CBO Finds Electric Cars Not Smart, Toyota Pulls the Plug on the IQ

CBO Finds Electric Cars Not Smart, Toyota Pulls the Plug on the IQ

President Obama’s vision to put a million plug-in cars on U.S. roads by 2015 is shorting out. Speaking back in March 2009 of pumping billions of dollars in federal grants, loans and subsidies that would bring this about he promised “This investment will not only reduce our dependence on foreign oil, it will put Americans back to work…”It positions American manufacturers on the cutting edge of innovation and solving our energy challenges.”

But woops, it turns out that plug-in car energy-saving argument is running out of juice. A September Congressional Budget Office Report has concluded that all that spending “…will have no impact on the total gasoline use and greenhouse gas emissions of the nation’s vehicle fleet over the next several years.” It also found that even with the $7,500 tax credits we taxpayers generously provided to purchasers, electric cars are still a bad buy, costing owners far more over the life of the car than traditional gas-powered vehicles.

Apparently Toyota, the world’s largest carmaker, has figured that out, deciding that its new sub-compact iQ plug-in isn’t a great idea after all. Instead of mass marketing it, total production will be cut off at just 100. As their Vice Chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada explained, “The current capabilities of electric vehicles do not meet society’s needs, whether it may be the distance the cars run, or the costs, or how it takes a long time to charge.”​

It takes three BTUs of energy to produce the equivalent of one BTU of electrical energy in a battery. So the equivalent miles per gallon on the Volt when operated as a battery-powered car is only about 30 mpg. The same when it runs as a gasoline-powered car. A good compact car of that passenger size, would get 40 mpg. Thus, if a Volt is used in Hawaii, where oil is used to produce electricity, this would cause an increase in oil consumption and a corresponding increase in oil imports.

With present technology, electric cars are a disaster and costing billions in wasted tax dollars. Only a fool and someone trying to impress the foolish would buy one of these cars. If you truly want to help society, buy a conventional high mpg car and take the money you saved by not buying an electric car and invest in an engineering education for some deserving young person.​

 

Totally agree. I think we can safely forecast that this will be added to Obama's extensive list of broken promises.

 

That's what a lot of people have been saying all along,

 

Yet another in a long list of losers picked by Obama.

 

And in five years we will look back on these posts with the same amusement that we do concerning to posts by the same people concerning how badly Romney was going to defeat the President.

 

yup, electric cars trade one environmental problem for another... We still hear little to nothing about the prospects of battery disposal, and the looming environmental nightmare once large numbers of these buzz cars make their way to the scrapyards. But by all means, the people who champion this technology can continue to sidestep that pesky little detail because after all, who cares about tomorrow when you can have a feel good today?

 

Oh, you mean that at present we just throw away the worn out lead batteries? Lithium and nickel are both worth far more than lead. They will be recycled. And how would they be more a problem for the junkyards than are the present automobiles?

We heard the same sort of nonsense concerning the catalytic convertors. The junkyards love getting those things, cubic money.

 

Good good! Let the Butthurt flow!

From the article:

 

Given my extensive experience listening to broken promises from idiots that think they can predict the future I am willing to bet you here and now that you will be making the same stupid predictions in five years you are now.