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Presidential Candidate Romney and Electric Cars
- By John Kitsco
- Published 11/14/2012
- Changing Behavior
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Rating:
On one side of the coin the electric car looks great.
Romney was not too taken by them and when you start to look at what is going on behind the scenes you start to appreciate his viewpoint.
Consider if you will - the price of electric power these days. Its noticeable (at least up here in Canada) that cities and towns are turning down the lights for the evening. Common folks are doing the same. Now, the makers of the electric car want to sell a fancy quiet sports car to a young man or woman making good change every month and willing to spend around sixty-thousand for an all electric car, perhaps something that will do up to 100 miles on a charge. That will mean as the numbers of electric cars goes up - more charging stations will begin to open in major cities throughout North America. Some are estimating the price of a charge, about $8.00 will allow you to drive 40 miles, with the actual amount subject to change depending on road and weather conditions.
Thats really not very good! Sure they are bragging that a simple overnight charge in your home in the burbs will be around $2 to $4 but how far will that get you? And why is there a movement away from the hybrid that combined fuel and electricity? Is it possible that combination was considered too clumsy?
Electricity providers have to deal with a combination of price and demand, and with the increased usage of your electric vehicle its possible when you are away from home the charging stations will charge whatever the market will bear. And if thats the case, it might be more feasible to drive an old clunker for a few hundred bucks, pay the heavy cost of fuel to operate your old beater and still be ahead of the game?
Different vehicles are going to charge at different rates, For example, the chevy Volts are said to charge at about 2.6kW and the Leaf at 3.3kW. So
will charging be hourly or at the price rate ? Will there be a ceiling or are charges going to go through the roof when we go above the some 50,000 electric cars currently driving about? Lots of good questions demanding good answers.
I gotta go with Mr. Romney on this one - even if the electric car was voted Car of the Year!! For now I will keep burning our good ole mid-grade fuel. How about you?
Romney was not too taken by them and when you start to look at what is going on behind the scenes you start to appreciate his viewpoint.
Consider if you will - the price of electric power these days. Its noticeable (at least up here in Canada) that cities and towns are turning down the lights for the evening. Common folks are doing the same. Now, the makers of the electric car want to sell a fancy quiet sports car to a young man or woman making good change every month and willing to spend around sixty-thousand for an all electric car, perhaps something that will do up to 100 miles on a charge. That will mean as the numbers of electric cars goes up - more charging stations will begin to open in major cities throughout North America. Some are estimating the price of a charge, about $8.00 will allow you to drive 40 miles, with the actual amount subject to change depending on road and weather conditions.
Thats really not very good! Sure they are bragging that a simple overnight charge in your home in the burbs will be around $2 to $4 but how far will that get you? And why is there a movement away from the hybrid that combined fuel and electricity? Is it possible that combination was considered too clumsy?
Electricity providers have to deal with a combination of price and demand, and with the increased usage of your electric vehicle its possible when you are away from home the charging stations will charge whatever the market will bear. And if thats the case, it might be more feasible to drive an old clunker for a few hundred bucks, pay the heavy cost of fuel to operate your old beater and still be ahead of the game?
Different vehicles are going to charge at different rates, For example, the chevy Volts are said to charge at about 2.6kW and the Leaf at 3.3kW. So
will charging be hourly or at the price rate ? Will there be a ceiling or are charges going to go through the roof when we go above the some 50,000 electric cars currently driving about? Lots of good questions demanding good answers.
I gotta go with Mr. Romney on this one - even if the electric car was voted Car of the Year!! For now I will keep burning our good ole mid-grade fuel. How about you?
