Posted on 03/02/2011 3:45:10 PM PST by bruinbirdman
Ford's chief financial officer has warned predictions of a surge in electric car sales are "very ambitious", as next generation vehicles dominate the Geneva Motor Show.
Lewis Booth, a Briton, raised concerns about their viability without state subsidies. Most leading car makers have unveiled new electric or hybrid models in Geneva, while BMW and Peugeot have confirmed a €100m (£85m) joint venture to develop electric technologies.
However, Mr Booth said: "Electric vehicles at the moment are still very expensive and have limitations. There is a question mark about how long governments can subsidise vehicles when they are under so much pressure from other funding issues.
"Some of the sales projections... for electric vehicles are very ambitious because I am not sure how customers are going to be able to afford to pay.
"Our philosophy is that we have a suite of technologies, from continuing to improve conventional vehicles, right through to plug-ins, hybrids and electric vehicles. The customer is going to decide and we want to satisfy all customers, not just rich customers."
Philippe Varin, chief executive of Peugeot, warned Europe is in danger of being left behind by Asia and America if it does not improve investment in infrastructure for low-carbon vehicles. "We have to standardise infrastructure. We are late compared to Asia," he said.
"When you look at the amount of money supporting car manufacturing in
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
So Obama is subsidizing the rich. Nice work, Barrack.
Actually, only the rich, and you+me+taxpayers.
The Chevy Volt costs $41,000 -- and I think that's AFTER a $7,500 subsidy from the federal government.
As someone pointed out on another thread: if you multiply that by the number of Volts that Chevy wants to sell this year, it's nearly a billion dollars.
However, Chevy has reportedly only sold a few hundred Volts so far this year. So, maybe we don't need to worry much about it.
Having test driven an electric vehicle this past weekend, I came away unimpressed and uninterested.
Power lacking and limited range, and no engine “purr”.
Not for me or many, I suspect.
I’d rather have this:
http://www.motorauthority.com/blog/1056083_alfa-romeo-4c-concept-2011-geneva-motor-show
You think rich liberal will buy it to set an example for the rest of us?
EPA approves wider use of destructive corn ethanol
• Car owners whose engines and catalytic converters may be damaged even as auto makers void their warranties.
• Owners of lawnmowers, outboard motors, chain saws, ATVs and a host of other outdoor tools whose engines will break down if they’re fueled with E15.
• The environment, as this misguided policy encourages all-out corn production and the massive water pollution that results, ultimately reinforcing the devastating “dead zones” in the Gulf of Mexico and Chesapeake Bay.
• Birds and other wildlife, which will lose habitat as large-scale farmers expand into marginal and highly erodible land.
And who was the winner from EPA’s ill-advised decision? Just one group: the corn ethanol lobby and corn growers, who already profit from taxpayer-funded tax credits and grants for small producers, a tax credit for blending ethanol with gasoline, government mandates to boost ethanol use and tariffs that block imports from offshore sources.
I can fill up a gas tank in 5 minutes. Call me when you can charge up an e-vehicle in the same amount of time.
Ford, a large corporation, having the guts to tell the truth. Nice job. Ditto the CEO of 3M and the CEO of Intel a few months back.
>You think rich liberal will buy it to set an example for the rest of us?<
Yes and no. I work in Hollywood and indeed, notice the dumbest electric cars known to man..and they deserve ridicule. However, the libs are hypocrites (and I know that for a fact), most would rather buy a Porsche GT 2012 than a Prius.
Electric cars are only for fools.
Incorrect. The tax credit is claimed by the buyer on their income tax.
http://www.chevrolet.com/tools/byo/byoCustomizeVehicle.do?region&zipCode=46112®ion=70&pvc=500&brand=volt&year=2011&zipCode=46112&isMultiCounty=false®ion=70
Having lived thru the 73 and 79 "crises" I can tell you there were times when it took 5 hours in line to get there.
That prompted Obama to name Immelt as his new Economic Advisor and put him in charge of job creation and spuring the sick economy. You don't spose Immelt thinks Gov money is the way to goose the economy....do you???
Them Electric Vehicles shore takes one a long way!!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/21/obama-picks-jeffrey-immel-ge-jobs-overseas_n_812502.html
...yeah I know it's Huffington Post - but it was the best article out of Google.
It's called crony capitalism. GE, GM, and many others. Baraq knows he doesn't need to give the poor & minorities anything, they're gonna vote Democrat no matter what.
Of course only the rich will be able to buy electric cars. The elites want us the masses to get places using mass transit and bicycles. It keeps us under control and them with a clear road.
More likely they'll get the government to outlaw internal combustion engines, like they did incandescent lightbulbs, to force people to buy the things. Scratch a liberal and you tend to find a totalitarian. What is not forbidden is required.
Well, the nice thing about electric cars is they are completely powered with electricity produced by Martha’s Vinyard windmills.
I’m anti-windmill, but I’d love to see a lot of commuters in electric cars using juice from nukes and domestic coal.
I’m tired of sending 100s of billions for oil to muzzies who want to kill us.
Ricj and Stupid.
Ricj and Stupid.
We need Congress to legislate better battery technology as the last 100 years haven’t resulted in any improvements in production electric vehicle range.
Nice Porsche photo...
All cars were toys for the rich at one time. If the rich rich didn’t spend on stuff I can’t afford they would never be able to make the stuff I can afford.
Like flatscreen TV, cell phones...
I’d like to see nuke plants used to produce liquid fuel from coal.
Look, I'm on your side. Believe me.
You need to frame your arguments parameters just a bit more succinctly.
I can design an ‘e-vehicle’ that can fully charge in four minutes.
If we were betting, you would lose.
BTW, my e-vehicle goes 48 feet between charges, but I proved the ‘feasibility’ of e-vehicles.
I mean this in only the nicest way - I hope you understand.
” We need Congress to legislate better battery technology “
Yeah - and then they can tackle that pesky gravity thing...
(or did I miss a /sarc tag in your post??)
GE is buying 10,000 of them to test their plug in stations.
Proud to be a Ford dealer!!
It’d be as easy as pi=3.0. Finally, rational legislation from Congress.
I assume the plan is to charge evs at night when rates are lower and demand on the grid is less. So there’s no waiting at all if the ev is used as a commuter car, which is it’s best application.
I’m not for evs as a single solution, but I want to cut off the muzzies from the 100s of billions we send them. Evs and nat gas look like the winners to me.
Whoops sorry...GE isn’t buying 10,000 of them...They’re buying 25,000 Volts.
I have a relative who works for the Feds as an undercover drug officer. The government provides him with a hybrid but he has to use the gasoline engine 100 percent of the time because of all the radios and other electronics that are in the car. Go figure.
They are for the foolish of any means. Money
poured down a rathole for an ill conceived
device.
Very nice, but it’s an Alfa Romeo. It will look great and run well at least once.
Yes, the Volt sales record looks grim for GM: 326 units in December, 321 in January, and a marked drop to just 281 units in February. That's a total of only 928 units in three months, with sales dropping each month.
It looks like even the Edsel might end up with a better record than that in its final year when it sold just 2,846 units --- and if you take the fact that our population now is far greater (180 million then, 308 million now), then the Volt looks like it will be a stunning failure. In contrast, the Prius sold almost 18,000 units in its first year in Japan (Japan had less than half the U.S. population in 1998), and was already selling 100,000 units worldwide per year by 2002.
“The Chevy Volt costs $41,000 — and I think that’s AFTER a $7,500 subsidy from the federal government.”
Wrong. $41,000 gross, minus federal tax credit (not subsidy) of $7,500 equals $33,500 net.
IOW you need to owe at least $7,500 federal taxes, to get the full benefit.
Meanwhile, a Toyota Prius achieves very high mileage, and is priced about $10,000 less, net. Proved versus new technology, and a car company which is expected to last, due to good management.
Gas Powered Muscle Car = For the Guy who has some balls.
electric Powered car = For the Guy who has no balls.
Is this called evolution? Or the end of the Human Species?
Hey I like my Ford Escape, Ford Escort ZX2 and my Volkswagen Cabriolet (okay I inherited this one, so shoot me why don’t you).
“I’m not for evs as a single solution, but I want to cut off the muzzies from the 100s of billions we send them. Evs and nat gas look like the winners to me.”
Plus nuclear.
If Johnny (& Chang) jumps off the roof of the building are you going to?
“The Chevy Volt costs $41,000 — and I think that’s AFTER a $7,500 subsidy from the federal government.
As someone pointed out on another thread: if you multiply that by the number of Volts that Chevy wants to sell this year, it’s nearly a billion dollars.”
To make it even worse, just TRY to get one for 41,000. The typical “premium” at the dealership is 5K - so, actually, the Chinese are subsidizing the government that owns a good part of GM, which is actually subsidizing the dealer, not the buyer of the car, who will be stuck paying for the government subsidy so that the Chinese can be repaid, with, they hope, interest.
The system works! Uhhh.....NOT.
yes
evs powered by domestic coal and nuke generated juice
You do realize the Volt has a gas engine on board as a range extender don’t you?
That’s what makes it unique (and more expensive), as compared to the Nissan Leaf which is battery only.
Ditto that!
How GM “Lied” About The Electric Car
The Chevy Volt has been hailed as General Motors’ electric savior. Now, as GM officially rolls out the Volt this week for public consumption, we’re told the much-touted fuel economy was misstated and GM “lied” about the car being all-electric.
http://jalopnik.com/5661051/how-gm-lied-about-the-electric-car
The article says that the engine kicks in and provides torque when you are above 70mph. That’s not an all electric, that’s a hybrid.( A hybrid that doesn’t even top 40 mpg.)
Why would the rick drive such trash??
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