Electric car poll

[fabian]

Hello members.

A friend has asked me to have a poll on this question.

He is developing a business plan and needs your help.

This is the pool question:

If there were electric car recharging points within 10 minutes of your departure/destination and the travel distance within the range of the car, would you consider using an electric car for your daily commute/frequent journey?

Please select the answer that most represents your position.

YES - Definitely
YES - If the electricity used was from 100% renewable sources
YES - Subject to purchase and running costs
NO - The lack of flexibility would put me off
NO - Lower top speeds put me off electric cars
NO - Never

[Shadomoon]

Absolutely! If that type of thing could be gotten in even a 1/4 of the locations that gas stations are on, that would rock!

Within 4 blocks of me I have 3 gas stations, it is soooo sad!

[marwijam]

I too would certainly use any available plug-in device, however, ideally I would want one to be available within a street or two of my home. Walking more than 3min would quickly become a deterrent. If local councils could be
encouraged to supply plug-in devices within 3-5min walk of every residential area, or better yet, allow fixed parking spaces for EV users infront or near their homes, than it would make it much easier for EV users, to plug the devices into their own home electrical mains. There are many residential areas, where some sort of plug-in device that leads from a private residence to the curb would be usable. One thing I can't understand, is why the batteries themselves can't be inserted and removed in a quick and easy fashion, say at petrol stations. This would ensure that the oil companies maintain their revenue and relevance, through the leasing and re-charging of batteries, which could refocus them from selling fossil fuel energy, and give them a sustainable future (not that their survival bothers me in any way).

[Monikamm@mac.com]

THis is a pretty biased audience.. not sure if it's appropriate to use this poll for his business plan!

[fabian]

Hi Monika,

Yes you are right. This is a very biased audience of course.

My friend wants to use this audience to get a feel which of the three yes options are the most popular.

And it shows at least after 19 votes that the cost factor is still the most important factor for people. Even for people with an environmental mindset.

I hope this helps.

Fabian

[biker]

I guess everyone can say that this is a definate "YES" so far!

How might be the one who voted NO!

biker

[daybrown]

What would work is if you had a golf cart within a mile or so of a railway. Drive to the train, drive your golf cart onto a flat car, and ride that into the metro hub where you can drive off to wherever else you want to go, and have chargers on both ends.

*IF* the train is also high speed, and gets people downtown in half the time, its a nobrainer. Their initial cost for the cart is way lower than any car, but they can still run their laptop and cell phone while riding the train. And they dont *ever* have to take their fat asses outside in the rain or cold.

[Martin]

I like your style daybrown!

[daybrown]

Well thanx Martin, but let me add that I first posted this idea on the net several years ago. The idea went no where then, nor will it now. What is perhaps useful, is to consider why not, which has very little to do with technology, and much to do with the way people think.... if that's what you call it.

By and large, at this point, this is all an academic exercise intructive only in how pervasive the group think, that in this case sells high powered ego trips to get caught in traffic with. Wise leadership mite yet be able to make the transition twards a more sustainable system, but you cant get very far ahead of the electorate and still get elected. Look back at John Anderson's campaign.

Where electric vehicles will come into their own, is after economic crisis cuts off the flow of imported oil, and the survivors of that crisis look into what data on that technology they still have access to in an effort to convert whatever equipment they have locally.

The strategies will vary. My own neck of Ozark woods has often been a net exporter of electricity from all the hydroelectric dams. There is a large supply of ATVs that could be converted into lite electric vehicles. The county seats were located to make day trips for shopping feasible with draft animals, about 12 miles, which would be within electric ATV range as well.

The mineral deposits near Silver Hill and Lead hill are still there, those mines could be reopened, and with hydro electic, the furnaces could again produce lead for batteries. The ore is also 'contaminated' with a litle silver.

So- this is the kind of future I expect for electric vehicles, where entrepreneurs will look at the local need and the local resource base to work something out without waiting for bankers, Wall Street, or DC to figure it out.

BTW: I am increasingly annoyed with the system timing out while I consider a post, and then cancelling everything I had written. I am not much for "quick" replies, preferring to ponder what a person posted and making sure I understood all the relevant points as I compose a response. This damn window is too small also to allow me to make sure the post is reasonably coherent.

Feel free to contact me in private email; my server is hughes.net if you want me to give your posts the attention they deserve.

[Ann Vole]

My problems with electric vehicles are as follows:

by far the most important factor in efficient vehicles is weight and current battery technologies are all rather heavy (or the range is real wimpy)

Most battery technologies use toxic chemicals or at least dangerous chemicals in the event of an accident

Most battery types do not last very long so as far as a sustainable vehicle (one that will last decades or centuries instead of a few dozen months) the batteries are not a good choice for long term vehicle life.

You still need to make the electricity to charge the vehicle and current electrical grid systems are very inefficient and generally powered by burning fuels anyways... much more efficient to burn the fuel in the vehicle then far away from the charge site.