Would an All-Electric yaris be cheaper in the long run?

[rningonfumes]

Working off of Garm's statement, I would believe they will add some computerization so that people won't need to go back out to their garages to flip the switch, no?

[why?]

Like most water heaters, ev's could easily be programmed to charge at a certain time.

The biggest argument against them has not been presented yet: Range. Even the Chevy Volt, supposedly the most advanced hybrid, can't go squat on battery only. Battery technology is not even close to where it needs to be for ev's to be useful. A range of at least 200 miles on a charge at maximum of 8 hours is necessary.

And then price would be an option. Most sources say no car manufacturer selling a hybrid is making money, and even the most optomistic say that Toyota is just finally starting to see a profit from Prius sales.

How crazy was the GM EV1 lease? Like $600 or more a month? That's insane.

Electric cars existed in the 1800's, then were dropped for gasoline. Technology isn't quite what it needs to be for them to be a reality yet.

And then, say the range is decent, the price is alright, you have to calculate electricity costs and all that other good stuff.

And, no the grid is not up to it. Like up north, when we in Florida just had our coldest days, the electric company was on the radio begging people to conserve electricity, and they still almost had to resort to rolling blackouts.

[rningonfumes]

And on those rolling black outs, what time of the day was it?

[captainm27]

I am surprised that with all the advances in technology we have today, that battery technology seems to be at a standstill. I remember when 10 years ago the average new laptop would last for 2 hours. The same still holds true today. If you buy your average HP or Dell, you'll still get only about 2 hours of use out of it. I wonder if other factors (such as greed and evil) have kept battery technology from really growing.

[firebob]

Originally Posted by rningonfumes

Working off of Garm's statement, I would believe they will add some computerization so that people won't need to go back out to their garages to flip the switch, no?

I can see the new threads of I plugged up my car but the thing didn’t charge. But they didn’t understand what they did wrong.


I would like to see a flex fuel generator installed into an electric car with a small tank. It would be ok to reduce the size of the battery pack for the genset but with the genset being able to run in it’s prim RMP range.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Someone here converted their Yaris LB to an all electric car, right? Can't remember who tho.

[cali yaris]

when there was already a high demand on the power grid from every one getting home from work cooking dinner and taking showers.

That's not the highest demand, it's air conditioning and business power usage during the day. Check your local utility for what their "peak hours" are. Usually over by 7pm.

[scape]

Originally Posted by captainm27

I wonder if other factors (such as greed and evil) have kept battery technology from really growing.

Big companies are pouring big money into battery technologies; I think greed is what keeps entrepreneurs and these companies in the mix of trying out new battery technologies, pushing things in new directions because they want that big payoff.

[scape]

Originally Posted by cali yaris

That's not the highest demand, it's air conditioning and business power usage during the day. Check your local utility for what their "peak hours" are. Usually over by 7pm.

In south florida I remember peak hours being evening (5-9pm) b/c everyone is home using their shoddy AC units, lights are on, and watching TV. That and weekends; they called them brownouts. Though I don't know if that coincides with FPL's (electric company) version of peak usage.

[MUSKOKA800]

Originally Posted by 1NZYaris1

Then you also need to take into account the latest news from Japan on Electric cars .
Are you ready for this
as of Now All electric cars that are produced in Japan
must be fitted with external speakers , that produce a sound of what ever
ie running water , Chirpping Birds etc
so people can hear the cars coming
This is due to ,the many pedestrian deaths cuased by electric cars , been seen and not heard
and people steping out in front of them

I'll take mine with a recording of an F1 car at full song. That should get their attention.

[why?]

Originally Posted by captainm27

I am surprised that with all the advances in technology we have today, that battery technology seems to be at a standstill. I remember when 10 years ago the average new laptop would last for 2 hours. The same still holds true today. If you buy your average HP or Dell, you'll still get only about 2 hours of use out of it. I wonder if other factors (such as greed and evil) have kept battery technology from really growing.

Battery technology is not at a standstill at all, they are trying and figuring out new things.

You can't compare it with laptops. A brand new laptop today makes a laptop a decade ago look like a rock. In the computer industry, battery technology is struggling to keep up with the demands from newer power sucking computer technology.

People keep saying that battery technology for cars is just about to hit a breakthrough, and become truly usable for the mainstream. Although they've been saying that for quite a while.

[jambo101]

Sounds like an option i would consider if 100% of my driving was local,but when doing trips of 500 miles or more how far you going to get before you need to plug it in? and where will you plug it in? and how long will you have to wait till its charged?

[captainm27]

Originally Posted by why?

Battery technology is not at a standstill at all, they are trying and figuring out new things.

You can't compare it with laptops. A brand new laptop today makes a laptop a decade ago look like a rock. In the computer industry, battery technology is struggling to keep up with the demands from newer power sucking computer technology.

People keep saying that battery technology for cars is just about to hit a breakthrough, and become truly usable for the mainstream. Although they've been saying that for quite a while.

True, I know what you mean. But at the same time, we've got Netbooks using Atom processors, which barely use the energy that laptops used a decade ago, but they still get only about 2 hours charge.

[jambo101]

Wonder what ever happened to the research on nuclear powered cars?
A small bead of uranium powering a steam based power unit might be more feasible than batteries.

[BailOut]

Originally Posted by jambo101

Wonder what ever happened to the research on nuclear powered cars?
A small bead of uranium powering a steam based power unit might be more feasible than batteries.

Using nuclear material to power cars will never happen for 3 reasons:

1) There is a highly finite amount of Uranium and its radioactive cousins in the world.

2) The containment and cooling systems needed for an on-board reactor would be prohibitively heavy.

3) Considering that our use of nuclear fuel is just 5% efficient it is nowhere near as efficient as a battery (70%), and it produces non-recyclable, incredibly toxic and dangerous waste.

[daf62757]

I think common sense is that electric cars could be cheaper, but the system in place right now can't support it. We need many more nuclear power plants online to make such a transfer feasible. Coal plants are in the sights of this present administration with no plans for nuclear to replace the coal plants that will be taken out of commission to comply with the cap and trade legislation. Unless there is some real movement towards increasing the power reserve, I don't think electric cars are going to have any real momentum.

I would prefer to see natural gas replace gas. All cars could be altered to accept natural gas and gas stations could handle both.

[Sidicas]

Originally Posted by captainm27

I am surprised that with all the advances in technology we have today, that battery technology seems to be at a standstill. I remember when 10 years ago the average new laptop would last for 2 hours. The same still holds true today. If you buy your average HP or Dell, you'll still get only about 2 hours of use out of it. I wonder if other factors (such as greed and evil) have kept battery technology from really growing.

Bad comparison...Laptops are a lot smaller and also a lot lighter weight than they were 10 years ago..

Battery tech has definitely evolved by quite a bit.. Netbooks are hitting over 8 hours of battery life, most modern laptops nowadays have beefy 3D video chips that you just wouldn't find in laptops 10 years ago..

I just don't see electric cars being cheaper than gas, I've run the numbers here in NY.. And it turns out that electricity from Niagara mohawk is so expensive here that electric cars wouldn't even break even until gas hits over $5.00 a gallon, assuming that the electric car costs the same as the gas car.. If we as the USA, go electric, we NEED to get those electric costs down and that's likely going to mean nuclear power plants and lots of them..

People love to push the "green" electricity like windmills, solar, and hydroelectric, but anybody who's been living off of such electricity sources knows that the costs for "green" electricity is just not worth it.. Renewable energy is just not reliable at all.. People justify them with statements like.. "Well, in a 100 years, these solar panels will pay for themself! ".. Well, not if you have to keep replacing them every 10 years because the acidity in bird poo ruins them.. Or if your windmill farm gets destroyed by a tornado or hurricane every 5 years... Or if a droubt hits or those darn beavers reroute your water source for your hydro-electric plant.. And then you can't take out the beavers because PETA comes after you, and you can't run your hydro plant because of the beavers stealing your water, and you can't run non-renewable because of the environmentalists.. We screw ourselves over every day..

Honestly, I'm very surprised electricity isn't a lot higher in price than it is now.. It must be those people down south running the coal and gas power plants that are keeping our grid together... I'm running off of hydro-electric power and paying some of the highest electricity bills across the entire united states. Needless to say, Niagara mohawk is STILL struggling to deliver reliable renewable energy from Niagara falls despite all the money they get from the Candian government, the USA government, and my own wallet.


/rant..

[Astroman]

People love to push the "green" electricity like windmills, solar, and hydroelectric, but anybody who's been living off of such electricity sources knows that the costs for "green" electricity is just not worth it.. Renewable energy is just not reliable at all.. People justify them with statements like.. "Well, in a 100 years, these solar panels will pay for themself! ".. Well, not if you have to keep replacing them every 10 years because the acidity in bird poo ruins them.. Or if your windmill farm gets destroyed by a tornado or hurricane every 5 years... Or if a droubt hits or those darn beavers reroute your water source for your hydro-electric plant.. And then you can't take out the beavers because PETA comes after you, and you can't run your hydro plant because of the beavers stealing your water, and you can't run non-renewable because of the environmentalists.. We screw ourselves over every day..

Wow.... Your statement is wrong in so many ways. I live in central washington with the lowest rates in the country thanks to hydroelectric dams (which have been here working great for 60+ years, with an average of 2 power outages a year mostly due to weather or a raccoon getting into the transformers) and windfarms. We actually have too much of the stuff, and have to sell it to the rest of the state, parts of Oregon and Idaho. And central WA is a desert, our rivers are fed by snowpack. No problems with drought as the mighty Columbia roars on. Our electricity rate is about .02 cents per kWh so electric cars are very viable here. However our other energy costs are on average higher than the rest of the country. The last couple of times I was down in California their gas & diesel was cheaper.

Our wind farms are not subject to hurricanes, that is strictly coastal areas, and nor do we get cyclones. Those wind farms are put in with agreement (and nice compensation) to grazing land owners.

Eelectric cars might not be cost wise for all areas, but here in the Pacific Nortwest they certainly are. We even have a outfit here in the area that does plug-in conversions for hybrids. So please, save us the myth that hurricanes and beavers make "green" energy viable. We've been doing it here for over 60 years, long before Fox News, and the proof is in our low electricity rates and our awesome clean air.