Nissan Leaf

[Ferrer]

Originally Posted by whiteballz

Didnt notice this untill you pointed it out.

I dont mind it for a brainless drive.

The problem is range, 160km simply aren't enough.

Other than that, that could be it.

[IBrake4Rainbows]

I do a round trip of ~75km/day in my driving.

Something like this makes sense to urban dwellers. but it's not designed to be a motorway cruiser.

[Ferrer]

Originally Posted by IBrake4Rainbows

I do a round trip of ~75km/day in my driving.

Something like this makes sense to urban dwellers. but it's not designed to be a motorway cruiser.

That's the problem, on saturday I'm doing a 440km journey and this (god forbid) actually makes a lot of sense, quiet and comfy. However with the actual range it's not enough to use it.

I could see this as the everyday car and then a sportscar with an ICE for the weekends. But the range does indeed need to be extended.

[cmcpokey]

Originally Posted by IBrake4Rainbows

I do a round trip of ~75km/day in my driving.

Something like this makes sense to urban dwellers. but it's not designed to be a motorway cruiser.

i have to actually try to drive more than 20 miles a day. and those are days much greater than average. so this type of thing makes a lot of sense for me for a DD.

[cargirl1990]

id drive it. but a family friend likes to bug me on how its a Nissan and not a Honda/Toyota and that it still wouldn't get good fuel economy like her automatic Civic and her manual Corolla. mind you guys, she's very closed minded when it comes to cars.

[nota]

Originally Posted by Ferrer

That's the problem, on saturday I'm doing a 440km journey and this (god forbid) actually makes a lot of sense, quiet and comfy. However with the actual range it's not enough to use it.

I could see this as the everyday car and then a sportscar with an ICE for the weekends. But the range does indeed need to be extended.

For interest my city is debuting Better Place in Oz (in conjunction with our public-owned energy supplier ActewAGL)

http://australia.betterplace.com/ass...nouncement.pdf

(intro vehicle is from Nissan, not certain but I think its the LEAF?)

Naturally all of this has set local forums abuzz, eg:

The success of electric cars may largely be governed by energy storage. If (when) new ultracapacitor power systems come into play, electrical storage and charging times will be significantly improved.

A company called EEstor has claimed to have made a breakthrough with an ultracapacitor ceramic ‘EESU’ unit: a 3-5 minute charge will store enough energy for 640 kilometers.

To date the company has been keeping a low profile, and work is still being kept under wraps, though the company has established partnerships with Zenn Motors and Lockheed Martin in regards to military applications. There are also several patent applications that indicate movement.

Whether it is true or not, there are other emerging technologies such as Graphene that may revolutionise power systems and charge times. This technologies will also assist in regulating renewable power sources to provide stable continual power.

So while the technology is not yet commercially available, the prospect would be game-changing and certainly makes electrical cars a far cleaner, cheaper, more reliable alternative to petrol, especially in remote locations.

The sooner the remaining petroleum can be reserved for something more useful than fuelling little Jack to his soccer match the better.

In regards to those 'Battery Switch Stations' mentioned in the Better Place pdf, they recently did a 'live on air' media demonstration showing an EV battery pack being changed in just 90 seconds! Their (Better Place) plan is to extend these stations reasonably quickly onto regional highways to enable interstate travel, and eventually spread out nationally.

All told its a highly interesting (and promising) enterprise imo

[NSXType-R]

Originally Posted by Ferrer

Yes. And I'm coming back with an electrci-mobile.

That's the end of the world...

Yeah, seriously, there are lots of cars missing in the hide out. Of all things you chose.

I don't like electric cars. It's a nice stopgap, but IMO I think more attention needs to be paid to hydrogen power. Unless everyone switches to nuclear power, electric cars are still dirty no matter what.

[nota]

Originally Posted by NSXType-R

Unless everyone switches to nuclear power, electric cars are still dirty no matter what.

Why is renewable-electric power dirtier than nuclear-electric?

(eg: wind, tide, solar, geothermal, hydro, etc)

[NSXType-R]

Originally Posted by nota

Why is renewable-electric power dirtier than nuclear-electric?

(eg: wind, tide, solar, geothermal, hydro, etc)

Because in the US, that's barely even 1/4 of all electricity production, and even if it isn't in the US, it's barely a major player in energy production.