Toyota Tundra Forum

Several manufactures offer or will be offering electric vehicles in the near future but it seems the only thing Toyota will offer is the plug in Prius.


toyota-holds-back-in-race-to-go-electric: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

__________________


The Silver Bullet

2008 D/C 4X4 5.7-ARE Z-Series Cap
Volant CAI-Scangauge-Valentine 1
Low Range Off Road 3/1 Level Kit
TRD Rims with BFG AT 305/65/18
OEM Alarm Turned On-TRD Sway Bar
Westin SS Tube Steps-Tailgate Auto Lock Mod
Piaa Driving Lights in bumper-Rear Seatfold Mod
Direct JG 6000K 55W HID Hi & Low Beams
Corsa Sport Exhaust-Homelink Mirror
OEM Back Up Camera and Monitor
LED Backup Lights and Interior Lights

They are right. While battery technology has improved, it's still to a point where you will get a long charge off a battery. Plus none are cheap or mass produced yet.

__________________

2007 SR5 Crewmax 5.7L 4x4
Mods: nerf bars, Truxedo tonneau, radar detector power, 3M clear bra, fog lights, black billet grille, rear differential breather, parking sensors, Line-X, power tailgate lock, hood safety latch mod, one off driving lights behind grille, Pioneer NAV w/ OEM camera, Flowmaster 50 SUV dual/dual, blue LED dash lights, Volant CAI, Llumar tint, CompuStar Pro alarm, ProComp 6066 20" wheels, Cooper Zeon LTZ 275/60/20 tires, OME HD coilover lift, Firestone helper air bags, stereo cable lock, Tekonsha P3 brake controller
All mod descriptions and pictures © 2007-2009 by Toxarch. They may be copied only for personal use and the mods may be done for non-profit only.

True, batterys need to be improved to increase the range of these vehicles. Most of these cars have a range of 100 miles or less, and need hours to recharge. The Chevy Volt will have a 40 mile electric range with the battery, and then an onboard generator will take over. If your commute to work is less than 20 miles, you will be able to drive to work and back without using any gas. If you have the ability to charge at work, a 40 mile commute would use no gas. After that, the generator will run and you will have unlimited range. Along with the Volt, Mitsubishi and Nissan will have electrics available next year, and with the economics of scale, the cost of batterys will come down and the technology will improve.

But you also assume that there is somewhere you can plug in once you get to work, or the mall, or wherever you are going. Not many places are willing to put in new outlets just for electric cars and share their electric with you for free.

Some people will try to call it a green car, but you also have to consider where that electric power comes from. 49% of the power in the US is generated from coal power plants. Those coal power plants account for 39% of all the carbon dioxide produced in the US. And if everyone starts plugging in cars at night, that means a lot more power plants need to be built. Not what we want to happen when you consider rolling blackouts already happening on the west coast and many areas nearing their electrical load limit. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying don't buy one or they won't be good. I'm all for clean electric cars and clean energy. I just think there are many out there who won't consider what the trade-off is when switching to an electric car. If they can use it, then go for it.

I think it is Seattle (might be a different city) that already has downtown parking for electric cars and they have for years. They have free street parking for electric cars only and you can plug into the city power for a free recharge. And it's prime downtown street parking too, not some side street somewhere.

Electric vehicles will not be convenient for everyone, but certainly some folks will find them useful for most of their transportation needs. While it is true what you say about the emissions of coal fired electric plants, much of our electricity is from hydro, nuclear, and natural gas. Looking at the big picture, there will clearly be a significant environmental benefit if a large percentage of the vehicles we use were electric. Another major benefit we will realize from using EVs is that we will be less dependent on foreign oil.

Currently in this country we have an excess capacity to produce electricity in the off hours, when most EVs will be charged. Power companies could have different rates for off-peak charging as an incentive for people to wait until late evening to charge their vehicles. This will delay the need for new plants and when they are needed newer technologies such as wind and solar will be more mature and can be exploited to help fill our energy needs.