The Problem with Electric Vehicles
Ugh... here we go again...<p>&gt; Problem 1: Transportation will load the grid and generating capacity in rather nasty ways<p>Electric cars are not a _complete_ solution on their own. They are _part_ of the solution, along side more renewable power sources like solar and wind. I drive an electric car and I charge it almost exclusively with solar panels at a local free charging station provided by the Tennessee Valley Authority. (I live in Chattanooga, TN.)<p>Also, as for putting load on the electric grid, electric cars actually help with that. Many can be configured to feed power back into the grid, and as a result, they can balance out the grid load throughout the day with their batteries.<p>&gt; Problem 2: Rapid charging is actually not so rapid, highway re-charging stations will have to be much larger than current gas stations<p>Shift your thinking! Electric cars won&#x27;t be charged at gas stations like gas cars of the past. Most electric drivers charge at home in their own garages or driveways. I have neither, but I still manage to charge my car in street parking with an extension cord, an exterior wall outlet, and a few of those little safety mat things so strangers don&#x27;t trip over my cord.<p>Charging stations will still be important for cross-country trips, but the average driver doesn&#x27;t travel that far often enough for it to clog up charging stations across the country.<p>&gt; Problem 3: Gas stations are not generally in the neighbourhood of electricity generation stations.<p>See above.<p>&gt; Problem 4: Re-charging will not work nearly as well when vehicle utilization goes up due to sharing<p>See above.<p>&gt; Problem 5: We don’t actually have all this infrastructure yet<p>Well, duh. That&#x27;s why we need to build it. That&#x27;s not an issue with electric cars themselves. That&#x27;s a problem with our infrastructure that we need to fix.<p>&gt; Problem 6: Range<p>This is something we need to work on, but it&#x27;s not as big of a problem as people realize. More than 90% of US drivers drive far less than 100 miles per day. The few times I do need to travel farther than that, it&#x27;s actually kind of relaxing to stop at a mall or restaurant with a charger, plug in, and have a 30 minute lunch while I charge.<p>&gt; Problem 7: Trailers<p>Really? This is problem for most drivers? This is a niche problem for the few people that actually need to haul trailers. So those people can just use regular cars.<p>&gt; Problem 8: Service<p>I drive a Nissan Leaf, and I am very active in the Leaf driver community. I have <i>never</i> heard of a Leaf having major maintenance problems. Chevy Volt&#x27;s are known for having some issues, but in my opinion, that&#x27;s your fault for buying something from GM.<p>&gt; Problem 9: Tax Breaks<p>How is this a problem? Tax breaks will eventually go away? So what? The whole idea is to make these cars cheaper now until manufacturing gets cheaper and the prices start to go down on their own. This is really grasping at straws.