[TR] LBC?

[nwolf at u.washington.edu]

   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