It's Electric
When I read something recently about an electric car, I figured it would be - to put it kindly - a golf cart. Certainly not something exciting. Or sporty. Man, was I wrong! The Tesla Roadster is a sharp looker with impressive performance features. Like 0 to 60 in about 4 seconds. At 1 cent per mile. Yowza. The 2007 model is completely sold out, and reservations are being taken for 2008, with an anticipated delivery date no earlier than February of '08. At a steep $92,000+ price tag. Of course, when you realize a 2007 Porsche 911 cabriolet starts at over $83,000, and gets just 18/26 mpg, that Tesla price tag doesn't look so bad.
One portion on their web site caught my attention. It makes a point I've been thinking about for the past few weeks as I've read some of the comments on this site, and does it pretty eloquently:
Whether you‘re more concerned about global warming or about national security, there‘s one thing we can probably agree on: our dependence on oil is dangerous and costly.Right now 58% of our oil comes from other countries, so it‘s practically inevitable our foreign policy principles will be held ransom by our need to maintain domestic economic stability.
Of course, like anything manmade, even a fully electric car will have an environmental impact. Production and eventually disposal of the batteries will be an issue. Given that something like 50% of the electricity generated in this country comes from burning coal, for many people the electric car wouldn't be truly carbon-neutral.
Comments (4)
In regards to the electric car having a positive impact on global warming, I think it would be the best quick fix to many problems with the environment. Electricity is everywhere and is so safe to use. A seven year old child can plug in the car. Solar cells are making a great advance in that arena. They could be used in helping to recharge the car while it is not in use. We will always produce electricity anyway no matter what kind of alternative fuel vehicle is deemed to be the answer. Tesla motor company is the best answer to having a significant impact on global warming.
Posted by Larry Banek | December 24, 2006 6:10 AM
Nice car, but no car is carbon neutral because plastic is made from oil, a lot of electricity is generated from oil, the machines used to produce products are lubricated by oil, and so on. Also, our dependence of foreign oil is the governments fault - the federal government has prevented drilling in the arctic where we have huge reserves, offshore drilling is going nowhere too, and they have not lightened up on regulatory restrictions to give industry enough reason to increase refinery capacity and to build new refineries in the US. In addition, the US and Canada have the largest oil shale reserves in the world and we are not exploiting that either. Of course, the government is giving us exactly what we want, and until people are really concerned about energy security, nothing will change, and the politicians will just keep mouthing platitudes for the idiots at the AP to print.
Posted by woodNfish | December 24, 2006 12:10 PM
Something to think about in regards to your last statement. It is very true that much of the electricity in the US is generated from coal. However, it is much easier to control the emissions from one large stationary plant than it is to control the emissions from many moving cars...
Posted by Anonymous | December 25, 2006 1:46 PM
i wish these could be affordable to more people
92.000 is a little high
Posted by mitch carter | December 26, 2006 12:12 PM