These new electric cars!!!

[fmahovalich]

Lets do the math.......


I have an SUV - 6 cylinder...nothing outrageous and as per my gauge.....I get about 12L / 100 km.

At $1.05 per L it costs me $12.60/100 km
This new smart car costs about $1.33/100 km
And a charge goes about 150 km. (Battery good for 10 years)

Now I realize this is not a distance car...nor a family car..nor big....

BUT BY GOSH...you gotta think about it as a second car for the in-city commuter!!!

Not to mention the SAVINGS and GREEN factor!!!!

 

[nottyboi]

Lets do the math.......


I have an SUV - 6 cylinder...nothing outrageous and as per my gauge.....I get about 12L / 100 km.

At $1.05 per L it costs me $12.60/100 km
This new smart car costs about $1.33/100 km
And a charge goes about 150 km. (Battery good for 10 years)

Now I realize this is not a distance car...nor a family car..nor big....

BUT BY GOSH...you gotta think about it as a second car for the in-city commuter!!!

Not to mention the SAVINGS and GREEN factor!!!!

Problem is that the battery costs 1K/kwh... but you do save quite a bit on transmission and engine cost.. .

 

[Ceiling Cat]

Electric cars are not about NOW! It is about the future. There has to be the first step to make a better vehicle. In California the middle class buy the electric cars to use the express lanes on the highway. People with electric cars can save 40 minutes each way in their daily commute, that translates into $$$ and quality time at home. The celebrities and rich people buy it as a status symbol, Not too many people in Canada would spend $45,000 on a Lexus HS 250h, but in Hollywood it wood look much better as a grocery getter than a Hummer.

 

[fmahovalich]

The problem...yet...is that these cars cost twice as much!!


So that $20,000 price difference is hard to reconcile.....

Thas a lot of gas!!!

 

[willingcanuck]

That is exactly why the pricing structure needs to change! We shouldn't be taxing what is desirable, but rather what is undesirable!

 

[Yoga Face]

It seems we forgot where electricity comes from


BURNING FOSSIL FUELS

 

[Moraff]

It seems we forgot where electricity comes from


BURNING FOSSIL FUELS

Doesn't the majority of Canada's electricity get generated by hydro? Coal would be second of course, then nuclear if memory serves.

 

[Moraff]

That is exactly why the pricing structure needs to change! We shouldn't be taxing what is desirable, but rather what is undesirable!

I don't think there's more taxes on electrical vehicles - unless there's some sort of recycling fee on the batteries perhaps, it's just that it costs more to make them right now. It's new technology as far as the car industry goes, so there's new tooling, processes, robots, yada yada yada to purchase. No real way to get around that.

 

[hyperdog]

Guys, give me a link to a dealership in Toronto that sells many electric cars.

 

[S.C. Joe]

Where do you get this the battery will last 10 years?

I been seeing 5 to 7 years and watch in the real world its likely to be less than that. Heck up here in the cold a 2 year old battery might start showing its old age and leave you with a dead battery on the way home--unless you can recharge more often.

Then you got the motor itself, I would guess it will age and need more power as time goes on.

Maybe in sunny California it work going to the beach and back for 5 to 7 years.

I got a 19 year old Oldsmobile with a V6 that has 170,000 miles-not km and both the trans and motor is stock. Has decent pep too--quicker than a new Buick SUV--whatever the name is, forgot.

I get 21 mpg also.

Do the math, electric cars are 50 years out, we are just guinea pigs. The babies today might depend on them later on, not us.

I left my Olds outside for 4 days last weekend without touching it-our Thanksgiving weekend. Car started right up and runs like normal. How would an 19 year old electric car be doing??

 

[nottyboi]

Where do you get this the battery will last 10 years?

I been seeing 5 to 7 years and watch in the real world its likely to be less than that. Heck up here in the cold a 2 year old battery might start showing its old age and leave you with a dead battery on the way home--unless you can recharge more often.

Then you got the motor itself, I would guess it will age and need more power as time goes on.

Maybe in sunny California it work going to the beach and back for 5 to 7 years.

I got a 19 year old Oldsmobile with a V6 that has 170,000 miles-not km and both the trans and motor is stock. Has decent pep too--quicker than a new Buick SUV--whatever the name is, forgot.

I get 21 mpg also.

Do the math, electric cars are 50 years out, we are just guinea pigs. The babies today might depend on them later on, not us.

I left my Olds outside for 4 days last weekend without touching it-our Thanksgiving weekend. Car started right up and runs like normal. How would an 19 year old electric car be doing??

I guess that didn't help olds though lol.

 

[S.C. Joe]

You also have this little problem which just could kill electric cars--its a little maybe but possible. There is no long term health studies yet but what if all that electric and magnetic fields (EMFs) that passengers will be exposed to everyday in high levels does start causing cancer like cigarettes can.

Recall in the 1940's-and 50's smoking was cool and nobody thought they die early. Top EMFs with cell phone use and brain cancer rates might start to spike way up come 20--30 years from now.

Its a slight risk but a deadly risk if true, no thanks, I'm not a guinea pig.

EMF Protection for the Body While Traveling - A Must! Read

http://safespaceprotection.com/emf-health-risks/sources/electrostress-from-cars-vehicles.html

The electrical fields are even greater in hybrids, especially at low speeds, because that’s when the car draws on battery power and electric current (as opposed to gasoline combustion for higher speeds).

The powerful flow of electric current creates high levels of EMFs with dangerous magnetic fields. What’s more, power cables and batteries are usually situated mid-car, close to the driver and passenger seats.

Testing such cars for electric current can be eye-opening, not to mention alarming. Not only are these fields dangerously strong, but drivers typically spend a great deal of time behind the wheel. Reports of impaired health, most notably elevated blood pressure, are now starting to roll in.

 

[Cassini]

If you are concerned about EMFs, I wouldn't worry about electric cars. Cars actually are one of the most constrained EMF environments around, and an electric car runs on DC. Additionally, motor drives are optimized to minimize EMF, because EMFs cause motor losses which are a real expense.

EMFs fields are usually a function of 1/(r^4) because they are dipoles. This means they fall off with as a function of the radius to the fourth power. I would be concerned about EMF sources in much closer proximity to the human body, if I took EMFs seriously. A cell phone packs a great deal of energy close to the skin. Same with a laptop. Same with your TV, microwave, or just about any other high energy high frequency radiator. By comparison, electric cars are shielded to the n-th degree to meet other safety and regulatory requirements.

 

[antaeus]

As Cassini correctly describes, the quack fear mongering of electromagnetic fields' health affect is largely incorrect. However, one reason this quack fear mongering keeps coming up is that there is some evidence electromagnetic fields can affect cell health, but this evidence is very experimental and refuted by equal and opposite evidence that it's no issue.

Compare the quack fear mongering health warnings of electromagnetic fields with the completely proven evidence of ingesting known carcinogenic VOC hydrocarbon's, especially in the extrememly high and dangerous concentrations always present, when filling up your vehicle's gasoline tank.

 

[Cassini]

Compare the quack fear mongering health warnings of electromagnetic fields with the completely proven evidence of ingesting known carcinogenic VOC hydrocarbon's, especially in the extrememly high and dangerous concentrations always present, when filling up your vehicle's gasoline tank.

Microwave popcorn (especially during heating) is a known carcinogen. They had a major OSHA scare at the factory that makes the stuff, with a severe outbreak of cancer. One case of a customer contracting cancer was also published. (He was a large microwave popcorn eater.)

There are real health risks in commonly available products: Microwave Popcorn, Cadmium in children's jewellery, Lead Paint in countless products, VOC emissions from common products (gasoline, cleaning chemicals).

I wouldn't worry too much about EMFs from electric cars. Especially since I am yet to see an electric vehicle.

 

[Yoga Face]

Doesn't the majority of Canada's electricity get generated by hydro? Coal would be second of course, then nuclear if memory serves.

We in Ontario are blessed

There is only so much electricity and to make the vast quantities we will need throughout North America for electric cars will require coal plants. No way around it

Considering the economic and environmental cost of more coal plants and the building of newer more expensive cars plus the infastructure to run them ... well I wonder if all has been calculated to make sense the way biodisel turns a valuable food supply into fuel while the electricity to do so comes from coal plants ! WTF !

 

[OddSox]

Doesn't the majority of Canada's electricity get generated by hydro? Coal would be second of course, then nuclear if memory serves.

Nuclear Energy - 41%
Water Power - 25%
Coal or Oil - 25%
Natural Gas - 8%
Alternative Power Sources (solar, wind, biomass, waste) - 1%

http://www.orilliapower.ca/NewsandInformation/ProducingYourElectricity/tabid/76/Default.aspx

 

[anon1]

up here in the cold a 2 year old battery might start showing its old age

It's my understanding that these car are not using the conventional wet cell battery that we are all familiar with. And that heat is actually an enemy to their lifespan.

 

[Whosyodaddy]

Electric cars range is like seeing a dancer or SP.... YMMV... I wonder what the range is when it's -25 C and I leave the heater on for five minutes while I scrape the windows clean, and then leave the heater runnung for the duration of the trip. Oh yeah, it's night time, that means full lights on.. Oh yeah, it's snowing, so I guess I need the wipers. Oh yeah, I'm stuck in traffic, so all that is running while I'm not moving, so I'll run the radio to hear the traffic report... Oh yeah, the battery guage on the dash has just let me know that it's either shut down some of the drain on the batteries, or not make it home.... Oh yeah, I think I'll stick to either a hybrid or to a straight gas vehicle. Electric only, as an only source of transportation, just doesn't yet seem to be a viable option.

 

[anon1]

Electric only, as an only source of transportation, just doesn't yet seem to be a viable option.

Jay Leno, a highly respected car guy, says that alternative fueled cars don't have to be for everyone/everywhere. They just have to make a dent in the gasoline only population. Any fossil fuel savings means there's less needed for continued usage in transportation. Therefore, if California goes all electric, that's 10-20% less gas cars in North America. That would be signifigant.