>The same qualities that make them undesirabe here- low range, expensive and high >maintenance. It's no wonder the carmakers are all moving to hybrids, the only >thing cleaner at this point would be the imaginary hydrogen powered fuel cell >vehicle. Even EV's generate CO at the point of generation. It pains me to see >all the effort going into protesting the Ford dealer in CA over the factory >dropping the Think. I'm glad they did, the Think is not a real car. It's >tiny, underpowered and would be squashed like a bug in a wreck. If you want >to make a real impact towards EV acceptance, devote your efforts towards solving >the technical and economic issues that stand in the way, rather than feel-good >protests and petitions which do nothing but portray us EV'ers as radical and not >a credible source of the facts. Makes us no better than the mobs protesting at >the world bank summits , Greenpeace looneys or the Sierra Club hugging trees. >EV issues are solved with science and engineering, the rest will come in it's time.
Our EV has adequate range for well over 90% of our needs and judging by all the figures I've seen would meet the needs of most commuters in the US. It costs $219/month. That doesn't seem expensive. I don't think it's high maintenance. Watering the batteries every 3,500 miles? Plugging in? Hybrids pollute way more than EVs just look at the CARB figures. EVs powered by solar do not produce emissions at the point of generation. I don't want a hybrid because I don't want to use oil for transportation. Oh yes and our car is a real car - it's a Ford Th!nk City. One was in a head-on collision with an ICE in Norway (a Mitsubishi, if I remember correctly) and the ICE car and passengers came off worse. It's not tiny, it's quite comfortable for two people. I guess it's just that you're obviously used to the oversized monstrosities that are widespread on U.S. roads. Go to Europe - there are plenty of Th!nk-sized cars on the road. As far as I can see there are no "technical or economic issues" standing in the way. Our car works *now* and would be economical if produced on the scale of typical gas cars and *for sale*. The only thing that stands in the way of us driving this car for the forseeable future is Ford. I will be at the protest because I see at as a way to educate "the masses" that people do want EVs, just as I gladly educate people one by one every day. Otherwise Ford and GM will just sweep this issue under the carpet. I hope that we come across as a credible source of facts. The science and engineering has been solved to the extent that there are adequate solutions on the road, "the rest" is the problem. Nick Dr Nick Carter, Owner, npc Imaging, 3000 Cleveland Avenue, Suite 209, Santa Rosa CA 95403-2117 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel/fax: +1 (707) 573 9361 http://www.npcimaging.com Th!nk City EV driver & President, North Bay Chapter, Electric Auto Association *************************************************************** ** Now available at npcimaging.com... ** ** Music Engraving Today by Steve Powell now in stock. ** ** The Art of Music Engraving and Processing by Ted Ross & ** ** Handbook of Instrumentation, both on CD-ROM ** ** 41 CD sheet music titles: thousands of pages from $14.95! ** ** Books by Stone, Ross, Gerou & Lusk, Stiller, Gamble, etc. ** ***************************************************************
