Your next car... gas, hybrid or electric?

[AlP]

For no particular reason I've been researching electric cars. Actually it's because of the Chicago Auto Show. Anyway, these are the main options I know of if you want a car that runs on 100% electricity (not a hybrid). All but the Teslas also have a gas engine that kicks in after the battery runs out.

Tesla Roadster
0-60: 3.9 seconds
range on electric power: 244 miles
price: $101,500

Tesla Model S
0-60: 5.6 seconds
range on electric power: 300 miles
price: $49,900

Fisker Karma
0-60: 6 seconds
range on electric power: 50 miles
price: $90,000

Chevy Volt
0-60: don't know
range on electric power: 40 miles
price: $40,000

Hyundai Blue-Will
0-60: don't know
range on electric power: 40 miles
price: ?

Toyota Prius (new plugin-in model)
0-60: think of this more as a stealth car than a sports car
range on electric power: 13 miles
price: ?

If I wanted a car it would be a Tesla Model S. I had no idea you could get that kind of performance from an electric car. 300 miles for 45 minute / $4 charge. It looks nice in an unremarkable way too.

[G-Roll]

i didnt know they had electric cars that could preform well. perhaps this will lead into more development of electric cars as opposed to gas. seeming they can keep up now.
Lol a prius is more of a stealth car. makes me think of robin williams joking about electric cars being used at nascar events.

[curiosityandthecat]

My next car is going to run on the blood of the exploited worker class.

...er, wait, I already have one that does that. Damn you, Exxon!  

[G-Roll]

My next car is going to run on the blood of the exploited worker class.

...er, wait, I already have one that does that. Damn you, Exxon!  

the blood really? mine just runs on the tears and broken dreams. wonder witch makes for better fuel?

[Whitney]

I don't know....electric and hyprid is only more "green" if your electricity source is clean.

[elliebean]

Current car is now on it's 3rd transmission in the past few months and still leaking fluid everywhere, so I'm thinking maybe a stick shift.

[Squid]

Years ago I developed a car that ran off willpower....it never went anywhere...

[MariaEvri]

I will wait for the new electric plug in prius to come to cyprus. I know it will take time. Until it comes, and until cyprus has good recharging  stations, Ill stick with hybrids

[kenh]

I'm waiting for air powered cars myself.  

http://www.popularmechanics.com/automot ... 51491.html

I suppose if one ran out of compressed air, one could always use a bicycle pump.  

[AlP]

That's interesting. I hadn't heard of cars using compressed air as a means of storing energy. I suppose the advantage is that a bottle is cheaper than a battery. Comparison of energy densities by volume:

87 octane gas: 32,000 kJ / litre
Fully charged lithium ion battery: 900 - 1,900 kJ / litre
Air (compressed to 200x atmospheric pressure): 106 kJ / litre

I think I would prefer to pay the extra for the order of magnitude improvement in energy density of batteries.

[Whitney]

I'm waiting for air powered cars myself.  

http://www.popularmechanics.com/automot ... 51491.html

I wonder if that is any more efficient on power than electric?  You'd still have to use electricity to compress the air.

[Tanker]

Just not a Hydrogen powered car. From what I understand they do have much cleaner emmisions. However it takes WAAYY more energy to produce the hydrogen then you get from it (obviously) which in the long run creats more green house emmisions then just using a gas only car would have produced.

[Whitney]

Just not a Hydrogen powered car. From what I understand they do have much cleaner emmisions. However it takes WAAYY more energy to produce the hydrogen then you get from it (obviously) which in the long run creats more green house emmisions then just using a gas only car would have produced.

yet people who have hydrogen cars now are probably driving around with their nose up in the air bragging about how green they are...

I hate how appearing green has become a fashion statement....it makes it even harder to achieve real progress.

[AlP]

Hydrogen is produced industrially from methane. You can get that from landfill and cows . Whether you can get enough that way is questionable. The waste product in turning methane into hydrogen is carbon dioxide, which I believe is less harmful to the environment than methane. The reaction might also need some additional input energy. My chemistry is failing me...

Hydrogen combustion is completely clean. The only "waste" product is water. The hydrogen combines with oxygen in the atmosphere to produce H2O.

This is distinct from the idea of using compressed air as a means of storing energy. As Whitney pointed out, you need to compress it somehow, probably using an electrical compressor. I don't really see any advantage over using batteries for storage except maybe cost.

[Tanker]

Hydrogen is produced industrially from methane. You can get that from landfill and cows . Whether you can get enough that way is questionable. The waste product in turning methane into hydrogen is carbon dioxide, which I believe is less harmful to the environment than methane. The reaction might also need some additional input energy. My chemistry is failing me...

Hydrogen combustion is completely clean. The only "waste" product is water. The hydrogen combines with oxygen in the atmosphere to produce H2O.

This is distinct from the idea of using compressed air as a means of storing energy. As Whitney pointed out, you need to compress it somehow, probably using an electrical compressor. I don't really see any advantage over using batteries for storage except maybe cost.

Ah, but to turn methane into hydrogen require energy. Which would most likely come from comercial sources, the most common of which is coal plants (even in America). As the second law (i think) of thermodynaics states "energy can neither be created nor destroyed. The enrgy required to produce Hydrogen is higher then its return and in the long run, at this point, it is NOT cleaner to use it.