USA Today just ran an electric car buying Gallup poll that showed that 57% of Americans would not consider purchasing an electric car or truck regardless of the cost of gasoline. Perhaps they are lacking in imagination with regards to just how high the price of gas could get. I’m not sure but the number is astounding.
Price became a factor for 12% of the people polled as they said that they would consider an electric car if the cost of gas topped $5 per gallon. Ten percent said they would if it was between $6 and $8, while nine percent would hold out until gas hit between $8 and $10.
While an initial glance at these numbers may send a shiver down the spine of our more environmentally conscious readers, the good news is that if 12% of America drove electric cars by 2015 we would be well ahead of President Obama’s goal of seeing one million plug-in electric vehicles on the road by then.
If we are to believe the U.S. Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu, electric cars might be poised to make a huge leap in technology in the next 6 years. Secretary Chu attended the installation of the 500th Coulomb Technologies electric car charging station on Friday where he made some very optimistic, yet exciting, claims.
Chu pointed out that batteries are the key component behind improving electric cars and reducing their cost. He said that the Department of Energy is funding battery research that will see their cost cut in half within 3-4 years. He also claimed that their energy output will see an even greater improvement that will result in electric cars that cost $20,000 – $25,000 and have a range of 350 miles.
Legislation is being proposed in Oregon, Texas and Washington that would see electric cars taxed via a Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) tax. Under this new form of taxation, all electric cars would be taxed, not at the gas pump, but based on the number of miles they travel.
How do you gauge that, you ask? Well that’s at least one of the places this proposed legislation is likely to hit a road bump because in order to impose the VMT, the government will need to install GPS units in cars that will track their distance, as well as where that car travels. Understandably, this will likely bee seen as an invasion of privacy.
Barack Obama’s State of the Union address saw him repeat his push for of seeing over 1 million plug-in hybrid and electric cars on the roads by 2015. Along with an increased reliance on biofuels he declared that the future could be won through scientific innovation.
How will we get there? He suggested an $8 billion investment in these advanced tech automobiles and battery pack research. Paying for this could be done by through subsidies currently paid out to oil companies.
The current investment in this research is $6 billion so Obama is calling for a $2 billion increase.
BYD, the Chinese electric car company, has seen sluggish sales such that you think that someone who had invested $230 million in them would be getting a little nervous. That does not seem to be the case for Prophet of Omaha, Warren Buffet.
Buffet recently gave an interview to Reuters in which stated that he expects that environmentally friendly cars will provide him with a “sizable profit” in approximately five years. This, despite BYD stock having dropped substantially since the initial surge it received after Buffet’s big investment. It closed today at HK$42.6, a long way down from the HK$ 84 peak it hit after Buffet’s $250 million injection.
Buffet pointed to BYD’s upcoming green buses and long-term electric vehicle plans as his route to environmentally friendly economic gains. The first half of 2010 saw a strong start for BYD but the third and fourth quarters saw sales and expectations cut.
Will Buffet once again predict the future accurately, or will the Prophet of Omaha meet his match with this sizable investment in a Chinese electric car company?
Plug In America is constantly come up with new ways to humorously engage viewers with its message of the benefits that come from owning plug in electric vehicles.
Their latest video looks at a subject that is probably often underrepresented in the whole gas vs. electric car debate – the problem that gas powered vehicles have with engine maintenance.
As the Plug In America video illustrates, an electric motor doesn’t give its owners any headaches when it comes to fixing or replacing an engine, transmission, spark plugs, valves, fuel tank, tailpipe, distributor, oil, oil filter, starter, clutch, muffler, or catalytic converter.
You can check out the new Plug In America Ad below:
It’s hard not to get into the ever increasing polarization of America when you watch something like Neil Cavuto’s interview of Fabio on Fox News.
Cavuto’s ignorance is outstripped only by his arrogance as he denounces electric cars as a “dumb idea.” The whole thing is truly painful to watch as Cavuto refuses to budge on his one and only talking point, that he doesn’t believe that Fabio can fit into a Tesla Roadster. You can watch the video of Fabio on Fox news yourself, but consider yourself warned. It’s painful to watch.
Fabio’s presence on the show was precipitated by his appearance in new Plug In America ads.
Young adults are far less auto-centric than previous generations are a recent survey is showing. Generation Y (people aged 21 – 30) buys fewer cars than previous generations and the cars it does buy, don’t get driven as much.
In 1995 drivers aged 21 – 30 accounted for 21% of all miles driven in the United States. Now the same age group only accounts for 14%. Generation Y is getting by with more reliance on mass transit, car sharing services and alternate forms of transportation like bicycles.
William Draves, the Learning Resources President, attributes the difference to a shift in spending priorities more than anything else stating that, “This generation focuses its buying on computers, BlackBerrys, music and software and views commuting a few hours by car a huge productivity waste when they can work using PDAs while taking the bus and train.”
Surveys are also showing young people are citing environmental concerns as a growing reason for abandoning car ownership with the increasing number of hybrid and electric vehicles failing to have an impact on the trend.
The Chinese government has drafted a new plan which, if put into effect, would force foreign companies to share key eco-friendly car technologies in order for them to be permitted to sell their vehicles in China.
This news comes while China is already the source of a great deal of grumbling from foreign automakers that they are using their massive market to skew business in their favor. This new requirement would be the most extreme example of this type of strong-arming yet.
If the report that came with this proposal is to be believed, enforcing such a technology requirement would catapult China to the forefront of the eco-auto industry by letting them produce more affordable and competitive hybrid and electric cars by 2020.
The Wall Street Journal got a chance to take the Nissan Leaf electric car for a spin. They posted their little tour in the above video. It won’t give you any major new revelations about the Nissan Leaf, but it helps satisfy those of us who can’t wait to get in and try one of these slick, little EVs ourselves.
