electric cars catching on?

[paddlenbike]

Here is an interesting article:
http://carswithcords.blogspot.com/20...in-piston.html

"To all the auto-companies out there. THIS is your Kodak moment. Kodak moment, in this case, does not mean a moment to capture on film; rather, it means the time in history when an upstart technology changed the game; e.g., digital photography emerged and Kodak chose to ignore it until it was too late.

It was easy to dismiss digital cameras when they first came out. The images were not great and SLR lenses were not supported. The images were really only good for sharing via email or webpages (this was before the era of social media as we know it today). Canon & Nikon, however, saw the potential and now they dominate the photo market, while Kodak (once the titan of the industry) filed for bankruptcy in 2012.

Similarly, today it is easy to dismiss EVs. Critics speak of range anxiety and high cost and say EVs don't have the range or refueling speed of conventional cars, but they are not looking at their potential. They are not anticipating that battery technology will continue to improve, driven by the demand for ever lighter, longer lived tablets and smartphones.

And the critics within the auto industry are certainly are not looking at the driver satisfaction and loyalty ratings. Plug-in vehicles far surpass their gas-powered counterparts in these areas. Based on this alone, a car company, any car company, that wants to make cars that their owners love, should be making plug-in vehicles.

Once a driver tries electric, 97% of them don't ever want to go back to gas. Even the best stagecoach company no longer exists. If you work at an auto company that is not making at least some plug-in cars today, they are not likely to be in business 10 years from now. The new Kodak moment is about being relevant to the future rather than dwelling on the past."

[4x4mike]

Marin commented this morning how 'weird' her normal car felt. In the short time she drove the Leaf she got used to it real quick which says a lot in more than one department. Both of our vehicles have manual transmissions so the auto in the Leaf was something we hadn't experienced in awhile. That aside I think an EV would be an easy transition for many drivers out there.

[04 Rocko Taco]

Great Article.

I for one, am not on the EV bandwagon just yet, but anyone who refuses to see the potential and the coming technology gains there is simply hoping that by ignoring the issue, it will go away.

[Kryptoroxx]

I would love to live within the radius that would allow me to look at one but I don't know of an ev that would be useful to me. I mean currently I couldnt make Palm Springs with a leaf without stopping and recharging. Which by the way is where the closest mall, yardhouse, oliven garden, target, outback, and pretty much anything else including radio shack. Even if somehow I did make it there I would have to charge somewhere and I don't know that palm Springs has a charge station. Forget about making riverside, Temecula, or any other place that would have one. Im also not sure about 140+ Temps for the batteries......probably closer to 180 during operation that could easily be achieved out here.

stamped and snail mailed

[04 Rocko Taco]

I would love to live within the radius that would allow me to look at one but I don't know of an ev that would be useful to me. I mean currently I couldnt make Palm Springs with a leaf without stopping and recharging. Which by the way is where the closest mall, yardhouse, oliven garden, target, outback, and pretty much anything else including radio shack. Even if somehow I did make it there I would have to charge somewhere and I don't know that palm Springs has a charge station. Forget about making riverside, Temecula, or any other place that would have one. Im also not sure about 140+ Temps for the batteries......probably closer to 180 during operation that could easily be achieved out here.

stamped and snail mailed

Thats the same issue I have, I currently just dont live a lifestyle, or in an area that makes an EV a realistic possibility.
That snot to say that I dont see the value for folks who do, and I know that this technology will continue to move forward and evolve and will get better.

[Kryptoroxx]

The tech will get better but my eye is on hydrogen cells too. Its a better stepping stone to what we have currently invested for infrastructure and you can convert gasoline engines quite readily as well. This is all my opinion though. Electricity is great but we dont have awesome efficient ways to create that right now either. Coal is kinda dirty and natural gas is still a fossil fuel so ev is great but it is also an "end item" meaning that it tranfers dependency from one type of fossil fuel to another. Nuclear fission is fairly safe however when/if there is an incident it can be quote devastating. With that being said I don't believe that it is as bad as it is made out to be. Nobody has really reported the radiation levels from the town near chernobyl and I can attest to Hiroshima and Nagasaki as being safe personally. I spent a lot of time there but I am still waiting on my third arm.

I still think eventually electric will be efficient enough to take over but I am not certain there won't be a bridging technology either. Electrolysis bridged with solar power might be a very interesting combination. Kinda off topic I know but I thought it might provoke some thoughts/ideas.


stamped and snail mailed

[Robinhood4x4]

Nice writeup Mike. Glad to see you got all the dents out of it too...Bondo is amazing stuff.

[paddlenbike]

In looking at websites like plugshare that show where charging stations are located, it is clear that the two coasts have the best infrastructure, while the mid-west has very little. Where you live and how far you drive for 90% of your driving is key to whether an EV will work in your household.

Steve--I keep expecting to find something askew--he didn't even sieze the opportunity to replace my music stations with country music. I'm not sure what has gotten into him.

[4x4mike]

I kept it to a minimum although I'm still waiting for you to find anything 'askew' at your house. In all honesty after I jumped it 3 or 4 times I didn't drive it much.

Steve I was able to keep the dents to a minimum by running an LED stobe on the dash. But yes, Bondo does work wonders.





The Leaf does draw some attention though, especially when you show up to the local race track with it.

[Robinhood4x4]

LOL. Good one...