On Tue, 09 Jan 2007 16:25:52 -0600, Chris W wrote in
:

Larry Dighera wrote:

There is little doubt, that electric drive vehicles will supplant
internal combustion engines just as electric motors replaced steam
powered locomotives. It's just a matter of time.

If trains were battery powered, like the electric cars we are talking
about, you might have a valid comparison.

Why do you think trains are no longer steam powered?

Batteries are still the weak point.

As they have been for a long time.

While they are improving they are still a very long way from the
energy density fond in gas and diesel

It's doubtful batteries will ever reach that density. But electric
motors are 85% to 95% efficient unlike the 40% to 60% efficiency of
internal combustion engines, so energy density isn't nearly as great a
factor when you look at the entire system as opposed to it's
individual components.

And there are new alternative fuel products on the horizon:
http://world.honda.com/FuelCell/HomeEnergyStation/
http://world.honda.com/factbook/auto/fcx/200212/12.html
http://www.nanosolar.com/cache/merc081504p.htm
http://world.honda.com/FuelCell/
http://world.honda.com/FuelCell/Home...gyStation2004/

Even when you take into account the conversion efficiencies.

Agreed. But there economic, political and environmental issues with
petroleum based fuels that will come to the fore more and more as time
goes by.

Also did you notice the base price for that Tesla Motors car? $92,000!!

This is a first product for a new startup company. As such, the cost
of development must be recouped before the economies of scale will
occur, like any new product. That's why they chose to introduce a
high performance sports card that hopefully will command a premium
price. The next follow on product will be a five passenger sedan,
priced at ~$50k, then a ~$30k coup.

It's just a guess, but I would bet that outside the battery powered
part of it, it is equivalent to at best a $45,000 gas car.

The Tesla roadster is built on a Lotus Elise chassis but exceeds its
performance: http://www.lotuscars.com/
http://wikicars.org/en/Lotus_Elise

When you calculate that at $5/gal in a 25 mpg car, for gas over 100,000 miles,
costs $20,000. That is a huge price to pay just to have an electric car
even if the electricity to recharge it were free.

Talk about flawed comparisons, you are overlooking the performance of
the roadster compared to a 25 mpg car.



Unfortunately, it seems that most innovative, breakthrough technology
seems to occur outside the US these days:
http://www.gizmag.com/go/6104/1/
http://www.pmlflightlink.com/archive/news_mini.html