Neighborhood Electric Vehicles

[AndrewG]

That goes back to my point that they are luxuries (toys). I'd be willing to bet that it takes more energy to collect and process raw materials, build an LSV, transport it to dealers and to final destination, marketing, etc. than one would ever save by parking their primary car.

Especially when a large SUV is driven hundreds of miles to get here and still driven most of the time while here. Also consider all the petroleum and other resources necessary just for parts to build an LSV.

Yes they burn less gas than most autos, but touting LSVs as green is just marketing bs and insults our intelligence.

I'm not so sure the safety argument holds water on the other side, at least until you see pre-teens packed in one crossing yards, weaving on and off the bike path ignoring all traffic laws, driving down beach boardwalks . . .

I don't believe they burn any gas at all. They are electric. I think the green aspect does come into play for those that use them often.

 

[Kurt]

I don't believe they burn any gas at all. They are electric. I think the green aspect does come into play for those that use them often.

They can be gas or electric. The point is if it is sitting at your vacation home all year and you drive it 50 miles per year and you drive your primary car 20,000+ miles per year what is the big picture?

 

[poppy]

Let's drop the over used and many times irrelevant word "green" from our vocabulary in 2011.

 

[AndrewG]

Batman's LSV

 

[30ashopper]

The content of this thread amazes me, it really does.

 

[scooterbug44]

The content of this thread amazes me, it really does.

Why?

We're just being practical.

 

[Will B]

Just to throw a dog into this hunt...

The green label that LSV's and hybrids get tickles me. What a load. You're basically trading one bad thing for another. You may not burn oil, but that coal fired generating plant that produces the electricity that you need to charge your batteries will still be spewing. Maybe you'll be lucky and get your electricity from a hydroelectric source.

The nickel for the batteries comes from open pit mines. Canada, for example, has a huge expanse of destroyed land due to the mines and heavy metals leaching into the soil that has less chance for sustaining life than does the moon. To be sure, it's small potatoes in the grand scheme of things, but what I'm saying is don't get hung up on the oil because you're just trading one polluntant for another.

 

[LuciferSam]

Just to throw a dog into this hunt...

The green label that LSV's and hybrids get tickles me. What a load. You're basically trading one bad thing for another. You may not burn oil, but that coal fired generating plant that produces the electricity that you need to charge your batteries will still be spewing. Maybe you'll be lucky and get your electricity from a hydroelectric source.

The nickel for the batteries comes from open pit mines. Canada, for example, has a huge expanse of destroyed land due to the mines and heavy metals leaching into the soil that has less chance for sustaining life than does the moon. To be sure, it's small potatoes in the grand scheme of things, but what I'm saying is don't get hung up on the oil because you're just trading one polluntant for another.

You are keeping the pollution out of your backyard pushing it into someone else's. That's good for a few points, isn't it??

 

[scooterbug44]

My 5 year plan is to get a hybrid and charge it by plugging it into my solar powered house.

Filled my car up today with $3+ gas - cost almost $25. ;-)

I can afford $3-4 gas with my minimal driving habits and high mpg, but many can't.

The higher the price at the pump, the easier it is to justify a non-gasoline vehicle or mass transit.

Coal is going to go up too because of all the Australian flooding.

P.S. The Canadian moonscape is greatly exaggerated - it's from an article trying to make a Hummer more eco-friendly than a Prius and that bends the truth like a rubber pretzel.

 

[AndrewG]

The Nissan Leaf is $42,000? Quite expensive when you factor in having to replace the batteries every 5-7 years.