Electric car? (Page 5): Ah, the old perpetual motion machine.... That's the ticket. Personally, I wish the car companies would release the carburetor that ran on water they stole from...

BigDaddy Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

JoeN wrote:

If someone could develop a grill mounted fan or fan system that was efficient enough at highway speeds to power an alternator capable of charging the batteries, then an electric car could have an unlimited cruising distance.

Ah, the old perpetual motion machine.... That's the ticket. Personally, I wish the car companies would release the carburetor that ran on water they stole from some wild inventor in the fifties, just to keep gas guzzlers on the road...

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

toxdoc42 wrote:

That article, as reported by you, seems very outda... (show quote)

SUV and big pickup sales (and the average speeds over the limit on highways) are inversely related to gasoline prices. Every time gas prices fall, my brother in law buys one and gets a speeding ticket. Every time they rise, he buys an econobox and drives a bit more slowly.

How many times do people REALLY *need* 8-passenger seating, or a $50,000 utility truck that gets 12 MPG/City? Most don’t. They just like driving them aggressively (and otherwise empty) while showing off their high credit lines.

It’s sad to see Ford and GM and Chrysler get so much so wrong so often.

Steve F Loc: Draper, Utah

We bought a Prius plug-in hybrid a year ago and it's been great. I only buy gas about every 1000 - 1500 miles. The range depends on how how much we use it on short range electric powered trips vs gasoline powered trips. It has an electric range of about 25 miles per charge. The gasoline range is about 550-600 miles. The total range is much higher when we charge it every night. The first 25 miles of every trip is electric and then switches to gas where it also runs very efficiently. It's a very nice, comfortable and very fuel efficent vehicle.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Steve F wrote:

We bought a Prius plug-in hybrid a year ago and it... (show quote)

toxdoc42

BigDaddy wrote:

How about we remove the $.41 a gallon tax on gas, ... (show quote)

Actually the amount of mercury in a compact fluorescent is tiny. They didn't make it though because of the problem with warm up and that LESs are so much more efficient without and warm up needed.

bodiebill

Have you factored in the environmental cost of battery manufacturing in China?
Low Chinese labor cost and environment hazard are major factors in the cost of battery manufacturing.
China has some of the worst environmental protection practices in the world.
Just look at the excessive use of coal generated electricity in their country.
The air quality is sub-standard, and also the manufacturing environmental standards.
Free charging stations?? You pay for it! Where does that electricity come from?
It is a hugely subsidized industry as are the wind generators and solar systems.
The cost of automotive air pollution equipment and fuel is borne by the consumer, not subsidized!
Progress and innovation are good, that is how we improve products and services. But not at a government subsidized cost (tax).
Nothing is free from Washington DC.

BigDaddy Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

toxdoc42 wrote:

Actually the amount of mercury in a compact fluorescent is tiny. They didn't make it though because of the problem with warm up and that LESs are so much more efficient without and warm up needed.

They didn't make it because they were crap, and no one would buy them w/o the big brother mandate. LED's are awesome and need no big brother mandate to sell. Electric cars are the same. When they are better than gas, no government subsidy will be needed. It's how the free market works.

berchman Loc: South Central PA

BigDaddy wrote:

They didn't make it because they were crap, and no one would buy them w/o the big brother mandate. LED's are awesome and need no big brother mandate to sell. Electric cars are the same. When they are better than gas, no government subsidy will be needed. It's how the free market works.

I've got 150W fluorescent coil bulbs lighting my basement. They are bright and save money over 150W incandescents. I couldn't find 150W LED's to screw into ordinary sockets. Crap?

BigDaddy Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

berchman wrote:

I've got 150W fluorescent coil bulbs lighting my basement. They are bright and save money over 150W incandescents. I couldn't find 150W LED's to screw into ordinary sockets. Crap?

Bummer. Amazon sells them, so I reckon you can get them anywhere. If they are anything like Led 60 WATT equivalents, they are brighter than 150W incandecents, and only use 23W...

https://tinyurl.com/y44rlxwp

berchman Loc: South Central PA

BigDaddy wrote:

Bummer. Amazon sells them, so I reckon you can get them anywhere. If they are anything like Led 60 WATT equivalents, they are brighter than 150W incandecents, and only use 23W...

https://tinyurl.com/y44rlxwp

Thanks for the link. I’ll get them as the fluorescents burn out.

toxdoc42

berchman wrote:

Thanks for the link. I’ll get them as the fluorescents burn out.

I have them in my house. I bought them at Home Depot and Costco. They are pricey and don't last as long as predicted. But, you can put a much brighter bulb into a fixture than ever before. The prior limitation was to prevent fires from drawing so much power and the fixture heating up neither factor exists with leds.

Flyerace Loc: Mt Pleasant, WI

My sister bought the high end Tesla in 2017. What get up and go that car has. Expanded roof line, big screen computer monitor. When you hit the "gas" pedal, that thing flies. It just doesn't have the endurance to make it from one of her houses to the other. She has to stop at a donut shop to have a cup of coffee and a charge. When they are done, the car has enough power to make it the final leg to their house. Great ride. At $160,000 it is a little out of my price point, but they have every extra on it and they love it. That's all that counts.

I also have friends in Idaho that have the high end Model s and the Model X (suv). They both love them. It is 2 hours to get to Boise from where they live and the autodrive mode does all the work. They have not had to override the autodrive yet.

arden1939

Current stock primarily Golf Carts...