Electric Cars CAN Be Cool!!

[Belle]

Porsche 918 Spyder in a plug-in hybrid version is going into production, promising low emissions and 198 m.p.h.


Porsche showed off this hybrid plug-in Porsche 918 Spyder concept car at the Geneva Motor Show in March. On Wednesday, the company said it would start developing the mid-engine two-seater, which is expected to get up to 113 miles per gallon in its economical driving mode.

[custosnox]

Porsche 918 Spyder in a plug-in hybrid version is going into production, promising low emissions and 198 m.p.h.


Porsche showed off this hybrid plug-in Porsche 918 Spyder concept car at the Geneva Motor Show in March. On Wednesday, the company said it would start developing the mid-engine two-seater, which is expected to get up to 113 miles per gallon in its economical driving mode.

Has now been added to the "If I ever become filthy rich" list

[Ed W]

A Porsche is God's way of saying you make too damn much money.  I think that came from Richard Pryor.

[custosnox]

A Porsche is God's way of saying you make too damn much money.  I think that came from Richard Pryor.

Wonder what he would have said about the Bugatti

[DolfanBob]

That is just wicked bad looking. We own a 1979 Porsche 928 S. I enjoy driving it, but I do have to say this. For a weekend car. It sure costs a lot of money to own.

[Red Arrow]

That is just wicked bad looking. We own a 1979 Porsche 928 S. I enjoy driving it, but I do have to say this. For a weekend car. It sure costs a lot of money to own.

You will drive (no pun intended) yourself nuts if you try to justify it economically.   Don't even try.  Just say you have the money, that's what you want, and enjoy the car.

[nathanm]

Tesla Roadster. 

[custosnox]

Tesla Roadster. 

Bugatti Veyron.. oh wait, that's all gas, nevermind.

[nathanm]

Bugatti Veyron.. oh wait, that's all gas, nevermind.

Eh, the Veyron goes fast, but that's about all it does. I'd rather get through the corners fast than have to wait until I've got five miles to hit top speed. It would work well farther west. 

IMO, hybrids are weak for performance cars. Either go all gas or all electric. Even then, the only reason for electric is the ridiculous torque that can be applied at any speed.

A good hybrid can make a great daily driver, though.

[custosnox]

Eh, the Veyron goes fast, but that's about all it does. I'd rather get through the corners fast than have to wait until I've got five miles to hit top speed. It would work well farther west. 

IMO, hybrids are weak for performance cars. Either go all gas or all electric. Even then, the only reason for electric is the ridiculous torque that can be applied at any speed.

A good hybrid can make a great daily driver, though.

To be honest the Veyron is on my "dream car" list for two reasone.  One, it's the fasted production car ever, two, it's not widely known as a supercare, so I could really mess with people.  The top car on my list is actually the Lamborghini Murcielago.  This Porsche is a nice looking car, and has a good top speed.  I would be intersted in seeing how it performs otherwise, such as handeling and acceleration.  I've always thought the Tesla was a sharp looking car, and would be great in a millionairs collection, not to mention awsome stats for something without an internal compbustion.

Guess I should have mentioned that while I reside in the poorhouse, my mind vacations on loaded blvd.

[nathanm]

To be honest the Veyron is on my "dream car" list for two reasone.  One, it's the fasted production car ever, two, it's not widely known as a supercare, so I could really mess with people.  The top car on my list is actually the Lamborghini Murcielago.  This Porsche is a nice looking car, and has a good top speed.  I would be intersted in seeing how it performs otherwise, such as handeling and acceleration.  I've always thought the Tesla was a sharp looking car, and would be great in a millionairs collection, not to mention awsome stats for something without an internal compbustion.

Guess I should have mentioned that while I reside in the poorhouse, my mind vacations on loaded blvd.

If I wanted a sleeper, I'd go with one of the AMG Mercedes. Just my humble opinion, though.

If it were more about looking fast, I'd probably want a Countach. They look great, although they aren't all that fast and are supposedly very hard to drive. Or if I had to choose something newer it would be one of the Koenigsigs or a Pagani Zonda.  

Top Gear actually did a test of the Tesla Roadster some years back. Jeremy hated it because it only took 30 or 40 miles of their typical ridiculously hard driving before the battery was dead. (not literally dead, but they shut off when there's 30 or 40% of the battery pack's total capacity to increase the longevity of the battery pack) I'd like to have one for tooling around town and taking on nearby twistys. I figure you'd probably get a hundred miles of hard driving that wouldn't get you killed or arrested.

More realistically, the Model S also looks like it will be pretty neat. Not as fast, obviously, but more useful and at a much better price.  

You know, something that I can't afford, but might be able to someday if I scrimp and save enough.. Not quite lottery or "business grows beyond my wildest dreams" territory.

[Gaspar]

Ok, someone help me out.  It took a while to pull this information and it’s a little bizarre. 
First of all I couldn’t get any of it from Chevy, and had to rely on what Nissan has published on the Leaf.  Most of the reports on the Chevy volt say that they are reluctant to post fuel/electric economy information because the government hasn’t figured out a standard rating system for electric cars.  That’s BS.  The question is, how much does it cost to charge?  Chevy won’t say, but Nissan will.

Here’s what I found.  The Leaf requires 8.8KWh per charging cycle.  It has a 100mi range, but if you only drive 50 to 60 miles in a day you will still want to plug it in at night for a charge cycle to condition the battery.  The onboard computer initiates a conditioning cycle each time you plug it in and the battery is discharged and recharged as needed.  This burns an average of 8.8KWh of electricity.  For us idiots, it’s basically like leaving a thousand watt light bulb on all night.

The average US house burns about 24 to 30KWh of electricity each day.  Add your new Leaf and you increase your electric bill by 29% to 30%.

So if you’re like me, it’s adding about $100 a month to your electric bill.  That’s a little less than I pay for gas now in my TrailBlazer, and far more than my wife pays for her little Mazda.

[dbacks fan]

Bugatti Veyron.. oh wait, that's all gas, nevermind.

One of my favorite segments on Top Gear.

One of my favorite quotes:
"At 250mph the tires will only last 50 minutes, but thats alright, it will use up the fuel tank in 12 minutes."

[dbacks fan]

Ok, someone help me out.  It took a while to pull this information and it's a little bizarre. 
First of all I couldn't get any of it from Chevy, and had to rely on what Nissan has published on the Leaf.  Most of the reports on the Chevy volt say that they are reluctant to post fuel/electric economy information because the government hasn't figured out a standard rating system for electric cars.  That's BS.  The question is, how much does it cost to charge?  Chevy won't say, but Nissan will.

Here's what I found.  The Leaf requires 8.8KWh per charging cycle.  It has a 100mi range, but if you only drive 50 to 60 miles in a day you will still want to plug it in at night for a charge cycle to condition the battery.  The onboard computer initiates a conditioning cycle each time you plug it in and the battery is discharged and recharged as needed.  This burns an average of 8.8KWh of electricity.  For us idiots, it's basically like leaving a thousand watt light bulb on all night.

The average US house burns about 24 to 30KWh of electricity each day.  Add your new Leaf and you increase your electric bill by 29% to 30%.

So if you're like me, it's adding about $100 a month to your electric bill.  That's a little less than I pay for gas now in my TrailBlazer, and far more than my wife pays for her little Mazda.

I have often wondered what the cost would be for recharging. It'd interesting that you mention the Chevy Volt. I was at  the Barrett Jackson auction this year and they had one there. Not bad looking but the minute you walked up to look at it closer, it was just a mock up, not even real and actually a cheesy one at that.

[jiminy]

... Here's what I found.  The Leaf requires 8.8KWh per charging cycle.  It has a 100mi range, but if you only drive 50 to 60 miles in a day you will still want to plug it in at night for a charge cycle to condition the battery.  The onboard computer initiates a conditioning cycle each time you plug it in and the battery is discharged and recharged as needed.  This burns an average of 8.8KWh of electricity.  For us idiots, it's basically like leaving a thousand watt light bulb on all night.

The average US house burns about 24 to 30KWh of electricity each day.  Add your new Leaf and you increase your electric bill by 29% to 30%.

It seems you are assuming the battery will be completely discharged and recharged every time the car is plugged in.  I don't think that's the case.  I read some about the Volt, and its' batteries don't have "memory", from what I understand.  So they don't need to be discharged before recharging.

I'm thinking about a Volt... but they need some colors other than gray.  They're not for people with 20+ mile commutes, though.  I live 2 miles from work, so I think I might make it a whole week on 1 charge.  I'm anxious to see how close you can get to that 40 mile range with AC on.