Re: Ultralight hybrids/electric mopeds (

[LEE A HART <XURQ03A@PRODIGY.COM>]

Dear David,

Welcome to the EV list. I congratulate you on your thoughtful post.

You need not worry about us aficionados who have been building and driving
pure EVs. Gas/electric hybrids have been promoted for a very long time,
with essentially nothing to show for it but expensive prototypes.
Meanwhile, many thousands of people have used EVs for millions of miles of
daily commuting. I doubt this situation will change any time soon.

I feel that hybrids are like the old Amphicar, which combined a car and a
boat into a single vehicle. It sounds like a wonderful idea, but the result
turns out to be a failure in the market. The design has to make too many
compromises. The result is too expensive, overly complicated, and performs
poorly as either car or boat.

Pure EVs are more likely to succeed because they are less ambitious. They
don't try to be all things to all people. They cannot fully replace the ICE
today, and are unlikely to do so for the forseeable future.

Most serious EV work goes into solving a very specific, limited problem:
The average person only drives 30-50 miles a day. Using a general purpose
ICE car for this purpose results in expensive operating and maintenance
costs, and adds significant air pollution to the environment.

EVs are cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable for such service. They won't be
the solution for everyone, but they can work for a significant minority. As
EVs improve, the number of people they can satisfy will increase.

But you will need a second car or public transportation for longer trips.
etc. for longer trips.

Smaller cars

You make a good point on the desirability of smaller vehicles. But that
will require a paradigm shift. If everyone drove 1000 lb cars, then 1000 lb
cars would not be at any special risk on the highway. But in a world filled
with 3000 lb cars, driving lightweight vehicles is a significant risk.

Most EVs are thus the same size as conventional cars, even though they
don't need to be. They are often conversions, since the builders don't have
the resources to build from scratch. Vehicle licensing and insurance
regulations are also written to strongly discourage anything out of the
ordinary. And there is always peer pressure; how many people have the
courage to drive something that is truly different?

But, there are always a few pioneers/oddballs/nuts willing to do something
different. If they are even modestly successful, there will be imitators.
Fads can get started. So there is always hope.

Lee Hart                     If you would not be forgotten
4209 France Ave. N.          Soon as you are dead and rotten
Robbinsdale, MN 55422 USA    Either write things worth the reading
phone (612) 533-3226         Or do things worthy of the writing
e-mail XURQ03A@prodigy.com   (Ben Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanac)
Re: Ultralight hybrids/electric mopeds (