Quote:
Originally Posted by brucey
I don't see this as a big deal. If you're going 70 mph the electric motor simply isn't as efficient and turning on the gas motor makes since. Since if you're going 70 you're probably leaving town anyway. Who exceeds 70 mph on short trips?
The 35-40 MPG EPA is amazing though. All that work and they can't best themselves with a base model car costing 1/4 the price. Are those the official figures? I can't find anything definitive yet.
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Actually, the savings with electric motors comes in when you are cruising because they can just "sip" on the batteries to keep the car at speed.
Electric motors consume massive amounts of power when taking off because stall rotor current creates a "short" of sorts against the batteries. For this reason, gasoline engines are preferred for getting the car up to speed.
I am planning on using an EV (Nissan Leaf?) in 2011 to drive to work between Lake Charles and Sulphur on the interstate. We have a tall bridge here between towns that prevents the use of your traditional NEV (neighborhood electric vehicle).