Crushing electric cars for fun and profit (and more)
Car companies don't like the idea of a lot of electric vehicles on the road because they threaten the very profitable structure that gasoline engines offer to car manufacturers, oil companies, and mechanics. This is why so few were sold, and the few that did make it into the public's hands were crushed after the leases were over. That's the opinion of Doug Korthof, a dedicated electric vehicle driver (among other things) as expressed in this week's OC Weekly. In the article, Korthof elaborates on why EVs can help prevent wars, how his solar-powered home actually earns him money from the electric company (well, it would if they paid him what they owe him), and the bright future offered by hybrid EVs. The piece is a great interview with an opinionated, educated electric vehicle driver. Recommended.[Source: OC Weekly]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Joe 11:37PM (5/18/2006)
"Car companies don't like the idea of a lot of electric vehicles on the road because they threaten the very profitable structure that gasoline engines offer to car manufacturers, oil companies, and mechanics."
That's one of the more ridiculous comments I've ever read. Car companies want to sell cars. They could care less about mechanics or oil companies.
They don't like electric cars because they are expensive to produce, not practical, and there is no market for them. The car companies are businesses that need to make money. Making an electric car doesn't make business sense with current technology.
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Joseph Lado 10:22AM (7/01/2006)
Electric vehicles are not more expensive to produce, in fact they are fare less expensive. Don't take what Toyota pushes are price for a battery as cost of the battery. Batteries were more expensive in the mid 1990s but the explosion of production and supply of Lithium-ion batteries have brought the prices down by a factor of 6 in the last decade and the price reductions are reaching a critical mass and comming down even further now. Two companies Toshiba and Altair Nanomaterials have introduced a lithium polymer battery that can charge fully in 6 minutes and charge to 80% in 1 minute. Electric motors, especially induction motors, are vertually maintinance free, small and lightweight and can last two to three times the life of an internal combustion engine. I drive an electric car and it costs me all of about 5 buck a month to charge. It charges all night for about 35 cents. I live in an area where my electricity is supplied by a hydro-electric dam so I am not polluting at all. Electric cars in the long run are much cheaper to opperate and own for the consumer then internal combustion engine cars and all their energy comes from the good old US of A. I am not saying that anyone should be forced to buy an electric car, but my electric car is soooo cool and fun to drive. If you want a head turner for a vehicle you can't find a better ride than an electric vehicle. Whether GM, the oil companies or some other mysterious group killed the electric car is not that important to me, however, electric cars are cool and I believe everyone should be given a chance to test one out and decide for themselves whether they want one or not. I think if you had a chance to drive an EV1 you might have though diffrently about electric cars. At 150 miles I could go to the beach. That is as far as I need to go in one day.
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