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OK, I am going to try and address all the statments made after my last one, so forgive me if I miss anything:
Will, While I will have to agree that the VW you mentioned is definately higher in MPG than mine, and will seat 7, It is not available for me here in the US (personally though I don't like its looks, but to each his own right?) Personally I have a hard time finding anything that gets mileage like that that I can afford.I chose my van not just for it seating all of us, but it is quite universal in its stow-n-go seating and storage space while traveling. I mean what good does it do to have a good mileage vehicle for traveling if you have this giant bag on the roof that I see too often? lol.
As far as the EV1, It was NOT the epic advanvement that everyone thought it was. while it DID make many of the claims of distance/energy ratio, the longevity of the battery itself was low, and there were still too many problems with the design and its cost efficiency as a full production vehicle.
ASU: You need to go back and check on exactly how UNSAFE the lead-acid type batteries are. they are quite unsafe actually. The average car battery does two things, starts the car, and then helps stabilize the voltage of the alternator. It does NOT supply power to the vehicle while it is running, so on average the battery itself is not used much, while in an electric car, the batteries are being treated quite severely in discharging/charging, and when was the last time you saw a car battery last a full 10 years before replacement was needed? If you do the research you will find that the lead-acid batteries are quite unafe when used in this manner. Golf cart batteries do not last a long time, nor are they efficient enough for commercial application in a car that is to be used on the interstate. tough they work fine in short term application for the golf carts.
As far as the safety concerns I was not refering to airbags and seatbelts, I was refering to the danger of a lead acid batteries danger if it were to short out or explode when so many of them are tied together.
And with the grid system, it is merely a design for short term, not long term, as in if the grid ecomes very low on voltage output, it can send some back. it is DEFINATELY not designed to run anything. I dont think I am maybbe explaining the system as well as I am meaning.
Fotzlid: I really dont know what to say to your comment. To each his own I guess, I am not much into the conspiracy theory you seem to be bringing up.
CJ2112: The demand for charging these vehicles is much lower than you think. For example the Volt is rated as such that with a total charge needed, it will cost the average homeowner less that $30 per month, so when compared to the fuel you will save it is much more efficient that an ICE. Also, the carbon footprint of this vehicle is MUCH lower than any ICE out there. even when the ICE on the Volt is running, it has a very small footprint.
Thanks for all the responses so far. I am enjoying the feeback!
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"It is not that I have failed, but that I have found 10,000 ways that it DOESN'T work!" --Thomas Edison
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