Daimler to produce two electric vehicles by 2010

[patsparks]

Originally Posted by cycledrum

Time for a reality check ....

How can the masses be clamoring in a few short years, for a car that takes ...

4 hours to recharge (you can only drive the cars range (what, 220 miles) per day ... It's like 'crap, we've got a $30k car we can't take on a trip or we'll be stuck waiting for recharge)

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In my not so humble opinion, a plug-in hybrid gas electric vehicle is the best approach for mainstream improvement, and Toyota is promising that in the Prius in just 2 short years.
The other's trying to go all-electric from the get go, I think will find a much smaller market.

I'd buy the full electric. I'd keep the Prius for my wife and sell the RAV4. I'd use the EV for travel to and from work, 70km round trip, and my wife would use the Prius for her shorter 40km round trip to work. For holidays we would take the Prius just as we did for our last holiday.

The impact of an EV on my petrol use would be fantastic, my wife would drop her consumption by half to 2 thirds while I would eliminate my petrol consumption all together except the odd long trip. So for me and my family an electric car with just 100km range would be excellent but with 200 miles, or 320km I'd be able to visit family who live 100km away in it without recharging. The EV would suit 95% of my driving needs and the Prius could easily fill in. Most families these days are 2+ car families.

Oh, if my wife needed to go the other direction to me on holiday at the same time as I was going away I could take my old Crown, it is registered for 90 use days per year.

[DaveinOlyWA]

Originally Posted by cycledrum

Time for a reality check ....

How can the masses be clamoring in a few short years, for a car that takes ...

4 hours to recharge (you can only drive the cars range (what, 220 miles) per day ... It's like 'crap, we've got a $30k car we can't take on a trip or we'll be stuck waiting for recharge)

----------------

In my not so humble opinion, a plug-in hybrid gas electric vehicle is the best approach for mainstream improvement, and Toyota is promising that in the Prius in just 2 short years.

The other's trying to go all-electric from the get go, I think will find a much smaller market.

what about me?? i have an EV, it only does 37 mph and has a range of 35 miles on a good day... read my sig... it has taken our gas bill from around 130 a month to $75 a month now WHILE ABSORBING A 85 cent per gallon increase. ok... throw in the $11-12 a month for electricity and i am still way ahead.

tell me, exactly how many of those trips do you take that require more than 100 miles in a day? well, if you are like 85% of us, trips of that length come around about 1-2 a month....so how much you willing to spend for a car that you really would only need once a month??

there is a HUGE difference between a great mileage car and an EV.... my last tank on my Pri, i got nearly 60 mpg. 7 cents per mile...right?? well that is about a 350% decrease in efficiency over my Zenn...ya thats right. the Zenn is better than 3 times cheaper to drive.

the worst part about it...other than 2 trips to Tacoma and one trip to the zoo (about 150 miles of the 560+ driven) all it could have been handled by an EV... but unfortunately.... i only had one.

i pretty much had already planned on being a 2 Pri household by now... thankfully, the waiting list was too long... because i had not been extremely impressed with the price v performance of the EV options out there last year (they are MUCH better options now... should have waited... but that will be true on a continuous basis in EV land for the next few years minimum)

but was offered a great deal as part of a product launch for Zenn, got a $3000 discount of retail (would never happen now with the cost of gas the way it is) so, was looking at another 8 to 12 weeks for a Pri. (was actually only 5 weeks but oh well) so i took it.

so would clamor for it??? well, i am stopped DAILY by people who are willing to consider my Zenn... it has a LOT of limitations, and yes, some people i talk to admit that they want one, but it would not work for them... probably a ¼ or so... but in the next 2 years, the range will be up over 100 miles and the speed will be freeway capable... that will drop the neighsayers to less than 10 %.... that makes EV's a 200 million plus market...

[cycledrum]

Considering multi-car households that can plug in, EVs might sell.

I think I'm just pissed off about Tesla Motor's approach to EV - apparently a 5 seater coming in 2 years that may cost about $60k.

[KandyRedCoi]

i have a multi car household, and if i were to get an EV its strictly for local driving less than 50mi/day, and thats a big fat "IF"

i too feel the same as far as full EV vehicles, short 220mile range, too long to charge etc etc.

ill wait til they can break the 300mile range then im in there...cmon tesla