Owen778

Interesting, thanks. Though I suspect there's either some element of bluff in there too, or it was a statement based on sixty-dollar oil, not thirty five.

dj6372

Maxi's or local ladies?

Anyway it sounds like you know the area very well!!

Pulaski

I think you may be allowing your love of electric vehicles to color your opinion.

Future reality is likely somewhere between my expectations and yours, but I have inertia on my side. People will change for a better product, but currently electric cars are clearly not a better product for most people. It will be interesting to see how much that changes in the coming years.

mrken30

I asked my friend what he thought of his leaf and this was his reply

Yes, I liked driving my leaf very much, but there were a few limitations: 1. The realistic driving range is 50 miles on a charge 2. You need to charge the car in your garage or somewhere with a modern 3 prong outlet 3. Get the quick charge model, since you never know if you might forget to charge the car 4. You need a second car for long trips For me, it was a perfect car for commuting 27 miles per day!!! A lot of fun to drive. And driving an electric car is one of the two material things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint (I'm no vegan).

CelticRover

Depending how and where the electricity came from, the carbon footprint may or may not be reduced in an electric car. Coal fired plants for example, still pollute in order to charge batteries.

dj6372

Nissan Leaf or Hammerhead Eagle i-Thrust

Bob

I don't know what they're like to maintain, but from a short trip in one, seemed okay.

One benefit to them in Boston, at least is the plenty of reserved spots at the T parking lots for electric cars up front, which includes ability to charge up in the parking fee.

Steerpike

I have no personal love of any particular vehicle or vehicle type; as you should note from my other posts, I drive a Honda CR-V (aka ultra boring), and am looking to buy a Lexus because it is smooth, quiet, and comfortable. I will drive whatever gets me to my destination in comfort and peace. Since I personally drive 750-mile non-stop runs between SF and PHX every month, I'm probably the last person to consider an EV. I just think the technology is inevitable.

sir_eccles

To suggest battery and motor technology hasn't progressed would be a bit silly when comparing those two.

dj6372

Actually I just realised I'm an arse, that quality vehicle is in fact a sort of hybrid!

It has a diesel engine for back up to charge the batteries, but not to power said vehicle

petitefrancaise

OH has gone off for a week of hard slog at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. Just about all of the car manufacturers will be showing some kind of electric vehicle prototype.. including porsche. They obviously think that this is the direction we're all heading.

Someone posted the idea of being able to swap out the batteries for a charged one.. what a great idea! I know that Renault's business model for their electric car in france (a Nissan Leaf with a Renault badge) was that you leased the battery and had it replaced as necessary. IIRC their lease fee for this was $50 a month.

sir_eccles

You're thinking of its predecessor Geoff which was battery only. According to
the internets the Hammerhead had a 3.37 bhp 19-battery 96-volt DC electric motor whereas the Leaf has a 110hp synchronous AC motor with a 24kWh lithium ion battery.

S Folinsky

A similar situation exists with telephones. A celluar system is easier to install rather than putting a wired system from scratch. In natural disasters [or not so natural, eg "9-11"], it is easier to get the cell system up than with the wired system.

Pulaski

You realize, don't you, that manufacturers like Porsche, Ferrari, and McLaren are interested in "hybrid" vehicles because they can add 200+ hp to a car that already has a 400-600hp engine, making it a 600-800hp car that is a lot faster and/or accelerate faster? Some such super cars can also run on their electric motors alone, so they can be driven by their millionaire owners into restricted areas like central London as a "zero emission" car. When I was Googling info about the Leaf a few days ago I think I saw that the battery leasing scheme had been abandoned.

S Folinsky

For what its worth, my father went to sea in 1945 and his ship had "turbo-electric" power. The steam plant ran a generator which in turn ran a motor. [And no, it was not a submarine].