Electric car tipping point

[Fat Charlie]

I mean, really, how hard is it?

Enough of a bike for safety standards and light weight, enough of a car for comfort and licensing standards. Nobody's doing it, but you want to.

1. Get a trike company (Can-Am is all I can think of) to supply a chassis. You're not competing with them, so they'll take your money.
2. Someone's got to be willing to sell engines.
3. Hack Tab A and Slot B, then all you really need to develop is the bodywork.

Now people can see an Elio in magazine reviews. It's possible to buy one. It's not $6800 and it's not 84 mpg, but the Elio MKII will be. You know, the one you develop from scratch as an already active manufacturer. And the interior is already done, with just a few sheetmetal tweaks for aero, fitting the new frame and to show it's the 2nd gen. You've got active suppliers and an active customer base. People are even willing to sell it for you now.

Of course, you'd only do that if you wanted to really make something.

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

If I had an electric vehicle that would otherwise meet my needs (& wants), electricity would not be a problem. I could easily handle all my driving needs with rooftop PV. (Granted, I live in one of the sunnier parts of the US.)

And on that odd occasion when you parked up and the sun wasn't shining ?

This has happened with renewables - no wind and no sun.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

And on that odd occasion...

You know, there has been the odd occasion when gasoline wasn't readily available. Anyone else remember the Arab oil embargo of the '70s? Or you aren't watching your gas gauge, and run out somewhere between Fallon and Ely... Point is, not much in this world is 100% certain, so you plan for the occasional glitch.

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

You know, there has been the odd occasion when gasoline wasn't readily available. Anyone else remember the Arab oil embargo of the '70s? Or you aren't watching your gas gauge, and run out somewhere between Fallon and Ely... Point is, not much in this world is 100% certain, so you plan for the occasional glitch.

I haven't run the numbers but I'm reasonably sure the days when not enough wind or sun has been available is more frequent than oil shortages. Now if that recharge came from Nuclear then it would be reliable, and relatively safe

[freebeard]

Spoken like someone not directly downwind from the failed reactors at Fukushima.

[H-Man]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Spoken like someone not directly downwind from the failed reactors at Fukushima.

Statistically speaking, Nuclear energy is quite safe.

How Deadly Is Your Kilowatt? We Rank The Killer Energy Sources
In reality, I think that virtually every single reactor design in production today is not intrinsically safe, that is we have to add systems to keep it safe instead of the design itself being able to keep it safe.
Clinton was an idiot for cutting funding to the IFR program.
http://www.ne.anl.gov/About/reactors...e%20IFR.25.pdf

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Spoken like someone not directly downwind from the failed reactors at Fukushima.

So a question for you: how many people have died as a result of those failed reactors? (Hint: it's a really round number :-))

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

I haven't run the numbers but I'm reasonably sure the days when not enough wind or sun has been available is more frequent than oil shortages.

Depends on where you live. Hereabouts there are very few periods without either sun or wind.

Now if that recharge came from Nuclear then it would be reliable, and relatively safe

Sure, but I'm not quite up to building a nuclear plant in my back yard. I could put PV panels on my roof, though. And if all else fails, there's a geothermal plant just up the road that puts out something over 100 MW.

[IamIan]

Originally Posted by H-Man

How Deadly Is Your Kilowatt? We Rank The Killer Energy Sources

Best Quote from that link:

"those vague someone-has-to-pay-eventually kind of thing it’s hard to put a value on"

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

Depends on where you live. Hereabouts there are very few periods without either sun or wind.

The argument for renewables in GB was that the wind is blowing or the sun is shining somehwhere - we have a lot of weather - so the grid is secure.

Except in extreme cold of 2010 there was no output from Wind and no Solar (covered in snow).

So we burned loads of coal to generate electricity and loads of gas for heating and made loads of CO2.

Dirty coal from overseas (we have cleaner coal here but not allowed to use it because of CO2 so we closed the mines) and Gas from our friendly Arab friends (Qatar) who love us all with our free speech and freedom which they embrace so fully, oh hang on ?

Thanks Greenpeace, you flippin morons.