Tesla - The First Legit Electric Car

[Old Rocks]

The Rav4 Toyota had an electric version in 1994, that had a range of 120 miles. It seems to have held it value rather well;

Toyota RAV4 EV For Sale on eBay : TreeHugger

 

[GHook93]

The chemicals to make batteries are just as toxic, only the toxins go down not up. Electric cars also still pollute the ground just as much as gas ones from the oils. It's another of those "feel good green things" that people never really consider the entire picture for. It's not any better, it's just different.

Always the pessimist huh? I am sure we can find a safe recycle and disposal method!

You do realize that recycling plants put out as much pollution and cause just as much harm as "virgin" material plants ...

Proof?

 

[GHook93]

These guys have succeed! And its a huge first step toward the electric car. A 5 seate cool looking family car.

Why it will sell:
(1) It looks sleek and cool. Image is important
(2) While $50K is expensive, its affordable to a lot of people in the upper middle class
(3) 300 mile range on a 45 minute charge. If you have a 20 mile commute, then you can go 15 days without charging. 45 min charge, is very short. Even outside salesmen can survive! Not too many people are going to do 300 miles in a day too often. 300 miles is more than enough for the vast majority of people!
(4) Family Car: It can fit 5 adults and 2 children.
(5) More Cargo space than station wagons!
(6) 0-60 mph in 5.6 seconds
(7) No Gas = No carbon Emission = No pollution
(8) People will like the fact that they are delivering a great economic blow to Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Iran, Saudi Arabia etc and freeing America of foreign oil!
Model S FAQ


The car pictured? No way that it holds 7 people. Do the kids get folded and put in the trunk?

Yep locked away in cages in the trunk! Come on you never seen fold down seats in the trunk! Even so 5 people can fit in it comfortably!

 

[editec]

Wait till the world has 500,000,000 electic cars spewing out water vapor and then remember that I suggested that that might become the next pollution.

Maybe it's time to rethink the whole car thing?

 

[GHook93]

Wait till the world has 500,000,000 electic cars spewing out water vapor and then remember that I suggested that that might become the next pollution.

Maybe it's time to rethink the whole car thing?

I agree lets go back to horse and buggy!

 

[editec]

Wait till the world has 500,000,000 electic cars spewing out water vapor and then remember that I suggested that that might become the next pollution.

Maybe it's time to rethink the whole car thing?

I agree lets go back to horse and buggy!

No, that won't work either.

But as the world's population reaches seven billion people, and as a greater number of them are attaining a standard of living which gives them the puchasing power to create a society which has cars, the resources necessary for those cars and the supporting infrastructure that cars demand seems to make increasingly less sense to me.

Hey I like my car, too, but can we really expect that this world can support five or six billion of them regardless of what powers them and regardless of their tax on the environment?

Frankly, I do not think that there will be private automobiles in society by 2100.

I think that sooner, rather than later, we are going to realize that the aggregate expense of the automotive society is too high for a world as crowded as ours is becoming.

When I think about how much of my resources has gone into cars, maintance, fuel, insurance and so forth, I am astounded at how much work I've had to do just to get from point A to point B.

I think cars are doomed, personally.

Of course, we'll keep trying to make them more efficient and less toxic, but the whole ide of having a personal chariot to move you around the planet is going to seem very strange to mankind in a few generations.

Our progeny will curse us for how wasteful we were becausse of our affection for these hucks of iron.

 

[auditor0007]

it is a beautiful car. i also like the fact that Tesla is basically a LOTUS with an electric motor.

i still don't understand how am i supposed to charge it though ? i live in an apartment in NYC. most of the time i can't find parking within a block of where i live. am i supposed to purchase a 2,000 foot extension cord ?

Pranksters would probably disconnect it all the time, lmao.

 

[auditor0007]

it is a beautiful car. i also like the fact that Tesla is basically a LOTUS with an electric motor.

i still don't understand how am i supposed to charge it though ? i live in an apartment in NYC. most of the time i can't find parking within a block of where i live. am i supposed to purchase a 2,000 foot extension cord ?

I guess your S.O.L.! My brother went to NYU and lived in the city for 5 yrs after he graduated and didn't have a car the whole time and got around fine! I assume when the electric car takes off, there will be a way to accommodate you city folk!

I can see it now. Everyone will try to steal electricity from their employers.

 

[diana]

it is a beautiful car. i also like the fact that Tesla is basically a LOTUS with an electric motor.

i still don't understand how am i supposed to charge it though ? i live in an apartment in NYC. most of the time i can't find parking within a block of where i live. am i supposed to purchase a 2,000 foot extension cord ?

I guess your S.O.L.! My brother went to NYU and lived in the city for 5 yrs after he graduated and didn't have a car the whole time and got around fine! I assume when the electric car takes off, there will be a way to accommodate you city folk!

I can see it now. Everyone will try to steal electricity from their employers.

yeah i agree with you. Everyone did

 

[Old Rocks]

The chemicals to make batteries are just as toxic, only the toxins go down not up. Electric cars also still pollute the ground just as much as gas ones from the oils. It's another of those "feel good green things" that people never really consider the entire picture for. It's not any better, it's just different.

Now that is about the most idiotic thing I have seen posted lately.

 

[Old Rocks]

Wait till the world has 500,000,000 electic cars spewing out water vapor and then remember that I suggested that that might become the next pollution.

Maybe it's time to rethink the whole car thing?

Editec, electric cars do not emit water vapor. Fuel cell vehicles do that. Electric cars have no emissions at all. And the present batteries that are powerful enough for this kind of application are made of materials such as lithium and nickel, both expensive enough to be worth recycling.

 

[tigerbob]

Wait till the world has 500,000,000 electic cars spewing out water vapor and then remember that I suggested that that might become the next pollution.

Maybe it's time to rethink the whole car thing?

Editec, electric cars do not emit water vapor. Fuel cell vehicles do that. Electric cars have no emissions at all. And the present batteries that are powerful enough for this kind of application are made of materials such as lithium and nickel, both expensive enough to be worth recycling.

I was under the impression he was referring to this...

Honda readies sleek hydrogen car for sale next year - Honda FCX (6) - CNNMoney.com

I may be wrong though.

 

[GHook93]

Tesla Motors reported 520 reservations for the Model S. With a $5,000 deposit required for each reservation, this totals to $2.6 million in commitment from buyers in the first week.

Tesla: More than 500 takers for Model S | Planetary Gear - CNET News

 

[kakarothusain]

wow i have heard about electric scooters but i have never heard about electric cars.I think they are going to replaces the cars which runs on diesel and petrol..

 

[GHook93]

wow i have heard about electric scooters but i have never heard about electric cars.I think they are going to replaces the cars which runs on diesel and petrol..

I saw some things on Hydrogen fueled cars on the discovery channel and it sounds very promising. H is the most common element not only on Earth, but in our milky way!

I think our goal should first be to get cars off running on oil or non-renewables sources and not emitting polutants or carbons.

Second, we need to attack coal and natural gas.

However, none should be done at the expense of the US economy. It doesn't need to be forced onto the consumer or business. They can work in conjunction.

 

[cliffdodger]

It's still a good idea for many reasons to be bringing in alternative fuels and running electric cars but so far nothing is a holy grail of clean energy. Where does the electricity come from to charge the batteries? Nuclear plants? Coal plants? Even most solar cells are extremely toxic to manufacture and of course oil is required in manufacturing the toxic plastics although new solar panels are in development that are much more efficient and environmentally friendly.

I'm surprised still that there hasn't been more talk about the Mazda Premacy or the next RX-8. Mazda's leased RX-8 hydrogen hybrid's since 06 in Japan and 07 in Norway for the Hynor testing project. More recently Mazda found that they could get more power and twice the range from their hydrogen fuel tanks by using them to generate electricity for an electric motor instead of using the hydrogen combustion to drive the vehicle. Mazda was only getting 105HP from their hydrogen and 100 miles range while the gasoline in the same engine was generating 250+ HP. The same amount of hydrogen now gets 200 miles of range when used to power an electric motor. They'll be out soon - Rotary based Hydrogen/Electric/Gasoline Hybrids.

 

[Seraega]

Is it just me or is that honda UGLY! The Tesla is a sweet looking ride, but that honda... man! My old civic is still by far the best car I've owned, but I'd never buy a new one just because of the aesthetics.

 

[GHook93]

2011 Chevrolet Volt Review and Prices
General Motors calls the 2011 Chevrolet Volt an extended-range electric vehicle because it can run for 40 miles on electric power alone and only uses gasoline to power a generator if the 40-mile range is exceeded. The gas powered motor will allow the car to go an extra 640 miles!

I think the Volt starts the rapid migration to electric cars, since its priced at $30-$40K, which is affordable to most Americans! Ford better have one up its sleeve, because I know Toyota and Honda are rolling them out!

However, I sure hope the Tesla - Model S picks up. This could be the transition away from oil we have been waiting for!

 

[cliffdodger]

While there is no "holy grail" that might be the closest thing right there. Using combustable fuels (whether it be hydrogen, gas, bio-diesel, or something else) to power a generator for an electric motor. It doubled the range provided by hydrogen fuel in the RX-8 prototypes and here you're saying a tank of gas now gets 640 Miles? Just by using it to run a generator instead of the wheels.

What's really sad about this fact is that as far as I know electric motors haven't changed much. So while we've been waiting on battery technology to make electric cars feasible (or so we've been told) all this time we could've stuck a generator in there to run a common electric motor? I'm sure some significant advancements have been made in the electric motors used and in the generators but regardless, the basic technology for this has been there for A LONG TIME.

Imagine how much money we could've saved in gasoline if someone had felt like pointing this out sooner?

 

[GHook93]

Is it just me or is that honda UGLY! The Tesla is a sweet looking ride, but that honda... man! My old civic is still by far the best car I've owned, but I'd never buy a new one just because of the aesthetics.

Not just you! The Honda looks like crap! However, the Tesla and Volt look damn cool!