantage of any tax incentives ..
If the Prius is a plug-in hybrid, it qualifies for a government subsidy.
If it is leased, the subsidy is a tax credit to the leasing agency who purchased the vehicle.
“plug-in hybrid”
Not.
Do you a link for more information on that?”
If you want to see actual prices you can put in a phony street address in Houston. The summary is that you pay a couple cents more per kWh for daytime electricity in exchange for free electricity between 9pm and 6am.
Here is the Reliant plan that gives you discounted (but not free) electricity from 8pm to 8am on weekdays and all day on weekends.
If I have a really small yard, I might consider an electric mower...as I might consider an electric car if I only drove a few miles to work...in a sunshine state...and I had another car in case I wanted to take a day trip somewhere.
But thats a lot of caveats.”
78% of Americans have a daily round-trip commute of under 40 miles. This is covered nicely with the Volt since it has about 40 miles of electric range and then switches to a 340 mile gas tank if you need to go further.
Basically it gives you the benefits of an electric car and a gasoline car in one.
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