What do you want from an electric car?

cynoclast · 1 year

One that I can safely plug in outside in the rain without risk of electrical shock. With a cord that can be locked/passcoded so neighbors can't run up my electric bill when I'm away.
One that charges very quickly, or has multiple hundred mile range and charges quickly.
One that doesn't look different from a regular car. I'm so fucking sick of all electric cars looking fucking bizarre instead of like regular cars. I want an electric car, not one that makes me look like a freak.

krisssy · 1 year

A summary:

1,752 car-owning households were polled in a random phone survey.

26% said they are likely to buy an electric car as their next car. 7% of consumers said they are very likely.

Consumers are still worried about performance though, averagely wanting a range of 89 miles daily out of the car.

Consumers would pay on average $2,068 for an electric car, and 63% said they would need to be able to charge it at work to consider buying.

The upcoming Leaf, Volt, and Ford Focus EV electric models go some way to starting to fulfil consumers' needs.

The guy in the video adds nothing except saying that seeing what happens in the marketplace "will be interesting".

Buckwheat469 · 1 year

Would an electric vehicle benefit from loading the roof with curved solar panels? For instance, many cars are parked outside when you get to work or even at home. Even in the shade the solar panels can keep the batteries level or increase charge. This would allow an electric car to be parked at work, not plugged in, and provide more drive time when you need to go home. If you consider a 100 mile range, where 50 miles is driving to and from work without solar panels, you may be able to get 60 miles with solar panels (120 miles total). This may not seem like much, but even a 5 mile increase is substantial for most people.

sebnukem · 1 year

Why is it so hard to guess? I don't think I am alone in wanting an electric car that looks like a car, affordable, carries 5 + luggage, can go more than 200 real-world miles before recharging, which shouldn't take more than 10 minutes at one of the numerous charging stations.

bitchkat · 1 year

A couple of hundred miles on a charge and something where we can recharge on the road for longer trips.

Indubitableness · 1 year

Immortality.

stromm · 1 year

I don't want to have to buy a new car and the attached car payment. I want to be able to easily and relatively cheaply convert my existing car to electric. There's plenty of space for the batteries when one takes out the engine.

But I drive a 1994 Impala SS, so there's a lot of space.

Then I get a car I actually enjoy and it becomes environmentally friendly and doesn't rot in some junkyard or cost craploads of carbon points just to tear apart for recycling.

skydivingdutch · 1 year

I want it to not weigh an additional 1000lbs because of batteries.

ghazwozza · 1 year

Ejector seats.

WinterAyars · 1 year

Not underpowered, unsafe, "only buy this if you're a super hardcore environmentalist" style stuff like you find in Britain. It has to be a real car--the Tesla is a good example.
Long charge life (500+ miles) or fast recharge times (15 minutes at the slowest for a full charge)...
Reasonable price as compared to a similarly functional conventional car. (I don't mind if we lose some cupholders or something...)

The charge life/speed thing is the one that can most easily be tossed. Niche markets (basically a second car) would still be interested in something like that. This is what they need to be viable replacements for primary cars.

xAnarkix · 1 year

A cupholder that can hold my 1 liter cup.

ballhardergetmoney · 1 year

What are we going to do with all those dead batteries?
How are we going to get all that electricity?

btgeekboy · 1 year

Personally, range isn't as big of a deal - my round trip commute is less than 15 miles each day. (Probably to the point I should be putting my fat ass on a bicycle, but that's another discussion). I really like the Volt in this sense - I'd still be able to go out in the evening after work and not need to use gas.

What really do bug me about the Volt are the up front cost difference (though admittedly you'd make that up in saved gasoline costs), and the cost of replacing the batteries in 10 years when they don't hold a charge anymore. I'd also like to see what the maintenance schedule looks like for a car that's mechanically very different.

Fidodo · 1 year

Exactly what I want from a normal car, minus the use of gasoline... Is it that hard? We've already figured out how to make cars people want, why re-invent the wheel with electric?

SuperSumoYakuza · 1 year

Light weight, a 1000 mile range with a 3 minute or less recharge that sells for under $10,000. Is that so much to ask? ;⁾

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