The top 10 electric cars most likely to succeed
It's still early as electric and plug-in hybrid cars roll out, but it's time to call likely winners and also-rans.
IN FOCUS: Ford's new electric car has a good tailwind. (Photo: Ford) 
1. Chevy Volt (at right): GM’s $41,000 plug-in hybrid, soon to have a sister car in the more upscale Cadillac ELR (first seen on the auto show circuit as the Converj in 2009). GM has sold 3,200 so far, but the number doesn’t have much to do with demand — production’s been shut down as the company gears up for a capacity of 60,000 a year by 2012.
7. Fisker Karma: After many delays, the Karma (at right) is finally on the market, or at least the first set of keys has been handed to Leonardo DiCaprio, with Colin Powell and Al Gore in the wings. The Karma is a $100,000 plug-in hybrid with Italian supercar good looks (though the BMW veteran designer is actually a Dane). This car has serious glamor going for it, but it has to perform up to the hype.
A number of other cars face a tougher time in the market. The Smart car (pictured right) has had a troubled run in the American marketplace, and its “electric drive” version hit the showrooms with a high lease price. A new version is coming, and with Mercedes alone in control it might be a huge improvement. Like Smart, Think (which just survived a near-death experience and now has a Russian owner) has an inherent two-seater limitation, plus a relatively high price. The new owner needs to lower the price, and maybe offer the battery pack in a separate lease offer.| Previous Post Electric Avenue: Where EVs go to charge | Next Post Two amigos: Toyota and Ford |
Comments
"China’s BYD...has a good chance of making it in the U.S. if it keeps prices low, and brings quality, design and safety up to Western standards (big if)"
Western standards? How about Japanese standards? Most overall quality surveys put European makes behind US makes, which in turn are a bit behind Japanese brands.
Every manufacturer, though, employs a form of the Toyota Production System. I guess that's the "Western" standard you speak of.
I'm trying to understand why this article doesn't include anything about the Renault Fluence ZE. Renault is currently building 100,000 units of the Fluence ZE for Better Place. Matter of fact, why is this article completely devoid of any mention of Better Place?
... soon marketed in Western Europe (and looking for investors, by the way -- write to me laurent@).
Can you consider a really small and light vehicle fun to drive can find its place among your list? I mean a "second car" dedicated only to short distance, but really cheap to buy, to use and to fuel. Look at www.eon-motors.com , soon marketing in Western Europe.
you so quickly dismiss he crysler/fiat. The volt is using technology that chryler had 10 years ago. They have sold more elctric vehicles than all others combined. 4 Electic chrylsers were ready to luanch a year ago. Fiat wanted theirs first, hense the delay.
A diesel in europe will get you over 60 mpg.
I wont own a hybrid because of the destruction to the enviorment from mining the 25-30 lbs of rare earth minerals each uses. For a car that gets the same or less mpg than a.... More
Well, all you proved is that Chrysler is stupid. It had everything to bring a high-tech, low cost, electric car to the market, but Chrysler choose NOT TO. What total fools those people at Chrysler, must be.
I'm with you, anonymous. Chrysler has had numerous opportunities to deliver a hybrid or an electric car, but has chosen not to--through the federal Partnership for a new Generation of Vehicles process, it developed a 80-mpg hybrid that could have come out in 2000--same year as the Prius.
The whole electric car arena is still in its infancy. The Model S is coming, but the 300 mile battery is an expensive upgrade (base battery is 150 miles). I might not be able to afford one right now, but if I was I would. I would also invest in a solar charging station for my home. As for the Volt: my daily commute is about 8 miles round trip. I could use the car every day for a year and not put a drop of gas in it if I charge it each week.
just don't get stuck in traffic.
See, this remark shows a lack of education. Electric cars don't use power when sitting in traffic. Petro vehicles on the other hand will consume power. When an electric car is sitting in traffic the battery is not being drained.
Unless you have the A/C on, oh yeah the all electric power steering is taking power....don't forget your radio! Electric cars use power while sitting still just by being on.
So if you are sitting in traffic you do not want to have AC, heat or a radio operating
Oh yeah, *that's* gonna work in Dallas in the summertime :P
Look at www.eon-motors.com, soon to appear on European roads, and hopefully in the US too. A range enough for an average 3 days of commuting (that is 60 real kms), and they have pattented a new cooling seat which uses 50 times less energy than an AC system for a better feeling for the driver.
If you don't read French and want to know more, you can write to me : laurent (at)
Hi Forrest,
I agree with the thrust of your remarks, but if your round trip is only 8 miles a day then you would be hauling around an idle internal combution engine with a full tank of gas unnecessarily. ;-)
If you can't afford a Model S, then a Leaf would be a more economical alternative to the Volt that would still satisfy your daily commute requirements.
Larry
Anyone who thinks the Tesla s car is anything other than a pipe dream will be sadly disappointed. Look at the statements out of Tesla - seating for 7 (cant see letting my kids sit in a suicide seat, let alone see it pass safety standards), 300 miles (with what battery technology, and while loaded with "7" people and bags) for $40,000?!?! No one with a inkling of auto or battery knowledge (let alone both) buy this. And don't say Toyota, they bought ZEV credits for CA.... More
I'm a guy with a modicum of knowledge who DOES think the Tesla Model S will do well. I agree it won't seat seven comfortably, but I do think it will have 300 miles of range--with a huge 90-95-kilowatt-hour pack that its buyers will pay for. Tesla has consistently delivered the range it said it would.
I do hope you are right, and they can deliver even the majority of what they claim. Maybe I'm a pessimist, but the S claims are just too far from conservative (at any moderate production volume) and close examination of the Roadster unveils some serious glossing over of significant issues.
I'd be willing to make a bet like the one mentioned earlier, and happily pay out if proven wrong. Guess we all will know beginning next year.
Instead of driving a car, use some of that fat stored in your massive butts to ride a bicycle. I am pretty sure you have plenty of stored energy to go thousands of miles.
I am so happy for you.
But some of us have families or medical conditions where that is not possible.
I used to ride a bike 150 plus miles a week, probably much more than you. Then I got married, had a family, had surgury. For any and all, a car is needed.
When real life catches up with you, let me know, for now I'll drive my diesel and get better milage than the hybrids out there.
Forget the cars : THEY are irrelevant !
Watch the storage batteries. . Someday, a half-way decent one will be found -- Actually, it is right over there, under some bushes (pardon, shrubs) laughing at us all. . Maybe we should look at parsnips again ?
Get an editor. This article has too many grammatical errors.
I re-read my article and didn't see any typos, so maybe you're on a higher plane.
I re-read my article and didn't see any typos, so maybe you're on a higher plane.
You think the Volt is the answer, what are you crazy, thats the biggest joke to come out of GM. You are so negitive about the electric car whats your brilliant idea to get off of foreign oil. My personal opinion is still the standard hybrid, no plugging in to charge. I have a Prius and get 52 MPG, beat that one. Also how about commenting on Chrysler who has not produced one fuel efficient car since the bailout.
The article is about the "most likely to succeed," not about my personal favorites. But I do like the Volt--precisely for the reason I like other plug-in hybrids. It is electricity without the range anxiety. I do hope they make a cheaper version, such as a production version of the MPV5 crossover (based on the Volt) and shown in China.
I think hybrids like the Prius are the way to go for now. Now if they will just convert them to burn natural gas instead of gasoline, that would be great.
I have a Volt and drove 2100 miles on 0.6 gallons of gas. Yes, just a little over HALF a gallon of gas. YOU try to beat that in your Prius. Also, my Volt has the equivalent performance of a 260HP V6 so the Prius is not in the same league. I drove, non-stop for 320 miles and averaged 47.8 MPG (combining the 43 miles electric and 277 gas) and that was at an average speed of 75 MPH. The Volt is a HUGE success and is, overall, a better car than my three previous Lexus'. The Lexus is a quality.... More
Facts are contradictory in your statements. If you drive non-stop for 320 miles with average 47.8MPG, you would comsume little less than 3.7 gallon (320/47.8). That's more than the 0.6gallons. Something doesn't add up.
I do not believe 2100 miles on .6 of a gallon of gas. That is impossible. And you can pay 42000 for your volt, I paid 24k for my prius.
I had a 1992 Honda CRZ that got 48 to 50 on the highway. All gas and didnt cost me an arm and a leg...conider your prius beaten...
Another thing to consider here is the fact that batteries generally do not like cold weather, which means that EV's will not perform well in the snowbelt states during the cold weather months each year. Those of you living in warm weather states probably don't realize that.
There also are the issues of long recharging times and the inability to recharge away from home.
Finally, the more EV's on the road, the greater the demand on fossil fuel plants which will increase the.... More
Most of the well-designed vehicles, such as the Volt and Teslas, have circulating heat exchange fluids that heat or cool the battery packs to ensure that they are operating at the optimum temperature.
It is true that so far electrics can't compete with gasoline cars in refueling/recharging times. However, that concern is only valid if you expect your vehicle to take long trips. As you probably know most daily trips are less than 30 miles in which case charging at home while you.... More
Ford took care of the battery in cold weather AND hot weather. Also it's 100 miles to the charge ( the author was wrong)
The more EV's on the road will lower the net pollution to the environment substantially. Even though power plants will work harder and produce more emissions, power plants are much much much more efficient than a car's internal combustion engine. So for each gas car that comes off the road you get a unit reduction in pollution that is much larger than the respective unit increase from the powerplant.
Good day
Anyone in the west can't use a car that has such serious limitations. Can't pull a horse trailer, or haul hay. Can't get out of it's own way. Can't go nearly far enough without stoppng to charge. No nice engine sound. Batteries to get rid of. No self respecting girl is going to tell you it is a nice ride. Not for me or anyone with any serious use for a car or truck.
most people in the west don't haul horse trailers. Just like most people in Middlesburg, VA don't haul horse trailers... Only in our imaginations... most people are schlubs with jobs and kids.
They are just starting to set up the plant on the Fisker Nina, a plug-in hybrid built at an old Saturn plant in Delaware.
plug in sounds good until, everyone finds out there are going to be power plants shut down. solar and wind sounds cool until you look at the solar and wind maps.
I sure don't see any problem with wind power here in Central Illinois. There's wind generator's sprouting all over. You don't need to have one on your own house in order to drive an EV. The less coal and oil we burn, the better off we'll be.
Gee, I'll miss pumping gasoline every week though. :-)
Let these OPEC countries find some other way to make money off us.
Sunny Guy
Until E-cars start costing under $20K they will never be anything but a tiny, niche market. The middle class and poor are not going to spend luxury-car prices for an e-car when a gas car cost half as much, has better range, operates in a variety of environments, and can haul more weight. Energy density has real-world consequences. 72 pounds of gas (a 12 gallon tank) has over 1,400 megajoules of energy. A 500 pound lithium-ion battery array can only hold 730 megajoules. That's half as much.... More
And No.
I haven't checked your stated energy content values, but I will point out that whatever energy the gasoline fuel has in it, only 25% of that content is used for motive energy, AT BEST.
But again, you miss the entire point.
The point is that electricity, even from conventional sources (which I'm not advocating since solar is so much cheaper than even coal; See SunPower's new paper proving this is true) is very much less expensive than gasoline or diesel (~1/4 the.... More
No.
Of course, there will always be some people who can not perform basic math calculations, like home loan "total costs" just as an example, who will not be able to see that the "initial cost" is not the significant one for car ownership (hint: it is the fuel and maintenance, especially so for gas cars) and who will therefor continue to buy pukers. Fine,
Fortunately, there are now enough people who understand the economic benefits of electrics (particalarly so if you use.... More
Poor people aren't going to buy new cars period. And middle class? The repubs hunt the middle class for sport, and are on course to wipe most middle-classers out within a couple years anyway. That leaves rich people, who can buy as many of these toys as they please...
This isn't about politics, but I can't leave this unchallanged.
It is the Dems, not the reps that recieve 70-80% of wall streets money. It is the Dems not the reps that recieve most of the campaign contributions of the rich.
It is the Dems, not the Reps that are detroying the regional banking system for their friends on wall street. (why has Obamma had so many campaign fundraising stops on wall street?)
Why does the small business chamber of commerce (where 80% of job growth.... More
The Think City car is more available than any Nissan or Chevy or Ford, and at a better price. I have one, and I love it! See www.think-usa.com
This article should have been named "The Top 10 Plug-In Vehicles most likely to succeed". If you're going to say "Electric Cars", then talk about electric cars and not hybrids.
recycling batteries is concern for the automakers as it is in leaf.
