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Hybrid Vehicles Hybrid Vehicles - Archived Discussions Will ethanol E85 catch on in the US? Will we Live Green and Go Yellow? 
2104 messages, Last post on Oct 27, 2006 at 5:34 AM
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Replying to: tpe (Jun 22, 2006 1:41 pm) Do all that, and you're still nowhere close to 1%. If that got you to even 0.05% of the market, I'd be surprised. The market is a great tool, because it helps to sort out the wheat (reality) from the chaff (dreamy idealism.) Capitalists want to make money, and you don't see them in this space. You can bet that this segment has been analyzed to death by many, many people looking for great opportunities. It is almost certain that there's a really good reason why none of the smart money is investing in it. |
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Replying to: tpe (Jun 22, 2006 1:35 pm) And what was the cost to the manufacturer for the EV1 and RAV4 EV? Could this be one reason GM and Toyota canceled the program?
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Replying to: socala4 (Jun 22, 2006 11:55 am) You really should read your posts. They sound like a broken record. You are assuming you understand the average buyer. I don't think you are even close. There are now out of this small group 3 posters that would buy and use an electric vehicle for all the short haul stuff. Saving at least 3/4 of the cost per mile using a comparable sized gas car.
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Replying to: gagrice (Jun 22, 2006 2:08 pm) But why not buy a plug-in hybrid instead so it could be treated as an electric vehicle for all the short haul stuff AND be useful for longer ranges? If one wanted to treat it as an EV vehicle they could. It would just have the added insurance of an onboard ICE.
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Replying to: gagrice (Jun 22, 2006 2:08 pm) I don't need to understand the average buyer, I just need to look at what they're buying, and why they buy it. They had decades to buy the diesels that you so passionately adore, but they have never done it, whether or not they had the opportunity. Take the hint, that message is loud and clear. There are now out of this small group 3 posters that would buy and use an electric vehicle for all the short haul stuff. The devotees are the ones posting on this thread. Of course they will skew toward the pro-alternative crowd, that's why they're posting here. You should ask yourself who isn't posting here. The average person who buys cars couldn't care less about any of this stuff. I'm sure you'll find several thousand Americans who want electric cars, but that isn't enough to create a market, which is fairly obvious given that there is no market today despite the existence of these cars for many years.
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Replying to: rorr (Jun 22, 2006 2:08 pm) It could have been. They were expensive. Same as batteries for a hybrid. The money saved on the gas engine and complex transmission could buy enough batteries to travel an extra 100 miles. I do think we will need better batteries for mainstream EVs. I would be an early adopter of an EV. Talk about loss of range the E85 FFV range is nothing to write home about. A Dodge Stratus using E85 has about a 200 mile range in town and a little over 300 on the highway.
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Replying to: gagrice (Jun 22, 2006 2:18 pm) Sure, but when a E85 FFV gets low on gas, what do you do? Pull into a gas station and 5 minutes later you're on your way again. Simple. Um, can't do that with EV's.
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Replying to: rorr (Jun 22, 2006 2:21 pm) Um, can't do that with EV's. I've got a patent pending on the Fifty Mile Extension Cord™, which will allow you to keep the car plugged in within that radius of your home or office. We haven't sorted out how exactly to keep it from getting tangled with semi-trucks, house pets and power-lines, but our engineers are working on it. Problem solved. Or, maybe not...
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Replying to: socala4 (Jun 22, 2006 2:15 pm) Where were these electric cars available for years? I have never seen them for sale only lease through exclusive offerings. Or are back to the diesel cars being widely available? I have tried to buy a VW diesel off and on since 1978. They were always order and wait. The last time in CA was 2002. You could still get one if you ordered it and waited. Well I was not going to buy something without giving it a test drive. So if that is what you consider widely available I guess we just disagree. The fact you have glossed over is that 40% of the new Jettas sold are diesel. That without one sold in CA. Your negative views on diesel make me wonder what you would propose to save on fossil fuel.
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Replying to: socala4 (Jun 22, 2006 2:25 pm) You make problems where they do not exist. I have a Lexus LS400 that has not gone over 12 miles from home for the last 5 years. An electric vehicle that would go 30 miles would be just as good & cost a lot less to drive those 12 miles. |
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