On 10 Oct 2002 at 10:22, Adam Kuehn wrote: > So design and marketing efforts should stress their use as a > special-purpose "errand" vehicle for a two-or-more-car family.
Exactly. There is only one problem with this approach: it gives an EV "second car" status. Few families spend as much on their second car as on their primary vehicle. Typically it's their former first vehicle, or something 3-6 years older. We're also asking them to give up some of the utility of a gasburner -- they can't take it on long drives if the primary vehicle is tied up for some reason. So its value declines even further. This means that an EV in the $20k+ range is right out. In order to succeed, an EV has to be priced at or below the cost of a 2-3 year old used vehicle. That's possible in serial production. But somebody -- the manufacturer, some government(s), a very large philanthropic organization -- has to subsidize the cost to stimulate sales until production reaches a sufficient level. This is what California has been trying to do with their subsidies. The problem is that, first, the subsidies are too small; and, second, they've had ZERO cooperation from the manufacturers, who (AFAIK) have made essentially no effort to move toward serial production. EVs' modest success story is E-bikes. From what I can tell, these actually sell and make a respectable profit. I wonder if one way to tackle this problem might be to work into it from that end -- gradually building larger, faster bikes; then 55+ mph three-wheelers; then a 4-wheel of Tango size; finally moving into the 4 passenger arena after many years, in the hopes of coinciding with a big run-up in fuel prices. NEVs could be another point of entry. Get enough of these on the road, and the users are going to start asking for something faster and more useful. That could lead to evolution (though the NEV legislation is a big handicap -- gee, I wonder how that happened). In other words, enter through the back door and work our way to the living room. It might work. So far, storming the front door hasn't gotten us beyond the foyer. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Want to unsubscribe, stop the EV list mail while you're on vacation, or switch to digest mode? See http://www.evdl.org/help/ = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA 1991 Solectria Force 144vac 1991 Ford Escort Green/EV 128vdc 1970 GE Elec-trak E15 36vdc 1974 Avco New Idea rider 36vdc = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Thou shalt not send me any thing which says unto thee, "send this to all thou knowest." Neither shalt thou send me any spam, lest I smite thee. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
