Monday, March 1, 2010

not sold yet


i get asked all the time, where do i stand on the question of either electric cars or hybrids. i would have to say, i am still not for either, even if the demand for both still grows. like in any thing else, buying or having the first few generations of any new technology, is still a crap shoot. if you can afford the smugness one deserves from ownership of said cars, more power to you, but until the price of these cars and practicality withstanding, increases 100 fold, will you get my attention. for the most part, cars in general, are built for the general public, who most have no care or qualms about cars in general. so, just driving 30-40 miles is not an issue for them, and to plug it in and go, hey, all the better. but of course, it also stands to reason, the needs of these said people, generally don't require or even can afford, $30-40,000 high tech cars. a sub, $15,000 car, with a limited range and speed, as well as decent space, would be a huge step above bus ridership and walking. face it, most of these people are not shopping at sam's club anyway, a car is just means of transport, and the freedom of owning their own transport, vs public transportation.

the electric car, is a basic tool, nothing more than a oversized, riding kids toy. look underneath one and all you'll see is a big electric motor, and battery packs; so why all the hoopla over pricing? pure supply and demand for smugness at its peak. make a $15k electric car, 2 or more people can ride in, with heat or a/c blasting and a decent range, the market of smugness will drop like the falling prices of 52" lcd tvs. now hybrids are several generations of bastardness. these cars are going to bewhat in future generations will call "lemons". until true electric cars can prove their worth, the having a gas or diesel motor on stand by, because your stupid ass forgot to charge the car up last night, is its only saving grace. tests have proven hybrids suck at highway driving speeds, if the mileage ratings are what you are after. heaven forbid you breakdown in "deliverance county" usa with your new fangled hybrid from hell; you think "bubba" looks scary now, wait til he pops the hood of your hi-dollar appliance...sure got a pretty mouth there boy....

the companies can keep on saying that electric motors are better than gas for so many reasons, but that reliablity thing still stays in the back of my mind; i have put hundreds of thousands of miles on various cars and trucks in my life; never have i broke down, on some dark country road, and was more scared of the natives, than i was of my car. you can have my gas powered car when you can pull my dead fingers from around my sterring wheel, until then, screw the greenies and nuke the whales.