Looks like the electric car is making a comeback- introducing the ZENN (zero emissions, no noise) there's a couple of detractors that prevent me from buying one right this instant but it sure as heck isn't the price. It's affordable, green and has specs that almost make me want to buy one tomorrow. Almost. Below I will give my pros and cons of the vehicle, check it out yourself at http://www.zenncars.com/
The reasons I will not buy this car today:
maximum speed is 25 mph. This is clown car speed. It can go faster but was regulated, I think to increase total mileage on one charge
Maximum distance is 35 miles on one charge. This of course depends on how and where you drive, and manufacturer specs are usually conservative in their numbers, meaning you probably could exceed this but by how much is the question. To be fair, the average schmo typically drives less than this distance in a day although many, many people do considerably more and you really couldn't use this vehicle for any kind of road trip.
Running temperature- where I live it can get down to -40 for a couple weeks on end, which means I'll stick with present wheels until I move to a bit of a warmer locale. That, or I would be parking it for the colder days of the winter and dusting off the snowshoes, which I already do as I don't like wasting gas to let my vehicle idle for 10 or 15 minutes to warm up.
That's it. Speed and distance as well as questions about operations in cold temperature are my drawbacks, and they are the very things that are progressively getting better with electric cars. If they can get the regulated max speed to 50 or 60 mph..which has already been done with other electric cars.. and increase the max distance to 50 or 60 miles on one charge..which has also already been done with other electric cars.. I'll seriously consider buying.
Reasons why I would buy this car: (in no particular order of importance)
Price is reasonable- $ 14,700.00 which is definitely competitive with gas powered cars.
Energy efficiency- much more efficient than an internal combustion energy, as energy transfer is far more direct. Depending on the price of electricity in your area, your savings over gas will vary but you will most definitely save. Going by average electricity prices driving this vehicle will cost you one or two cents per mile, vs several cents per mile for gas cars (this figure varies widely based on the type of vehicle though)
Can charge at home by plugging into a standard 120 volt plugin. 4 hours of being plugged in will recharge approximately 80% which is more than reasonable IMHO.
No oil changes, no filter changes or major tune ups. Electric cars have far less moving parts compared to internal combustion vehicles, meaning far less things to wear out and break down. General motors were alarmed with how maintenance free the EV was back in the mid-90's, and realized that selling a product that doesn't break down very often would cost them loads of money that they make on repair/replacement and scheduled maintenance fees. For the consumer, this will save you money!
Last but definitely not least, no emissions! No carbon dioxide spewing into the air. Regardless of your beliefs on the effects of emissions on global warming, if nothing else it would not add to those wonderful clouds of smog that hang over major cities and DO contribute to asthma and all kinds of nasty respiratory issues. The only environmental issue with these cars of course is with the disposal of the batteries, for which programs are already in effect.