XPost: rec.arts.sf.written, rec.arts.sf.science   
   From: YourName@YourISP.com   
      
   In article , Ryk E. Spoor   
    wrote:   
   > On 1/14/14 9:29 AM, Leszek Karlik wrote:   
   > > On Tue, 14 Jan 2014 13:20:24 +0100, Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)   
   > >  wrote:   
   > >   
   > > [...]   
   > >>     However, that would not save you much if anything because you'd   
   > >> still have to maintain all those vehicles.   
   > >   
   > > Luckily, electric vehicles are significantly less maintenance-intensive   
   > > than internal combustion vehicles.   
   >   
   >  Unluckily, there aren't that many electric vehicles, their energy   
   > density is terrible (and thus their range sucks), and their refuelling   
   > time is generally ridiculous.   
      
   Most of them are also pig-ugly.  :-)   
      
   Then there's also the fact that they keep inventing all these new   
   electric-powered toys (including tablets, etc.), and yet they're   
   continually whining about not having enough electricity to cope with   
   demand now.   
      
      
      
      
   > Also, much of the maintenance on vehicles   
   > isn't the engine -- those usually run for a long time without   
   > maintenance other than oil changes, which are cheap; it's things like   
   > brakes, suspension, tires, etc., which are there regardless of the   
   > propulsion method. (How often do you need to replace the batteries to   
   > maintain a reasonable cruising range? I don't know, offhand, though even   
   > if it's a period of 10 years that's gonna be thousands of dollars in   
   > maintenance costs -- MUCH more than I've spent so far on my IC car in   
   > maintenance over 10 years)   
   >   
   >  We have a HUGE infrastructure dedicated to IC vehicles; changing over   
   > to all-electric would be ludicrously costly. Doing so when the vehicles   
   > themselves have very significant shortcomings when compared to the   
   > established vehicles is also extremely unlikely. Electric vehicles are   
   > popular among a small segment of the public right now, but something   
   > will have to change to make it a large segment.   
      
   Electric cars powered by plugging them into a socket will never really   
   be a workable option for most people. That's why most manufacturers are   
   already moving towards hydrogen powered cars, which are a much more   
   senisible option since they are refuelled quickly in the same basic   
   manner as a petrol / diesel vehicle. It is also much easier to change   
   petrol / diesel pumps over time to be pumps for hydrogen car refuelling   
   or add more pumps.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)