comte
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From: Be'eri, Hadarom, Israel
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ORIGINAL: Paladin1dcs
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ORIGINAL: Onime No Kyo
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ORIGINAL: Chickenboy
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ORIGINAL: Apollo11
Hi all,
Question for our USA Thread brethren:
What do you guys (and your friends and family) think about new breed of electric cars - the Tesla "Model S" in particular with rather long range?
Is this something that can make a dent in today's predominant gas engine community?
Leo "Apollo11"
Hi Leo,
All-electrics are coming into their own, at long last. The Tesla-S is a great example of an all-electric vehicle with decent range and great handling. It's received good to excellent reviews and is practical for the driving habits of many (most?) Americans. It has the potential to be a real game changer.
EXCEPT for the fact that it's $80,000. No one (at least not in numbers) can afford it. You get the price tag down below $40,000 and people will start paying attention.
In the meantime, hybrids (gas-electric) are getting 44 (Civic) to 55 (Prius) MPG. American gasoline consumption has been decreasing for several years running now, in spite of what the media portrays.
Most people are pretty smart about it-the all-electrics are beyond the cost:value proposition for most Americans. Heck, most of the hybrids are too: the basic model Honda Civic (38 MPG) versus the Hybrid (44 MPG) isn't worth the $6,000 premium on a dollar cost averaging basis.
Nat Gas passenger vehicles would be really interesting to explore. Honda's had a Civic that runs on NG for some time. Cheap (relatively) clean fuel that has all sorts of range.
I keep coming back to the absurdity of US not utilizing NG more. I think I've mentioned before that every single gas station in Moldova sells NG. I was a bit disappointed that it wasnt the case if Europe-proper (I think Torsten said that he has an app to find locations near him) but here in the US I think the number of locations where you can get it can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
A large reason why you won't see NG used in vehicle traffic any time soon in the States is economics. Who's going to pay to build the infrastructure to support and fuel them, and how can it be done to still turn a profit? Considering the economic situation that most State governments find themselves in, having them built with State funds is not an option. Federal funds are just as tight, plus you have the Constitutional restrictions in place as well in that regards, so this only leaves private investors, who are mostly heavily invested in the oil industry. Most, if not all, businessmen are not going to intentionally build and strengthen a competing industry that would split their profits, especially if it's in an unproven technology.
The truth is that gasoline and diesel is going to be around for quite some time to come.
I wish we had NG cars here. When we visit the in-laws in Israel the cars they have run on NG and Gasoline we went from the Negev to the north of the country with sightseeing at our destination on our recent trip just using Natural gas. I think Paladin is right here we won't see it anytime soon here in the US. I think another factor he didn't mention is the fact that there is so much NG in the US with the rise of fracking that the stuff is so cheap its hard to make a profit as the price is dropping.
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But when Territories are acquired in regions where there are differences in language, customs, and laws then great good fortune and much hard work are required to hold them.
-Machiavelli, Il Principe, Book III-
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