I-5 Corridor Is Being Wired For Electric Cars..Wash State Leads Way!

[sitarro]

Hey Huggy, When is the government going to ground your gas guzzling plane. Maybe you can get an electric one.

 

[editec]

One item here. Most people do not drive more than 40 miles a day. So, for an urban commuting vehicle, many of the present EVs would be entirely adequete. For those that go further regularly, a hybrid or very high mileage diesel would be the way to go.

I'm dumbfounded by this country's aversion to diesel passenger vehicles.

I am not only dumbfounded, I am disgusted that people in Europe and the UK can buy an efficient diesel in a Ford that I cannot. I had an '80 VW Rabbit, and drove it all over the country, 5 to 8 thousand mile trips, until the kids outgrew the back seat. It had 40 hp and did very well, 46 mpg. Now there is a VW in Europe, the Polo, about the same size, with a 75 hp three cylinder that you cannot get here in the US. And it gets over 70 mpg. Not only that, we can make diesel from sewage, using either algea or bacteria.

Diesel from these sources does not add to the GHGs, for it is cyclic. So it is just as green as EVs, and we have a mature technology that we can use economically right now.

Yes that is VERY? annoying isn't it?

I'm informed that the FORD RANGER DIESEL that you can get in EUROPE (but not here) gets like 45 MPG.

I do not get why that option is not available here.

The New Rangers offer a factory installed natural gas conversion option.

I wonder if that's a more economical way to move the iron down the road?

Anybody know, off hand?

 

[HUGGY]

Washington is the leader in hydroelectric power.... three quarters of its power..

"Washington is the leading hydroelectric power producer in the Nation. Hydroelectric power accounts for nearly three-fourths of State electricity generation. ..."

http://www.eia.gov/state/state-energy-profiles.cfm?sid=WA

 

[RetiredGySgt]

Washington is the leader in hydroelectric power.... three quarters of its power..

"Washington is the leading hydroelectric power producer in the Nation. Hydroelectric power accounts for nearly three-fourths of State electricity generation. ..."

http://www.eia.gov/state/state-energy-profiles.cfm?sid=WA

Which does not make electric cars viable anywhere else. I suggest you get a graph and see just where the US electricity comes from.

 

[Old Rocks]

What would make EV's really viable? Two thing, cheap batteries and cheap solar. Both of which are being worked on here in Oregon as we post. In fact, Solopower is putting in a plant just down the road from me as we post. And the solar plant in Hillsboro employs over a thousand people now.

Rather than standing in the left field doing the neener-neener number, the people here are stepping up and swinging the bat. I think that we will hit a home run, both for the area, and for the nation.

 

[HUGGY]

Washington is the leader in hydroelectric power.... three quarters of its power..

"Washington is the leading hydroelectric power producer in the Nation. Hydroelectric power accounts for nearly three-fourths of State electricity generation. ..."

http://www.eia.gov/state/state-energy-profiles.cfm?sid=WA

Which does not make electric cars viable anywhere else. I suggest you get a graph and see just where the US electricity comes from.

Energy independence will not be an all or nothing solution. I have nothing against nuclear power if it is built and managed competently. Most of the country has nuclear power already. The disposal of the spent fuel seems to be a "not in my backyard" political football but there are safe ways to store it such as deep underground in Yuka Mtn. All earthquake zones are known and we do not have to risk disaster building nukes in dangerous places.

Poo Pooing any sensible effort to reduce our dependence on foreign oil is just not smart.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

We all are, and I am glad of it.

You enjoy paying for rich people to charge their cars on your dime?

Ever hear of the REA? How is this any differant? We are making it possible for a new technology to get off of the ground. A bit of seed money that will go a long way. In fact, already has.

ReVolt announces plans to develop rechargable batteries in Portland | OregonLive.com

Swiss battery maker ReVolt Technology is moving its North American headquarters to Portland after the city and state provided about $6.8 million in loans and tax credits.

The six-year-old company that has developed a rechargeable zinc-air battery said Friday it will get a package of loans and tax credits from Oregon Department of Energy's Small Scale Energy Loan Program and $5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy.

ReVolt says it plans to develop battery systems for electric vehicles at its facility in Portland's Airport Way urban renewal area, at 12021 N.E. Airport Way. The company will employ about 150 workers.

It's the third bit of recent good news on the economic development front in Portland. Last week, Vestas, the world's largest wind-turbine maker, announced plans to locate its headquarters in the Pearl, adding about 200 jobs. Then this week, the Greenbrier Cos. said it will add 260 workers at its Gunderson manufacturing facility in Portland to support orders for new railcars.

ReVolt Technology
Product: Zinc-air batteries for electric vehicles and other products
Based: Staefa, Switzerland
Founded: 2004, as a spinoff of a Norwegian research institute
Investors: European renewable-energy and venture-capital companies
Chief executive: James P. McDougall, battery industry veteranThe announcement also feeds Mayor Sam Adams' goal of transforming Portland into a center for the emerging electric car industry.

"Welcome to Portland, ReVolt!" Adams enthused in the company's press release. "As a company on the cutting edge of the electric-vehicle industry, ReVolt is bringing to Portland its commitment to innovation and Portland is one step further down the road to being America's EV hub."

Bringing up other subsidies in order to show this is a good idea is an admission that you have no arguments worth my, or your, time. Besides, I oppose all government subsidies. If this technology is worth it private industry will gladly invest in it. The reason it hasn't is that electric cars have been around for over a century and they have never been proven viable, despite the fact that the government has repeatedly thrown money at technology that promised viable electric vehicles within a decade, maybe two.

Put up all the press releases in the world, what matters is someone actually demonstrating a car that, when used as intended, gets more than 50 miles on a charge. So far not a single company has done that.

 

[Old Rocks]

Ever hear of the Tesla? The RAV4 electric?

Sony Pictures Classics Presents : Who Killed the Electric Car?

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Ever hear of the Tesla? The RAV4 electric?

Sony Pictures Classics Presents : Who Killed the Electric Car?

Ever here of Top Gear?

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXfV2hw_2Xo]YouTube - ‪Top Gear - Tesla Roadster‬‏[/ame]

Tesla motors said that there car would have a 50 mile range on the Top Gear track. That means that if you plop your money down on the Roadster and drive it like you would a sports car you can drive for about 30 minutes before you have to recharge it. If the Rav4 has a similar range under real world driving conditions you would get about 25 miles before it needs to be charged.

Like I said, they do not exist yet.

 

[KissMy]

Like I said: Call a Tow Truck & do a lot of waiting. If you get stuck in traffic at night in the rain running the De-Fog (that is A/C & Heat together), Wipers, & Headlights you had better expect to be pushing or waiting for a Tow Truck & blocking even more traffic.

Besides Tow Trucks burn a lot of fuel & cost a lot of money.

Consumer reports give these cars bad ratings along with Top Gear. Lots of break downs & lots more Tow Trucks.

These cars need a easy removed & exchange standardized battery system to make speedy pit stops. Or they need a easily removable gas power unit that can sit in the garage until it is needed for a long trip. It would not be wise to venture more than 20 miles from home on a regular basis in one of these because in the real world they only go 50 miles round trip in a day after charging for 16 hours.

Electric cars are really only recommended for people who round trip 30 miles or less in a day leaving you room to run the occasional errand. Having an emergency after limping home on a dead battery would really bite the big one.

Any liquid fuel or compressed gas beats the pants off of batteries as far as the majority of the population is concerned.

The average person drives 15,000 miles a year. Due to all the charging time involved it is not likely that anyone could possibly put over 7,500 miles in a year on an electric car.

 

[HUGGY]

Like I said: Call a Tow Truck & do a lot of waiting. If you get stuck in traffic at night in the rain running the A/C or Heat, Wipers, & Headlights you had better expect to be pushing or waiting for a Tow Truck & blocking even more traffic.

Besides Tow Trucks burn a lot of fuel & cost a lot of money.

Consumer reports give these cars bad ratings along with Top Gear. Lots of break downs & lots more Tow Trucks.

These cars need a easy removed & exchange standardized battery system to make speedy pit stops. Or they need a easily removable gas power unit that can sit in the garage until it is needed for a long trip. It would not be wise to venture more than 20 miles from home on a regular basis in one of these because in the real world they only go 50 miles round trip in a day after charging for 16 hours.

Electric cars are really only recommended for people who round trip 30 miles or less in a day leaving you room to run the occasional errand. Having an emergency after limping home on a dead battery would really bite the big one.

Any liquid fuel or compressed gas beats the pants off of batteries as far as the majority of the population is concerned.

The average person drives 15,000 miles a year. Due to all the charging time involved it is not likely that anyone could possibly put over 7,500 miles in a year on an electric car.

You info and bias assumes that the electric would be the only car a person would have and that it would be used by stooges constantly in situations beyond the reasonable expectations of the car's limitations. Car magazines are not the REAL world. Car magazines sell sizzle. In the REAL world smart people take every advantage they can to improve their lives as circumstance allows. There are clearly advantages to electric. There are clearly disadvantages to electric.

There are advantages to taking public transportation ...and disadvantages......The disadvantages outweigh all advantages and therefor I never take a bus...unless I am riding one of my bikes and want to avoid a big ass hill. At my age paying a buck to get taken up a long slog is well worth it.

If one has a brain one adapts. For instance...I have always owed a pick up or a utility van for many years...as well as a passenger vehicle or several. I drive a Cadillac El Dorado now because it is a very comfortable ride. It is terrible on gas mileage. I no longer have a truck but occasionally have the need for one. I have a couple of friends that I can borrow a truck from or in a pinch I go to U-Haul and rent one for $19.95 a day. That has happened 6 times in the last 2 years. That is how often I REALLY needed a pick up and couldn't borrow one for an hour or two. THAT is the REAL world for me.

Would I use an electric? Maybe. Many of my errands are less than 10 miles round trip. In my present circumstance I don't pay for electricity so charging it would be at no cost. I am also a mechanic with all of the tools a professional mechanic would own so maintenance is not an issue. I could see buying a used electric for whatever they go for and repair it up to top shape. It's usually just me and a rather large Pit Bull so an electric would do just fine going to the pet store, the grocery, the boat, the machine shop or one of the restaurants I help maintain.

Right now it costs me about 2 bucks a mile to get around in the caddy. Putting 10 thousand into a used electric would save me 10 thousand a year in transportation.

But that's just me. I have never been towed for out of gas or a flat tire in my whole life.

To a writer for a car mag the electric probably doesn't offer much. Thousands of people ...mostly elderly it appears ..in Seattle use em every day.. and don't seem to have any problems keeping them off the back of a tow truck.

 

[Old Rocks]

Ever hear of the Tesla? The RAV4 electric?

Sony Pictures Classics Presents : Who Killed the Electric Car?

Ever here of Top Gear?

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXfV2hw_2Xo]YouTube - ‪Top Gear - Tesla Roadster‬‏[/ame]

Tesla motors said that there car would have a 50 mile range on the Top Gear track. That means that if you plop your money down on the Roadster and drive it like you would a sports car you can drive for about 30 minutes before you have to recharge it. If the Rav4 has a similar range under real world driving conditions you would get about 25 miles before it needs to be charged.

Like I said, they do not exist yet.

Like I said, you like to lie a lot. The RAV4 has a range of about 120 miles.

And the Tesla has a real life driving range of about 250 miles. Now I used to have a pretty quick little car with a 5 cylinder engine. I have gotten over 700 miles on twenty gallons of gas in that car. I also have gotten less than 300 on the same amount of fuel. But it was fun.

Are the electrics ready for the big time yet? No. But there are many niches where at present they do exceptionly well. Lying about the capabilities that they have at present is not going to prevent them from hitting the big time as soon as the battery problem is solved.

 

[KissMy]

Like I said: Call a Tow Truck & do a lot of waiting. If you get stuck in traffic at night in the rain running the A/C or Heat, Wipers, & Headlights you had better expect to be pushing or waiting for a Tow Truck & blocking even more traffic.

Besides Tow Trucks burn a lot of fuel & cost a lot of money.

Consumer reports give these cars bad ratings along with Top Gear. Lots of break downs & lots more Tow Trucks.

These cars need a easy removed & exchange standardized battery system to make speedy pit stops. Or they need a easily removable gas power unit that can sit in the garage until it is needed for a long trip. It would not be wise to venture more than 20 miles from home on a regular basis in one of these because in the real world they only go 50 miles round trip in a day after charging for 16 hours.

Electric cars are really only recommended for people who round trip 30 miles or less in a day leaving you room to run the occasional errand. Having an emergency after limping home on a dead battery would really bite the big one.

Any liquid fuel or compressed gas beats the pants off of batteries as far as the majority of the population is concerned.

The average person drives 15,000 miles a year. Due to all the charging time involved it is not likely that anyone could possibly put over 7,500 miles in a year on an electric car.

You info and bias assumes that the electric would be the only car a person would have and that it would be used by stooges constantly in situations beyond the reasonable expectations of the car's limitations. Car magazines are not the REAL world. Car magazines sell sizzle. In the REAL world smart people take every advantage they can to improve their lives as circumstance allows. There are clearly advantages to electric. There are clearly disadvantages to electric.

There are advantages to taking public transportation ...and disadvantages......The disadvantages outweigh all advantages and therefor I never take a bus...unless I am riding one of my bikes and want to avoid a big ass hill. At my age paying a buck to get taken up a long slog is well worth it.

If one has a brain one adapts. For instance...I have always owed a pick up or a utility van for many years...as well as a passenger vehicle or several. I drive a Cadillac El Dorado now because it is a very comfortable ride. It is terrible on gas mileage. I no longer have a truck but occasionally have the need for one. I have a couple of friends that I can borrow a truck from or in a pinch I go to U-Haul and rent one for $19.95 a day. That has happened 6 times in the last 2 years. That is how often I REALLY needed a pick up and couldn't borrow one for an hour or two. THAT is the REAL world for me.

Would I use an electric? Maybe. Many of my errands are less than 10 miles round trip. In my present circumstance I don't pay for electricity so charging it would be at no cost. I am also a mechanic with all of the tools a professional mechanic would own so maintenance is not an issue. I could see buying a used electric for whatever they go for and repair it up to top shape. It's usually just me and a rather large Pit Bull so an electric would do just fine going to the pet store, the grocery, the boat, the machine shop or one of the restaurants I help maintain.

Right now it costs me about 2 bucks a mile to get around in the caddy. Putting 10 thousand into a used electric would save me 10 thousand a year in transportation.

But that's just me. I have never been towed for out of gas or a flat tire in my whole life.

To a writer for a car mag the electric probably doesn't offer much. Thousands of people ...mostly elderly it appears ..in Seattle use em every day.. and don't seem to have any problems keeping them off the back of a tow truck.

Range, Dependability & the fact that the Tesla only comes with a 2 year warranty are only a few "Real World" problems. The Tesla for example is powered by "Lap-Top Computer Type Batteries" My company has many Lap-Top computers & cell phones powered by the same type batteries. None of these batteries last 2 years!!! These Slick Electric Car Sales People may tell you they will last 7 years but that is pure crap. These Tesla Batteries cost $36,000. They try to spin the cost as only $12,000, but that is only the payment for the $12k prepaid battery replacement option. You pay $12,000 now & they will let you have a new battery 7 years from now. What the hell do you do for the 5 years between the actual 2 year battery life & 7 years until the battery is made for you????? Will they still be in business 7 years from now???? I don't trust them with my $12,000 & neither will most other people. I would rather invest my own $12,000. What would $12,000 worth of Crude Oil or Gold today be worth 7 years from now?

 

[skookerasbil]

Ever hear of the Tesla? The RAV4 electric?

Sony Pictures Classics Presents : Who Killed the Electric Car?

Ever here of Top Gear?

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXfV2hw_2Xo]YouTube - ‪Top Gear - Tesla Roadster‬‏[/ame]

Tesla motors said that there car would have a 50 mile range on the Top Gear track. That means that if you plop your money down on the Roadster and drive it like you would a sports car you can drive for about 30 minutes before you have to recharge it. If the Rav4 has a similar range under real world driving conditions you would get about 25 miles before it needs to be charged.

Like I said, they do not exist yet.

Like I said, you like to lie a lot. The RAV4 has a range of about 120 miles.

And the Tesla has a real life driving range of about 250 miles. Now I used to have a pretty quick little car with a 5 cylinder engine. I have gotten over 700 miles on twenty gallons of gas in that car. I also have gotten less than 300 on the same amount of fuel. But it was fun.

Are the electrics ready for the big time yet? No. But there are many niches where at present they do exceptionly well. Lying about the capabilities that they have at present is not going to prevent them from hitting the big time as soon as the battery problem is solved.

Are the ironies in life not sometimes hysterical??????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here you have a hyper-k00k environmentalist radical pushing the merits of electric cars. Who buys them? Wealthy luminaries that are uber successful and have lots and lots of money and love their country..........just the type of person Rocks loaths in life.

Fcukking hysterical if you think about it..............

 

[editec]

What would make EV's really viable? Two thing, cheap batteries and cheap solar. Both of which are being worked on here in Oregon as we post. In fact, Solopower is putting in a plant just down the road from me as we post. And the solar plant in Hillsboro employs over a thousand people now.

Rather than standing in the left field doing the neener-neener number, the people here are stepping up and swinging the bat. I think that we will hit a home run, both for the area, and for the nation.

I disagree.

I think that electric cars don't really solve the problem they just attempt to kick the real problem down the road.

The real problem is the idea of an automotive society generally.

It's time to rethink that system.

 

[Big Fitz]

Where will the energy to power all these cars come from? Windmills?

Inb4 someone replies; "From the charging stations."

Most of our electricity comes from hydro electric. We have lots of dams. Had nukes..got rid of them.

So, as demand increases thanks to (supposed) increased use of electric cars, where is the increased capacity for electric generation going to come from? Have you such surplus capacity in your power grid you can continue in perpetuity on what you've got? Are you going to dam up more rivers? Think the econazis are going to let you do that even?

Colossal waste of money. If it were a good idea, a private industry would be doing it. And now, when my charge gets low, I can wait for my car to charge, sitting on the side of an interstate for a few hours. Good plan! Reallly good. Love that commute time!

 

[HUGGY]

What would make EV's really viable? Two thing, cheap batteries and cheap solar. Both of which are being worked on here in Oregon as we post. In fact, Solopower is putting in a plant just down the road from me as we post. And the solar plant in Hillsboro employs over a thousand people now.

Rather than standing in the left field doing the neener-neener number, the people here are stepping up and swinging the bat. I think that we will hit a home run, both for the area, and for the nation.

I disagree.

I think that electric cars don't really solve the problem they just attempt to kick the real problem down the road.

The real problem is the idea of an automotive society generally.

It's time to rethink that system.

WTF? All life is....is kicking the can farther down the road ya goof! I don't know what YOU like about America but for me it is the ability and right to get up in the morning and decide to drive somewhere...anywhere..or nowhere in particular...just go..

We don't live in a fuckin ant farm. We don't exist just to be worker bees that buy corporate crap our whole lives and then die having served our "purpose".

WHATEVER we find to beat the gasoline umbilical cord had better fucking well include personal freedom to choose individually when and where we want to get into or out of Dodge.

 

[Big Fitz]

What would make EV's really viable? Two thing, cheap batteries and cheap solar. Both of which are being worked on here in Oregon as we post. In fact, Solopower is putting in a plant just down the road from me as we post. And the solar plant in Hillsboro employs over a thousand people now.

Rather than standing in the left field doing the neener-neener number, the people here are stepping up and swinging the bat. I think that we will hit a home run, both for the area, and for the nation.

I disagree.

I think that electric cars don't really solve the problem they just attempt to kick the real problem down the road.

The real problem is the idea of an automotive society generally.

It's time to rethink that system.

And you propose to provide people with their required mobility and freedom on par with or better than the car how?

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Ever hear of the Tesla? The RAV4 electric?

Sony Pictures Classics Presents : Who Killed the Electric Car?

Ever here of Top Gear?

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXfV2hw_2Xo"]YouTube - ‪Top Gear - Tesla Roadster‬‏[/ame]

Tesla motors said that there car would have a 50 mile range on the Top Gear track. That means that if you plop your money down on the Roadster and drive it like you would a sports car you can drive for about 30 minutes before you have to recharge it. If the Rav4 has a similar range under real world driving conditions you would get about 25 miles before it needs to be charged.

Like I said, they do not exist yet.

Like I said, you like to lie a lot. The RAV4 has a range of about 120 miles.

And the Tesla has a real life driving range of about 250 miles. Now I used to have a pretty quick little car with a 5 cylinder engine. I have gotten over 700 miles on twenty gallons of gas in that car. I also have gotten less than 300 on the same amount of fuel. But it was fun.

Are the electrics ready for the big time yet? No. But there are many niches where at present they do exceptionly well. Lying about the capabilities that they have at present is not going to prevent them from hitting the big time as soon as the battery problem is solved.

The Tesla has a claimed range of 200 miles, and would get 50 miles on the Top Gear test track according to Tesla's own engineers, what makes you think the Rav4 would not show a similar reduction in range it it was used in stop and go driving? I think I was actually being generous in giving it the same reduction in range from its claimed range of 100 miles considering that Tesla makes its claims based on having a new battery technology that no one else has.

Niche markets are great, but that niche market has existed for over a century and electrics have not even caught on there. I live in the real world, not the fantasy utopia you do.

By the way, why are you saying I am lying when you are adding a 20% fudge factor to the manufacture's specifications?