Electric Vehicles (EV) and Hybrids are promising technologies although still in their infancy. As a consumer, hybrids cannot be justified from a pure economic standpoint, take this Wired article I previously mentioned as an aside:
Hybrids can cost from $1,500 to $4,500 more than their gas-only equivalents. The new mileage estimates mean it will take longer to recoup that extra cost in money saved on gas. Experts say the shift could dampen demand, although some hybrids will look better on paper than others.
According to a formula devised by Edmunds, it would take nearly 10 years to recoup the extra costs after buying a 2007 Mercury Mariner Hybrid, up from 6.6 according to the old mileage ratings. For the 2007 Honda Accord and Honda Civic hybrids it takes 14.5 and 6.5 years, respectively.
Economically, it’s hard to justify the purchase of a hybrid, considering the average length of ownership is less than 10 years. Electric cars aren’t any better, worse in fact. Consider the cost of batteries in the Tesla Roadster. $20,000 - the cost of 6,831 Lithium Ion Lap Top Batteries. Hardly worth considering, with the exception of a specialty car, which is the approach Tesla has wisely taken.
What is needed is a serious R & D effort to develop batteries for vehicle applications. Using power storage developed for mobile devices is expensive and ineffective. Using them as a platform for Electric vehicle development seems like a band aid approach to the problem. This is where efforts like GM and A123 Systems are so important. A123 has a Lithium Ion battery chemistry that is lighter, more compact and safer than conventional Li-Ion technologies. Now throw in some economy of scale and EV designers can stop using band aids.
