Who Killed The Electric Car?

WOW- Algae fuel would be a great breakthrough if it could make it to the market. But I'm not confident in that, yet.. Perhaps I will be soon, but I do think oil companies are in complete control, running the show. I agree with you 100% about American Car Manufacturers too. They really didn't look or think ahead on this one hey? I think they are still pushing huge SUV's aren't they? Telling the people what they want, not listening to the real problems, which are just so huge now! Make 4 cylinders the law. That's another 10 years of gas right there!?!

A few algae-fuel companies project that they'll be in the market in a few years, so I'm like, "GAH someone give them more money so they can work on getting here faaaster". Anyway, it is pretty likely the oil companies are still trying to pull their strings with the car industry...but the car companies gotta make a choice: what the people say or what the oil companies say. To me, its a pretty easy choice. There's only one amongst these two choices that they can't live without. And most of them didn't have alot of foresight, no ^_^' silly things, eh?

You bring up a good point, and that's the fact that the car companies should listen to the people, not the mass oil companies. But what I fear is that through strategic alliances involving the two over decades of hard core massive business, the two are the same. Oil Company = Car Company. They don't argue as they have become one entity. Look at fuel efficiency standards, they only ever improve when a law makes them, not only that but it completely explains what happened with the EV. General Motors released it, oil company said WHOAAA, TAKE THAT BACK. So GM took it back, that's what happened, and can happen again. I would love to throw a bunch of money to the right people. (cough)

These are problems that can be overcome in the free market but not if the government is going to dictate what and how something will be done. There are other technologys out there that are giveing cars improved gas mileage but they take time to develop and refine. Some are very good and others anre outragious.

Well, I think these problems will be overcome because they need top be. And yea, I think they will take off, maybe very quickly. You seem informed - I had never thought about the weight of the battery effecting the mileage. But all these problems seem to be small things, considering the leaps and bounds battery technology is going through lately.. Batteries will soon be much lighter, smaller, and more powerful.. But then there's the cost... $5000 every 3 years is way too much!!

Wow, Electric Service Stations!! India has figured it out! See that makes me happy, at least somewhere in the world they are trying to get the change into the market. All this talk about the technology not being good enough is wrong. How do you improve technology? Learn something from India and just throw it in the market! People will use it, companies will grow, money will be spent on research, and the product will develop and get better and better, and more and more affordable. Eventually, it will work efficiently. Thanks for bringing this up, do you have an electric bike, or do you plan to get one any time soon? I mean, if the servo's are there why not hey?

They are cool. There are a few now but still -way too little, way too late.. Did you know there was hundreds in California over 4 years ago? Before they disappeared? I predict what will happen in the coming years due to our short sightedness. We will start using EV's on a massive scale, but not yet. First thing: We will wait for ALL the oil to run out on Earth before we get the whole world using EV's properly. This will be made a sure thing by the mass oil companies that make too much money from oil engines. And control the EV. Second Thing: EV's will be rolled out across the world like it ain't no thing. All of a sudden the technology works perfectly, like it always did, and people love the idea of their (new) clean vehicles. Even though it is too late. Third thing: We will need oil in the future for much more important technologies than driving to the shop for groceries. Real important stuff we can't even fathom yet. $10,000 a barrel will make this new technology impossible.. What a waste of oil.