<VV> Hybrid cars and electric cars

[John Beck]

For better or worse, car manufacturers are reaching a point where they 
might need throttle development.  The initial market was people who were 
saying, "a practical electric car that performs, I have to have it.  I 
don't care what it costs.".  Now, they have made significant inroads 
into the, "This thing is cool and practical" market.  If (when) someone 
develops a battery that is cheaper, lighter, smaller, stores more 
energy, charges more efficiently..., manufacturers will have to weigh 
the pro's and bringing in new buyers against pissing off the customers 
who just spent 50 grand on obsolete technology.

I think Tesla's initial marketing approach was excellent.  They started 
with consumers who were willing to pay a pretty high price for something 
that looked great, performed great and would likely be the only one on 
their block.  When I was a teenager, one of the few things my dad and I 
agreed on was that Mazda should have used the Cosmo Sport as their 
initial foray into the U.S. market, established themselves, then started 
working on mass marketing.  We also agreed that GM should have marketed 
one of their small cars toward the "damn, this thing turns square 
corners AND is has a back seat" crowd instead of pushing it as a sporty 
economy car.  --J.B.

Sethracer--- via VirtualVairs wrote:
> The Volt is a plug-in Hybrid Electric. The Prius is "currently"  (sorry)
> available in several designs. All the older models were gas-powered and  were
> driven by a battery-fed electric motor, which was only powered by an
> on-board gas engine. The Volt can be driven on only electric if you  are careful,
> for a certain distance. Beyond that distance, or if the extra power  is
> needed, it can be driven on both. When the battery pack has  dropped below a
> certain level, it is driven on just the gas motor - for any  distance you want
> to go. Just keep putting gas in. When you get to a plug-in  station, you can
> replenish the battery. The Ford C-Max Energi is the same  concept. My
> brother has a C-Max Energi. (There is also a non-plug in standard  C-Max hybrid).
> Since he and his wife drive it around in the city, (Seattle  area), mostly,
> they made it well past 1000 miles before their first fill-up  of gasoline,
> since they plug in both at home and at work. Ford recommends using  the gas
> motor regularly to make sure the gasoline doesn't go stale. His son has  a
> Tesla S, he drives around LA mostly, plugging in at home or at work. His
> travels are planned with charging points in mind. The car was in Seattle last
> month, so he knows how to get places. I have driven the Tesla and I was
> impressed by the performance. The C-max Energi, the Volt and the Tesla are in
> markets which I am not interested. But many people are, and they can make a
> valid case for those cars.  It takes all kinds. - Seth
>
>
> In a message dated 8/16/2014 6:12:40 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
> virtualvairs at corvair.org writes:
>
> I  understand your point Frank--the volt is a hybrid, but it's an electric
> hybrid  and that's my point.  The gas engine isn't mechanically connected to
> the  drive train like a Prius.
> Bob
>
>
> Sent on the new Sprint Network  from my Samsung Galaxy S®4.
>
> <div>-------- Original message  --------</div><div>From: frankcb at aol.com
> </div><div>Date:08/16/2014  7:05 PM  (GMT-05:00)</div><div>To:
> hallgrenn at aol.com,viewmastermik at netscape.net,harrysmith1957 at gmail.com,chaz at properproper.
> com</div><div>Cc: virtualvairs at corvair.org</div><div>Subject: Re:<VV>
> $11,  291 Electric 1966  Corvair "complete" AC Conversion Kit (batteries
> not included)</div><div>
> </div>Bob,
> If it burns  gasoline to make the car go, then it's a HYBRID and not a real
> ELECTRIC car,  like the Tesla.
> Frank Burkhard
> Boonton, NJ
>
>
> -----Original  Message-----
> From: hallgrenn<hallgrenn at aol.com>
> To: frankcb<frankcb at aol.com>; viewmastermik<viewmastermik at netscape.net>;
>   harrysmith1957<harrysmith1957 at gmail.com>; chaz<chaz at properproper.com>
> Cc: virtualvairs<virtualvairs at corvair.org>
> Sent: Fri, Aug 15, 2014 9:14  pm
> Subject: Re:<VV>  $11, 291 Electric 1966 Corvair "complete" AC  Conversion
> Kit (batteries not included)
>
>
>   _______________________________________________