Nissan Leaf to be also manufactured in the UK

[danny_galaga]

Exciting stuff. Car makers are really starting to get serious about electric (",)

http://motoring.asiaone.com/Motoring/News/Story/A1Story20100318-205377.html

the car itself:

http://www.nissanusa.com/leaf-electric-car/index.jsp

[whammoed]

Neat.  Hopefully the pictures of that thing are just concept and the production won't be so ugly.  It's a little "overstyled".

[DillonFoulds]

so how many watts does this thing draw when it's charging? Sure we're saving money at the pump on gas, but what about electricity?

[Level42]

Electricity is a lot cheaper and _can_ be produced clean (wind, water) or cleaner (nucleair) or a bit cleaner (gas) or not so clean (coal) compared to petrol.

Besides this, an electrical engine is _much_ more efficient compared to petrol/diesel engines. A petrol/diesel engine turns it's fuel into about 30/40% motion, the rest is heat that it produces.
An electrical engine is in the 80/90% range and runs much cooler.
It's also infinitely more elegant and simple in design and maintenance.

In my work I sometimes run into sprinkler systems and I always love to see the electrical pump:
which is so small elegant, simple and efficient, and then next to it is the diesel/petrol pump, which seems (and is !) extremely complicated, inefficient NOISY and clumsy compared to the electrical one:


Sprinkler pumps need to be tested every 2 weeks. This is mainly because of the relative unreliability of the diesel/petrol pump.
The ONLY benefit it has is that it will run when the mains fail, and that's also the only reason they need to be there.

With cars, the big problem will stay range. But I'm convinced we are seeing the beginning of the end of the traditional engines. And it's about time.

[TOK]

With cars, the big problem will stay range. But I'm convinced we are seeing the beginning of the end of the traditional engines. And it's about time.

I bet tow trucks will have traditional engines for a long time and they'll be towing a lot of electric cars. 

[Level42]

Actually tows are usually making relatively few kilometers. It's the "real" trucks that do the long haul probably will stay diesel for a long time.....

[danny_galaga]

With cars, the big problem will stay range. But I'm convinced we are seeing the beginning of the end of the traditional engines. And it's about time.

I bet tow trucks will have traditional engines for a long time and they'll be towing a lot of electric cars. 

Agree on the first part. All heavy duty stuff will remain diesel for the fore seeable future. Trucks trains, ships, jet aircraft etc. I don't think there will be a large number of EV's being towed compared to normal. If you are referring to range, people will take that on board...

[TOK]

I should probably elaborate, and this may vary by area.

People in my part of the country mostly drive like a-holes.
The range of these cars is probably the same as the first EPA ratings for fuel powered cars: Stretched out to optimum conditions. Those aren't where I live. Temperature, hills, traffic flow and speed all have a huge effect on the mileage.
The mileage tests on done in at 75 degrees on flat land with a consistent speed to maintain momentum.

The EPA mileage was amended a few years ago. Most gas/electric hybrids *lost* like 10mpg on their ratings.
I think you could probably cut the effective range on electrics by 25 to 50% for my part of the country.

[danny_galaga]

I should probably elaborate, and this may vary by area.

People in my part of the country mostly drive like a-holes.
The range of these cars is probably the same as the first EPA ratings for fuel powered cars: Stretched out to optimum conditions. Those aren't where I live. Temperature, hills, traffic flow and speed all have a huge effect on the mileage.
The mileage tests on done in at 75 degrees on flat land with a consistent speed to maintain momentum.

The EPA mileage was amended a few years ago. Most gas/electric hybrids *lost* like 10mpg on their ratings.
I think you could probably cut the effective range on electrics by 25 to 50% for my part of the country.

None the less, people will take that on board...

[whammoed]

My daily commute would be perfect for an electric.  Short drive, flat, and short trips for errands.  The family would use our other vehicle for any long trips.