A singular solution to US energy independence is decades away, minimally.
My plug-in gets more EV range than yours!
Seriously? That’s what some in the battery-advocating community have devolved to, really? Has it all come down to patting ourselves on the back — typically with the help of significant government subsidies — when it comes to the idea of foreign oil independence?
Intelligence doesn’t matter? Logic? Public transportation?
In my opinion, a vegetarian public transportation commuter is doing far more to reduce foreign oil dependence than an electric car driving meat eater. Sure, it’s not as glamorous as a shiny new plug-in, but it’s more effective and it’s more accessible.
Likewise, many Americans can’t afford to buy any new car, and if they can, they don’t have any place to plug it in. So, they’re not as cool as a plug-in driver because they’re poorer, or because they bought a 50 mpg Toyota Prius, or a 41 mpg Honda Insight that they have to park on the street every night? Or, maybe they bought a natural gas Honda Civic or an old diesel car powered by recycled french fry oil?
Losers!
Because the only thing that matters is EV range. Thus, the Chevy Volt is better than the Prius plug-in and the Nissan Leaf is better than the Volt and the Tesla Model S will be better than the Leaf.
So, I guess Tesla is on the verge of becoming the world’s biggest automaker, since EV range is all that matters? The GM haters were right! We should have let GM go bankrupt and instead invested all that taxpayer money in Tesla, since it is all about EV range.
Ultimately, while individuals can end their personal foreign oil dependence thanks to EV range — which is a very worthwhile and commendable endeavor — EV range cannot even put a dent in US foreign oil dependence without massively penetrating the mainstream market. Even Nissan’s bullish 10 percent by 2020 forecast is just shy of meaningless in terms of US foreign oil independence.
So, is this focus on EV range about vanity or reality?
Read the entire article at: Hybridcarblog
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