BTW, that F-350 only needs a 65 mile range at 75MPH on AAA batteries
Ha ha - good, another smart-ash!
Hi, my name's Mark, and I'm an EV "enthusiast". ("Hi, Mark.")
I guess you could say I'm also a bit of a skeptic about some of the grander claims floating about the "EV world" right now. I really liked Adrian's comment, as you can tell. I got started with this stuff a little by accident (
www.neurotikart.com), but now I try to keep up with what's going on. I'm a big fan of the White Zombie dragster, and a guy by the name of Dick Bear. (Google "McBearen" and you'll see)
If you see my electric gokarts, you might correctly guess that I'm not a major environmentalist or what some might call a "tree-hugging extremist". I'm a tinkerer that likes to have fun, make stuff, and go fast. I chose to build electric because I figured (correctly, as it turns out) that it would be less likely to generate complaints to the cops if I drove it on the residential streets in my neighborhood. I'm pretty careful about what I do, despite how it looks in my videos. I also share the fun, and everyone within 5 houses of mine has either driven or ridden on the kart, with the exception of the lady next door.
The experience of EV building has taught me a lot about how it all works. It's also made me skeptical of "Michael Moore-ish" films like "Who Killed the Electric Car". IMHO, we're just not
there yet, but we're close to having an EV suitable for the masses. With the exception of it's brutal price tag, I my favorite EV is probably the Tesla, but I won't believe the published specs on that thing until they're independently verified. (I almost said "the best EV
available", but the Tesla really isn't
available for another $50,000, 12 months, then another $50,000+.) I'm sorry, I just don't believe that it has a range of over 200 miles at freeway speeds. I like the look of the donor car, though - the Lotus Elise (sp?)
My dream is an EV that I can drive to work, and it's a pretty tall order. My commute takes me to a place 12 miles from my house over 40 miles of roads. (Long story, don't get me started.) I live in the Washington, DC area, which is noted for it's traffic. I'd need an EV that can do the higher side of freeway speeds and sustain it for over 100 miles. That would get me to and from work, without having to beg my employer to allow me to plug in my car, and without limping home for the last x miles. I don't want a super-delicate teardrop-shaped slug that can't get out of its own way. Oh yeah, and I'm not independently wealthy, so the Wrightspeed X1 and the Tesla are a little out of reach.
I'll probably end up building the thing, but I haven't "jumped off" just yet - I'm still in the research phase. I happen to feel that a vehicle such as what I've described, if it can sell for under $50,000, would be viable, and if it could sell under $30,000 would be an unstoppable sensation.
I'm not asking much...
-Mark
