Originally Posted by Taichiliberal View Post
The problem with electric cars is that America does not have the infrastructure in place to accommodate the average driver.
Forget the cost, forget the ecological benefits, forget screwing the countries that produce the lithium for the batteries.
I you own a electric vehicle, you have to have a charger adapted to your home. If you're an apartment dweller, good luck if your bldg. has the facility. And independent units ain't cheap!
Also, those suckers take a LONG time to fully charge.
Case in point: my brother rented a car for two days....the local car rental only had electric cars available. Now with all rentals, you have the option of paying a little extra to bring back the vehicle without having to refill (or in this case, recharge) to the level the car was when dispatched. If not, you do that yourself out of pocket, which most times is cheaper.
However, my brother discovered that in his town there was only one gas station that had recharge facilities. That had limited outlets, so he had to travel to another town, where the recharge took about 40 minutes. Essentially, he ended up paying for another day's rental because he had to wait in line to get that recharge...and that took a long time.
So essentially, the electric car is something regulated to a limited economic level.
Hmm. that 6 year old Ford is starting to look real good!