Think gasoline is high?

[RonDawg]

Also, the cars I've most recently heard about had a 200 mile range on a four hour charge. Not a great road tripper but excellent for commuting in metro LA I would think.

According to the Wikipedia article about the GM EV-1 (which is arguably the most advanced of the ones available in the US), it was only capable of 55-95 miles on the VRLA (lead acid type) batteries, and 75-150 miles on NiMH batteries. The phrase "Your mileage may vary" definitely applies here, as most users had ranges that were closer to the low end. A "typical" LA commute is fast approaching 60 miles in each direction, with 100 miles not unheard of.

As far as charging, not only did it take 6-8 hours, but required the use of a special "paddle" type magnetic charging system; you simply couldn't plug it into a standard household (or even 220 volt) outlet. So on top of purchasing the car, you had to purchase part of the charging infrastructure to go with it, and hope your employer (and anybody else you would visit with the car) does the same.

The Honda EV Plus and Toyota RAV-4 EV was similar to the GM EV-1 in range, with a slightly shorter charge time (5 hours). The Ford Ranger Electric had even worse range with longer charging times, not surprising as it's lugging a heavier vehicle with often heavier loads. The Toyota and the Ford used a similar magnetic charging system to the EV-1's, I'm not sure about the Honda.

While it would work for most people's commuting needs, people were loathe to buy (or in almost all cases, lease) a car that would ONLY work for commuting and nothing else. You can't use it to go to the beach, or the park, or grandma's house, unless they were very close by (round trip within the range restrictions) or had the necessary charging infrastructure. Plus, the leases at least matched that in price of an ordinary car, and sometimes were that of a luxury car. Most people couldn't have it as their only car, and couldn't afford having a "normal" car as a standby on top of owning the electric.

 

[paolov]

ETHANOL , the by-product would be used to feed animals.... the byproduct to produce more of them plants where ethanol came from


.

 

[cstreu1026]

ETHANOL , the by-product would be used to feed animals.... the byproduct to produce more of them plants where ethanol came from


.

And thanks to increased demand and speculators driving the price up it is more expensive than gasoline right now. The whole sale price I found for today was $3.11 per gallon. In contast gasoline was trading at just $2.28/gallon.

 

[D_B]

And thanks to increased demand and speculators driving the price up it is more expensive than gasoline right now. The whole sale price I found for today was $3.11 per gallon. In contast gasoline was trading at just $2.28/gallon.

The key phrase here is "right now"
Ethanol does not have the infrastructure that gasoline enjoys right now, and ... gas will continue go up in price, and I bet at far higher rate then ethanol will

 

[nauifins73]

The key phrase here is "right now"
Ethanol does not have the infrastructure that gasoline enjoys right now, and ... gas will continue go up in price, and I bet at far higher rate then ethanol will

I'm not so sure about that. Ethanol requires tractors, fertilizer, combines, Semis, and the processing requires a very high heat - how do they get that? My bet is from natural gas. Then it is trucked out in semis and all of that equipment probably is fueled by gas or diesel.

Maybe I am prejudice but I don't find the Oil Companies and gasoline the evil that they are made out to be. Forget the gas - lets do without any plastics - one of the major products of petroleum.

 

[paolov]

And thanks to increased demand and speculators driving the price up it is more expensive than gasoline right now. The whole sale price I found for today was $3.11 per gallon. In contast gasoline was trading at just $2.28/gallon.

speculators or railroaders ... from texas perhaps


in brazil they got 80% ethanol engines....

.

 

[Trever]

Maybe I am prejudice but I don't find the Oil Companies and gasoline the evil that they are made out to be. Forget the gas - lets do without any plastics - one of the major products of petroleum.

O no don't say that, I work for a plastic manufacturer:mooner:... but on the bright side they are building two ethanol plants right down the road.

 

[Tamas]

[Cheech & Chong voice] It's all just a huge conspiracy maaaan! The big companies just want to get you and take our dope away maaaan![/Cheech & Chong voice]

 

[Sasquatch]

:lol:

Far out, man!

 

[Tamas]

You Think A Gallon Of Gas Is Expensive? To put things in perspective....

Diet Snapple 16 oz $1.29 -- $10.32 per gallon
Lipton Ice Tea 16 oz $1.19 -- $9.52 per gallon
Gatorade 20 oz $1.59 -- $10.17 per gallon
Ocean Spray 16 oz $1.25 -- $10 .00 per gallon
Brake Fluid 12 oz $3.15 -- $33.60 per gallon
Vick's Nyquil 6 oz $8.35 -- $178.13 per gallon
Pepto Bismol 4 oz $3.85 -- $123.20 per gallon
Whiteout 7 oz $1.39 -- $25.42 per gallon
Scope 1.5 oz $0.99 -- $84.48 per gallon

and this is the REAL KICKER......

Evian water 9 oz for $1.49 -- $21.19 per gallon $21.19 FOR WATER! ....and the buyers don't even know the source!

So, the next time you're at the pump, be glad your car doesn't run on water, Scope, or Whiteout, or Heaven forbid, PEPTO BISMOL or NYQUIL!!!! Just a little humor to help ease the pain of your next trip to the pump.

Although all those numbers can be quite scary, I think the biggest problem people have paying what they pay at the pumps is the amount at one time. How often do you buy 20 gallons worth of Scope or WhiteOut? (I think I still have the same bottle of the correction fluid from 5 years ago) so when the numbers add up it's a different feeling. When you pump and see the $$$$ flying for something you know you will have to do again in 2-3 days it hurts more then shelling out a buck and a half for a tasty drink or snack here and there. Currently the gas prices in Toronto are above the $1.0 mark for a liter (that is close to $4/gallon) and the scary thing is seeing the $$$ move faster then the liters pumped and when you are done being presented with a $70 bill!.....it's all relative to the amounts you buy and how often.

And as far as the gas issue is concerned, forget Electric/Hybrid cars - they all take more energy (one way or another) to recharge and operate then their gasser counterparts, and they are only viable in the city -- the solution is diesel, same power, same performance and about 30-40% less consumption -- so why do we not see more diesels in NA? It's funny how Europe and Asia and 90% of the world all run them, just NAs are afraid of them for some reason.