Heck, if I was in power, we would have all the hydro power we could build, and Nuke power where that was not enough.
Gas would be less expensive, and there would be no scare tactics being thrown around to drive up the price by creating panic where none is needed.
Welfare would end with workfare.
Our enemies would be slaughtered.
I'm not saying it would be perfect, but there would be no liberal elite garbage, that's for sure.
I like anything fast, and high tech. So, I like these electric cars, but only as amusement. They are not practical at this point, and they are not easy to fuel, operate and there is no established network of servicing them at this time.
I have seen a few of them destroyed at the salvage yards, and they have to be plastic wrapped and bio hazard marked to keep people away from the potential acid and other chemical problems from the battery packs. It's bad enough when a normal battery is crushed, and the acid is sprayed all over the vehicle, but there is so much more acid to be spread around when you have 50 batteries v/s just one or two in the general population of cars.
As far as burning to death in cars go, most fires are set on purpose. Car's just don't explode into flames like you see in the movies. The fuel tanks are generally located in the center lower part of the car these days, and are made of materials and designed to be pretty rugged. When they are broken open, the fire is intense, but generally brief unless a tire or other parts of the car are caught on fire. (Metal pretty much does not burn, but all the plastic and other flamable stuff sure does.)
I've seen a prius hit by somthing that pushed the rear body panel into the rear of the front seats. (And that takes the battery pack, and smashes it up against the occupants of the vehicle.) It was a dual fatal, and I don't know if they would have lived anyway or not, but the amount of acid sprayed around was pretty damning and disturbing to me, and I look at fatal crashes all the time at work.
I also worked a claim for a new headlight on a Insight, and the owner who is a professor was complaining that he hardly is able to drive it. The vehicle has been at the dealership with one problem or another from the time he leased it... but he was saying it got 70mpg when it was runnning... (That is a honda I belive.. and one of the first hybrid cars, so perhaps there were some bugs to be worked out.)
Here is what I know.
The technology is expensive. The battery packs only have about a 5 year life span. Then they have to be replaced. The cost is going to be 5,000.00 to 7,000.00 or more. (Including labor, it could reach 10k on some models.)
They get great gas mileage, but when compared to the cost of the gas if you bought the same version of that car, or something the same size, with the same performance, you could buy quite a bit more gas for the difference in the price of the "green" version. (Which is why the hybrids and pure electric cars have to be subsidized by the sales of the other cars, and the makers are only doing this to meet California law, so they can sell more of the normal cars in that huge market...)
I think the price will come down over time, but the reality is your always going to pay a premium for the hybrid or electric car over a gas or diesel powered version, and your not going to get your return on investment back anytime soon. (Especially when the batteries start to wear out at 5 to 10k a pop.)
OUch! Can you imagine buying a new Honda or Toyota commuter car that needed a new engine every 5 years? It would never sell very well, so the long term effect of hybrids and electric powered cars will be interesting to see as the economic reality comes home in the short term.
I was excited to see Audi bringing the V10 twin turbo here in the Toureg, but it did not sell very well, and they dropped that engine from the USDM. Only about 500 were sold here. It's a bummer too, it's an awesome engine setup. Tons of tourqe, decient fuel mileage, and since it's turbocharged and diesel, you really have some potential for turning up the boost and getting more tourqe out of that engine.
I think if I had to drive 50 miles to work each way every day, I'd buy a used TDI car from Volkswagen, either in the Jetta, Bug or Golf, and enjoy tinkering with adapting used fry oil to my commuter car. (Not for the environmental aspect, but the smell! Have you smelled one of those cars? It is like going to Mc Donalds, only coming out the tailpipe of your car... LOL)
Add some propane injection, turn up the boost, and after the fry oil is warmed up, look out in the gridlock traffic! LOL
