Who Killed The Electric Car?

[Powerful T]

http://www.sonyclassics.com/whokilledtheelectriccar/electric.html

Oh hell yes. I am seeing this.

[jdmdrift]

They did a review on NPR...and said it pretty much sucked. Mainly because the focus of the movie was on the electric car that you plug in. Well, this uses electricity from the powerplant, which in most cases, causes more net polution then running your modern car on gas. Anyway, electric cars are crap...they use highly poisonous, toxic, and in some cases radioactive batteries. And of course, these batteries only last a few years before they need to be disposed of and replaced. Hybrids are just as bad. Oh yeah, then there's the whole batteries leaking and setting the car on fire thing. That'll just ruin your whole day.

[Powerful T]

They did a review on NPR...and said it pretty much sucked. Mainly because the focus of the movie was on the electric car that you plug in. Well, this uses electricity from the powerplant, which in most cases, causes more net polution then running your modern car on gas. Anyway, electric cars are crap...they use highly poisonous, toxic, and in some cases radioactive batteries. And of course, these batteries only last a few years before they need to be disposed of and replaced. Hybrids are just as bad. Oh yeah, then there's the whole batteries leaking and
setting the car on fire thing. That'll just ruin your whole day.

I'm more interested on what they have to say about the Hydrogen powerplants, which are, imho, the best bargain of the Alternative Energy group.

Have you seen Mazda's RX-8 Hydrogen?

[Golden Monkey]

http://youtube.com/results?search=who+killed+the+electric+car&search_type=search_videos&search=Search

[jdmdrift]

I'm more interested on what they have to say about the Hydrogen powerplants, which are, imho, the best bargain of the Alternative Energy group.

Have you seen Mazda's RX-8 Hydrogen?

yes i have and tottaly forgot about it to be honest.
but yes that would be interesting.

[bluemonq]

my oh my...
Well, this uses electricity from the powerplant, which in most cases, causes more net polution then running your modern car on gas.
hmm. let's compare an oil-fired power plant versus gasoline cars
gasoline: oil well --> transport --> oil refinery --> lots and lots of transports to deliver to thousands of gas stations --> fuel car (while leaking gasoline which evaporates... X millions) --> burn

electric: oil well --> transport --> oil refinery --> transport --> transport to power plant --> burn
Anyway, electric cars are crap...they use highly poisonous, toxic, and in some cases radioactive batteries.
are you going to tell me that gasoline is non-toxic and completely non-radioactive? also, please tell me what you mean by "some case".

And of course, these batteries only last a few years before they need to be disposed of and replaced. Hybrids are just as bad.
dude, you're talking out of your ass here. while it's true that the batteries have a limited lifespan, it's a little beyond "a few years." prius batteries are warrantied for eight years, which, at least in the US, happens to be twice as long as the average time of ownership for a particular car, as from data collected by the Department of Transportation. oh, btw, in the case of both NiMH and Li-Ion, the battery manufacturers would be happy to take your old batteries; most of the solids is composed of expensive, reusable materials, and most of the other chemicials can also be reused or sold.
Oh yeah, then there's the whole batteries leaking and setting the car on fire thing. That'll just ruin your whole day.
must...resist...making fun...of poster's....stupidity and/or ignorance...must resist...
because, you know, gasoline tanks can't leak and set the car on fire. dear god! who's ever heard of such a thing? i mean, can you imagine? hahaha, silly, isn't it? exploding gas tanks? that's a myth right up there with gasoline burning and spilled gasoline ruining the seats, paint, and carpetting. oh, btw, what exactly part of the car would the batteries of an electric car set on fire? hmm, gasoline? oh wait, no...oh, i got it! transmission fluid! nah, don't need it with motors at each wheel. antifreeze? brake fluid? silly me, solenoids and regenerative braking would take care of that. damn! i just can't think of a thing. maybe if i had a quart of vodka stashed somewhere...
I'm more interested on what they have to say about the Hydrogen powerplants, which are, imho, the best bargain of the Alternative Energy group.
the problem with hydrogen is that people are using it as a Shiny Thing(tm) to distract people. *something* has to produce the hydrogen; it's not naturally occuring by itself, at least not here on earth. you can either split water, or get it from hydrocarbon gases like methane...which brings us back to burning fossil fuels. splitting water is ok, except for the part where we need to generate energy to do it. right now, the only alternative source that could really put out a lot of electricity is nuclear power. it's the best, actually. "natural power" is limited in the terms of capacity, and solar and wind have an additional problem of pretty much only being available during the daytime, which is when most electrical power is needed. contrast this with nuclear power: at night, when power demand is low, the power can be used to crack water. a dirty little secret: power plants don't shut off at night when people are using less; it's a hassle to turn off an on, there's no simple power switch for it. so right now, as i type, a lot of excess electricity is being generated for no purpose. the main problem is that pseudoenvironmentalist propaganda has continued spewing crap about chernobyl and three mile island when the truth is that today's designs are a lot safer and more efficient. also, chernobyl and three mile island were the result of human error (and in the case of chernobyl blatant stupidity, with the operators experimenting with a procedure that everyone knew you weren't supposed to do).

hydrogen is just a means for storing and distributing power, perhaps more efficient when they work it out, but so many people act like it's a holy grail or something.

[jdmdrift]

thanks for being an ass in your response instead of just pointing out what you think are mistakes.

I'm not going to argue against your little fuel vs. electric diagram, you haven't taken into account energy lost of long-distance transmission (actually quite low), the strain on the grid, and the actual polution from the plants themselves. Also keep in mind the range on these electric only cars is VERY limited...the EV1 was about 60 miles, the new ones are supposedly up to 100 miles now.

I'd put 8 years in the range of a few, i.e., less than 10. May not effect many original owners, but second or third owners will have to address this. When was the last time you seriously had to consider a $3000 maintenance fee on a used car? Short of replacing the engine/driveline, you'll never see this. The replacement costs are estimated to be as low as $3000, with some estimates much higher. -> http://hybridcars.about.com/od/hybridcarfaq/f/batterycost.htm

Safety issues when working with hybrid batteries...not too big a deal, but when was the last time you wore a protective suit/mask to work on your car or at the scene of an accident, they must be concerned about something burning...must be the coolant that you mentioned Shake Head -> http://www.asashop.org/autoinc/june2006/collision.cfm

Reported vehicle fire, 'silent' recall on leaky batteries -> http://www.priusownersgroup.com/?p=803

Also, remember that not only does the hybrid have the battery, still uses gasoline. I can't find any direct reference to the radioactive materials used in the batteries...I saw a reference made on a site focused on a different alternative energy.

The one thing the Prius, and other hybrids, has done is bring huge attention to alternative energy. That and the increased cost of gas will likely bring change sooner than later.

Here's a link to NPR interview of the movie's creator -> http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5524918