On Dec 28, 2006, at 6:18 PM, Bob Sullivan wrote: > Only difference over a regular car would be some electronics, electric > motor, and batteries.
I'm not sure what you mean by this. Yes, it does use a four cylinder internal combustion engine and a differential, suspension and brakes. As a difference, it has no transmission, no starter motor, two drive/ generator motors, and a drive battery pack in addition to the standard 12V gel cell battery that your car uses. > What is the pollution associated with creating > and disposing of the batteries over the life of the car? I couldn't tell you what kind of pollution is associated with the battery manufacture specifically for the cars, although we all know it is a manufacturing process with similar kinds of pollution to the creation of most of your daily household use items like kitchen appliances, stereo, television, etc. It's not like a battery manufacturing process was created out of nothing specifically and only for these automobiles. They're made through the same manufacturers/plants that make camera batteries, for instance, and batteries for other applications The battery is fully warranted for 8 years and 100,000 miles, and it's designed to be recyclable (as is most of the rest of the car as well). I doubt the vehicle's lifespan is just that, or that the battery will last only that long, but it's a heck of a lot better for the environment that everything was designed for recycling in the first place. Godfrey -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
