Are electric cars NOT the answer to these high gas prices!?

Question

A lot of people in this section seem to not be very supportive of the electric car, they bash the idea a lot, and keep saying things like buy a horse, walk, ride a bike, drive more carefully.

These things are no the answer, they are just an annoying hindrance, they hold you back from being as normally functional of getting around like what you did before gas was expensive.

Come one electric cars MUST be the answer. Maybe the engineers will greatly improve them in just 6 months. You should be able to drive around and get around just as normally and effectively as before gas was expensive, or else you live under an annoying hindrance of decreased transporation.

Answer 1

High fuel prices may just be something you'll have to learn to live with, especially as we move away from carbon (which we must do due to global warming concerns).

Right now though hydrocarbon fuels (mainly petrol, diesel, kerosene) are simply the best we have for transportation purposes in terms of performance, ease of handling and reasonable safety, electric works for cars but with less range and a much longer recharge time which can reduce convenience.  At the moment most electric cars are hybrids which use an electric motor to allow for a more efficient petrol engine to be used (and allow that engine to be operated in a more efficient manner), unless we go all electric I'd expect to see that become much more common.

Improvements in battery technology could help electric cars a lot although hydrogen and synthetic hydrocarbons are also a possibility as an oil replacement (well the last one is more artificial oil).  Ultimately though we haven't solved the problem of finding a replacement for fossil fuels for transportation purposes (except for large ships which can be nuclear powered and trains that can be electrified and then just use the solution to electricity like the French TGV).

About the only thing plausible that could possibly replace the car is personal rapid transit (whereby a grid of guideways is built with offline stations and small computer controlled vehicles carry from one to a few occupants to any other point) which may be able to handle most car journeys better than a car but right now no full scale PRT system has been built.

As for a lot of the other things proposed, walking is good for short distances (but not very long distances and the spacing of public transport in most places is too far for walking to always be viable), driving more carefully (and in higher gear) can provide a decent improvement in fuel economy, but bikes lack stability and horses are even worse for the environment than cars (and only acceptable now because they are used pretty much solely for recreation by a small minority of people) as well as expensive to feed (back in day when the horse and cart dominated transportation a lot of people were abusing their horses).  Public transportation which is often suggested is useful but it does have a severe lack of flexibility (to the point at which it is for those without a car and those who want to go to the city which probably has horrible traffic congestion).

Answer 2

Electric cars are not the answer right now - the technology is not very advanced yet.  With the exception of the Tesla super-car that most of us can't afford, there are no good electric cars.  Most do not meet federal crash safety standards, so their speeds are limited to 25 mph.  Most have a range of 30 to 50 miles.  I couldn't even go to work and back.  

The good news is that most if not all major manufacturers and dozens of start-ups are working on improving the technology because of high fuel prices.  We should see reasonably priced electrics in the near with decent performance in the near future.

Answer 3

Electric cars have a lot of problems, mainly range and re-charging times, yes I know of one car that claims 200+ miles on a charge and that you can get an 80% charge in 15 minutes, but that cars cost $100,000+. The type of electric car that the average Joe can afford has at best a 100 mile range, now when you add cold, (I talking cold think -0) you lose about half that, then add the heater, light, etc and suddenly that 100 range is down to 30 maybe.  If given a choice between a gas power car, or an electric on which would you choose? The gas power one that can be fully recharged (refueled) in minuets or one that takes hours to recharge, one that has a range of about 300 miles or one that has a short range (less than 100 miles). When you compare electric cars to gas powered cars you’ll quickly find out the gas power gives you many more options than an electric car. I can go on short trips long trips, tow a boat, a trailer, etc, I don’t have those option with an electric car.

You state “they hold you back from being as normally functional of getting around like what you did before gas was expensive.” An electric car won’t let you function like you did before gas was expensive. See above, at best, right now, an electric car is for warm climates and short trips.

“Come one electric cars MUST be the answer.”

Maybe, maybe not, there are many things in the works, take algae oil for example, there are test plants operating right now to act as POC. If it does work we could replace ALL our transportation needs with algae oil.

I’m betting there won’t be one answer but many; we might see electric cars in use in bigger cities. And those people might rent a gas powered car for trip. We might see car sharing, where a groups of people own one or two big gas cars and use them when the electric car won’t or can’t do the job.

Also I’m not willing to put all my eggs in one basket, I want as many options as we can get, and electric cars may be one of those options, but I’m not going to limit myself by saying they must be the answer.

Answer 4

Electric cars are absolutely the answer to high gas prices.  The technology is advancing rapidly, they require zero gas (or little gas, in the case of plug-in hybrids), and they have many other benefits like producing much lower emissions as well.  See link below.

Answer 5

I have sent so many damned letters to my congressman about making all new houses produce 30% of there energy from renewables. Then nobody is going to charge 50 cents a volt for my damned power bill.

Answer 6

It would be an answer in the cities I believe but in my area an electric car cannot get around the mountains (West Virginian mountains to be exact) The cars around here would use all their power getting up one mountain so it wouldn't be a very good investment. However, if I lived in a city I would support them for public and private transportation.

Answer 7

The problem with electric cars is that while you don't spend money on gas you do have to spend money on electricity.  I would like to see some data on how much a person spends a month to charge an electric car.

Answer 8

Electric plug in cars are NOT the long term answer. What is needed is a better HYDROGEN fuel cell car and cars that can run on alternative fuels like BUTANOL derivatives.

Answer 9

If everyone switched to electric cars, the price of gasoline would drop to $1.5/gallon.  The price of electricity would go to $.50/kw-hr, making the electrics more expensive to operate and since their fuel source is from coal (or 50% coal), making them just a "dirty" as a gasoline engine.

I do support the use of the small short range vehicles in areas where they make since, however, if you use one of these small cars and get injured or killed in a wreck, you should be barred from suing the manufacturer.  See, that the reason we do not have these cars in the US, lawsuits!!!

Answer 10

Having a car is a luxury that only the richest people in the world can afford.  Soon only the richest of the rich will be able to drive.  

Answer 11

While I agree that electric cars are an important step towards getting off fossil fuels, I also agree with Masterpl.   Most of the world cannot afford personal cars, so they are for the 'rich'.  As energy prices rise, many people will have to give up their personal cars and find other means of getting around.  Unlike many people seem to believe, there is no guaranteed 'right' to owning a car or driving one.

Answer 12

I agree, but not everyone can afford to buy an electric car, the cheapest that I have seen start at $11,000.

Also the range of the electric car, is only around 40 miles on a charge, for anything even most people can afford.

Then you have to look at the drain on the grid if a lot of people start driving electric.

which means putting in solar panels, again just enough to supply electricity for the car can be a strain on the budget.

The best solution that I see, is to convert inexpensive used cars to electricity, and a minimal solar panel array, to start.

however us renters will not be able to install solar panels, and will still have to rely on the grid.

Perhaps we should wait until we have our car conversions, and are able to put in solar panel, before we tell everyone else about our ideas.