The EPA. And it's at least as reliable as their Global Warming® proclamations.
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 ...
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.
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.
>> 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!
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.
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.
And the basis for that 99 MPG figure is...
...complete fiction, no?
And don’t forget to add in the cost of disposing of old batteries. I am sure the “re-cycling fees” will be substantial.
i hope i’m dead bfore i have to drive an electric or hybred 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.
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.
I have to laugh that the first folks to embrace this sort of thing live in CA. The land of rolling blackouts.
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.
The cops won’t write tickets anymore. It will be impossible to exceed the speed limit.
The EPA. And it's at least as reliable as their Global Warming® proclamations.
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.
“without sacrificing range”
Range? What is this range of which you speak? They have no range to begin with
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.
I thought those batteries didn’t need recycling, they ignited and cremated themselves on their own.
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