Comments on: Electric cars head toward another dead end

By: TrueNorth

TrueNorth — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:54:05 +0000

One of the challenges with hydrogen is distribution infrastructure, there is none, at least electrics have a system that can be modified to work, electricity is everywhere already. The big issue for electrics is range and the poison of battery production and disposal. If you are Nissan and you believe this will be overcome by innovation, you keep on trucking as long as short term investor thinking doesn’t stop you.

By: Sean McNeely

Sean McNeely — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:36:42 +0000

No mention of the Chevy Volt, a car that is all electric for 50 km, with a gas generator @6l/100km for the next 500 km. I bought one in the fall, and besides being an absolute pleasure to drive, I don’t use gas in the city.

By: ntomyng

ntomyng — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 06:25:39 +0000

Hydrogen cars will never, never really work. Yes hydrogen is a powerful fuel, the unfortunate thing is that it takes a lot more energy to get the hydrogen than you will ever get out of burning it. Hydrogen is almost never by itself; it’s usually combined with other things on this planet (example: in water), and splitting the hydrogen atoms out takes a lot of energy. I remember hydrogen car experiments back in the ’70′s…at that time we were being told it would be 20 years or so before it was available…well here we are today and where is it? Yeah, another 20 years away! It’s never going to happen. Electric cars can be here today, and can work today, if the automotive press gives it a chance.

By: Albin

Albin — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 01:13:16 +0000

Writers noting Toyota`s “long lead`on current hybrids should note that soon after Prius th ere were several competing hybrids by major manufacturers including Honda and Nissan that turned out to be crummy fake machines that used the same amount of gas in normal use as an ordinary gas engine. Toyota started out as the only maker to take the hybrid concept seriously as an alternative and deserves its success, not only as first mover, but as having the longest practical history of development and refinement.

I certainly have my beefs against some design aspects of recent Toyotas, but give it full credit for taking seriously the challenge to design the most efficient and practical hybrids.

By: Franjo

Franjo — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 20:05:01 +0000

The problem in Ontario at least, is our sky high energy rates due to time of use billing thanks to the Ontario Liberals for this. It would probably cost you more and take longer to fill than just buying regular fuel.

By: Wile

Wile — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 18:32:11 +0000

Mazda was developing hydrogen fueled cars years ago. Where are they in this discussion, they’re the one manufacturer that has avoided electric vehicles and looked at other technologies (diesel, skyactive for gasoline engines, etc) to offer alternatives to electric. It would have been good to have reported on if they are still pursuing hydrogen or they dropped it.
Before the introduction of the Prius and other hybrids/electrics, my uncle talked about an electric construction vehicle he would operate all day long in the early 70s. Now it would have capacity to carry a lot more batteries, but his point was if that technology existed back then to operate a vehicle all day long …. why wasn’t there any improvements in that technology over all the years that have passed since?

By: Paul

Paul — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 17:21:28 +0000

The sales jumped 181% – from 0 to 481 EV sales last year.
EV is dead because despite billions of dollars people don’t want it.

By: A RedLeaf

A RedLeaf — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 18:06:45 +0000

“…an unusual but promising new alternate power source: hydrogen.” ummm, I wasn’t around but I recall something about an airship called the Hindenburg (an unfortunate disaster)… granted, it wasn’t the source but there was a helluva lot if it onboard… and then there’s a development in the works called the Ballard Fuel Cell… going on 20 some years now…
“EVs continue to be plagued by many of the problems that eventually scuttled electrics in the 1910s…” again, wasn’t around…but on checking into it I discovered that (gasp) e-lec-tric-it-y wasn’t everywhere in 1910 ergo; not a lot of charging stations then either.
I could go on and on about the negative, one-sided slant of this entire article but I simply don’t have enough time (I’m almost 50) but suffice to say that I appreciate a good chuckle…thank you for that.

4 TOworker – Combined U.S. sales of models including Leaf and plug-in models including General Motors Co.’s Volt and Toyota Motor Corp.’s Prius jumped 181 per cent in 2012 to 50,188, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. – incidently, (in my world) I’ve put 24,000 kms on my Leaf in 12 mths and saved $6K in gas…just sayin’

By: torontoworker

torontoworker — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:47:36 +0000

EV units don’t work well unless you live in that perfect climate that never gets hotter then 25C and colder then 12C. Other then that narrow climate band – your EV will die in environments such as Haileybury Ontario where the overnight temp’s in Jan will kill the batteries unless the car is plugged into an outside electrical source. EV’s actually use an internal heater device while you drive in winter that uses it’s batteries built in heater to prevent permanent damage. In hot climates EV’s have cooling cycle that also uses the battery charge to prevent a thermal overload that damages the cells during use.

All of this thermal maintenance of the batteries cuts down on the range you can drive. If you live in Flagstaff AZ and the temp is 100F – your choice is no air conditioning or very, very short range with the air on – as little as 30kms. In Canadian winters (no – NOT the GTA!) the same issues for range exists as many of us enjoy having a heater on in sub zero temperatures! Not exactly a car to bring when your going cross country skiing and all day while your skiing – the battery heater is running and slowly draining away your range…

EV’s work for golf carts, pharmacy delivery people and the like, but in our world – the real world – they are nothing but a science project and we are the Ginny Pig’s.

The future is multiple technologies such as fuel cells, small gasoline engines (2cly), kinetic energy recovery (KERS), super efficient transmission systems and solar cell’s ALL working together as our vehicles power ‘systems’.

Batteries work great in vibrators (Or so I’ve been told), flash lights and the like – not so good for vehicles…

By: EV Owner

EV Owner — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:45:30 +0000

I am happy with my Leaf! I will never buy an other gas car.
Fast chargers will charge my car on long trips while I stop for
coffee. I received $2,300 for my gas car I bought just 10
years ago for 38,000, I spend thousands on maintenance cost.
I had to change my oil and that is getting more and more expensive. Who is stupid here? And are the gas fumes healthy?