Why are Electric Autos so Expensive? Govt Needs to Help

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   Stacie Lposted 11 years ago

   If the govt was so determined to help clean the environment and stop global warming then why don't they give every American driver a voucher for a new or recent electric car?
   With gas prices climbing and dam ethanol getting worse mileage, I think the citizens can use a real bail out and give  each of us a deep discount for one...Anyone else?

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      wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      If every American driver gets (and uses) a voucher, then every American driver will have to pay for that voucher through increased taxes.  You effectively buy your own voucher. TANSTAAFL (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch).
      
      However, I believe that new models (Chevy Volt, maybe the Leaf, etc.) do get a break from Uncle Sam.

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2. 84

   psycheskinnerposted 11 years ago

   New technology is always expensive. The price will come down as the parts get made in larger quantities.  Right now there is very little economy of scale.

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3. 72

   relacheposted 11 years ago

   Electric cars aren't sustainable.  They use rare earth metals, contain lots of toxins and the majority of the electricity they run on is produced from fossil fuels.  No form of personal-use automobile is good for the environment.
   
   If you want to see things change, start by actually changing how you live, not just consuming the same way via different means.  Demanding a deep discount to keep using fossil fuels and polluting the environment isn't the answer.

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      Stacie Lposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      The deep discount was referring to the electric cars..

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4. 84

   psycheskinnerposted 11 years ago

   The way electric cars are made not is not the way they will always be made.

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5. 79

   Shadesbreathposted 11 years ago

   Because electric cars are an ironic joke that laughs at the ignorance of a ridiculous, unthinking, un-reading American populace that loves John Lennon  and feel-good science. The powers that be, who are in opposition to the other powers that be, took some science and some hippy stuff and perverted it into stuff that people who like to feel good would buy. They knew the people who like to feel good wouldn't spend one second doing any research on whether or not the feel-good solutions where any better than the demonized systems of the past, and they just "presented a solution" that... well, felt good, and BAM a whole new industry emerged. So now, we have the dumbass feel-good people spending all their money on the feel-good solutions, cursing the people who cling to the old makes-sense solutions and ignoring the actual science (which doesn't prove what the feel good guys want it to prove, even while making a totally valid case for climate change), and, well, everyone is buying something, and nobody cares that both "sides" are supporting completely unsustainable consumerism.
   
   We deserve whatever we get, and, whether you think you believe that or not, it doesn't matter, because that's what we're going to get, regardless of whatever dumb partisan garbage you are about to regurgitate based on what your particular side has taught you to parrot. Just remember, you are buying their stuff, donating to their causes and campaigns, and making there arguments here with your reply.

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      Stacie Lposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Whats your solution?
      I am looking for a viable alternative to the dismal gas fueled junk we have dumped on us idiots.
      Electric ,or maybe solar powered..anything to get us away from the gas guzzlers that will eventually be our demise.

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      1. 83

         kathleenkatposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         While waiting for the technology to develop, you could switch to a fuel-efficiant car. I have a 2 door sedan, which will get me 500 miles to the tank, easily. You could also use a hybrid; the Prius has been very successful. If that is not an option, you could also consolidate trips, ride a bicycle, carpool, or take public transportation. There are ways to use gas-burning vehicles in a way which doesn't "gas guzzle."
         
         Like others have said, technology takes time to develop, and is expensive at first. It took many dozens of years to develop gas-burning cars to what they are today. Electric cars will come along; though I think the economy has hindered that a bit.

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         Cobrafanposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Gas fueled junk? I'll take a gas powered car over any alternative fuel any day. The Prius, God of all hybrids, is actually more harmful to our environment until you've driven it over 100,000 miles. That means it takes the average person 10+ years to make their Prius "green." How many people do you know that keep a vehicle for more than 10 years? Probably very few. Screw all this alternative energy crap. Engine your internal combustion engines while we still have the fuel to use them.

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6. 83

   kathleenkatposted 11 years ago

   Electric cars aren't sustainable (yet?).
   
   I could not possibly drive an electric car to and from work. My commute is 90 miles. I hear electric cars only charge for ~100 miles, and I don't want to take that kind of risk. Lets face it, there aren't nearly enough charging stations. Certainly not any at my work.
   
   Why should the government fund yet another social program? We are already deep in the hole in debt. We don't have this kind of money. Maybe if Bush didn't eff up the economy, it might be another story. But Gore didn't win, and that's an inconvenient truth
   
   Also, how can gas prices "keep going up?" They have been about the same for years, ranging somewhere from 3.50 to 4.30 per gallon. Just a rough guesstimate, though. Basing this on my experience filling up my car since ~2008.

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