Reincarnation (of the Electric Car)

Iria · Jun 24, 2006, 08:17 PM

Source: Newsweek
___________
June 21, 2006 - The topical and transfixing new documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car?" opens with a funeral. It's both appropriate and, given the new enthusiasm for electric-car technology in Silicon Valley, a tad too pessimistic. The mourners, a crowd dotted with environmental activists and Hollywood luminaries, are paying their respects to a remarkable automobile: General Motors' sleek, silent, emissionless EV-1, which the company pulled off the market in 2003.

The film, which premiers on June 30, investigates the rise and fall of electric cars over the last decade. In 1990, the state of California attempted to scrub its smoggy air with the "Zero Emissions Vehicle" mandate, which ordered automakers to make electric cars a rising percentage of their sales if they wanted to continue doing business in the state. The automakers responded, not unexpectedly, by lobbying against the initiative. Publicly, they played along and introduced cleaner vehicles to the marketplace. The cars, such as GM's EV-1 (introduced in 1996) and Toyota's RAV4 EV, plugged into wall outlets, ran on electricity and could go 70 to 80 miles before they needed a recharge.

Matth · Jun 25, 2006, 06:56 PM

A friend (vegetarian) said at the peak of the BSE crisis "being vegetarian has never been smarter".

The way fuel prices are heading, even in countries without crippling fuel taxes, maybe the same could be said of electric cars.

ChrisW · Jun 25, 2006, 11:34 PM

The problem with electric cars is the source of the electricity. Electric transfers across power lines is way less efficient than burning fossil fuels (~20% efficiency). Also, most electric power plants burn way more fossil fuels to generate that power than would have been used in a normal car.

Matth · Jun 26, 2006, 11:03 PM

Good point - electric cars do not solve the energy problem, but can draw on a much wider range of sources - also moving pollution problems to where the power is generated. One big thing in places with high taxes on road vehicle fuels - electric cars are a legal way to use lower tax fuel.

In stop/start congestion, electric (or some hybrid modes), has a massive advantage... I have yet to be convinced that autostop / autostart of a petrol engine is sufficiently reliable to be a valid alternative.

Jun 24, 2006, 08:17 PM	#1
Iria DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 7,275 Rep Power: 87	Reincarnation (of the Electric Car) Source: Newsweek ___________ June 21, 2006 - The topical and transfixing new documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car?" opens with a funeral. It's both appropriate and, given the new enthusiasm for electric-car technology in Silicon Valley, a tad too pessimistic. The mourners, a crowd dotted with environmental activists and Hollywood luminaries, are paying their respects to a remarkable automobile: General Motors' sleek, silent, emissionless EV-1, which the company pulled off the market in 2003. The film, which premiers on June 30, investigates the rise and fall of electric cars over the last decade. In 1990, the state of California attempted to scrub its smoggy air with the "Zero Emissions Vehicle" mandate, which ordered automakers to make electric cars a rising percentage of their sales if they wanted to continue doing business in the state. The automakers responded, not unexpectedly, by lobbying against the initiative. Publicly, they played along and introduced cleaner vehicles to the marketplace. The cars, such as GM's EV-1 (introduced in 1996) and Toyota's RAV4 EV, plugged into wall outlets, ran on electricity and could go 70 to 80 miles before they needed a recharge.

Jun 25, 2006, 06:56 PM	#2
Matth Flash Banner Hater Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: UK Posts: 3,410 Rep Power: 91 System Specs	A friend (vegetarian) said at the peak of the BSE crisis "being vegetarian has never been smarter". The way fuel prices are heading, even in countries without crippling fuel taxes, maybe the same could be said of electric cars. __________________ Mary had a little lamb, Her father shot it dead Now Mary takes her lamb to school, Between two crusts of bread

Jun 26, 2006, 11:03 PM	#4
Matth Flash Banner Hater Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: UK Posts: 3,410 Rep Power: 91 System Specs	Good point - electric cars do not solve the energy problem, but can draw on a much wider range of sources - also moving pollution problems to where the power is generated. One big thing in places with high taxes on road vehicle fuels - electric cars are a legal way to use lower tax fuel. In stop/start congestion, electric (or some hybrid modes), has a massive advantage... I have yet to be convinced that autostop / autostart of a petrol engine is sufficiently reliable to be a valid alternative. __________________ Mary had a little lamb, Her father shot it dead Now Mary takes her lamb to school, Between two crusts of bread

Jun 25, 2006, 11:34 PM	#3
ChrisW DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 332 Rep Power: 0	The problem with electric cars is the source of the electricity. Electric transfers across power lines is way less efficient than burning fossil fuels (~20% efficiency). Also, most electric power plants burn way more fossil fuels to generate that power than would have been used in a normal car.