Want a plug-in car? Get in line - apparently they can't build 'em fast enough

Not to threadjack, and perhaps this should be moved, but since it was brought up earlier...

If we ever get to a point where we (the U.S., Canada, other Western car-loving countries) do not need Mid East oil so much, won't that basically kill the economies of those countries? And won't that piss them off something fierce, to the point of starting wars? And aren't many of those countries now nuclear, and obviously unstable? Isn't that something that should be worth planning for?

I'm not saying we should keep using oil for the safety of the world, I just want to discuss the fact that it probably won't be all roses and rainbows when we get off oil, or at least significantly reduce demand for it.

 

Most of the Middle East's oil goes to Russia and China anyway. The West getting off oil might do something to the prices and they might not be happy, but it won't kill their economies unless those other two countries do it.

 

The additional engine is the decision to intentionally' limit the range' to which I was referring.
Also, some insiders have said GM didn't lose as much as they claimed developing the EV1. Also, the fedferal government at the time was paying out large sums to manufacturers via the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles and the U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium.
I'm not saying GM didn't lose money. I'm saying they didn't lose as much as they reported on it. I think wanted it to fail, in order to help knock down the unrealistic zero-emissions regulations that were pending.
Further, if the current generation of battery-powered cars proves viable, GM's loss in the 1990s is R&D cost.

 

Cool-looking, yes. But God help you the first time some idiot runs a red light as you're passing through the same intersection.
Plus, it looks like a shoe. What kind of a man drives a shoe?

 

I'm not understanding how the gas engine counts as intentionally limiting range.

 

Do you really think that money trickles down to the masses?

 

Do you really think the masses are the ones who make the decision to go to war?

 

Added weight.

 

Yeah, it adds weight, but the gas engine that adds weight also makes the range workable for people who need to go more than 100-ish miles on a charge.

 

It reduces the range because it's heavy.

Also, the Tesla has a 300-mile range.

 

Read today that GM bought stake in Powermat...likely paving way for wireless charging of vehicles like the Volt. Also, the the console of the Volt will include a Powermat for charging phones and other devices cordlessly.

 

And that's what gives me hope. From what I understand, their charge time is 8 hours on a 220 plug (like what powers a dryer), not a 110 (what powers most else.) However, a Tesla would run you around six figures.

The technology is there, and one would figure that at least that's partly what has made the cost so much more. Technology always gets better and the older stuff gets cheaper.