Coming from a list devoted to highly impractical cars whose builder went out
of business decades ago, I find it both humorous and disheartening to see so
much bashing of electric vehicles.
Look, EV's are not for everyone, just as the Prius is not for everyone, the
Hummer is not for everyone, and vintage Triumphs sure as heck aren't for
everyone.
But, there is a large and growing number of people who have found them to be
a useful, practical, economical, and fun mode of transportation. Economics are
one consideration - and the cheaper EV's do "pay for themselves" - but there
are other factors. If you place value on the near-silent, torquey driving
experience, reduced emissions (see below), or flat-out novelty of an EV, you
will not regret the purchase.
Different folks have different values, and different cars fill diferent
niches. I think many of us would say that our LBC's have paid for themselves
many times over, and it's not because they get better fuel economy than the
neighbor's Honda (because they don't).
The Tesla is an extremely high-end EV. Condemning EV's as uneconomical
because the Tesla is too expensive is like condemning ICE's (cars with
Internal-Combustion Engines) because a Ferrari is so expensive. There are
already cheaper ones out there (and more on the way), including converted ICE's
that can cost $5000 or less and still have a big enough range to cover most
people's commutes.
Want to talk emissions? You have to consider the whole cycle.
For an ICE, you must drill the oil (no political problems there), transport
it to a refinery, convert it to gasoline, transport it to a gas station, drive
to the gas station, and then burn it in your car's tiny piston engine, which is
maybe 15-20% efficient.
For an EV, let's consider a coal-fired power plant - probably the worst
case. You have to mine the coal, transport it to the plant, convert it to
electricity at about 40% efficiency, send it down the power line, charge up the
batteries in your garage, and run the electric motor.
The answer varies a bit depending on what pollutant you consider, but
generally speaking, the EV comes out way ahead because the power plant and
electric motor are so much more efficient than a gas-powered motor. The only
exception I know of is sulfur oxide emissions, which can be higher for an EV
depending on the type of power plant.
Regarding batteries: Lithium batteries can and will be recycled, just like
lead-acids. The materials are far too valuable to throw away. Tesla is
working with a company called Toxco (horrible name) to handle this.
I commuted with an EV for two years (~8000 miles), and never had to change
the oil or drive to a gas station. =) But now I work from home, so I sold it.
My mom still has hers, a converted '76 Triumph TR7 which handles her 11-mile
commute just fine. She takes her OTHER Triumph (another TR7) if she needs to
go further.
Big deal. Now let's get back to LBC's.
-Nick Wolf
'62-ish TR4
Seattle
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