Why aren't there electric cars mass produced?

Question

O.k this is kind of rhetorical and kind of a question but feel free to answer or comment. Now as far as I know we have the technology NOW to create electric cars and have had the technology for a few years too. The reason we haven't seen the magical solution for all our problems is because the d**n oil companies payed so we couldn't make them? If you ask me that's plain stupid. In a time like this where we are killing ourselves nice and slowly who gives a **** about the law. It's like having a bomb right in front of you that is slowly ticking away and you have the key to turn it off, but some rich guy bought the rights to turn it off so even though this bomb is going to destroy the world in time you can't turn it off right then because someone payed not to? Money is an invention of people, it has no value whatsoever unless people give it value which we have. I say s***w the law and make the cars. Give the oil companies their precious money back if you have to and create...

Answer 1

Many companies are working on it, and we'll see them mass produced in the next couple of years.  See the link below for a summary.

Answer 2

they are not cost effective

they do not have enough distance

they do not carry enough people/cargo

they are not dependable

people don't want them

and 10000 more reasons

Answer 3

I'd buy one.

Answer 4

I think this is where GM is going to lose again. China is coming out with fuel efficient small cars and they are going to be very cheap. And Japan is going hydrogen in Japan. They are moving faster we are. You are right about oil companies. They get money to research new fuel source and they make 5 hydrogen cars for dispaly and never put anything into motion, Its all for tax breaks and show. And there are electric car that would be the same as 75 cents a gallon. They have it in Europe but not in the USA.

Answer 5

Of course we have had the technology for many years. And as much as you want to blame the government and oil companies, we are at fault. Americans on the whole want lots of horse power, something that electric cars lack. And until 2 years ago gas has been cheap for 20 years even at inflation adjusted prices. Now that the american attitude is changing you will see more electric cars and other vehicles start to hit the market. The Chevy Volt comes out next year. But you and I both know that if oil prices come back down, the SUV's and other gas guzzlers will be back.

Answer 6

Oil companies are not the problem.  The problem is that now more people use oil than 5 years ago.  Emerging countries such as India and China are taking oil supplies from the US. Since India and China have more people, they have a higher demand and taking from the US supplies.  Though oil companies are making record profits, they actually make only 10% of what they sell.  When compared to pharmaceutical and insurance companies that make 30-40% income on their sales.

Electric cars are actually more expensive and dangerous to the environment.  The batteries work by chemically corrosion reactions and use hazardous materials.  THus, many places do not want to have an battery plant because it makes the area around it hazardous.  

If you are in an electric car and get in an accident, if the batteries crack, no one can help you until hazmat arrives because the battery solution will burn through your clothes and skin.

Also, if you have a plug-in electric car, the electricity for your house is most likely from coal, which is actually worse than gas cars.

Answer 7

There's no such thing as water powered cars regardless of your delusions.

We've had the technology to create electric cars for a long time (in fact there was a time when electric cars were the market leaders) but electric car technology has been superseded by petrol and diesel which both happen to allow far longer ranges along with near-instant refuelling (as opposed to hours long recharging).

The lack of an infrastructure for electric vehicles, the want to be able to drive a car a decent distance which most people wouldn't use very often but would be really annoyed to lack when they do need it (and which pretty much requires near instant refuelling, unless you want to lug around extra batteries or a genset trailer).

There's no conspiracy to kill the electric car, just customers who don't want what the electric car has to offer (and who have rejected them when they came to market).

Oh and if you want an electric car you can quite legally create your own (no one has bought up all the rights, that's not even possible anyway), there are even guides on the internet on how to do it (though check whether there is an increased registration fee which is sometimes imposed on those who won't be paying fuel taxes for some reason).

Answer 8

Nobody would dare to raise and spend the capital necessary to develope such a vehicle, only to have the oil boys drop the price of gas.  At which time you would see your market evaporate.

Answer 9

Because they aren't practical.  If I'm going to get only get less than 100 miles off one charge, I'm better off buying standard car that gets 300 miles on tank of good old gasoline.

Answer 10

They just aren't practical.  They don't have enough power.  What happens when you need to drive out of town?

Now, cars that run on water... that would be something.  I'm waiting for that one.

Answer 11

go back to school and get some knowlege about thermodynamics, then go to an economics class to understand business, then come back here with an intelligent conversation instead of post utube c**p....

Answer 12

There are about as many electric cars around as there always were.  You can buy one.  They aren't very good, really, but they certainly exist.  

You've been watching a bit too much TV and YouTube, and you're believing conspiracy theories.  It isn't constructive.

Answer 13

Inefficient (less efficient than gas or diesel), impractical, slow charge times, heavy batteries with limited recharge capacity, bad for the environment (tons of heavy metals), dangerous (many techs have been electricuted by current electrics and hybrids they're also prone to explosion in a collision (much worse than Gas or Diesel~ I dare you to drive a Prius through 8 inches of water), and many techs (including myself) refuse to work with such high voltages/amperages~ too dangerous.

They would also tax our power grid, we already have enough problems with the grid. Oh, and most electricity comes from coal, oil, or nuclear power and as such any *green* notion is just silly.