I’m more concerned about acceleration from a stop or acceleration from 40 mph to 65 mph than I am about top speed.

If I had a hybrid or pure electric vehicle that was as big and safe as a traditional mid size car but couldn’t do more than 80mph I’d be ok with that. I’d even consider it if the top speed were 70mph.

I don’t see top speed of 100mph+ as anything but marketing. The only time I’ve ever driven that fast on a divided interstate west of the Mississippi where there isn’t an exit for something like 15 miles and the road is flat and straight. 99% of the roads in the US don’t meet that criteria.

I thought serious hybrids would take this approach with detachable IC power sources or similar small sources built in. Maybe it only does 80 mph flat out. Then again, flat out with an IC engine is the most efficient use of that engine. I thought if it caught on maybe most people have an electric and could rent the add on power source for trips or for those with really long commutes. Lots of people rent cars for trips now so it isn’t like this is highly improbable nor impractical. Renting easily attached power units for trips in a handful of standard configurations would be quite simple.

Neither are pie-in-the-sky schemes like hydrogen.

Plug in hybrids are the happy medium of low emmissions and long range. Plus, you don’t actually have to plug them in (good for people who don’t have garages under their control, like apartment dwellers or people who live in urban houses with only on-street parking).

If GM ever actually makes the Volt in quantity at a reasonable price, they should have a hit on their hands, although whether or not they can do so at a price point which is profitable (or do so at all) is still quite unclear.

If it was that much of a pleasure, your grandfather wouldn’t have sold that horse and bought himself a gas buggy.

I think that is the point. People in the future will say the same thing. “If it was that much of a pleasure, people would not have given up the V8″.

I don’t think you can begin to solve this problem until you solve the work commute issue. The problem is sometimes(often) you have the spouses working jobs that are at opposite ends of town, so there is NO possibility of sharing the drive. Then there’s the issue of suburban sprawl, zoning laws that concentrate business parks miles away from residential and the fact that people need the freedom to go shopping after work.

If it was that much of a pleasure, your grandfather wouldn’t have sold that horse and bought himself a gas buggy.

I for one will probably get a big V-8 in my next car, regardless of gas mileage/price. It may very well be the last time I can get or afford to get one and it is an experience I don’t want to miss.

Smoke em if you got em.

The problem is the average American driver’s idea of fun is driving a big car, high off the ground, with shiney rims, slowly, while talking on a cell phone.

First the societal forces must change, then these technical solutions can gain traction in the main. Another poster commented on testing the waters in the lightweight personal craft market to develop the technology and product… Which of the 2.8 have that much forsight?

That all said, many married couples like the two car, nice car/commute beater approach. The question isn’t will there be a commuter car, but why not an PHEV or EV? I think manufacturers will respond eventually with some form of upgradable battery pack. A basic (lighter/cheaper) ~60 mi pack which will service most needs and an upgrade or two for >200 mi. Combine that with a low top speed say 70 mph, it won’t sell as an only car, but as a 2nd or 3rd car here in the states.

Of course, they’ll drop the top speed further and make the car much lighter in the third world where it’ll actually catch on…..

As it is, we’re back down to three – and two drivers. Both my wife’s and my own commutes could be handled with an EV.

An EV as the only car? No. An EV as the second (or third…) car? Sure. Why not?

It’s a big enough chunk of the market to justify someone developing a product for it.

I wonder how many EV Nanos will end up floating down the Ganges when the batteries have degraded so much that they hold about as much charge as my iPod Nano ?

Isn’t that GM fanboys said of Prius batteries too?

There would be little incentive to repair or recycle after the battery dies as it’s probably the most expensive part in the car.

All over Asia you will find 20-30 year old cars in daily service, mainly becuase labor and maintenece consts are cheap. In India it is not uncommon to recondition batteries (by refilling new chemicals in used cases) and rethread tires. There is no reason to fear that used Nanos will be floating in Ganges rather than put in daily service years after a Tahoe hybrid has found it’s way to scarp yard here in US.

Sit down and write a log of your driving – many get surprised. A London company that is pushing car share has made quite a few converts by suggesting to prospects that they should log their car use over a month — after which they realize that they use the car for mostly trivial things, and that doing the more demanding ones with a car from the carshare pool makes sense.

When you start commuting 65 a day, that changes the math a lot. I was looking at going from 8-10k a year, to 12 to 14k a year. I looked at all sorts of scenarios, and when the bike didn’t work, I gave up. I am not average by any means.

Let’s use a different situation get a more useful number:

15,000 miles / 17 mpg x $3.25 per gallon = $2,867

That’s a more likely total fuel bill for a year. The more mpg you get, the less situations will let you take the cheap vehicle. A motorcylce or scooter won’t be used in bad weather, when you have to show up in a suit, with a passenger, etc. OTOH, a Smart car type thing will pass for LOTS of trips.

If you can take a motor bike half the time, you will have to operate the bike for 7,500 miles a year at a cost UNDER $1,450 just to break even. You have interest or opportunity cost on the value, depreciation, maintenance (most folks cannot due it ALL themselves), insurance, registration, and inspection. At best you will save a few hundred dollars a year. Only a biker will take that deal.

Of course, if you can drive a bike as much as you did, then the mpg starts to become more of a likely idea. Also, if it gets you into the HOV lane it could have other value.

However, I don’t see a lot of people going this route. It’s just not worth it. The target is the 2 or more car family in which the extra car/bike will get used in lieu of a necessary vehicle, OR where one of vehicles involved is justified for other reasons like fun.

Now, if you got government to wave all their nonsense, fees, and taxes you would have a start. If you could get the insurance company to be realistic about the fact that one person cannot drive more than one car at a time, that would help also. But still, it’s gonna be tough because gas is so darn cheap.

I don’t know how you calculated it but when I switch to a nice used bike 2.5 years ago it paid for itself in about 18 months. At the time I was commuting 65 miles a day round trip in a 20 mpg truck. I only commute 8 miles a day now including coming home for lunch and it only costs me $20 a month in gas, $25/year for insurance and I maintain the $1200 bike myself. I use it to go to site visits and client meetings with out any problems bringing drawings. It’s perfect for my needs right now, an EV that could be as fun and flexible would work also but probably not work out financially. Rain and really cold weather sucks but I have gotten used to it, plus I like being the die hard guy who commutes to work on a motorcycle rain or shine.

Great article and I agree with it, especially when the developing countries get more reliable power generation. If these countries are moving in the direction of EVs they will be sure to improve the infrastructure needed to support it.

Am I alone in thinking the Tata Nano is pretty cool? Drive a Honda Fit and tell me you need a big expensive car to have fun. Besides, the Nano and its kin are going to change the world in more profound way than a Tesla or hybrid anything. The middle class of the second largest country in the world will be put on wheels. Who can say with any accuracy what will happen?

The Nano is efficient as it stands, but an electric option in the fleet will likely give India a huge economic advantage as oil prices rise. They will generate more value for less oil, and hence, India’s living standards will rise.

Just produced by cranks.