Should I even bother getting a hybrid if fully electric cars will be out in a few years?

Question

I hear that the technology for electric cars is advancing rapidly.

Answer 1

I'm actually waiting for an electric car myself, it is supposed to be released in a year or two.  I'm looking at the BYD E6.

None of the american companies are making a full electric car that I know of.  The link below is some of the prototypes that hope to be on the market in a couple of years.  Although these will probably be in asia as they are chinese companies.  Look to see full electric cars in america in ???,  just like other cars that could have been released in america like the smart diesel engine there will probably be delays.

comment on the guy below me and the chevy volt.  Second link is to an article about it, The volt will only go 40 miles on a charge.  They dont' have the battery technology for it yet.  It has a short range because it also has a tank for gasoline and hydrogen.  They are used to charge the batteries, I'm not sure how efficient this is.  To me the volt is a kind of hybrid.

The E6 has a range of 186 miles on a full charge, and can do an 80% recharge in 15 minutes.  They also expect the batteries to run 373,000 miles.  BYD is a leading rechargeable  battery company in the world.

Also a note to people which might say something about charging an electric car, you'll more than likely have it charging overnight for your commute to work in the morning.  During night the coal powered plants which is the most widely used power in the US continues to run at night as it would take too long to start back up if shut down.  So the majority of electricity created during the night time is thus wasted, why not charge a car instead of letting it go to waste.

Answer 2

There are a few problems with the electric car. First the carbon footprint that it takes to make them is ridiculous, the parts of the batteries come from all over the world. Requiring massive amounts of fossil fuels to produce and transport them. Next, there already were fully electric cars, that got up to 1000 miles per charge. The big three auto makers killed it.

Do you think the oil companies will not do everything in their power to keep us dependent on oil? I grew up on a farm, and ethanol has been used for years. Why is it just now getting press? Same reason why you should just go and purchase your hybrid. Your electric car is light years away.

Answer 3

well if you wait and get an electic car it would redouce the pollution in our air. yes electic cars come with way much more inproved technology than other cars.

Answer 4

I'd say get the hybrid, you'll be waiting a looooong time for a retail EV. The advancement of EV technology has nothing to do with them being out or not. people have had EV's back in the 70's that weren't half bad.

100% electric cars with good specs are still at least 10 years away, at least with retail auto dealers.

you can get a Tesla Roadster for 100K or a few other decent ones, but you can bet oil companies and the government will fight hard against any sort of alternative

And John L, they chevy volt is no longer a fully electric, it's just a gas-electric hybrid now.

Answer 5

If it were me, I would wait. But the truth is, by the time electrics are available in a year or so, I'm hoping to live somewhere that I don't even need a car.

Answer 6

Chevrolet is coming out with an electric car in late 2009, called the Chevy Volt. You plug it in. Sounds like a good deal to me. My problem with hybrid cars is that after 100,000 miles or so, you will need new batteries which will cost over $1000, which will cancel out the money you saved on gas. Wait for the Chevy.