On 7/10/2007 10:48:35 PM, Dan Minette ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) wrote: I'm with Dan on this subject on most counts.
The reasons electric cars failed is mostly due to the use of less mature technologies. The batteries used in the EV1 sucked. They sucked so badly that we construction people don't even use them in our cordless drills anymore. Because of the batteries, the EV1 was a very poor electric vehicle when compared to current models. Secondarily, I will agree that GM (and the rest of the Big Three by extension) didn't really want to make electric vehicles back in the 90s, so it isn't like the corporations poured their hearts into the projects. This is another reason the EV1 failed, but that failure is not a solid sign of a conspiracy, it is a sign of a lack of commitment. But there is now a new spirit of commitment spurred on by advances made outside the Big Three and now you have some evidence of this with the Chevy Volt and various other projects. The auto industry establishment are capitalists who can read the writing on the wall and can tell which way the wind blows (without a weatherman<G>), and these guys will do just about anything to prevent their industry from being marginalized by upstarts. You *are* going to see electric commuter vehicles in the near term. The technology has matured just enough that commercial products are feasible. One of the big obstacles is charging standardization and another is designing the optimum methods for energy storage that fall within the "sweet spots" for consumer utilization. With the former, you want to have a charging method that is somewhat universal so that buying a new car does not mean buying a new charging station and roadside assistance does not become nearly impossible. With the latter, you want to design an array of batteries, ultracapacitiors, electronics, and regenerative apparatus that not only drives the wheels, but also runs the heater, A/C, stereo and whathaveyou without incurring energy draining penalties. Reading white papers is boring. Much more boring than press releases. But accurate information from an engineer is much more useful than rhetoric from a copy writer. xponent Who Hopefully Understands What He Reads On Occasion Maru rob _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
