Electric vehicles are just playthings for the rich, do we realy need them?

Do we need them? Most certainly. I don’t believe it is possible for the planet’s resources to support all of China and India at the consumption rates in the West, an astounding 200kWh per head, every day. We find ourselves in a cross over period of history. The internal combustion engine has 100 years of development behind it, making it to at least the nearest order of magnitude the best it can be, yet still only 20% efficient. The nascent EV alternative is woefully expensive, poor in performance and comes with use constraints. No surprise that it seems uncompetitive.

0 wendypreston over 13 years ago

Power steering, ABS and airbags were "playthings for the rich" too, when they first hit the market. Yet now the cheapest cars have these features. The costs will fall, and for those people who have short journeys everywhere (shopping, commuting, family in the same town, you know who you are ), these cars will at some point become the cheaper option.

My only concern now is the greener manufacture of the electricity they use - until that is sorted out as well, we still have a pollution issue. In some countries this is seriously easier than others - geo-thermal and hydro-electric, anyone? Our wind and tidal energies will need a little more work... And I wish people would stop saying one particular green energy is not the answer, I think it should be obvious that a combination of green sources will be required. I'm no expert, but it seems the reasonable line of thinking.

Love to hear other options...

Wendy
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