PROS – NO GASOLINE

In my book, the biggest advantage an electric car offers is about what it doesn’t use – gasoline.  Burning gasoline creates carbon dioxide, one of the biggest contributors to climate change. Gas exhaust is also full of the tiny particulates that cause smog and air pollution, which means it’s directly related to asthma and even heart attacks. Drilling for the oil that’s refined into gasoline wreaks havoc on the environment: we all remember the Gulf of Mexico disaster when a BP oil rig exploded, but it turns out there are hundreds of “minor” oil spills every day that foul rivers and streams and endanger people’s health. Even though electric cars are powered by electricity that usually comes from coal-fired power plants, the cars can be charged in off-peak hours essentially using surplus energy, rather than new power produced just for them. And as more and more utilities tap into wind farms, the environmental impact of the electricity used will decrease substantially.

PROS – NO GAS STATIONS

Electric vehicles (EVs) can be charged in your garage, at home, or at the growing numbers of charging stations that are popping up at shopping malls, grocery stores, apartment buildings, and more. Pull up, plug in, and charge while you have dinner with your family or get your business or shopping done.

PROS – QUIET

One of the lovely benefits of driving an electric car is just how quiet it is. There’s no engine revving or sputtering. Step on the accelerator and off you go.

CONS – BETTER FOR DAILY COMMUTES THAN LONG DISTANCE TRIPS

Most electric vehicles can travel anywhere from 60 to 100 miles or so on a single range. People who commute to work or need to run around shopping or picking up kids from school usually find that even 60 miles in a day is a large enough range. Longer distances require the ability to recharge the battery, and that takes time.

CONS – LONG RECHARGING TIME/RANGE ANXIETY

It can take 8 hours for a battery to fully recharge, so it’s important to remember to plug in the vehicle every day or night. Drivers with access to a “quick charger” may be able to add 50 miles of range in around 20 or 25 minutes, but if a charging station isn’t available, the driver could be stuck waiting for the EV to charge adequately. Meanwhile, drivers who find themselves unexpectedly depleting their car’s battery may feel ‘range anxiety’ about whether or not they can actually arrive at their destination before being able to recharge.  Better planning will help make this less of an issue. In addition, drivers can download an app for their mobile device to help them locate the nearest charging station.

CONS – EXPENSE

The sticker price on most electric vehicles is usually higher than a comparably sized gasoline-powered vehicle. However, EVs qualify for various tax breaks that help reduce the price. Plus, the cost of electricity to charge the car will be much less than the price of gasoline. Over time, this will amount to thousands in savings that will help offset the purchase price along with the tax breaks.

My personal opinion is that the “pros” outweigh the “cons,” especially for drivers with a predictable daily commute, access to charging stations as well as one’s home electricity plugs, and the ability to take advantage of government rebates and tax credits to help reduce the purchase price.  What do you think?

NOTE: Many thanks to Citroen C Zero Hatchback, our sponsors for this post. Sponsored posts allow us to offer you expert content at no cost to you. Our editorial opinion remains our own. Thanks.

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Over at Grist, David Roberts noted,  “GM has been, and continues to be, a strongly reactionary force in American energy politics, thwarting progress at every juncture… the company, with Lutz’s vocal backing, has been a long-time opponent of any boost in U.S. fuel efficiency standards. Even now, as the Minnesota legislature considers signing on to California’s tailpipe standards, GM is working behind the scenes to stop them. Arizona has provisionally decided to adopt the standards, and will finalize them on March 3, but GM is leading a last-ditch, behind-closed-doors effort to stop it.”

Mary Hunt chimed in at In Women We Trust, asking, “Why would I support a company with such an idiot at the top of it? Especially when he goes on to say “I’m motivated more by the desire to replace imported oil than by the CO2…” Wait a minute, isn’t this the same company that killed the electric car?”

Lutz tried to douse the fires on his blog, claiming, “My opinion doesn’t matter.” He urged critics to look at what the company is doing on the ground.

“General Motors is dedicated to the removal of cars and trucks from the environmental equation, period. And, believe it or don’t: So am I! It’s the right thing to do, for us, for you and, yes, for the planet. My goal is to take the automotive industry out of the debate entirely. GM is working on just that – and we’re going to keep working on it — via E85, hybrids, hydrogen and fuel cells, and the electrification of the automobile.”

That may be their goal, but I attended several presentations by GM executives at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit last month, and they gave far more lip service to their big gas guzzlers – Hummers, Cadillacs, light trucks and SUVs – than they gave to true energy-saving cars. And even the vehicles they trumpeted as energy-saving, like the 24/32 mpg Malibu hybrid, don’t compare to the fuel efficiency of the 50-mpg Toyota Prius.

In light of today’s news that gas prices could hit budget-busting $4 a gallon by spring,  and increasing research that the polar ice caps are melting beyond repair, General Motors should not only embrace climate change as a real motivating force for industrial innovation, but do everything possible to achieve vehicle fuel-efficiency gains that actually save Americans money and generate far less CO2.

And that’s not a crock of “s**t”.

Thumbs down, GM.

The post General Motors Shows Its True Colors – And They’re Not Green appeared first on Big Green Purse.

General Motors, Toyota, and other auto manufacturers hope to put their first plug-ins on sales floors by the year 2010 (see Saturn Green Live Vue hybrid, left). When they do, all you’ll have to do is plug your vehicle into a regular 120-volt electrical socket, charge the car for several hours overnight, and drive away. You won’t need a single drop of gasoline! In fact, because electricity is cheaper than gasoline, the fuel cost is expected to be the equivalent of less than $1/gallon of gas.

Here at the North American Auto Show, car makers are trumpeting their fuel-efficient plug-ins with the same zeal that’s being devoted to their gas-guzzling SUVs and luxury vehicles. Why?

Jennifer Moore, Corporate News Manager for Ford Motor Company, says, “Automakers respond to consumer choice. We wanted to do the right thing for the environment, but we also listened to what people said they wanted to buy.”  Score one for green consumer demand!

Still, plug-ins are at least two years away from occupying a spot on your driveway. What’s holding manufacturers up is their need to perfect the lithium-ion battery they’re all using to store the car’s electric power. The battery is complicated to engineer, expensive to make, and tricky to integrate with the rest of the car design.

At a press conference earlier today, I asked Tony Clarke, President for General Motors North America, why all the automotive companies couldn’t band together to pool research resources and accelerate battery development.

Clarke initially responded with the traditional corporate-think response: “The first company that brings the battery technology to market will have tremendous consumer advantage.” In other words, there’s a lot of money at stake.

But when pressed, Clarke acknowledged that the sooner all companies have the technology, the faster automakers will be able to profit from what is clearly the next wave in energy-efficient automotive technology.  If other companies collaborate, “we’d love to be a part of that,” GM’s Clarke said.

Clearly, the sooner that happens, the sooner the environment and public health will benefit as well.

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