Comments on: Tesla Roadster and the Electric Car Future

By: David Snyder Sr

David Snyder Sr — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 23:06:28 +0000

Let me get this straight? you can put an alternator and voltage regulator on a gas engine to charge the batteries, and this can’t be done to an electric drive car? I mean come on the alternator don’t know and don’t care what turns it. Gene

By: Clifford McCarthy

Clifford McCarthy — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 08:38:12 +0000

Not a lot of people will ever be able to afford one of these new cars even though there old car is probably slower. People forget about the less fortunate people who cannot afford to help the environment in such a way. Maybe helping these used and old cars could be the answer. I know that the cash for clunkers scheme is up and running and I must say it does help some people to upgrade. Think we are trying to go forward to fast in the car industry and should help less fortunate people help the environment without loosing something.

By: Rob

Rob — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 21:32:37 +0000

A lot of information on how to build an electric car, including cost cutting measures and design tips, can be found on Frank Didik’s website at: http://www.didik.com/didik_ev.htm. In particular, check out the section entitled “How to Build an Electric Car”, “Didik Turtle or How to build a two person electric vehicle in 14 hours” and “Critical and accurate assessment of electric vehicles”. He is the first to truly mention the pro’s and con’s of electric cars and an excellent history directory of electric cars, starting in the 1800’s. Many years ago, Didik was the found of the Electric Car Society.

By: Cgann

Cgann — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 04:59:07 +0000

Electric cars… maybe. Electric trucks… no. The fact of the matter is a battery will not propel an 80,000 lb 18 wheel truck. The technology simply is not there and won’t be for at least 20+ years. Electric cars may become reality in the next 10 years for cities and commuters. But they will not in the rural areas and the mid-west because they simply don;t have enough range. 50 to 100 miles is not enough for most people in the mid-west. Secondly … if the public were to begin driving electric cars in mass the grid simply could not support that much drain on the system. We do not have enough power plants to replace 12 million barrels of oil per day equivalent in electricity.

Let us deal in the reality not fantasy. EVs becoming “mainstream” may be a reality in the future…but not for a long time….a very long time.

By: Just Watching

Just Watching — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 02:40:27 +0000

Those that can afford it don’t need it and those that need it can’t afford it. Very limited market for the all electric.

By: guy

guy — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 08:37:55 +0000

I just made my deposit for my new Tesla. Yes, the battery pack is expensive right now, but by the time I can get close to putting 100k on it, the cost should have come down….. Now for the waiting game.

P.s. G.M. has the ability to put a GREAT EV on the road tomorrow… but then they would have to give all that money back to the oil companies.

By: Chevy Volt Lover

Chevy Volt Lover — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 05:07:18 +0000

The most up to date Chevy Volt site on the web:

http://www.chevy-volt.net

By: preston marshall

preston marshall — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 22:36:18 +0000

Well the company is definitely on the right track. The car its self is remarkable. The specs on the car meet the needs of every young race enthusiast out there. The only problem is that the average joe will never be able to afford this price. The only way to solve this, which has slready been stated is to sell more cars. Our government can drastically help if someone grows the balls to put there foot down and get things working. What needs to be done is that there needs to be a tax cut for those who opt to purchase the car. This will make the incentive to kick the sales off on the car and start the process of making our nation independent for the oil industry.

By: Paul Henson

Paul Henson — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 05:14:50 +0000

Here’s an idea for all manufacturers: make the battery packs removable (and standardised).

Instead of electric vehicles all plugging in at home, the service stations would replace them just as we have been ‘replacing’ conventional fuel, and recharge them at all hours.

Energy demand could be managed more efficiently, with on and off peak power production being ’smoothed out’, to help prevent overloading.

The customer wouldn’t have to wait for recharging, enabling longer trips.

Anyone want to pay me for this idea?
Cheers.

By: LJ

LJ — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 01:45:26 +0000

I think we’ll see the first widely adopted electric car with the GM Volt. read more at the the enthusiast’s site http://www.gm-volt.com

By: Kennth Shepherd

Kennth Shepherd — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 21:07:41 +0000

I have an idea for electicity generation that needs to be proven. This device could make large or small amounts of electrcity. I neeed funding to prove the idea. I need to build a protoype. It took me two years to devise the harness for the source that turns the large generator.

469-254-5132

By: kent beuchert

kent beuchert — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 03:35:44 +0000

Tesla chose li ion laptop batteries, total cost over $20,000. Batteries requires hours to recharge, making public charging stations impossible for these vehicles. Tesla should have chosen the Altair NanoSafes, which don’t require the bizzaro battery pack monitoring and HVAC system his car requires so the batteries last beyond a year or so. The NanoSafes can be recharged in less than 10 minues and last probably 5 times longer than the 8631(!) laptop batteries in the Tesla, making them 5 times cheaper. Even if one put a lot of miles on the Tesla and managed to log 100,000 miles before the batteries needed replacing (almost impossible), battery cost per mile is still an exorbitant 20 cents. Drive a normal 50,000 miles and the cost per mile is 40 cents, or the equivalent of $12 a gallon gasoline, plus the electricity cost of around 2 cents per mile (assuming 10 cents per kWhr). I don’t think the public is screaming for $12 a gallon gasoline.