[GRLUG] OFF TOPIC Electric Car

[John-Thomas Richards]

On Mon, Dec 01, 2008 at 04:46:41PM -0500, Bob Kline wrote:
> Right to the point.  Asking an
> electric car to be just like a gasoline
> powered one is what ends up making
> them so expensive.  I rarely drive more
> than 25 miles in my day to day wanderings,
> so a car that even got 35 miles on a charge
> would satisfy my needs 99% of the time.
> One could either have a conventional car
> for extended trips, or, if those are infrequent,
> just rent a car for those occasions.
> 
> Having a car specifically for in-town, short
> trips, would likely keep the price down.  One
> could even entertain the notion longer term
> of an on-board, tiny gas or diesel generator
> that would run as much as necessary to
> supply additional miles.  Or just plug the thing
> in somewhere now and then.  Or just haul one's
> little Honda generator along on those days when,
> say, they need to go 30 miles....
> 
> Your notion of the golf cart with a fiber glass
> shell is very much to the point.  Get a car that
> really fulfils your needs - which very few people
> seem to actually do - and the costs could be
> very low.  Oh, and make your second car a
> one-ton, one-liter, gas powered model, and you'll
> get 40 mpg even in town.  I know.  I have one.

I'm with you, Bob, but that ain't gonna fly for most people.  Most
people will not buy a car that only gets 35 miles per charge.  What
if...what if...what if...?  This is anecdotal, but my wife keeps her van
full.  That is, she fills up when she gets to half a tank or so because,
well, YOU NEVER KNOW.  What if one of the kids gets hurt?  What if I
have to [insert unexpected need]?  I suspect there are many, many people
like that in this world.  I can drive 30 miles *in-town* on errands.  I
live in the near-northeast.  Gotta run to Costco.  That's about ten
miles—one way.  That's 20 miles round trip.  Hey, wanna stop by
such-and-such store on the way home?  Can't; charge is running low.
Such a car would need to get over 100 miles per charge for it to be
really practical.  Having a second car is a good idea, except it would
quickly become the only car used.  Why take the extremely-limited-range
car to Costco when, well, YOU NEVER KNOW.  People don't want to have to
calculate the number of miles they anticipate driving before deciding
which car to take.

[snip]
-- 
john-thomas
------
As a well spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy
death.
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)