Unfortunately, no matter how
much we drill in this country, our reserves are nowhere near what they need to be in order to be self-sufficient (or cheap). In contrast, any fuel for an electric vehicle is virtually guaranteed to be produced domestically. As a result, few actions an American citizen can take are more patriotic than driving an elec- tric vehicle. But, JVH, your main point was
about the lack of demand in this nascent market. Declaring EVs a failure at this point is no different from a pundit declaring the mobile phone a failure in 1984. It’s easy to forget that the first cell- phone, released in 1983, cost $3,995, had a 20-minute talk-time, and the only fea- ture was that it could hold 30 numbers in memory. There were many critics back then who questioned if anyone would ever waste their money on such a luxury. For a more recent example, 10 years
ago, a 42” flat screen TV cost $10,000. Today, you can buy one for 10% of that cost at any big box store. Given the research being performed
worldwide on battery technology, there is no reason to think we won’t see the same dynamic for electric vehicles. Not long ago, I read a quote that
said, “We think that by 2050, roughly 40% of those 2 billion cars [worldwide] will be electric.” This was not a quote from the Sierra Club or even Tesla Motors, but from the CEO of Royal Dutch Shell. Every major automaker has an EV either on the road or on the drawing board for release in the next few years. While battery costs are high today,
they will fall sooner rather than later, and battery capacity will increase. As these developments roll out, millions will flock to electric vehicles for both economic and aesthetic reasons. Not only do EVs cost about 10% of the cost per mile to run as gas-powered cars, but there are huge additional maintenance savings (no oil changes, timing belts, etc. over the life of the car adds up). More important, however, is the
fact that an EV provides a superior driv- ing experience. I have never experi- enced a bigger thrill behind the wheel than when I finally got to drive a Tesla Roadster this past summer. Even the compact Leaf is a delight to drive. Those of us who have had these experiences know well of what is referred to as the “EV grin.” In summary, no, there are not many electric vehicles on the road today, but
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this will be changing in the not-too-dis- tant future as the market for EVs evolves just like it has for countless electronic devices before them. The big question is whether any indi-
vidual parking operator is going to be ahead of the curve or behind it. Not every EV driver will have the ability to charge at home (think of NYC or San Francisco), so the workplace or public parking will be the next venues of choice. EV charging will be an additional revenue opportunity for parking operators in the very near future, if not today already.
Says JVH: Jim, we are mostly in
agreement, with the exception of the issues of maintenance, battery replace- ment and the like. (How much will it cost to replace a burned-out motor? Dunno, time will tell.) Electric cars are great, and fun, and cheaper to run. There is only one issue. If cars being
produced today are, in effect, hybrids (except the Tesla and the Leaf), they don’t need charging stations. “Range anxiety” is history, unless you have a totally electric vehicle. Does that make any real sense?
1:38 PM Continued on Page 22
Time critical data...
Parking space / D10
/ 08/16/2011 08:57 / No contract / Print@home
/ Event: Ticket swap
Parking space / E04
/ 08/15/2011 21:48 / Contract No: 41238 / Unrestricted access
/ Contract ends: 12/31/2011
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