TH!NK electric car on sale this year

[Prius Maximus]

My round trip is 105 miles. Unfortunately, most of it is interstate/freeway which I think I would get killed in this car. It's bad enough in the Prius with the way people drive.

But even with a greater than 125 round trip, wouldn't most people be able to get access to an outlet at work for a partial recharge? I would Th!nk that as the number of EVs on the road increase, that there would be a call for parking lot recharge stations.

[darelldd]

Originally Posted by daniel

There are colors I like and colors I hate, but I'd take an EV regardless of color if it met my range, speed, and safety requirements.

In what color would you like your xB?

Originally Posted by TonyPSchaefer

$28,000 is quite a bit of money. Here's how I broke it down:

Assume 12,000 miles per year
Assume $3.50 gallon of gas

Ah Tony... stop it! If everything is only about the price of gas at the pump, then we're all screwed. Yeah, I know money has to come into it - but does it always have to be the end-all justification for our transportation?! What of the cost of sending billions of dollars outside of our economy (to nations that hate us?) What the the lives lost to protect our oil "rights?" And what of the cost of the military to defend those rights? Our health? Is that worth anything? We don't pay any of that at the pump!

Originally Posted by Danny Hamilton

Ok, so one of my first thoughts when it comes to high volume EV is "How is the government going to get their road tax?" I assume they will find a way

Our road maintenance funds come from the general fund. You pay for road maintenance even if you never drive.

and that will increase the operating costs of the EV beyond what most people currently estimate.

If I were paying for my electricity, I'd be paying the equivalent of about 70c/gallon of gasoline (assuming 27mpg in a gas Rav4 instead of my Rav4EV). Add The same "road taxes" (mis-named) to my electricity and it'll be nowhere near what we'll all be paying for gasoline in the coming years.... or right now.

But even with a greater than 125 round trip, wouldn't most people be able to get access to an outlet at work for a partial recharge? I would Th!nk that as the number of EVs on the road increase, that there would be a call for parking lot recharge stations.

Uh... yeah! When we speak of new technology, everybody assumes that EVERY other aspect will remain the same. When we started driving gasoline cars in this country, there were no gas stations! Imagine what the nay-sayers were saying about the idiot gas car drivers back then! But alas, somewhow we turned that corner and made it work, didn't we?

[softhands]

Originally Posted by daniel

Gas.

That's what it's all about for me. Every time there's a "Why did you buy a Prius" thread, one of the top reasons is always to burn less gas, and contribute less to global warming. Of course, the Prius is such a great car in and of itself, that by buying a Prius you cut your gas consumption in half without making any sacrifices at all. You're not really paying "more" for your car, because the Prius would be worth its price even if it got the same gas mileage as a Honda Civic.

The real question is, are you willing to make a tiny sacrifice in convenience in order to eliminate your gas consumption entirely?

For the first few years of the "Gen 2" Prius, when gas was cheap enough that you'd have to drive a hundred miles a day or more to make a cost-of-gas economic argument for it, everyone was saying they didn't buy the Prius to "save" money, they bought it to be "green." But now people are saying they would not go EV unless it makes the cost of driving cheaper than a Prius.

I don't know if they'll ever really sell the Th!nk. But it looks like a car that eliminates the quality problems of the Xebra and the speed limitations of a Zenn. If they do sell it here, it's going to separate the sheep from the goats. Who walks the green walk vs who just talks the green talk.

daniel, check out ZENN Motor Company and look at the latest news on the proposed 250 mile range and 80mph speed. Apparently, it will be competitive with ICE vehicles. I'm definitely buying this if true, and, it's made in Canada so it's locally produced(though the micro cars currently used are from Europe I believe).

[Tideland Prius]

Made in Canada, not legal to drive in Canada

[daniel]

Originally Posted by darelldd

In what color would you like your xB?

Well, since ACP doesn't want to sell outside of CA, I'm debating between blue and yellow for my electric Porsche.

Originally Posted by softhands

daniel, check out ZENN Motor Company and look at the latest news on the proposed 250 mile range and 80mph speed. Apparently, it will be competitive with ICE vehicles. I'm definitely buying this if true, and, it's made in Canada so it's locally produced(though the micro cars currently used are from Europe I believe).

Maybe, might be, some day... just one more in a long list of worthless press releases. BTW, I clicked on the link and didn't see any mention of the super car, but I think I have heard of this far-fetched announcement before.

[patsparks]

I'd say if you drive less than 85 miles a day this may well be the commuter car for you. I come to this conclusion using the boaters fuel code, one third out, one third back and one third in reserve. The reserve is in case of bad weather where a big sea or head wind can double fuel consumption. This would also apply to an energy efficient vehicle like the Th!nk.

I'd like to see the price come down, but then again I'd like lots of things to be cheaper.

The Solar Energy Company was trying to release the Reva (G-Wizz) onto the AU market but couldn't cut the red tape, that would have cost about $18,000AU but with a range of only 80km and crash safety was dreadful.

[GoCarGo]

Although clearly a better automotive choice, I don't see anyone calculating any cost increase associated with electricity. I believe we will see the average nationwide (USA) price DOUBLE within a decade.

[daniel]

Originally Posted by GoCarGo

Although clearly a better automotive choice, I don't see anyone calculating any cost increase associated with electricity. I believe we will see the average nationwide (USA) price DOUBLE within a decade.

Electricity has to go up, for at least two reasons: Higher demand, and a falling dollar. But when electricity has gone up from 6 cents to 25 cents per kwh and gas has gone up from $3.50 to $25 per gallon, electricity is going to be even more advanageous than it is now, compared to gas.

[Godiva]

Originally Posted by GoCarGo

Although clearly a better automotive choice, I don't see anyone calculating any cost increase associated with electricity. I believe we will see the average nationwide (USA) price DOUBLE within a decade.

I'll just add some more PV panels to my array.

I've still got the entire garage roof available too.

I can also do Solar Water pre-heating for my tankless water heater on my bedroom roof.

[DaveinOlyWA]

there are SEVERAL viable BEV's available... just not here. i posted a link to an excellent option... but that would be great if you lived in Belgium.

as far as computing costs, we have to realize that the faster you go, the rate of discharge in any stored battery system goes up... iow, it can take 5X units of charge to drive distance A if driven at 30 mph but 10X charge to drive same distance if averaging 50 mph...

on my Zenn (now going by website info only) its rated at 145 mpg using power output only comparing the amount of calories in a gallon of gas to how many calories it takes to move the Zenn a mile at a max 25 mph (i have 36 mph upgrade so my power consumption would be greater)

now that does not mean a vehicle that does 65 mph would use significantly more power. mine does because it direct drive, no tranny. with a vehicle that goes that fast, it has either a humongous motor (which i doubt) or some sort of gearing system. so it power consumption would not change drastically from mine. so i think it a good bet to say that it would still correlate to 100 to 120 mpg...

now on my sig, i post mileage but that is figured by cost of electricity verses cost of gas and figured at cost per mile against current gas prices. i should adjust that down to about 141 mpg... the current figure uses gas at $3.38 a gallon... gas now $3.31 a gallon now.