gasoline cars are like smoking . . . .

[prowler]

interesting article, better presenting what I've had a hard time putting into words (which is why HE's a writer and I'M NOT).

http://www.thestar.com/business/clea...tesla-roadster

-SPARKZZ

[George S. Bower]

It's really an interesting dichotomy: on one hand the American public is curious and interested in EV's but on the other show complete ignorance of their own habits.

Example:
I live in a rural part of Arizona. Most of the people here are: Ranchers, winter visitors, and we also have a fairly large group of people that exist on very low incomes.

I drive my ebike to the post office and park in the front where people have to walk by it. It's surprising how many people ask about it. They are interested. Then they get into their big Diesel truck that they have left running the whole time in the parking lot and drive down the road---maybe 5 miles to where they live.

I think that most Americans (especially ones of my father's generation) are just programmed to burn fuel. It's just what you do because gas has always been so plentiful. It's not that they are bad people, it's just-----------because.

It all boils down to how you go about changing their behavior. and the solutions go all the way from radical to do nothing.

[wtiger]

It's simple to change the behavior of using a lot of unnecessary fuel. As fuel prices go back up unnecessary truck sales will once again plummet. A little bit of pain is one of the most effective learning tools there are.

[George S. Bower]

It's simple to change the behavior of using a lot of unnecessary fuel. As fuel prices go back up unnecessary truck sales will once again plummet. A little bit of pain is one of the most effective learning tools there are.

Hit'm in the wallet. A most effective tool. It wouldn't hurt my feelings if gas was back at 4$/gal.

[Insider]

In some instances, the tailpipe emmissions are better than the air that was taken in by the vehicle.

And if you think for second that once everyone starts going electric, that rates aren't going to go the route of big oil, you got another thing coming. Why can't people see that?

[omnimoeish]

Electricity rates will probably go up in some areas. But in other areas they will go down because they are selling more and don't need to charge as much per kWh. Often times rates go up because people start conserving and so to cover their overhead, the rates per kWh go up. However, when gas prices go up, there is little recourse. You can't just conjure gasoline out of thin air. However, utility companies that start thinking they are hot s#%t will only get more people on board with solar that is dropping in price by leaps and bounds. A combination of subsidies and high electricity prices has really gone a long way in California. Besides, the Volt will be charging at off peak hours for 2-8 hours depending on how much you drive it. No one started freaking out when the country started buying up 300-500 watt 45-50 inch HD TVs by the tens of millions and we're talking about selling a piddly 20-50,000 plug in hybrids a year for the foreseeable future.

George, about people just burning fuel because that's what they've always known, I know exactly what you mean. Fortunately the completely cluelessness of days gone by where people with 400+ cubic inch carborated non catalytic converted ocean liners that get 8-11mpg on a good day vehicles left them idling for hours are ever so slowly transforming into a more modern sustainability based paradigm, however speaking of ocean liners, the ship is turning way too slowly to miss the oncoming iceberg I fear.

My grandpa who is in his 70's refuses to believe the US has any supply problem with producing our own oil. He starts reading those chain emails about the Bakkan oil fields with 2 trillion barrels of oil that are complete lies saying that the democrats are somehow blocking them from being tapped until they can pass cap and trade. The email itself links to a USGS report on Bakkan that states there is 3-4 billion barrels of oil there which when you do the math ends up being about 6 months worth of oil at current US consumption levels.

[prowler]

I don't know that the flavor is getting through - it's about the driving experience and the cleanliness - here's the abridged article:

A few friends of mine who were heavy cigarette smokers during their 20s and early 30s have since dropped the nasty habit. As smokers they didn't seem to mind walking into a smoke-filled room and coming home with their clothes stinking of ashtrays. Now, they get annoyed by the smell.

Last week, I got a chance to drive a Tesla Roadster for the day. It has no tailpipe emissions. Actually, it has no tailpipe. Driving around the city, not consuming a single drop of gasoline, I found myself getting a little smug. It wasn't that I was in a car that I'll probably never get to drive again. It was that I felt like the only non-smoker in a room full of smokers.

I started to judge, to size up other cars, to look at vehicle emissions as a collection of individual tailpipes rather than an abstract environmental problem that needs to be dealt with – some day. Let's face it, anyone who owns a vehicle is a smoker, in a way. You can say you drive an energy-efficient car, or that you drive far less than other people, but that's like saying someone who smokes "light" cigarettes or only smokes a few cigarettes a day is not really a smoker.

I drive a Honda Civic hatchback, so I'm a smoker. Period. Even Toyota Prius owners haven't truly kicked the habit. Transportation represents nearly a third of all greenhouse-gas and particulate emissions in Ontario and about 60 per cent of smog-causing nitrogen oxides. "Since 1990, this sector has experienced the largest percentage increase in greenhouse-gas emissions when compared to all other sectors," according to the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, who blames much of the rise on urban sprawl."
"The growth can also be attributed to consumer preferences for light-duty gasoline trucks such as SUVs, vans and pickups, which have resulted in a 123 per cent increase in emissions from these vehicles."

The goal is to build a low-carbon electricity system that complements the move to electric transportation. Where's the Oakville bylaw banning the drive-throughs at Tim Hortons and McDonald's, where cars can be found idling in line most hours of the day? That's one of the questions I asked myself after reading about the new Oakville industrial bylaw. Wouldn't be a problem, I thought, for the Tesla Roadster – it doesn't idle.

Maybe we all need to go for a one-day ride in an electric car – to be that one non-smoker in a room full of smokers – to get a better grasp of the big picture.

Maybe, as electric cars hit the market and become more visible on the roads, we'll become more acutely sensitive as a society to the presence of gas-guzzlers and their impact on our air.

People, generally, seem fascinated by electric cars. Wherever I parked the Roadster only minutes would pass before a small crowd surrounded it, with folks snapping digital photos from their camera phones.

Driving home from work on Tuesday I got caught in a speed trap and pulled over. The police officer who stopped me walked to the car. I rolled down the window, confused because I wasn't speeding, and asked if there was a problem. "No problem, sir. Just wanted to check out the Tesla. Is it really electric?"

I dropped the Roadster off later that night and drove home in my own car. It smelled when I started it, something I hadn't noticed much before, and it was noisier than I remember.

[George S. Bower]

"It's about the driving experience"

Prowler,

The driving experience I'd like to have is blowing the doors of some guy who thinks his gas hot rod is going to smoke my ass in a race.

Please let us enjoy the best three match ups you've had and how good it made you feel to "shut'em down".

[prowler]

"It's about the driving experience"

Prowler,

The driving experience I'd like to have is blowing the doors of some guy who thinks his gas hot rod is going to smoke my ass in a race.

Please let us enjoy the best three match ups you've had and how good it made you feel to "shut'em down".

The top 3 EXPERIENCES:

1. See GSB, above (hum Beach Boys . . . .
Little buddy, gonna shut you down
When I turn it on, wind it up, blow it out GTO

2. WAVING TO THE GAS STATION AS I DRIVE BY

3. No smells, no grease accumulations, no noise, no vibration, no maintenance.

-SPARKZZ

[omnimoeish]

I think people will like the fact they don't have to go to the gas station anymore for "cigs", and line the tobacco companies pockets. Probably the most gratifying part of driving electric for me will

1. be the peace of mind that I don't have to get that pit in my stomach when I see gas prices shooting up.

2. I'll rarely if ever have to go to a gas station. In Oregon it's REALLY frustrating. I drove to my parents house last Saturday and told her I would get gas at Costco, well, the lines were about 6 or 7 cars long in all 16 lanes so I just decided to go to Chevron by my house and pay the extra $.18/gallon. So I drive back home and by the time I get to Chevron at 2 minutes to 10pm, I pull up to the pump, and you can't pump your own gas here, so I wait about 2 minutes which is common when a gas station is busy but there was no one else there, and the guy inside finally shuts off the lights, and comes out and says they're closed...Great my wife hates it when I'll say I'm going to do something and now I didn't. She has to drive to work in the morning 30 miles away and there's no gas.

I really hate gas stations.