Hybrids v. Electrics... am I the only one who sees a major drawback?

[Mr. Nelsby]

So I keep reading about all these "electric" cars which are coming out and I just don't get it... With the limited mileage and long re-charge times, it seems to me that these cars really tether you to local driving.

As someone who often drives from Boston to NY, it seems that many of these pure electric cars just don't have the abilty to make that drive reasonably. What are you supposed to do? Drive 100 miles, find a plug, wait half an hour, drive another 100 miles? Seems kinda silly.

The second thing that drives me kind of nuts is the assumption that electric cars are good for the environment. While the car itself doesn't produce emissions, the electricity which you are putting into it was very likely produced by burning fossil fuels (depending of course by where you live).

In my mind, a gas/electric hybrid is FAR more sensical than a pure-electric car because it still functions as a car and not a golf-cart with very limited range...

Really what I'm waiting for are the hydrogen cars... To me we need to be looking at new technology that gets us far away from conventional fuels... That or a solar panel which can recharge an electric car while it drives and holds enough charge to drive several hundred miles without the sun...

[spiderman]

You not missing anything... if it made sense, there would be EVs everywhere by now. Hybrids are moving forward now due to the price of gas. Hydrogen like propane will likely take awhile longer to become mainstream.
Just my 2 cents,
Peter

[bullet875]

Originally Posted by Mr. Nelsby

So I keep reading about all these "electric" cars which are coming out and I just don't get it... With the limited mileage and long re-charge times, it seems to me that these cars really tether you to local driving.

As someone who often drives from Boston to NY, it seems that many of these pure electric cars just don't have the abilty to make that drive reasonably. What are you supposed to do? Drive 100 miles, find a plug, wait half an hour, drive another 100 miles? Seems kinda silly.

The second thing that drives me kind of nuts is the assumption that electric cars are good for the environment. While the car itself doesn't produce emissions, the electricity which you are putting into it was very likely produced by burning fossil fuels (depending of course by where you live).

In my mind, a gas/electric hybrid is FAR more sensical than a pure-electric car because it still functions as a car and not a golf-cart with very limited range...

Really what I'm waiting for are the hydrogen cars... To me we need to be looking at new technology that gets us far away from conventional fuels... That or a solar panel which can recharge an electric car while it drives and holds enough charge to drive several hundred miles without the sun...

I agree. While it might be interesting to see a plug in hybrid that can increase gas mileage, I too work too far from home to use an EV. That makes it much less attractive to many people. I think that the years of working within 10 miles of home are gone for most people in the US.

[eglmainz]

Originally Posted by Mr. Nelsby

So I keep reading about all these "electric" cars which are coming out and I just don't get it... With the limited mileage and long re-charge times, it seems to me that these cars really tether you to local driving.

As someone who often drives from Boston to NY, it seems that many of these pure electric cars just don't have the abilty to make that drive reasonably. What are you supposed to do? Drive 100 miles, find a plug, wait half an hour, drive another 100 miles? Seems kinda silly.

The second thing that drives me kind of nuts is the assumption that electric cars are good for the environment. While the car itself doesn't produce emissions, the electricity which you are putting into it was very likely produced by burning fossil fuels (depending of course by where you live).

In my mind, a gas/electric hybrid is FAR more sensical than a pure-electric car because it still functions as a car and not a golf-cart with very limited range...

Really what I'm waiting for are the hydrogen cars... To me we need to be looking at new technology that gets us far away from conventional fuels... That or a solar panel which can recharge an electric car while it drives and holds enough charge to drive several hundred miles without the sun...

This depends on the Electric Vehicle. For Example, the Chevy Volt, as they are currently testing (what are supposed to be early production vehicles), you can go in Electric only for a certain range (40 miles or so), then you will start to burn gas in order to continue to run the car, as it will generate the needed electric. For those times where a cross country trip is desired, a Volt would do the job (assuming no reliability issues, but I am giving them the benefit of doubt), but it would burn gas to make that trip.

The whole benefit for the Volt is that as most people out there commute under 20-30 miles each way to work, for them, they would not use hardly any gas, except for when exceeding their electric range.

This does not mean that for someone who live 80- miles from work and must commute that this would not be a good car for them. It just means that after they use their electric range up, they start to burn gas as we do in most cars. Still a benefit as they would use less total gas than they would in a normal car, and depending upon the Final EPA numbers assigned, possibly better mileage than a Prius for a 80 mile commute. (If 40 miles is gas free, and the the next 40 is 40 mpg, that is 80 mpg total for that trip.)

Obviously, this is not the case for a pure electric, like the Tesla. In those circumstances, you are correct that you are like a fancy golf cart, and tethered to a local area radius.

[ajc]

I think GM with the Chevy Volt has the answer and at 230 MPG I got to have one.

[LeadingEdgeBoomer]

Agree about the overall utility of electric cars. However, the power comes from a generating plant, a single point source where pollution is easier to control. Gas cars are many, many point sources, each of which needs to be controlled.

[spiderman]

Originally Posted by ajc

I think GM with the Chevy Volt has the answer and at 230 MPG I got to have one.

Not quite... read the article closer. That is just the EV side of things, the EPA still hasn't evaluated the ICE side. They will combine the two to get the final rating. They (GM) are expecting about 100 mpg.

Peter

[spiderman]

Because the Volt has an ICE it is still a HYBRID even if it does not use it for 40 miles.

[Zythryn]

While electric vehicles aren't for everyone, they will work for many people.
Just because YOU drive a long distance each day don't assume most people do.
Most people drive less than 40 miles a day. So a 100 mile range EV is more than sufficient for many people.
The primary target market is probably going to start with 2 car families. In our household we will have one plug-in Prius and one pure EV. So when we do want to go further than 100-130 miles we will use the Prius. For daily commute/errands in the metro area we will use the EV.
As for pollution, If your electricity is produced 100% from coal, it MAY not be much cleaner. However, the number of areas that fits is pretty small.
Add to that the national security issue and EVs seem a good choice to me.

[ajc]

Originally Posted by spiderman

Not quite... read the article closer. That is just the EV side of things, the EPA still hasn't evaluated the ICE side. They will combine the two to get the final rating. They (GM) is expecting about 100 mpg.

Peter

Just have to wait until next year when the Volt is a production model.