Electric car battery going flat?

[pauland]

Just imagine - you're out in your electric car and you can't possibly get to your destination because your battery just doesn't have enough ooomph - what you gonna do?


Easy, turn to the generator that you have in tow behind your car!

http://www.gizmag.com/ev-charging-trailer/28513/

This made me laugh out loud - the irony of having an electric car and then towing along your own petrol-powered generator, seems the supreme irony, though I accept it is a helpful solution for people with electric cars that need an extended range.

You will look a wally though.

LOL

[Albacore]

I am thinking of doing my bit for the planet and getting a Nissan Leaf as we now only use our car for short journeys but would never think about that. Have been out having test drives but also not excluding diesels as a solution and if we go with the electric then hire a car for the longer journeys. This comes from a person who likes a bit of speed, not too much but enough, having had Scooby's, GTI's, MX 5's and the current is a Scirocco. But that looks silly as it is not a solution that should come from France as the number of petrol stations is one of highest in Europe. Before anyone corrects me I know the solution is for an electric car & not something that needs a liquid fuel but you know what I mean. Silly.... mind you it is the solution that is used in hybrid cars with an engine charging batteries.

[Big Frank]

i'm thinking of buying a horse to get around on but just in case the horse decides to go on strike...



as you can see, this is hardly a new concept

[gwpriester]

At the opposite end of this is these gigantic mobile homes (for example http://www.reinesrv.com/blog/wp-cont...esized-600.png) towing automobiles and I have even seen a few hauling large storage trailers because they cannot get enough stuff in the mobile home. For the price you pay for one of these behemoths you could stay at the best hotels and not have to worry about where to park the suckers.

[Big Frank]

and you wouldnt have to make dinner and clean the dishes after

[jon404]

Get a Chevy Volt. FAR better than the basic hybrid (Prius, Focus) or all-electric (Leaf, Tesla) options. For everyday around-town use, the Volt gives you about 50 miles on all-electric. But it has an onboard 1.4 L gas engine that kicks in if the battery goes down, to keep the battery always charged up. So you can go anywhere. Like most cars, the range when using the gasoline motor is 300 miles. GM lease deals for the Volt are superb, and, in the US, there are large tax credits that you can apply to the purchase price.

In daily use, like for most people going to work and back, the actual MPG is about 150. The Volt is a design breakthrough that proves you don't have to drive a tinny small car to get extreme economy. In safety terms, size DOES matter, and the Volt, like other GM cars, is properly engineered, unlike cars like the Prius with their sticking accelerator pedals and other recall defects.

[ankhor]

well, isn't a hybrid basically an electric car with an inbuild power generator on petrol? so not so strange.

[Big Frank]

i think you're missing the irony here