NINE Reasons Your Next Car SHOULD Be Electric, Can You Name NINE Why It Shouldn't?

I could live without the roaring but I don't know if I can live without a manual tranny. I also wouldn't get one right away because this technology is in its toddler years still and a lot of awesome upgrades will come. We are reliving what people did when the Ford Model T was introduced; very exiting years. I can't wait for 10 years to go by, that's when I predict I'll have my first electric. (if we make it past 2012 hahaa)

The reasons why I wouldn't go electric right away aren't on there... I think I'd miss a proper manual with the brutal sound of a engine roaring as the RPMs go up... You lose all that when you go with a CVT and a whiney Electric Powerplant... True you still get tire screeching, throw you back into your seat power when you get a Tesla or similar vehicle, but I would miss my third functional pedal. I know the new Honda CR-Z will be a manual hybrid, but until I drive it, I don't know how that would actually work...

Electrics don't have CVT's. They are direct drive.

Yea electric cars are simpler then hybrids and don't ahve a CVT...car companies don't like them because they don't need any maintenance on the motor accept brake jobs and eventually new bushings, tires and an alignment.

Did anyone see the Tesla being tested on Top Gear? yes it ran out of electricity, have you ever seen a gas vehicle run out of gas on the show? NO! First off there isn't any family vehicles that are electric, and so far the only electric cars that are available are just gulf carts! Small, At least they could make an all electric like the Civic at the very least, and a small generator like the Volt is a very good idea.

That was a fabrication: "The BBC today denied it had misled viewers, saying that the programme had "at no time" claimed that the car had run out of power. Programme-makers instead showed it slowing down to illustrate what would happen when the car did run out of charge."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/dec/24/jeremy-clarkson-top-gear-tesla-electric-car

When they tested the Land Rover it ran out of gas. But then that was intentional

No where to plug in at night. The extension cord from my second floor townhouse apartment would have to be at least 200' long !

Thats the problem I have with the Volt. I want one but I dont know how me living in a condo would work with owning that car.

And someone my take your cord and plug it into thier own car at night much the same way people still WiFi signals.

Too much money and range anxiety are my current considerations.

When you run out of gas, you ask someone to take you to fuel station. You buy a small petrol-tin and gas.
When you run out of electricity, you ask someone to take you to electric station (?). You buy a a big battery...
The story cannot fit to reality.

(1) Hidden costs.
Look under the hood of the electric automotive industry and you will find government subsidies to make them affordable. The culprit is those huge chemical batteries they need to make them work. But don't worry about this item -- The government is giving away *their* money, and not yours, to make this technology look more affordable.

(2) Fuel location and refueling time.
As at today, there are no "electric car refueling stations" around. So as long as you are doing round-trips from your home, you're golden. Also, if you run out of juice, a recharge is a LOT longer than the 3 minutes you spend at the gasoline pumps.

(3) Short range may mean a second car.
If you use your electric car for short trips only, then cool. If you take the occasional "beyond range" trip, then you need a second car, or you'll be renting a second vehicle. And we all love renting vehicles because the agency is just around the corner and you can be in an out in 5 minutes flat. Right? ;-)

(4) Total cost of ownership
Okay, those of you who use battery powered laptops daily: How many years do your batteries last? Well, that's hard to say, because they are not "good" one day, and then "bad" the next. They slowly degrade over time from being "really good when new", to being "kinda okay when not new," to eventually "man, this is terrible, I better replace it" well before the projected end of life. With car range, your 40 miles under ideal conditions (when new) batteries will degrade over time. Look into the warranty, and you'll discover there is no claim for how many miles you will get as the batteries age. That "10 year or 100,000" marketing claim is NOT supported by a warranty that uses those words. It's marketing hype to get you to buy the product. Sort of like the 60,000 hour half-life claims for plasma TVs, which also do NOT come with a warranty that says "you won't get noticeable burn in or dimming over the next 5 years." Also, get a written guarantee of battery replacement cost. You may not be pleased if someone tells you $7000, and you're hit with that bill in 5 years! Factor in battery replacement costs into your per-mile costs.

(5) The "clean" electricity myth.
If you live in North America, then over 90% of your "clean" electricity is generated by incinerating garbage or burning fossil fuel. But that happens hundreds or thousands of miles away from your power outlet, so you can feel good about not seeing this, and not being aware of it. So much for saving the planet :-(

(6) Electricity is LOT more expensive than burning dino juice.
Talk to home-owners about heating their water: Do you use electricity or natural gas? And what about heating your home? The overwhelming choice is natural gas. Why? It's cheaper. A LOT cheaper. Factor in the cost of electricity into your per-mile cost.

(7) North America has no surplus electrical power.
Today, electrical utilities have no surplus capacity, and they are trying desperately to get people t

[got chopped. Continuation)

(7) North America has no surplus electrical power.
Today, electrical utilities have no surplus capacity, and they are trying desperately to get people to consume LESS electricity. It takes many years to build more coal-fired, gas-fired, or garbage-burning generating stations. Hydro-electric is harder to do because you need the right water conditions, and building a new dam converts tons of square miles of land into aquatic environment. It also takes way longer to build a damn than a fossil fuel burning station. There is also nuclear, but the nuclear waste is still a concern, and nobody welcomes a nuclear plant near-by. There is still hope for future technologies that are not viable today.

(8) Electric cars are fair-weather cars.
If you're driving around in 68'F weather, great. If you need a heater to warm up the chilly air, or an air-conditioning to cool do the swelter, then your range goes way down, and your total battery life shortens.

(9) Foreign dependency. Americans love the battle cry of reducing dependency on foreign oil. Did you know that we get most of our foreign oil from a little country called Canada, and not from Arab countries? Well, in electric cars (and also hybrids), we need a fair bit of stuff called "rare earths," also called exotic metals. And they come, from abroad. We've been sourcing China for these goodies to make our beloved Priuses.

(10) Total environmental impact
Our electricity is 90% sourced from burning garbage or fossil fuel. That electricity fuels the electric car, as well as the processes from making the car, and for creating and recycling those huge chemical batteries. And then there are the chemicals in those huge batteries. But these aren't visible, so you can ignore them.


Note: I am not claiming that gasoline powered vehicles are the best, but I am very much asserting that electric car fans are swallowing manufacturers' marketing stories and media hype by looking only at the last link in a chain of vents, and deeming it to be a Good Thing.

Steve for President!

Nice post bro +1

The problem is that oil is also subsidized, through the tax code and defense budget. During the Clinton years, the GAO estimated that if you add in the portions of the defense budget dedicated to keeping the oil flowing through the Straits of Hormuz and the Straights of Malacca, the real cost of a gallon was close to $14.00 a gallon, much of which is hidden in your income taxes.

Whether oil comes from Canada or Iran fundamentaly doesn't matter. It's a world priced comodity. If we don't buy Venezuelan oil, China will. The stuff doesn't spoil on the docks like bananas, and the world consumes it all.

I don't think that electrics will be for everyone, but they will be a great solution for people living in near in suburbs or inner cities, provided you have a garage. A plug-in hybrid would work well for me.

As for thrills, there is something about the sound of a gas engine reving, and the senasations of shifting gears.........but people seem to get kicks on roller coasters, too, and they are all electric vehicles.

Balanacing transportation needs with electrics, diesels, mass transit, etc, will cut our dependence on foreign oil.....and maybe leave more for driving your BMW or Ferrari on a less croweded highway, for fun, not for commuting!

1. There aren't any electric cars worth buying yet.
2. Range extended electric cars offer twice the complexity making the total number of parts that might break/wear out increase, and thus increasing the cost of servicing and or repairing.
3. If you drive an electric car spiritedly, you won't get its already minimal rated range.
4. Resale value is horrible, even if the battery life is only half used up, a 50k mile vehicle looks more like a 150k mile vehicle.
5. Although quick change stations will greatly help, they aren't here yet
6. I will never ever be an early adopter of technology, the price rapes you, and the unseen issues always rear their head.

9 reason why the creator of this article is attempting to tell people how to spend thier money.

when there's an electric car that
a) allows me to drive the way I want to drive (i.e. aggressively),
b) will make a trip longer than from my house to work and back (barely) while being driven in a non-Prius manner,
c) doesn't sacrifice every bit of utility the car would have were it powered by gasoline (no trunk because of batteries), and
d) doesn't cost $100k or more,
then I'll consider it. Let me know when that happens.

Tesla Model S

300 mile range
SUV/Minivan amounts of interior space due to no motor
0-60 in 5.6s
starting from $49,900

Joe_lemon,I liked your previous post, but are you suggesting that the Tesla has mini van like room because it doesn't have a gas motor? Mini vans don't have batteries,lol The Tesla is smaller than my civic!

If they can make a EV car that is fun to drive and has an exhaust note like the Infiniti G35 and G37 coupe, than I will consider getting one.

Wow all that for only $49,900.

How about this for comparison:
Mazdaspeed 3
300 mile range
More than enough room for most people and small families
0-60 5.5s
LOADED at $30,000 (or just under)

Oh and it has a manual tranny, a turbo, and won't drain your SmartGrid.