Quote:
Originally Posted by akboss
How do you figure? Diesel is still an oil product, bound by fluctuation of oil supply and cost at the pump. According to studies on the Chevy Volt, it costs about $1.50 in electricity to charge the car to drive 40 miles. So, for $38, you could drive 1000 miles on electricity. Assuming you're in the most efficient diesel sold in North America (a VW Jetta TDI, 51 mpg and gas at $3/gal) it will cost you $60 to go the same distance. That means the electric car costs almost half as much to run. Plus, since there are no moving parts in the engine, maintenance is...well, zilch - no oil changes,
Times are a' changin. Oil won't be around forever, and the industry is changing faster than you know it. CAFE regulations set in in 2016, and by that time almost every manufacturer will have a hybrid or pure-electric car for sale. I'm not saying I'm super keen on these electric cars, but it makes sense - electricity can be obtained from many sources that are not nearly as destructive to the environment as drilling for oil, and we have wind/solar in infinite supply. Fast charging systems will enable cars to get a jolt of electricity just like you fill up on gas, and it will not be nearly as volatile.
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Don't start on the, "but electricity is much cleaner arguement." I'll agree its cheaper as far as per mile charges. Electricity still comes from power plants where their still burning coal. So unless your gona hook up a solar panel to your roof your still using fossil fuels. And if you look at a full electric compared to diesel you still have to consider the cost to replace all those batteries. Which levels out the cost quickly.
And if you look Hybrid vs. Diesel its just pointless. You little hybrid might get 5-10 mpg more than a fully gas powered twin but then you have to look at the cost of the hybrid vs the Gas/diesel car, and the cost to replace the extra batteries when they go dead. Pretty soon all these options even out the prices and you have to look at which ones more powerful and more practical. Diesel pulls ahead.
If you really want to look at the future of the automobile though you need to look at the emerging hydrogen fuel cell technology. ex. the Honda Clarity, Can travel distances like that of a gas powered car and doesn't take hours to fill up before you can get going again. It fills up like a regular car yet it runs on an electric motor and the only emission is water... Pure H2O. And the only issue that they have yet to have solved is cost. So in say 3-4 years this type of technology is going to be affordable to anyone that would previously have looked at a Prius or some other hybrid. So THIS is the future of the automobile.