Bad News for Electric Cars just Keeps Coming

Toyota has pulled the plug on its all electric car, the IQ. It will not produce the car. The Quote from Toyota:

 “The current capabilities of electric vehicles do not meet society’s needs, whether it may be the distance the cars run, or the costs, or how it takes a long time to charge.”

Yep — hard to argue with that. So why is the US Government pouring billions and billions into this technology, shoring up GM, Fisker, and myriad battery manufacturers when the largest auto companies are making conscious decision to not produce EVs. You can read all the sad story here. 

To quote from the Forbes article:

As for gas-electric hybrids, the gas mileage you actually get will depend a lot upon how, where, when and how far you drive. Consider seasonal weather for example. Although heaters are minimized to conserve battery range, Consumer Reports rated a Volt test car at a paltry average 25 miles of electric-only running before the gasoline engine kicked in under cold Connecticut winter conditions.

Hot summer driving with air conditioners on takes a heavy toll on battery range too, particularly during periods stalled in traffic jams. The CR test car got about 30 mpg on premium fuel, and about 27 mpg on high-test when the engine was running. Compare this with a conventional 6-passenger Honda Accord that gets 34 mpg on the highway, while a 4-passenger Volt typically costs about twice as much (including its tax break). In addition, you don’t have to wait hours to recharge the Honda’s gasoline engine when it runs out of juice.

I want to buy a car to help save the environment. I live in very hot Los Angeles. So I’m going to pay twice as much for a car that gets seven miles per gallon less on the highway when the engine is running, which according to the tests, will be most of the time when I’m using air conditioning.  This just doesn’t make sense.

Again from Forbes:

Isn’t there something terribly wrong when our tax money is used to bribe consumers to purchase government-preferred vehicles that don’t fit their needs or desires… and when regulatory mandates, rather than free markets, determine what manufacturers produce?

Is this still America?

JVH