Business

Seven Reasons Why Buying an Electric Car Might Be a Terrible Idea

There has been a lot of talk about electric cars lately and none of it has been positive. In light of GM’s multitudinous Volt issues, the demise of Aptera Motors, and Tesla Motors’ recent share downgrading, some analysts have been asking, ”Why won’t people buy electric?”

Why Buying an Electric Car Might Be Terrible Idea“You mean for reasons other than this?”

In theory, an electric motor is a great idea, right? Think about it: instant torque, few moving parts, and relatively easy maintenance. But in reality, there are so many downsides to owning an electric vehicle (EV) that the fact that major car companies have brought them to market without first addressing these issues is baffling.

[Editor's note: Hybrids, although successful, have been excluded from this discussion because of their reliance on gas; they cannot be considered "true" electric vehicles.]

Here are some of the reasons why buying an EV is a terrible idea (as listed by Business Insider):

1. Limited Range
Most EVs run out of energy before they can get anywhere. Obviously, this is a major problem for anyone interested in buying a car.

Although Tesla Motors advertises a two-seat roadster with a 300 mile range, this can only be achieved through “careful driving” (something a roadster isn’t exactly designed for).

Why Buying an Electric Car Might Be Terrible IdeaYou try driving “carefully” when your car looks like the Batmobile. We dare you.

Not to mention that the car itself is a $100,000 investment. How many consumers have access to that kind of capital? Though, to be fair, Teslas are marketed towards a niche audience (i.e. people who can invest six figures in a car). So, let’s look at something a bit more middle-class friendly.

Because it costs about the same as a similarly sized gas-powered vehicle ($30,000), perhaps the Nissan Leaf would be a good choice for the Eco-conscientious consumer. If by “good choice” you mean “a car that can only get about 100 miles before running out of juice,” then, yeah, the Leaf’s the way to go.

Who in the world wants a car with a 100-mile range?

“On the flip slide, standard cars regularly get a range of 300-400 miles, and on certain occasions can get up into the 800 mile range,” writes Travis Okulski of Business Insider. ”EVs are perfectly adequate to go around town or to run short errands. But the car is a harbinger of freedom; the idea behind it was to free people from the grid and get them exploring.”

Unless you’re willing to shell out six figures for a Tesla, be prepared to be restricted by the more affordable EVs.

Why Buying an Electric Car Might Be Terrible Idea2. Long Charge Times
Yeah, okay, so an EVs’ range is terrible (especially when compared to what’s available with a gas-powered vehicle). Just recharge the car!

Easier said than done.

In the case of the Leaf, recharging the battery can take up to 20 hours on a 120 volt outlet, according to Nissan. Upping the voltage isn’t much better.

“On a 240 volt, it takes seven hours, and a 480 volt fast charge station takes 30 minutes. In our instant gratification broadband society, even waiting 30 minutes is an eternity,” writes Business Insider.

Compare that to the 5-7 minutes it takes to fill a gas tank. Not much of a competition anymore, is it?

Why Buying an Electric Car Might Be Terrible Idea3. Infrastructure
Let’s say you’re content with being restricted to 100 miles before having to wait anywhere between 30 minutes and 20 hours to recharge your car (because, you know, you don’t ever have to be anywhere). The next problem is finding somewhere where you can actually charge said car.

By using Nissan’s ChargePortal website, this author was able to locate 35 charging stations within in a 10-mile radius of his office. That’s not too bad considering that Washington, D.C., is arguably the most EV-friendly city in the country. That’s not to say that everyone in D.C. drives electric, but rather that the EV industry has many influential and powerful friends in the nation’s capitol.

But that’s not really the point (that will come later). The point is that in this same 10-mile radius, there are 83 gas stations. Get that? For every charging station, there are almost three filling stations.

Furthermore, according to U.S. Census data, there are approximately 125,000 filling stations across the United States. By the end of 2012, it is expected that there will only be 13,000 electric car charge points.

Basically, if your EV ever runs out of power–which it will given its small range–you had better hope that it’s near one of the very, very few charging stations.

Why Buying an Electric Car Might Be Terrible Idea4. Cost
Consider the following: the Chevrolet Volt (electric) and Cruze (gas) are approximately the same size. Yet, even if you factor in the Volt’s $7,500 tax credit, the Volt is still $14,000 more expensive than the Cruze. Is that premium worth it?

Considering the fact that the Cruze gets excellent mileage (City/Gas mileage: 26/36), the answer is “no.” Why?

“If we say that gas costs $4 per gallon, the Cruze would need to be filled up 225 times before that $14,000 gap is brought to $0,” writes Business Insider. “According to GM, the Cruze’s range per tank is estimated to be 390 miles, so that means the 225 fill ups would occur over the course of 88,000 miles.”

Translation: 88,000 miles is almost eight years of driving, and according to The New York Times, Americans keep their cars for an average of around nine years. If the Volt actually keeps for that long without, you know, the battery exploding, then it will only be saving you money for one year.

5. Pollution
EV advocates love to brag about how their cars emit little to no pollution. In a way, this is true. The Volt, for instance, emits very little pollution.

However, their bragging rights go up in flames like a Volt battery when one considers the following:

  • How was that car made?
  • How is that car maintained?
  • How were the batteries made?
  • How are the batteries charged?
  • How are the batteries disposed of?

“Unless you have your own solar generator, the likelihood is that the electric car is actually being charged by coal or gas power, which are the most prevalent power generating stations in the world,” Okulski points out.

Think about it: it is only because of the existence of “planet destroying” fossil-fuels that “green” vehicles are available. If Washington and environmental advocates had their way and everyone started buying electric, do you have any idea how much that would increase the pollutive output of factories manufacturing “green” vehicles?

Then there is the question of the car’s battery. The nickel-hydride battery used in electric cars are created in a number of processes (such as nickel mining) that some claim add to the world’s overall pollution. Also, keep in mind that to complete the battery construction process, they have to be shipped all over the world. How do you suppose they are delivered?

And these are just some of the issues that face the supposedly eco-friendly car. We haven’t even touched on the subject of disposing of the toxic, non-degradable materials used in the batteries (there currently isn’t a “green” process).

Why Buying an Electric Car Might Be Terrible Idea“Tell me again why your mom‘s Volt is better than my ’91 Tercel.”

6. Government
As mentioned earlier, Washington is an EV-friendly city. Proof of this can be seen in the government’s attempt to boost sales by offering EV tax credits (some as high as $7,500).

Granted, the tax credit will make some of the price tags a little more reasonable for consumers. But how long will they last? Considering how poor EV sales are right now, it’s only safe to assume that they will get worse once the tax credit expires.

And that’s not even the real problem. The real problem lies in artificially manipulating the worth and price of the vehicles.

Why Buying an Electric Car Might Be Terrible IdeaWe‘re from the government and we’re here to help.

“With a third party reducing the costs, manufacturers are not encouraged to research and innovate in order to bring the true initial buy in down.” Business Insider points out.

Indeed, it would seem that the best thing that the Feds could do, if they really want to encourage EV sales, is get out of the way. They should allow the manufacturers to figure out the actual demand and worth of their cars. Obviously, and this is reflected in auto sales, a $30,000 EV with a 100-mile range doesn’t stand a chance against a similarly priced gas-powered vehicle.

Therefore, manufacturers needs to figure out how to either bring down the price of the EV to make the 100-mile range worth it, or figure out how to improve its mileage. Taking $7,500 off the tag price will only do so much for so long.

7. Ease of Gasoline
Let’s face it: gas works. It works well and we know it. Gas is readily available, gas stations fuel us up in under minutes and, considering the technology and labor that goes into making it available on the market, gas prices are fairly reasonable. Plus, compared to the EV, we get more bang for our buck with gas-powered vehicles.

“But c’mon! All new technologies have a couple kinks that need to be worked out before they really take off!” you might say.

Although this is true, this cannot be said of electric vehicles. This argument falls on its face when one realizes that, according to PBS, the “electric car will be celebrating its 180th birthday next year.”

Wait, what?

Yep. Electric cars have been around a lot longer than gas-powered vehicles.

“In the last 180 years, there have never been any EVs that can be considered a resounding commercial success,” writes Okulski. “There have been breakthroughs and revolutionary models, even cars that have given hope that electric would soon be the new standard, but none of them have had the desired impact.”

Given the incredible head start EV technology has had on gas-powered cars, you’d think that the problems mentioned in the above would have been worked out (or at least prepared for) by now. Therefore, to echo sentiments voiced earlier in this article, it’s truly puzzling that some of these companies decided to bring their EVs to market without first addressing these obvious and longstanding flaws.

Comments (307)

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  • V-MAN MACE
    Posted on December 10, 2011 at 5:05pm

    It’s all a matter of electrical design incorporating the golden ratio. It would eliminate most if not all of these problems.

    Report Post » V-MAN MACE  
    • sasquatch08
      Posted on December 12, 2011 at 5:27am

      Explain to me how exactly the golden ratio has anything to do with the design of a battery based entirely on chemistry?

      Report Post »  
    • Parnell3rd
      Posted on December 12, 2011 at 11:37am

      really? did you go to college? or just make that stupic comment up?

      Report Post » Parnell3rd  
    • sasquatch08
      Posted on December 12, 2011 at 7:35pm

      @PARNELL3RD

      Was that directed at me or V-man? I meant it as a serious question. I took a bit of chemistry and never heard of the golden ratio being incorporated into either chemistry or electricity (except as a method of describing the lines of magnetism in an electromagnet).

      Report Post »  
  • timej31
    Posted on December 10, 2011 at 4:59pm

    Say you need a charge…who is going to pay for your charge when you’re not home? Again collectivism thinking. Imagine a packing lot full of employees cars – say 100 of them plugging in their cars. The bill would be unaffordable. Nope not me.

    Report Post » timej31  
    • planeboy
      Posted on December 11, 2011 at 2:02am

      At a charging station you swipe your card…there not free…

      Report Post »  
    • marecanine
      Posted on December 11, 2011 at 6:36am

      Just imagine 100 or more electrics plugging in at the same time…that is going to take a large power line to supply that much electricity not to mention all the coal or natural gas to generate it.

      Report Post »  
    • mashuser2
      Posted on December 11, 2011 at 10:01am

      What”s not affordable is me subsidizing all of these oil wars, what’s not affordable is you asking good American families to sacrificing their children in these oil wars so that you can tool around town on cheap, subsidized 4 dollar per gallon gas.

      Report Post »  
    • mashuser2
      Posted on December 11, 2011 at 10:03am

      Who pays for the oil wars that are used to ensure you have a stable, reliable stream of gasoline to go into your car.? Who pays for that? WHat about the good American families who’s children have died or become disabled so that you can have that gasoline? How about the compromises that our govt has to make through back door deals with islamic maniacs again all so that you can roll around town on cheap subsidized 4 dollar per gallon gas.

      Report Post »  
    • SgtB
      Posted on December 11, 2011 at 10:53am

      Anyone here ever heard of a super capacitor? Short charge time, large charge capacity. Unlike a battery, it doesn’t have to cause a chemical reaction to store energy, which is why charging a battery takes so long. All it has to do is move electrons, not ions. They make flashlights now that are about c-cell sized and run for hours. Then, the best part is that they can be recharged in 90 seconds.

      The only thing currently limiting this technology is that the capacitors can only be charged to low voltage levels (<3 V). If we could find a way to make these caps run to a couple hundred volts, or even in the 50 volt range we could have quick charging electric vehicles.

      Currently, it takes me several minutes, sometimes as much as 10 depending on how many other pumps are in use at 7-11, to fill my truck's 23 gallon thirst. A super capacitor car could charge in that amount of time and you could even charge it from home. Maybe gas stations are in on this anti-electric stuff too. They'd lose an awful lot of traffic if less people used gas.

      Report Post » SgtB  
    • SLARTIBARTFAST
      Posted on December 12, 2011 at 9:03am

      @SgtB
      Garsh! You’ve solved the entire EV problem in one fell swoop of brilliance! Get back to us when you have this thing up and running. Oh yeah, don’t capacitors put out all their power at once like, say, a camera flash? Make sure you have someone tape your experiments.

      Report Post » SLARTIBARTFAST  
    • RejectFalseIcons
      Posted on December 12, 2011 at 12:30pm

      Well, thanks to GE and the SmartGrid, we can spend a trillion dollars upgrading infrastructure to support these rolling nightmares that have been foisted on us and will be forced on us by artificially inflated gas prices.

      Report Post » RejectFalseIcons  
    • StanO360
      Posted on December 12, 2011 at 1:51pm

      I saw a charging station the other day it was $4-$10 bucks if memory serves (at a private college).

      Report Post »  
    • chris3
      Posted on December 12, 2011 at 9:53pm

      what if you get stuck in snow? extra tire spin (at high rpm) not to mention batterys lose 30-40% power in winter weather (cold temps drop output) wouldn’t want to be 20 miles from home stuck in snow,but you always use the heater…oh wait..it will use to much juice(in a normal gas engine,the heater actually pulls heat off the motor instead of wasting it through the radiator)

      Report Post »  
  • SerikFox
    Posted on December 10, 2011 at 4:57pm

    I will just point out that “emissions” aren’t even an issue considering our actual percentage of “greenhouse gas” output (0.28% of all of them). Pollution is the only issue; and if you want to avoid pollution then why would you ever use electric cars as they pull their energy mostly from coal?

    Report Post »  
    • mashuser2
      Posted on December 11, 2011 at 10:08am

      Don’t forget to include a calculation for all the coal powered electricity that goes into refining oil into gasoline. Anyway – my EV runs on Wind Power as I switched my electricity provider to one that sources from wind farms. FOr me it’s about putting AMERICANS back to work, reducing the number of threat vectors an enemy has towards us, and to quit watching otherwise strong, intelligent americans go overseasa to fight, kill, and die just so I can drive around on cheap $4 islamic gasoline.

      Report Post »  
    • barnsy
      Posted on December 11, 2011 at 3:00pm

      We wouldnt have to buy “Islamic gas” if the government would stand up to you econazis and allow more domestic drilling.The U.S. has plenty of oil and natural gas.Somtime I think OPEC is funding the green lobby(An energy independent America wolud be their worst nightmare).

      Report Post » barnsy  
    • Detroit paperboy
      Posted on December 12, 2011 at 11:24am

      Two words: junk yard

      Report Post »  
  • Jim in Houston
    Posted on December 10, 2011 at 4:51pm

    But I thought these things didn’t use any fuel and the electricity to charge them grew on trees. Only a moron would buy one of these idiotic tree hugger mobiles.

    Report Post »  
    • mashuser2
      Posted on December 11, 2011 at 10:11am

      or a patriot that recognizes they are sending Americans to die, employing muslim extremists (de-employing americans), and forcing tax payers to pay for expensive oil wars when they drive around town on gasoline. It‘s okay if you can’t afford to be an early adopter, or want this technology to prove itself before you buy into it, but for petes sakes look at the facts before you open your foolish mouth, traitor.

      Report Post »  
    • HorseCrazy
      Posted on December 11, 2011 at 10:53am

      oh boy here we go with he oil wars garbage again. yes we sure did secure all that oil in saudia arabia and iraq…oh wait nope we didnt neither did we in libya. nice try though those evil republicans and their oil wars. such an ignorant stance. try taking a hard look at reality.

      Report Post »  
    • Do The Right Thing
      Posted on December 12, 2011 at 1:09am

      @ mashuser… How dare you drive on the same roads as the people out there in their what you call muslim powered mobiles, without paying road fuel taxes. Oh, by the way, that asphalt you love to drive on is also petroleum based and has a finite service life. Have you even considered that the change we really need is to elect politicians who are not hostile to American energy?? All that cash we send to people who hate us, spent on Americans, what a concept. Talk about saving the American economy, lets stop shipping billions upon billions of our cash overseas, when we have our own hydrocarbons. Oh, one other point, ever tried putting a kingpin on the roof of your coal/natural gas/nuclear powered Chevy volt and backing under a semi trailer?
      Hint: globalization is killing our American way of life in ways most have never considered. Make the middle class extinct seems to another focus of our corporate government’s MO. Put that together with the love everyone theory that’s being promoted by the current president, well, I have lived in neighborhoods which were multi-lingual, heres a clue, there are no block parties, no one communicates, even the law stays away, and it ain’t exactly friendly.

      Melting pot, yeah, thats ok, however, everyone needs to pull on the US’s side of the rope, for a change…

      Report Post » Do The Right Thing  
  • Dug2Dark
    Posted on December 10, 2011 at 4:36pm

    WOW $7,500 Tax Credit for buying a volt. I thought cash for clunkers ended some time ago???
    HOW RE volting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Report Post » Dug2Dark  
    • CatB
      Posted on December 10, 2011 at 11:09pm

      Not to mention in a crash .. they tend to blow up .. they are now advising that the first thing you do after a crash is drain the battery .. well good luck with that if you are trapped in the car.. and now the Fire rescue are also going to have to deal with this .. all costing more in the end for the TAXPAYER .. Obama is a disaster ..

      ANYONE BUT OBAMA 2012.

      Report Post »  
    • mashuser2
      Posted on December 11, 2011 at 10:05am

      It’s a tax CREDIT. That means the beneficiary has ALREADY earned the money. It’s their money. Not yours, schmuck. Cash for clunkers was an obummer program that was a refund (not a credit). The ev tax CREDIT is republican program that was created and signed off on long ago during a republican administration. Look it up. and quit being a sheeple.

      Report Post »  
    • mashuser2
      Posted on December 11, 2011 at 10:23am

      CatB – if the car blew up or caught on fire with you in it, then you’re in pretty bad shape as that means you would have been unable to remove yourself from the vehicle for 3 weeks. Contrast that with the number of gasoline powered cars that have blown up or caught on fire right at the scene of the accident. Quit being a sheeple, traitor.

      Report Post »  
    • bombshelterbob
      Posted on December 12, 2011 at 12:42am

      After perusing these comments, it has become very apparent to me that Mashuser2 is off his meds again. These eco-wienie marxists really need to stay on the meds, they can’t even manage thier own pathetic lives; when they go off the wagon it’s insufferable to have to tolerate them trying to control ours!
      If you don’t like our society, and it‘s obvious that you don’t; may I recommend the fossil fuel free, agrarian societies of central Africa! You will have to dodge your fellow marxist/islamisist buddies with the AK’s and their genocidal tendencies, but hey, a small price to pay for utopia!

      Report Post » bombshelterbob  
    • MetalPatriot
      Posted on December 12, 2011 at 10:18pm

      @BomshelterB

      I wish it were only an issue of staying on psyche meds. To support your perspective…

      I use psyche meds and know that the electric vehicle is a great idea but is not at the point that it’s useful or wise economically. But, I knew that before the medications. This person made the all telling comment a few lines down that his electric vehicle is more fun than a Corvette. I hate name-calling, but that’s just about one of the more retarded things anybody could say. Obviously, the person never drove a Corvette properly.

      He’s a propagandist. Calling everybody here a traitor is the ploy to get angry responses. Disengage the useful idiots…they are not capable of reasoning or rational/non-emotional thought or dialogue.

      Report Post » MetalPatriot  
  • armymp
    Posted on December 10, 2011 at 4:36pm

    So what happens if Bobo gets reelected (God help us all) and pushes through his cap and trade agenda. He said in his own words, “Under my plan of cap and trade, electricity costs would necessarily skyrocket”.

    I think electric car owners would be begging to pay 4 bucks a gallon for gas.

    Report Post »  
    • davecoolworld
      Posted on December 11, 2011 at 1:46am

      One side effect of the masses driving EVs would be how easily the Government could control movement. Don‘t for a moment think that isn’t part of their plan.
      TSA at the airports, TSA planned for rail lines, TSA road “safety” checks, high gas prices, high electric prices, local police checkpoints every few days.
      Sound familiar to anyone?

      Report Post » davecoolworld  
    • Mike Z4000
      Posted on December 11, 2011 at 12:10pm

      Well considering the fact that the government collects about 45 cents a gallon of gasoline and when you triple your mileage and use no gas, guess what! The government will replace those lost revenues by charging you per the miles that you drive. With the gps and other technology, they will require a tracking system to monitor you odometer. This goes back to an earlier comment I made about planned communities where you will be required to live and work. All spelled out in “Agenda21today” and the “Wildlands Project”.
      Also, what hasn’t seemed to be addressed is that after an accident, only trained responders will be needed to extract someone out of these “death traps” as any metal on this car could electrocute anyone not being trained to disable the electric charge that would/could be running throughout any part of this vehicle. Think about an accident and how would you be able to help someone trapped when the vehicle is electrically charged!!! Just another reason to be leary of these Electric Vehicles.

      Report Post »  
    • MetalPatriot
      Posted on December 12, 2011 at 10:25pm

      Your on the money Dave. Your avatar is appropriate….our nation is being modeled after Nazi Germany. With Soros as one major contributor/manipulator, it‘s obvious he’s on target to regain his youthful glory days as a Nazi.

      People, don’t forget to keep your eyes open abroad as well…we’re poised for war in the Middle East with Russia backing the useful idiots there. Same song, history is repeating. I don‘t know what the hell is wrong with Russians but they’ve been trying to communize the world forever. I‘m afraid that with a week president and country that we can’t stave off our enemies this time.

      Yes, I’m a doomsdayer and believe in God, guns, country, & family and that while there has always been turmoil & evil in the world…it’s very widespread and accelerating like never before. imho

      Report Post » MetalPatriot  
  • LovinUSA
    Posted on December 10, 2011 at 4:23pm

    Brilliance at it’s best, straight from the Oval Office er the golf coarse, which ever comes first.

    Report Post » LovinUSA  
    • TXPilot
      Posted on December 10, 2011 at 4:30pm

      The best reason NOT to buy an electric car, is that it becomes a visible symbol to everyone, that you have bought into the global warming lie and you are a liberal idiot.

      Report Post » TXPilot  
    • Give Me Newt Or Give Me Death
      Posted on December 10, 2011 at 8:10pm

      Maybe if they could make an electric car that didn’t look so stupid.

      Report Post » Give Me Newt Or Give Me Death  
    • mashuser2
      Posted on December 11, 2011 at 10:14am

      TXPILOT – no, it becomes a visible sign to everyone that you actually understand geo-economic and political implications of continuing to buy oil from islamic extremists. It also shows that you enjoy driving a fun car. Having owned a mustang, explorer, thunderbird, corvette, avalon, and integra, my Volt is hands down the funnest most enjoyable car I’ve ever owned.

      Report Post »  
    • badswing
      Posted on December 11, 2011 at 10:47pm

      mausher…..just thinking outloud here but wouldnt it be easier to go to war with mexico for oil? i mean its right here, easy excuses to fight and considering we get the third most oil from them (1,000 tbo/d) the bonanza would be tremendous. now since we get the majority of our oil from canada (2,324 ..thousands of barrels a day) i am sure we could make up some bs and attack them, no? i mean why do you think we go all the way over there to ‘fight for oil’ when its right in our backyard? hell, we get twice as much oil from venezuela than iraq and except for ******* off sean penn we could probably get a majority in congress to fund it (altho with our czar like leader who never let a constitution get in his way he could just send troops). matter of fact we get almost as much oil from equador (299). probably wouldnt even have to fire a shot, kind of just take it i guess. but you seem convinced that we are at war with iraq for the oil? hmmm. for 403 K barrels of oil/day. does that really make sese to you???? all stats from the gov website eia

      Report Post » badswing  
  • LovinUSA
    Posted on December 10, 2011 at 4:19pm

    Another brilliant money spending idea of the great Kenyan czar.

    Report Post » LovinUSA  
  • DAVIDE1333
    Posted on December 10, 2011 at 4:13pm

    I would still like of those Tesla sedans.

    Report Post »  
  • skippy6
    Posted on December 10, 2011 at 3:53pm

    I’m waiting for the sailcar/suncar to come out in early 2012. It needs the wind or sun to run… If the wind doesn‘t blow and it’s cloudy I can’t go to work…

    Report Post » skippy6  
  • symphonic
    Posted on December 10, 2011 at 3:47pm

    These cars, not economically viable, are of the same plan as global warming, carbon footprints, and transfer of wealth. Its all a sham, really, because if these things were really economic to build they would do it, but they can’t, so why do it? Transfer of wealth, that’s why. Tired of being lied to.
    Ron Paul is the best choice for getting back to economic fairness, economic sense, and obeying the Constitution, and not giving out our tax dollars to new companies trying to make business out of things that don’t make business, but are just a DRAIN on the economy. Stop it already.

    Report Post » symphonic  
    • arvadadan
      Posted on December 10, 2011 at 6:45pm

      You were doing well till you got to the Ron Paul part…

      Report Post » arvadadan  
    • I.Gaspar
      Posted on December 10, 2011 at 7:02pm

      @ARVADADAN:
      Amen.

      Report Post »  
    • mashuser2
      Posted on December 11, 2011 at 10:06am

      I don’t know about that. I like mine, because every mile I drive puts Americans to work, and reduces our dependency on the Mooslims Extremists.

      Report Post »  
    • prage2001
      Posted on December 11, 2011 at 10:58pm

      MASHUSER2- Do you get paid well to be a liberal poster on these websites? I could use a litte extra money at the moment.

      Report Post »  
  • Autumknight
    Posted on December 10, 2011 at 3:45pm

    One thing i keep asking, how long do the batteries last and how much does it cost to replace them?

    Report Post »  
    • Stoic one
      Posted on December 10, 2011 at 5:00pm

      I believe they cost $7500-$10,000. Honda claims the hybrid battery is good for 275,000 miles. Of course that is NOT an all electric car.

      Report Post » Stoic one  
    • mashuser2
      Posted on December 11, 2011 at 10:24am

      It costs $3000, and they a warranteed up to 100k miles.

      Report Post »  
    • Dorees_Manly_Man
      Posted on December 12, 2011 at 11:47am

      I bought a 2008 Toyota Camry for my mother in law in January 2008. The dealer told me the battery has a four year lifespan TOPS. Cost at that time for a new battery was $5500.00(five thouand,five hundred)…not including installation….don’t forget the disposal fee for the poison and never decaying battery for the landfill. We stuck with the gas power. Also, you never hear how much your electric bill is increased to charge the battery. Just moving the fossil fuel burning to a different location. Maybe Obammi will make your employer pay to charge your car !!!!!!!!!!

      Report Post »  
  • snowflake220
    Posted on December 10, 2011 at 3:40pm

    I was reading an article just yesterday on how much a new battery replacement would cost for this car. $14,000 – $18,000 and the battery last maybe 10 years at the most. Total joke of a car.

    Report Post »  
    • turkey13
      Posted on December 10, 2011 at 3:48pm

      That is correct and guess who the poor sucker is that will be stuck with buying the high buck battery. Only us poor folk buy used cars. I live out in the sticks and on a Volt the battery wouldn’t even get me to town.

      Report Post »  
    • Justice_Gustine
      Posted on December 10, 2011 at 6:55pm

      In 6 years I may start a small business to convert “obsolete” electric cars to use gas engines. Smug Motors will let you maintain your elitist attitude while not having to bother with the the reality of an EV.

      Report Post »  
    • MIBUGNU2
      Posted on December 11, 2011 at 5:04am

      A Car Batterie in Arizona last 3 years at most, if your lucky..

      Report Post » MIBUGNU2  
    • marecanine
      Posted on December 11, 2011 at 6:45am

      And to overhaul a small block V-8 is how much and ,after the overhaul you practically have a new car for what…about $3000! Why would anybody even consider one of the things

      Report Post »  
    • mashuser2
      Posted on December 11, 2011 at 10:25am

      You read the wrong article – a real world replacements that I’ve heard of is $3000.

      Report Post »  
    • MetalPatriot
      Posted on December 12, 2011 at 10:36pm

      As for “real numbers” as one person is questioning…

      The batteries on a Prius last 4-6 yrs and DO COST $5k to replace. So, for the person that allegedly drives electric to save lives & jobs….

      Lier and instigator….well done. IF you actually had an electric vehicle, you would have known the lifespan and cost of batteries. IF you cared about the things you claim, you’d support our energy independence by promoting drilling offshore & denying Brazil drilling rights in OUR territory.

      You’re a lier and a fraud. How’s it feel not being able to think for yourself? Do you like being a mouthpiece for those literally dismantling our country? My guess is you do and are somebody’s payroll.

      Human Waste. I reject your form of “patriotism”.

      Report Post » MetalPatriot  
  • parmajohn
    Posted on December 10, 2011 at 3:40pm

    I Could go for a all electric vehicle IF….No oil was used in manufacturing it or any of of its componets ,it was delivered in a electric truck,,.if the dealership used no fossil fuels or water to shine ‘er up and oh yea I can Haul 20-30 sheets of drywall and my tools so I can bust my butt to pay for the piece of crap

    Report Post »  
  • trickball
    Posted on December 10, 2011 at 3:37pm

    Another failed liberal idea with unintended consequences just light the light bulbs! If they actually take the time to think through some of these supposedly brillant ideas then many of the problems maybe resolved. But, oh wait, they don’t think!

    Report Post »  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on December 10, 2011 at 3:36pm

    I will put on my own list of reasons not to buy one:

    Due to flamable battery requires too much fire insurance.
    Due to government design interference costs way too much.
    The cars are too small even for circus clowns to climb into.
    The cars go by and someone shouts “There goes one of them UFOey thingies…”
    The cars go by OWS and the protesters ask “Need us to push you home?”
    You go to start the car, open the garage door, and find out the battery is now dead.
    The mouse of the house steals the car.
    Your wife will not drive it.
    Your teenagers take the bus instead of drive it.
    Your mother/father in law will not drive it.
    You see the headlines in the paper “Monster Truck cuts loose in Electric Car lot; WORLD CHEERS”
    You go to buy one and the person selling them is Homer Simpson.
    You go to buy one and the manager bows down with the fact you are first sale they make in a year.
    Your warrenty has in it a lifetime towing service.
    You find an letter advertising cheap power rates in a contract from the nearest nuclear station.

    Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • arty6164
      Posted on December 10, 2011 at 6:04pm

      I also heard a while back that they were going to put some type of “noise-maker” in these things because they do not sound like the combustible engines we are used to hearing when watching for traffic. Speaking of which, can you imagine hundreds of these things in a typical traffic jam dying out one by one? It would sure create a need for more tow truck operators. Hope they ain’t electric too.

      Report Post »  
    • arty6164
      Posted on December 10, 2011 at 6:26pm

      …combustion engines… I was thinking of combustible batteries I guess.

      Report Post »  
    • bdwatcher
      Posted on December 11, 2011 at 12:06am

      Something everyone forgot about, too. Even California is putting a surcharge on electric cars. The transportation department relies on taxes on gasoline to repair roads, infrastructure, etc. They bill for charging and owning will be much more than you think.

      Report Post » bdwatcher  
  • sbenard
    Posted on December 10, 2011 at 3:33pm

    Here are a few more reasons:
    1) You are much more likely to get KILLED in an accident in an electric vehicle.
    2) If there is even an EMP, you are dead! Not just dead in the water! DEAD! Because you won’t be able to go anywhere when the grid goes down!

    And I’m still wondering how the greenies — the groupies of false prophet Al Gore — propose that we grow FOOD when the farmers can’t get fuel to till the soil, plant the seeds, harvest the crops, or ship the food to market. SAILS?

    Report Post » sbenard  
    • AhLeahIris
      Posted on December 10, 2011 at 3:37pm

      This is like every government-encouraged boondoggle: It’s a failure. While we argue the merits of the car, the same old thing happens behind the scenes: http://wp.me/p1HGwx-1G6

      Report Post » AhLeahIris  
    • Stoic one
      Posted on December 10, 2011 at 5:05pm

      Perhaps electric tractor with VERY LONG extension cords ………..?

      Report Post » Stoic one  
    • macruadhi
      Posted on December 11, 2011 at 9:35pm

      Unless your vehicle has a mechanical ignition system and a carburettor, an EMP will kill it too.

      Report Post »  
  • Chucky77
    Posted on December 10, 2011 at 3:32pm

    That that little hole in the wall is probably powered at least in part by burning coal. Ours is 100 percent from coal. So an electric car is actually a coal powered car. Enviros… let that digest for a moment. I live in “coal country”, with huge coal mines 50 miles down the road. And it’s burned in one of the largest coal-fired power plants in the world. That gives us some of the lowest power rates in the world. How sweet that is!! But I’m still not going to buy an electric car. I’d much rather see our coal converted to gasoline. That’s a well-known and practiced process. How simple. If the enviro freaks would get out of the way we could import a lot less oil instead of playing funny games with dangerous Volts subsidized by the freaks in Washington.

    Report Post »  
  • PApeacemaker
    Posted on December 10, 2011 at 3:17pm

    How about these cars are UNSAFE! If you would get hit by a Chevy Cobalt in one of those small EV’s your most likely going to be severely injured if not dead. An God forbid a SUV hits you, then forget about it your going to be a mangled corpse. I dont understand how a cheap, small, crappy little car like these EV’s cost that much money? Can someone please explain that to me. I mean you can go buy a sweet new or pre owned ride for $30K like a Dodge Charger or a Full sized Toyota Pick up basically whatever you like in a car you can get for $30K. An if Im dropping $100K on a sports car the last thing Im buying is a Tesla, I’d be buying a car with a excellent reputation like Porsche or Ferrari. Another thing is these cars are impossible to work on yourself not to mention no mechanic will work on them either. Your forced to take them to a dealership so they can rail you on labor & parts fee’s when they break down & I guarantee they will be doing a lot of that once there on the road for 5 years. I cant wait for these stupid cars to go the way of the Delorian, go find me a Flux Capacitor Dr. Brown.

    Report Post » PApeacemaker  
    • Faroutright
      Posted on December 10, 2011 at 3:45pm

      What about heating the vehicle? With the internal combustion engine, heat in winter is a free by-product. But with electric vehicles, heating capability would have to compete with the motor for battery power. What’s the range when the heater is running on a cold day? Does vehicle range vary with outdoor temperature? What about operating the windshield wipers?

      I would guess that the EVs are fair-weather vehicles only, in addition all their other limitations. Air conditioning would seem to be out of the question. Although one could perhaps get by without A/C, heating, along with defrosting and windshield wipers is a necessity. All of these factors further limit the range and practicality of EVs.

      Report Post »  
    • Living In NYC
      Posted on December 10, 2011 at 4:17pm

      Hey FarOut…I understand the Volt has very little cabin heat when tested in Canada and Michigan! I guess you need to get in an accident to defrost the windshield!

      Report Post » Living In NYC  
    • Give Me Newt Or Give Me Death
      Posted on December 10, 2011 at 8:11pm

      that‘s something this stupid article didn’t mention. it doesn’t talk about the safety issues at all. what a joke!

      Report Post » Give Me Newt Or Give Me Death  
    • GaltLine
      Posted on December 10, 2011 at 11:46pm

      Yes, Reason number 8: You’re stuck in a drift in a sub-zero blizzard in a Chevy Volt, miles from anywhere, with ice cold batteries to give you that “green” warm feeling. For you know you’ve done your dead level best to save the earth.

      Report Post »  
  • chips1
    Posted on December 10, 2011 at 3:15pm

    With the way things are going, they should spend more money perfecting the electric chair!

    Report Post »  
  • JohnTwoFeathers
    Posted on December 10, 2011 at 3:15pm

    What do you think the tax payers shelled out for this idiotic plan. Government Motors …Big Ears took us right into another rabbit hole. You know, GM got themselves into the mess, let them take care of their own problems. If they legitamately went into liquidization the individual plants would have been good self starting employee owned companies….Sans Unions.

    Report Post »  
  • AmericanStrega
    Posted on December 10, 2011 at 3:04pm

    So when the federal government, along with the EPA, successfully shuts down all coal and nuke electric plants, where are we going to get electricity for these cars? Solar doesn’t work. Wind doesn’t work. There is hydro-electric plants. But the envros get their nickers in a twist if sea lions or salmon are harmed when they cannot get past the dams. So I guess hydro-electric doesn’t work either. So, where is all the electricity going to come from? Hmmm, I’ll just keep my Dodge Nitro, thanks. I get around 320 miles per tank of gas. Wait, I have another question. How much does it cost per watt (?) to recharge an electric car? I pay around $65 per tank of gas. Anyone know?

    Report Post »  
    • JohnTwoFeathers
      Posted on December 10, 2011 at 3:16pm

      What about Guinea Pigs in wheels spinning generators

      Report Post »  
    • AmericanStrega
      Posted on December 10, 2011 at 3:31pm

      You might have something there JOHNTWOFEATHERS.

      Report Post »  
    • killdozerd11
      Posted on December 10, 2011 at 6:03pm

      We could put the OWS people to work running on those hamster wheels generating power
      if you used those poor hamsters PITA and the rest of the animal rights groups would be all over you

      At least they would finally be doing something constructive

      Report Post »  
    • Give Me Newt Or Give Me Death
      Posted on December 10, 2011 at 8:13pm

      when i looked it up, most of the charging stations were charging at .75 cents per hour i think?

      Report Post » Give Me Newt Or Give Me Death  
  • NoRoomForSocialismHere
    Posted on December 10, 2011 at 3:01pm

    The batteries alone cost more CO2 than a Hummer to make. Then the infrstructure to put the electricity where you can actually get to it and use it cheaper than gasoline is a LIE.

    They are just using this green thing to laundry the barrowed money out of the treasury to a few Marxist. Its their oil money and they have oil investements to right Barry?
    We remember that you put 2 billion of OUR stimulas money into BRAZIL OIL after you shut down our oil production in the VERY SAME GULF WATER and depths.

    Hows your investment in Kenya working with OUR stimulas money Barry? Just another 2 billion to your homeland, seriously what does that theift do for America

    Report Post »  
    • PApeacemaker
      Posted on December 10, 2011 at 3:22pm

      I‘m in favor of burning all of these environmental Nazi’s, Marxist’s, Communists, & hippies as a fuel source. Because you know deep down they’d love to to that to the people who love the US Constitution & what it stands for, Freedom, & love what America USED to stand for in the 1940′s & 50′s. Oh wait did I think that out loud & type that??? Opps my bad.

      Report Post » PApeacemaker  
  • Johnny916
    Posted on December 10, 2011 at 2:58pm

    Shows you that so-called environmental friendly vehicles are worse for the environment, cost more money, and loads of other dung.

    Report Post »  
  • garyM
    Posted on December 10, 2011 at 2:56pm

    There was a democrat ran his electric car’s batteries down not long ago in a rural area and he called a service station on his cell phone to bring him some gasoline, it had no gasoline backup engine! That’s how we got Obama!

    Report Post »  
    • AhLeahIris
      Posted on December 10, 2011 at 3:00pm

      Ain’t that the truth!

      Report Post » AhLeahIris  
    • kfrederic
      Posted on December 10, 2011 at 4:43pm

      Gary, A great story and profound truth.

      Report Post » kfrederic  
    • 82MB300D
      Posted on December 12, 2011 at 4:55pm

      I think I’ll stay with my 30 y/o diesel fueled car. No worries about the EMP either.

      Report Post »  
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