Re: Orangutans

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

Maybe orangutans have reasons to be skeptical of changes in their cages. They
know what they have, and are happy with it. Why change?

1. EVs really are cheaper. If you add up all the costs associated with
   an ICE (fuel, maintanance, repairs, and disposal), they cost more.
   That's why fleet operators, or anyone who carefully tracks cost will
   buy EVs whenever they can.

   Joe Orangutan does not track his costs, and doesn't know what he spends.
   He buys a car, drives it for several years, and sells it. He thinks,
   "I didn't put nothing but gas and oil in it for 50,000 miles." But he
   only got 1/2 the car's original value because its engine is half shot.

   50,000 miles on an EV is nothing. The vehicle holds its value far better.
   Look at all the examples of decades-old EVs that still work as well as
   new; fork lifts, golf carts, industrial vehicles, even on-the-road EVs.
   A new set of batteries every so often and it is as good as new. Amortized
   battery and electricity cost is less than ICE fuel and oil changes.

   I can't speak for everyone, but I keep track of what I spend on my cars.
   The EVs win by a 2:1 margin.

2. EVs really do dramatically reduce pollution. Anyone who has to operate
   vehicles indoors knows this. Can you imagine running even the cleanest
   ICE inside the house for even 5 minutes? EVs win hands down.

   Joe Orangutan doesn't really care about pollution. He assumes it's someone
   else's problem. So he won't voluntarily spend anything to fix a problem
   he doesn't have.

3. EV range is already enough for 90% of most people's trips. For the rare
   exceptions, there's a second car (or rental). Study after study has shown
   this, and anyone with an EV can attest to its truth.

   Joe Orangutan is used to a 300-mile range and cheap gas. He's used to
   the smell and mess and inconvenience of gas stations. He knows running
   out of gas is a terrible inconvenience. So it's easy to convince him
   that an EV wouldn't work for him.

   EV batteries don't suddenly go dead and strand you. The car just gets
   slower and slower. I have driven another 10 miles on dead batteries.
   110vac outlets are far easier to find than gas stations, and I have
   never been refused permission.

4. There's nothing wrong with the EV technology we've got. Lead acid
   batteries, series motors, and solid state controllers are readily
   available, affordable, and reliable. They are good, and getting better,
   and it's easy to upgrade as improvements come along.

   Joe Orangutan thinks a technological breakthrough is required; exotic
   electronics, super-batteries, and aerospace technology. And he couldn't
   afford an EV if it used this stuff.

   He won't buy an EV today because he'll get "stuck" with old technology.
   He thinks it is impractical to upgrade anything in a car, except maybe
   the stereo or tires. Look at what it takes to change an ICE engine!

   But EV parts are modular and fairly well standardized. It is no harder
   to change a battery, motor, or controller than it is to change a tire
   install a new stereo.

To the 1% of the population that *is* looking for a better solution, EVs may
be the answer. The other 99% are satisfied with what they have; they don't
care and won't look.

The big auto companies *have* to sell to the 99%. They have a very difficult
sales problem. Their EVs have to be exactly like ICEs in every way to convince
the Orangutans.

But the small EV businesses only have to sell to the 1%. 100 cars a year is a
great success to them! And the 1% are far easier to please. Their wants and
needs are more realistic.

So the 1% can get the NEVs, the Golf Cars, the electric bikes and scooters;
all those applications where EVs are outstanding solutions, and where
conventional ICEs fall far short of the ideal.

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: Orangutans