rob-2

The Chevy Volt comes up out with a 40mile range in full EV mode. When it goes beyond that it only get's 40mpg highway. City 35. The Prius launched with 60mpg claims, but on the freeway gets 30-32mpg. It's only in the city it will see 45-50, but doesn't run past 25mph in EV mode due to battery cooling challenges.

If you bought one of Chevy's Cruise or Sonic with their 1.4l turbo motor you'd get the same 40mpg freeway. This actual freeway mileage beats my personal testing of the Toyota Prius on long road trips. You could buy a few hyundia's that get 40mpg.

All the non-electric cars are considerably cheaper to purchase new. The difference of 10-20K new is likely the cost of gas over the life time of the vehicle.

It would appear to me that electric cars don't yet offer enough value in our society for the battery waste we're going to need to process down the road. The Nissan leaf all electric promising 100mile range averages closer to 65. They say this is enough for the average but wouldn't be for me. Furthermore it would seem to me that the fastest way to raise MPG is to lighten cars and 400lbs batteries in trunks is a move in the wrong direction.

If you live in the bay area and drive 30 miles one way to work, how do you provide enough buffer for traffic?

Am I the only one looking at cars this way?

FYI - Don't want this to go political

BrianZ

You have to remember that the MPG (or distance on charge) is done in a controlled environment. I believe in 2009 they changed the parameters for the ratings and made them more real world like (i think the old ratings use 45mph as highway speeds, were the new ration uses 55mph and varying loads)

I think there are other alternatives out there (diesel, hydrgen, etc). The car companys just have to much invested in electric hybrid and they want to you use it. There are diesel powered cars that get average 44mpg (city and highway).

IMO, its mostly a trend

S2KN05

I don't think you will find your answer here since most of the people here don't have fully electric car. Maybe if you can find a forum dedicated to electric car for the answers.

Personally. I'm waiting for the efficiency of solar panels to rise and the price to drop before I buy an electric car. It's probably going to take 5-10 more years before I can move over to solar power. By that time, batteries will last much longer.

New battery tech:
http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/25114...ttery-life.htm

S2KVee

cost of money spent and thought of saving is in the head of the owner of a hybrid. Some hybrid owners drive hybrids because they want to contribute to going green (tree huggers) regardless of spending the extra cash on the hybrid itself. The purpose of being Eco friendly is what some people care about..

Working at an auto shop I've spoken with a few hybrid owners, 2 out of 5 regrets getting a hybrid due to it's complications with batteries and charging systems. And 4 out of 5 claims that the mpg is not close to what it should be.. Average of getting 30-40mpg which is pretty pathetic considering a typical 1990 Honda civic can acomplish that task of over 400mpg per 12 gallon tank.

I have only met one owner who was proud of owning a hybrid. He felt like he was doing his part Going green. And he loves his HOV sticker.

You will be considered the lucky ones if all you have to spend on your hybrid is the sticker price and typical maintenance.. As soon as there's and electrical problem... Good luck and besure your ready to drop another few thousands if your shyt outta luck with your warranty

Offtrack

I spent a bit of time evaluating the pros and cons of a hybrid a couple years ago and also found the benefits to be not that great, if at all, over a high efficiency gas alternative. I decided the only benefit I would have realized was the ability to use the HOV lanes while commuting to and from work. Luckily I ultimately decided I would likely get bored with a hybrid very quickly and went with a high mileage gas vehicle and was glad when the hybrids were kicked out of the HOV lanes.

HarryD

I think this is the crux of the problem. Most people aren't very good at math and don't take the time to calculate the break-even price of these high-priced "green" cars.

On the other hand, prices for "green" cars are indeed dropping (e.g. look at the Tesla sales-model) because people are buying them and economies of scale. The break-even price will drop further as the MSRP prices fall with time--good news for you and I in a couple years.

kaansahbaz

buy a tesla, its 250 mile range all electric lol

Voodoo_S2K

The environmental impact of the batteries tends to be overrated in my opinion. They are lasting significantly longer then expected (300k + miles in NY taxis) and they are almost 100% recycled when they have outlived their usefulness.

I personally hope they keep on making hybrid cars, at it tends to push technology battery technology forward. While I'm a big fan of my gas burning car, I don't see it as a viable long term solution for our planet. It isn't all about MPG.

chViETnk

more like 5 miles if you seen top gear's review lol

TougeHorseman

Good point for discussion Rob.

I'll try to see what my friend's family in their Leaf average

Who has seen "who killed the electric car" (i think that's the title)?

There is big money and alot of lobbying going on related to oil companies, car companies. So the bottle neck isn't always technological advancement.