Five Reasons to Buy An Electric Car > GED

Five Reasons to Buy An Electric Car > GED: "over half of the oil we use is imported (57%), and our dependence will increase as we use up domestic resources. Most of the world's oil reserves are concentrated in the Middle East, and about two-thirds are controlled by OPEC members. Oil price shocks and price manipulation by OPEC have cost our economy dearly—about $1.9 trillion from 2004 to 2008—and each major shock was followed by a recession. We may never eliminate our need to import oil, but we can reduce cartel market control and the economic impact of price shocks by reducing our demand."

Five Reasons to Buy An Electric Car > GED

Five Reasons to Buy An Electric Car > GED: "1. EVs will reduce U.S. oil dependence: Today, over half of the oil we use is imported (57%), and our dependence will increase as we use up domestic resources. Most of the world's oil reserves are concentrated in the Middle East, and about two-thirds are controlled by OPEC members. Oil price shocks and price manipulation by OPEC have cost our economy dearly—about $1.9 trillion from 2004 to 2008—and each major shock was followed by a recession. We may never eliminate our need to import oil, but we can reduce cartel market control and the economic impact of price shocks by reducing our demand."

Five Reasons to Buy An Electric Car > GED

Five Reasons to Buy An Electric Car > GED: "• The average car produced in North America has 50-55 pounds of copper in it. In an electric car, that amount will triple – to 150-180 pounds.

• More than two-thirds of the copper will be found in car’s wiring harness and electrical components.

• Copper has the highest conductivity of any metal that can be practically used for conveying electricity.

• Copper is an important natural resource and there’s no danger of running out of it. According to US Geological Survey (USGS), worldwide resources of this valuable metal exceed 3 billion metric tons (more than 6.5 trillion pounds), of which only about 12% has been mined throughout history. Nearly all of this is still in circulation because copper’s recycling rate is higher than that of any engineering metal."

Did GM make the Chevrolet Volt too different from the Prius? - Dec. 9, 2010

Did GM make the Chevrolet Volt too different from the Prius? - Dec. 9, 2010: "That's a steep price. In effect, Volt drivers are paying more than $10,000 for an extra 30 miles of EV range.

While some GM'ers are predicting a substantial price reduction for the Volt in future years as volumes increase, the Council is not optimistic.

'Battery technology has been developing rapidly, but steep declines in cost do not appear likely over the next couple of decades because lithium-ion batteries are already produced in large quantities for cell phones and laptop computers,' the Council says."

Did GM make the Chevrolet Volt too different from the Prius? - Dec. 9, 2010

Did GM make the Chevrolet Volt too different from the Prius? - Dec. 9, 2010: "Toyota brought out the less ambitious but more commercial Prius, a gas-electric hybrid, in 1999 and made it a huge public relations success. 'I was getting sick of it,' vice chairman Bob Lutz said to the Detroit News."

Ultimate electric car challenge: dead batteries - Dec. 20, 2010

Ultimate electric car challenge: dead batteries - Dec. 20, 2010: "Think of it as 'work, retirement and death.'

'Work' means running a car, and that's a tough life. Even so, the batteries in electric cars are expected to last about a decade"

Ultimate electric car challenge: dead batteries - Dec. 20, 2010

Ultimate electric car challenge: dead batteries - Dec. 20, 2010: "Lithium batteries just don't use as much of the rare and valuable metals found in some other types of batteries."

Volt battery life affected by hot weather, but 10 years means 10 years — Autoblog Green

Volt battery life affected by hot weather, but 10 years means 10 years — Autoblog Green

"During an information-heavy battery and technology update on the Chevy Volt's progress recently, GM said the following about the 16 kWh battery pack in the plug-in car:

'The biggest challenge in testing is hot-weather storage of the vehicle. Currently, ten years of battery life is the norm, but some people could get more battery life depending on the climate where they live and their driving conditions.

We understand that outside temperatures can have a big impact on how a battery operates and will affect the Volt as well, but the good news for Volt fans is that Green Car Advisor got it wrong. They said that hot weather Volt owners will get less than ten years of life from the pack, saying Volts in 'many parts of the western and southern U.S.' would not get 'the normal 10-year life of the battery.' Not true, says GM, which is confident that everyone will get 10 years from the pack. GM's hybrid and battery technology communication spokesman Brian Corbett told AutoblogGreen that, 'in more moderate areas of the country, battery performance could last beyond 10 years. 10 years is our minimum target life for everybody.'

[Source: GM via Green Car Advisor]"

We’ve always had cars that couldn’t go the distance | Bill Hall - The News Tribune

We’ve always had cars that couldn’t go the distance | Bill Hall - The News Tribune: "electric cars don’t scare me with their limitation of 100 miles"

2011 Nissan Leaf | Tucson

2011 Nissan Leaf | Tucson: "600-pound laminated lithium-ion battery made up in a series of four cells to a module, and 48 modules, for a total of 192 batteries in the pack"