Clearlead

Recent Announcements Will Spark Electric Car Sales

Electric cars are patriotic....I love the idea of my car running on American power, whether coal, nuclear, gas, or renewables. I love the concept of charging my car at night off a smart grid, that provides demand response to customers as well as better service from the utility. I love the idea that an electric car will not be laying off environmental costs on the world, and will allow Americans to look much better as a nation. Yes, electric cars are part of national security and restoring America as leader nation.

Driving cars on oil, just makes no sense, it's killing our world and enriching our enemies. The cost of a gallon of gas needs to reflect the real environmental costs, as well as the cost of the military, etc., but until then we are just subsidizing big oil and nations like Iran.

Electric Cars for 2010: Shift from Foreign Oil to Riding on Local Renewable Energy

I do not agree with Cranky that the electric car is "the latest in a series of efforts to divert attention," essentially from improving conventional cars (and yes, you are correct there is lot's of room for improvement on this front too, but this alone is not sufficient). Electric cars can be a major part of the effort to reduce carbon emissions, an issue that is weighing heavily on the auto and electric industries. Electric car makers are, as the article indicates, quite aware of the need for convenience to consumers for charging, driving range as well as speed, and that there will have to be a transition in our infrastructure to conform to the reality of moving away from a total dependence on conventional transportation. Some would imagine a situation where a consumer would have the choice of an electric car, a natural gas driven car, and (non-ethanol) biofuel cars...so what's wrong with that?