If a 17 year old working for minimum wage can convert an old pick up into a 100% electric car, why can't...?

Question

the big auto makers?

i was watching discovery channel, specificaly the show daily planet. and they were doing a story on some 17 year old who converted an old pick up into a highway driveable pick up. and its battery lasted atleast 3 times longer than what you'd expect from an average sedan's gas tank. and they said it only cost him 10 to 15 bucks to recharge the batteries each month. plus he did it all by himself for 6000 dollars canadian and he did it in his spare time.

so if he can do it, why can't the major auto companies do it? esspecialy the ones that claim to be green and all that.

Answer 1

The answer is: political corruption.   Electric cars are actually easier to produce than internal combustion ones.  Many of the very first automobiles were electric.    However, the automobile industry is VERY intertwined with the oil industry and BOTH of them are huge Congressional lobbyists.  Therefor you don't see any legislation getting written that requires more electric cars to be made or better fuel efficiency standards.

The main excuse from motor companies has been "there is not a big enough market of people buying electric cars."   Because, they say, electric cars need to be charged and run on batteries which limits their range.   (To usually 100-to-a couple hundred miles per overnight charging).

But that's not true, as the current range available in electric cars meets the needs of over 90% of drivers.  You can do everything but drive cross-country in one, really.

There will probably be more electric cars on the road in the future, but not while oil companies are consistently posting the highest annual profits of any businesses EVER in the history of the world.

Previous attempts of the major car companies were carefully designed to fail to 'prove' the need for internal combustion.  This is explained well in the documentary "Who Killed The Electric Car?"

Answer 2

I saw the same conversion, however of all of the conversions that I have seen, the range is only 50 to 60 miles, at 50 MPH, which is fine for commuting

This link will give you a lot of conversions, and the spec.'s on each.

http://www.evalbum.com/cntrl/CAFE/

What yu have to realize is that the major motor companies, would have to set up a completely different production line for mass production of electric cars, and that takes time.

However both GM and Ford do have prototypes and are looking for a release date of 2010.

Answer 3

It isn't that automakers can't produce electric, or efficient renewable fuel, vehicles. And, it isn't simply because the plants to mass produce these types of vehicles have not been built. I think the reason that automakers are not further along in producing these types of vehicles is because too few of us have asked for, demanded, or wanted to buy the vehicles.

Answer 4

there are many factors for this, my friend. if all the big electric companies did that, hundreds of oil companies would lose business. and those electric companies will then raise THEIR prices and so we go back to square 1 again. another thing, the government wont allow it because they get a lot of their funding from some of these oil companies. it's all confusing really. i actually agree with your statement. the future of our only home and the future of the next generation lies in the hands of these corporate, white, middle-aged, fat, greedy, cigar-smoking, champagne drinking businessmen and government officials. but you know what? it enlightens me that while we're struggling to preserve a safer and better world for our families and they're playing in their lovely golf courses and drinking wine till they pass out, they have a higher chance of going to h**l.

Answer 5

Auto and Oil companies are making far too much money from traditional inefficient cars to make the switch to electric. You should check out the documentary "Who killed the electric car." . . .