Th!nk saved from bankruptcy:

Link (http://uk.reuters.com/article/behindTheScenes/idUKTRE50C36I20090113)

I hope Ener1 has other customers, automotive or otherwise, than just Th!nk.

This is good news because Europe does not have our problem with cheap gas. They STILL have expensive gas. Once people start buying again they will consider the Th!nk.

This is good news because Europe does not have our problem with cheap gas. They STILL have expensive gas. Once people start buying again they will consider the Th!nk.

This is a good point. A little off topic, but Europe has always had high gas prices due to taxation with gas prices as high as $8 per gallon and yet there has never been any viable EVs, E-REV, Fuel Cell cars or even hybrids developed there. They have reduced their consumption of foreign oil, but haven't even come close to eliminating it. This goes contrary to those that believe that we should tax gasoline and put a burden on the lower and middle class so that we can spurn alternative technology. It doesn't seem to work that way.

This is a good point. A little off topic, but Europe has always had high gas prices due to taxation with gas prices as high as $8 per gallon and yet there has never been any viable EVs, E-REV, Fuel Cell cars or even hybrids developed there. They have reduced their consumption of foreign oil, but haven't even come close to eliminating it. This goes contrary to those that believe that we should tax gasoline and put a burden on the lower and middle class so that we can spurn alternative technology. It doesn't seem to work that way.








Man, you are really coming to the wrong conclusions today. Did you have your coffee yet?

OK, because Europe has had very high gas taxes they now drive very small and efficient cars. They are also way ahead in small and clean diesel.

As much as everyone wants to kick GM for killing the EV it was really the battery. Sorry to the Dr. but it was just not quite there yet, at an affordable price anyway.

Now, if you have a transportation fleet of small cars what do you get? You don't need as much heavy safety equipment to keep from getting killed. Would you rather go up against a hummer, SUV and F-150 or an Opel or a Jetta? Yes, me to. We need to get the mass of our personal vehicles down as we make them more efficient.

Anyone want to take a hit in a Smart Car from a hummer? Something about massive bodies colliding. Ouch.

This is a good point. A little off topic, but Europe has always had high gas prices due to taxation with gas prices as high as $8 per gallon and yet there has never been any viable EVs, E-REV, Fuel Cell cars or even hybrids developed there. They have reduced their consumption of foreign oil, but haven't even come close to eliminating it. This goes contrary to those that believe that we should tax gasoline and put a burden on the lower and middle class so that we can spurn alternative technology. It doesn't seem to work that way.

I agree with all that but I must point out a couple differences that muddy the water a bit:

1) Europe has outstanding mass transit allowing those who can't afford $8 gas a viable alternative. In the US, only a select group of cities like New York have a transit system that can readily replace a car.

2) Europe is much more densely populated than the US. This means a higher percentage of people living in densely populated cities where walking / biking / scooting to and from work become much more realistic alternatives than in the US where more people live in remote areas and have 20 + mile commutes.

These and other factors make an electric car (with suitable range) more attractive to US buyers than European buyers IMO.

My problem with a higher gas tax isn't that it won't work. Its that it disproportionately punishes those on the lower end of the economic scale.

I mean, if we added a $4 / gallon tax to gasoline and used the revenue to offset the cost of batteries it would make an electric car MUCH more appealing.

OTOH, it would also mean poor people couldn't afford to drive at all since they likely couldn't afford to replace their car with an electric one and many businesses would go bankrupt since the cost of shipping would go through the roof and our economy would go into a horrific tailspin.

But at least we'd have solved the dependence on foreign oil problem! Of course, it would be a case of the cure being far worse than the disease.