Youre right when it comes to using nuclear for electricity. Chernobyl was the result of communism: A bunch of inept idiots running something this critical who havelittle to fear in terms of losing their jobs and running a bunch of out dated equipment.

BUT, electriccars of any kind are a horrible idea for the majority of us. Better for the environment? How so? Replacing tons of batteries is gonna cost mucho dinero and each one of those batteries is a mini toxicwaste dump ready to be buried in the earth once it craps out.Who's gonna put thousands into some 5 year old midsize sedan with next to no resale value? The performanceenthusiasts wontgetbehind it since it just wont translate onto something like a challenger, or even a tuner car. Its kind of hard to **** off the neighbors and raise hell in a silent car that looks like a 4 door egg.

Using nuclear power would free up a LOT of petroleum for use as motor fuel. Continuing to develop ethanol and biodiesel are worthwhile uses for R&D money. This is right now technology that doensnt ask the end user to give up much of anything, and even older vehicles can be adapted to use it. A challenger with a 6.1 hemi and dual flowmasters is going to sound badass and outrun anything but a radio whether its burning cheap vodka's 1st cousin, or million year old dinosaur juice. And when the engine finally wears out, it'll be a lot cheaper to rebuild than $7K worth of batteries. Oh yeah, thats what the battery pack in a hybrid ford escape costs. Dont take my word for it, look it up.

 

Similar things were said when cars came around--Many horse and buggy fans were of the thought that they were a passing fad.

While batteries seem to be the pin in the balloon issue with electric vehicles, there are plenty of non-toxic battery construction methods and even if there were none, when a situation presents itself industrialized nations usually create a solution.

There's absolutely no reason for anyone to fear a lack of performance or a lack of looks in these vehicles either--take a good look at the Tesla Supercar. http://www.teslamotors.com/ It's all electric, costs almost nothing to drive, (less than a cent a mile) beats the pants off most any other car on the planet, (under 4 second 0-60) and is priced reasonably compared to other supercars considering it has a carbon fiber structure and loads of new technology that the others don't have.

As for performance enthusiasts, the aftermarket vendors for 20th century technology vehicles didn't come into being until the automotive industry was well on it's way to becoming the behemoth that it is. I'd say 50 years after the Model T would be a fair statement. Rest assured that if it's performance increases the customer wants, as in gas engines currently, it's performance increases the customer will get, be that aftermarked or OEM electric vehicle accessories. It just takes time and customers.

--Matt

 

The Tesla is a bad *** car but wow that price tag......not yet ready for prime time. I hope they have success though.

 

Ive seen that also. Yeah, its proof that you can get performance out of anything if you throw enough money at it. I think the tuner car segment proved that. But again I think I speak for the majority of enthusiasts when I say 'Thanks but no thanks". And think about what you said with the aftermarket coming out. Im not going to wait 50 years before I can customize my ride. In fact, its a non issue since I wont buy an electric car, period. Thats for people who look at cars as another appliance.

The fact is that internal combustion is proven technology. Its reliable, cost effective, and easy to repair. When your electric car craps out due to some wiring glitch in the middle of nowhere, what are you gonna do? Thats why I get real nervous with all the electronic gizmos on newer cars. Im all for fuel injection, provided that the only computer is a stand along fuel management system. Again, Im an enthusiast. I dont care about luxury or doodads on my ride. If it does nothing to enhance performance, handling, or style then its useless. As long as the stereo is iPod comatible thats all the electronics I need.

But back on topic, that tesla car DOES have its costs of ownership. You dont charge up those batteries for free. And when their performance drops off, go price out the replacements. And try taking one on an extended roadtrip. Assuming you can find somewhere to plug it in and recharge, how many hours are we talking? And how often? When Im on a cross country trek, Im not one for stopping constantly I want to hit the road and put some blacktop behind me.

And when the hybrid/electric/treehugging greenie car argument comes up, so does the inevitable 'oh youre just stubborn, or youre just afraid of change' argument. Thats bullcrap, since Im all for change provided its change that has a clear benefit and doesnt require me to give anything up. There's good change and bad change. When the Mustang II came out, there's a good example of a bad change. When the original Bronco went to a fullsize, that was a bad change. When Jeep stuck square headlights on the wrangler and lowered it, that was a bad change.The change to all these huge rims and rubber band tires is a god-awful change. BUT, when the '05 Mustang came out that was a good change. Just like nearly everything changed on the TJ Wrangler made it what it SHOULD have been back in '87. Just like fuel injection is clearly superior to carburetion. Pandering to the average joe who'll buy anything just because its new just dumbs down the whole industry to the lowest common denominator and screws it up for us real car guys.

 

While I'm not saying electric cars are perfect, regular gasoline powered cars can surely have their glitches that can leave you stranded. Crankshaft position sensor goes bad? BAM! Engine shutsdown and you can't restart. Oil filter desides it wants to clog and for some reason the bypass doesn't work (don't laugh, it happened to someone in the Durango section), no oil pressure. If your not quicik, there goes your motor. Coolant hose blows... you get the story. And you can't always say, "Well, they should have took better care," because sometimes, stuff just happens.

A: 245 miles per charge. About 3.5 hours to charge.
This isn't ment for long-haul driving. Most people don't drive more than 60 miles per day.

Obviously, the answer is not electric vehicles (for non-local use, at least). Unless they can come up with some ingenious technology that charges them off solor power, and/or they can get the batteries to fully charge in less than 20-or-so minutes. (Gives you time to stop at the power station and get something to drink/eat, and use the restroom).
Hydrogen cars, or some other kind of storeable matter, now we're talking.
I'm far from against alternative fuels, but at the same time, we need something that works with our current lifestyles, or is very close to that.