Electric SUV can go 40 miles for $1 - US auto makers uninterested

The most interesting (and depressing) sentence in the whole article:

"....foreign car markers have pursued the firm's technology aggressively."

The Big 3 Automakers in the US, however, refuse to seriously adopt this new technology because the lack of maintenance the electric SUV's require prevent them from raping consumers out of every last freaking penny...er....I mean to say, the new electric technology doesn't present the same opportunities for "revenue streams" as the older, dirtier, less efficent, more expensive SUV's currently in production allow.

sigh.

Why don't we have cheaper almost totally maintenance free electric cars and SUV's?

Because the CEO's of Ford and GM would really like to by a few more yachts and McMansions and, gosh, that just isn't going to happen if they can't sell you spare parts every 3 months!

How do you expect Bill Ford to survive on only a 700 million dollar a year salary?

This lack of interest is so discouraging, the urgency of our need for this technology is being ignored because of indifference and greed. You're exactly on point, this would cut down on their bottom line and we certainly can't consider that despite the fact that we're destroying the atmosphere.

Hey, Not to worry Toyota and Honda manufacture cars here. That's where I'll be looking to buy next time. They pay their employees very well here and in Japan. Even in this integrity counts. Of course they are interested in the technology, the oil companies don't have them in their pockets .

Good point!

This technology is bound to get to the consumer one way or another. The only thing that concerns me about putting lots of electric cars on the road is that they make little to no noise, which can be very dangerous for pedestrians. I don't think most people realize how much they rely on sound as well as sight to tell them when a car is coming - especially around blind turns.

i hope foreign auto makers purchase this technology, i try to buy american as much as i can, however i will never buy an american automobile

link is down

Awesome...I hope this technology works out! The world needs green technology like this and I think one way to get this technology out is for normal people to demand it. Slowly but surely...

Why am I not surprised? Undoubtedly, the automobile makers have an investement in oil as either a stock or as an agreement with oil companies.

Just like Stem Cell Research, it sucks to see another great idea not funded.

It will not surprise me to see VW or Mercedes SMART as the first subcompact electric that goes 500+ on $4 or less of electricity. The germans have a standing history of automobile innovation (the Japanese are great at replication).

My only issue with electric vehicles is in a crash, what is the likelihood of electrocution?

Otherwise, bring them on. GM destroyed both the Diesel and the Electric vehicle in the minds of consumers in 1988 and 2002, and they have done such a good job that most people can't believe that some cars can go 10,000 miles BETWEEN OIL CHANGES and this is NOT A PROBLEM, my father still changes oil every 3000 when the Ford book (finally) says to do it every 5000. He is wasting lots of oil doing this, but this is how he was raised.

I dont buy into it. If you really want an EV, make one, dont wait around for one. Make your alternatives, dont wait for them.

'Smart' cars are way too dangerous I have to say, it's easy to have an accident and be kiled in those things, smart cars seem to claim some of the most victims a year, why paythat much for a little cramped death trap?

(Sorry, I just had to say that...those crashes are real nasty, I just ant all to know)

It passed the US Safety regulations, which most Cherry and subcompacts from europe failed to do. That alone says a lot.

Pay so much? It is the cheapest car in America, from what my research shows.

When we have a sub $10,000 vehicle, I might reconsider. I feel it is far safer, being German, than many subcompacts that are sold by Kia or Chevrolet.

Will this be part of the sequel to "Who Killed the Electric Car?"

http://www.sonyclassics.com/whokilledtheelectriccar/

Soo-- what do you want us to do? Meanwhile, love what you did with your webcam, how did you do that? And is there a way that you can bring your volume up a bit?

Someone brought up the key point of "patents."

I think this what is truly stifling our advancement in the world! Monopolies (that hold all the patents) refuse to allow innovation to occur.

There are thousands of garage geniuses out there that probably CAN build a cheap electric car (or some other alt fuel vehicle) but the Big 3 own all the patents for basically every single aspect of an automobile and would sue anyone that dares manufacture a car outside of the Soviet system, er, I mean the "free market" system.

Ever see that movie "Tucker: A Man and His Dream"?

They've been doing this for years! They will personally kill -- legally -- ANY idea that threatens their profits. The Mafia could take notes from these guys.

Free market my shiny white ass.

The absolute strangle hold the Big Three have on the industry is so total that Stalin is sitting up in his tomb saying, "Damn! The American CEO's are serious Soviets! I never had that kind of absolute control over an industry!"

But then again you see that with all major industries. Computers. Telephony. Hell, even utilities! These industries have formed into psedu-monopolies and are refusing to allow any real innovations to occur. Which is why people are always so shocked at how superior some things are overseas when they travel there for the first time from America. Look at cell phones in Asia!

These Big Businesses will kill (metaphorically) any inventor that builds a better mousetrap and drives them out of business.

We're falling behind in math and science, our infrastructure is falling apart, our jobs are drying up, our wages are falling, homelessness is on the rise....

America seems to be falling apart in a manner identical to the old Soviet Union and I would say the causes are the same. The Soviets fell apart because of the inefficeny of State control and America is falling apart because the pseudo-monopolies and corporate trusts are acting in a manner just as inefficent and stifiling as the old Soviet system was.

The whole point and superiority of capitalism(allegedly) is that everyone is free to contribute. Having 1 million inventors working on a problem is better than leaving it soley in the hands of 50 middle aged bureaucrats.

Yet when the Big 3 kill any idea that isn't their own (or threatens their revenue stream) isn't that creating a system nearly identical to the old Soviet one wherein a small handful of bureaucrats (in our case automotive CEO's) are essentially dictating what technology will and won't be allowed to exist in America?

No wonder we're decades behind everyone else.

I think this is a great opportunity for automakers and and the world population. There is however teh porblem of building the infrastructure to support electric cars. I would expect teh government to aid in funding this type of project unfortunatley they are to busy fighting for the stability of Iraq.

BIG BUSINESS once again screwing us over for profit

the MINUTE any American car company gets their millions and dirty hands on that patent, that will be the end of this technology.

they will shelf it and never think of it again, they have too much to lose.

it will be stored in a warehouse like the one where the arc of the covenant was in Indiana Jones...noone will ever see it again.

be careful, little electric car. don't be too trusting

Railroads? Trains? Public Transport? Can we just give up the most deadly addiction of our society, and focus on socializing with new people without a computer screen in the way?

Meanwhile, the US consumer looks beyond it's own borders for a more cost effective means of transportation.
Henry Ford's spirit must be howling mad.

The electric car was last seen having a black bag pulled over it's head and being tossed into the back of a GM van with government plates.

The Bush Administration has repeatedly been asked to confirm or deny if the electric car is being held in GitMo, but have so far refused to issue a statement.

This just in: Edward Furia has just been found dead from an apparent suicide! He shot himself six times in the back of the head and left a goodbye note to his mother whose name he misspelled. Bush and Mr. Ford were seen outside Mr. Furia home high-fiving each other, but stated it was in regards to a totally unrelated matter.

In other news Ford has announced their latest SUV -- The Greenie! It gets a "new and improved" 4 miles per gallon and has been hailed by the Bush administration as a quatumn leap forward in freeing America from foreign oil.

I love the idea of public transit; but it wont work here due to past decisions on transportation. We have to find a good mix of the two.

I would love to have a diesel-electric that is all electric until, say, 55mph... that way the diesel engine is only really used on the highway (where it does its best work).

id like to make my own EV, but you can not put just any vehicle on the road. you need to have it pass some gov inspection, engineering laws, all sorts of BS for you to put something that runs on the road, either gas, wind, electric, whatever, pattons, laws, regulations, more regulations, taxes, registration, fees, annuals fees, more fees, people moving fees, state fees, license fees, extra fees, tickets for having this new thing on the road, impound yard costs, cost of building, reengineering,......

get my point,, the only way to have a new car on the street is to have a manufacturer put it in production, like the said model above.

i do not believe the car industry won't make this thing, and stuphid we all are for not saving our money and buying/investing in new technologies, rather than watch the planet's ozone worsen.

im with you Xman, and actually im with anyone who is willing to make a stand. there has to be a way to put this stuff out there massively. also,....

notice how gas prices are higher, that's becuz everyone is talking about solar, and making change, that's why, this time its more serious than 1972 gas crunch, this time its got more to do with OPEC, it has to do with a green movement, and the momentum is picking up.

KEEP IT UP EVERYONE!!!

A GreenerFuture should be on everyone's mind.

PS. dont get me wrong, i wish the gov would just say, no more gas cars on the road, and poof, all of this would get better. yes just like that!! make everyone walk or ride a bike. just trains, and medical, police and military, and buses or mass transit, nothing else. maybe construction vehicles, but as for commuters, forget it, no more gas.

;) enjoy Oly

There would be riots if the government tried to take away our oil.

Just think what happens to a crack head when the crack runs out

HE GOES FUCKING CRAZY!

Not another joker who claims that he has some new technology that Big Oil and the auto companies are preventing the public from buying.

Wow 40 miles!!! Then what? a 10hp gas motor to putt-putt around town at 30mph?

and that right there nails it. there have been several viable (or appearantly viable) alternatives invented in the past. from electric to simple carburator enhancements that reduce fuel consumption. and the automotive industry keeps buying patents and supressing technology, that are moraly the worlds. not a corporations. free up the technology. limit patents.
capitalism is a very workable wonderful thing but in my opinion it should be tempered with less facism and more socialism ... yeah i know thats almost as bad as saying communism or terrorism.. or some other ism i guess. but common sense seems to say to me that once you have more loot than you and all you livng relatives could possibaly spend in your lifetimes it should be time to share at least a portion of the proffits. and taxes being spent on feeding american hungry and giving shelter to our homeless would cost us alot less than any one of our facist inspired wars.

I don't know why they don't just listen.

http://www.toyota.com/about/news/corporate/2008/01/13-1-NAIASspeech.html

you should see a plug-in hybrid from toyota within 2-3 model years, and my bet is that it'll get between 50 and 100 mpg, depending on the size, etc.

i'm looking forward to trading my 44-mpg '04 prius for one, finances permitting....

while the aptera may get 2-300 mpg, it doesn't have room for the 4-500 pounds of lumber and building supplies or furniture i can pack in my Prius today, and i'm probably not going to buy an aptera and rent a prius when i need to go to Homey Depot or Lowes.

let's see... 300mpg versus 100 mpg... $10/gallon for gas? i drive about 6000 miles a year... that would save me.... a whopping $400 a year... which would cover 2-3 months of my current telecom expenses... cable, cell phones,

but if you're commuting 30 miles each way to work every day, five days a week... that's 15k miles a year of just commuting! the savings would be $1000 a year just for gasoline! not a bad proposition for a commuter!


and @kcfoxie.... "My only issue with electric vehicles is in a crash, what is the likelihood of electrocution? "

go to ANY site that focuses on hybrids and you'll find out that there is virtually NO danger of electrocution from the battery in a hybrid.... it's got automatic cutoffs and "fuses" and the high-voltage cables DO NOT run under the driver's seat or through the roof pillars.... they're in conduits under the car and wrapped in plastic and have bright orange covers over all connections so rescuers can see them and stay away from them if they get exposed.

the crap about EMT crews not trying to take people out of crashed hybrids or not using "the jaws of life" to cut through doors or roof pillars is total hogwash, created by ignorant people and spread by the same.

suggestions: greenhybrid.com , priuschat.com , and many more. we've been blogging about our cars and asking VERY technical and pointed questions about them for years and years.

go to a source, not a rumor or folklore.

Remember, US automaker will sell anything even bad things even good things, but only if they feel they can make over $1000 per car, plus more on parts. The SV1 was a great idea, but GM could not make money off its parts. Yes, that's for real and based on the documentary WHo Killed the Electric Car.
GREED is their only basis.
Thus we have to change the nature of US economy to force all medium & large corporations/companies to include social responsibility, environmental responsibility, community responsibility, and worker/employee responsibility.

how many of you were alive when the GM Electric came out?

How many saw one drive?

How many of you know how long it took to charge?

How many of you know what its range was on that charge?

How many of you have any idea how much cargo space it had for ANY kind of "average consumer"?

how many of you learned all of what you hate about GM "killing" the electric car out of a book?

plusaf ,
1. 660 generation 1's (gen 1's) ev1's were released in 1997. prob. anyone posting here was alive.
2. they were only releaseed in california and arizona.
457 gen 2 ev1's where released the plant was shut down mid 2000. odd's on many here seeing one? slim. unless you count the movie "who killed the electric car."(wich btw blamed the consumer as much as g.m)
3.Recharging took as much as eight hours for a full charge (although one could get an 80% charge in two to three hours). The battery pack consisted of 26 12-volt lead-acid batteries holding 67.4 MJ (18.7 kWh) of energy or 26 13.2-volt nickel-metal hydride batteries which held 95.1 MJ (26.4 kWh) of energy.
4.The Gen 1 cars got 55 to 75 miles (90 to 120 km) per charge with the Delco-manufactured lead-acid batteries, 75 to 100 miles (120-to-160 km) with the Gen 2 Panasonic lead-acid batteries, and 75 to 150 miles (120 to 240 km) per charge with Gen 2 Ovonic nickel-metal hydride batteries.
5.trunk space: 10 cubic feet length: 169.8 inches max. width: 69.3 inches.
oh and what i didnt know already i learned from wikpedia. there is not enough information available in book form yet to learn any unbiased facts.

nesduran,
wow awsome that car er motorcycle IS all that and a bowl of non gmo, locally grown, pesticide free, sustainably grown and harvested, granola. with some nice yummy raw whole goats milk.

@somefamilylove! thank you for the stats!

i did note that it was also a two-seater with 10 cu ft of "trunk space." nice for a commuter car, eh?

my '04 prius, just seven years later, was 4-door, quite roomy inside, and about 14.4 cu ft storage under the hatchback, and doesn't need a new battery every 35-50k miles... in fact, in CA, the mandatory warranty is around 125-150k miles on the battery [and i think, the whole power train.]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_EV1 for more of the story, too....

He should find some investors and start his own car company. We need new blood.