I'm a great believer in total independence from the grid where
transporation is concerned. The essence of the automobile - and this is a
psychological factor - is this total independence (physically total, that
is; we're still dependent on the oil companies and their nice
suppliers). In addition, we won't need to build more and more generating
stations.
Having said that, I see the hybrid concept as the best compromise; not
necessarily having a gasoline engine driving the car, but having such an
engine (possibly using a substantial percentage of ethanol) used purely to
maintain the charge on the battery. In that way, the car is electrically
driven, and the gasoline is used as a more or less constant-speed
generator, when needed.
P.
At 09:59 AM 5/4/2006 -0500, you wrote:
When electric cars are developed, the operating costs are going to be
compelling for households with two or more vehicles and businesses that
operate
fleets of cars locally. Even with $3 gasoline, electric vehicles are
going to be much cheaper to operate per mile. The obstacle will be the
initial cost of purchase
but volume should bring that down.
In the hilly area where I live, I can foresee a lot of regenerative
braking on descents, instead of wearing out my rotors and pads.
