Ian Wright dismisses electric cars from mainstream

[hypermiler01]

What do you guys think of Ian Wright's opinion?

What is he right or wrong about?

Ian Wright Speaks Out Against Electric Vehicles - More Auto News at RoadandTrack.com

[saand]

He may be right to an extent

there are many at least part electric cars being developed. hybrids and electric vehicles with gasoline generator back up.

I dont know if vehicles that are only electric will take off until they can give better distance or there are service stations with electric plug in or battery pack swap out.

I am sure however that some electric cars will take off like ones that can go say 50 miles on a charge and provide for backup petrol generator charging to extend the range

also if cheaper longer life battery packs are developed.

that is just my 2 cents but only time will tell for sure

[MPaulHolmes]

I think electric cars made by Chevy and all the other big wigs will continue to be too expensive, causing them to be a niche market. I have no idea why they are so expensive though. Right now I could make a 100 mile at 60 mph range lithium based EV for under $15,000 (with maybe $12,000 of it being the batteries). The BMS I made costs a few hundred in parts. To rewind an AC motor is around $1000. A homemade low voltage (144v) AC controller can be made for a few hundred. A charger can be made for a few hundred. Anyone that spends a year on the EV Tech list asking questions can do the same thing.

Then it's just mating the motor to the transmission. The Leaf costs like $32,780 before artificially dropping the price by using tax dollars, and the Volt is being sold for $41,000 I think before tax credits. I think they should take the millions of cars that already exist with bad engines and work on super cheaply converting them, and see if it's still a niche market. They would of course have to do some basic brake repair and stuff, but I think it would work. There is absolutely no reason any car company would do that though. Here, buy this older car instead? haha

[gone-ot]

...when battery weight and cost come down, only then will EV's be able to 'challenge' ICE dominance with the driving public.

...in other words, yes, he's right.

[Frank Lee]

He's Wright.

[MPaulHolmes]

Lithium weight is sufficiently low so that you can get 300-400 mile range in a regular car. It's really just the cost of that many cells and charge time that is not competitive if used in a new car. You can easily get better performance though, and a number of other benefits like brakes lasting forever (regen), AC motor running 1,000,000 miles etc...

[vpoppv]

I agree that electric cars will always be a niche market. I wholeheartedly disagree that it is for economic reasons though. America likes big cars with tons of horsepower that rumbles with a loud exhaust. And America wants a car that can go across the country on a whim, even though no one goes more than 30 miles in a day. That's why pickups are the number one seller. They serve absolutely no purpose during the lifetime they are owned, but hey, I might need to move the BBQ one day, and thus need to drive a 4x4 every day. America doesn't drive a car to get from one place to another, America drives a status symbol. Don't I look good with this Hummer wrapped around me? I need to keep my kids safe, that's why I commute by myself in this Expedition. An electric car is useless, because it might meet 99.9% of my needs, but if one day I decide to drive to Maine, my electric car won't do it. And when I pull up to a light, I can't rev the engine and blow a bunch of smoke out my tailpipe. And let's not forget, if I pull up to the "drive thru" (sic) at McDonald's, I'll never have the cashier ask me to turn off my car to take my order. What good is that?

[UFO]

That's very funny vpoppv, and probably more true than I like to think. But I am sooooo looking forward to my first EV conversion that out-accelerates all these noisy stinky ICE vehicles, without making a sound. And if it captures my imagination, it can capture many others as well. Fads to movements to lasting changes.

[MPaulHolmes]

Originally Posted by vpoppv

i need to keep my kids safe, that's why i commute by myself in this expedition.

rofl