Thread: Field testing electric cars

Wired.com: BMW has revealed the early results of field tests of its electric Mini which it leases to 450 people for nearly $900 per month. Displaying considerable candor, BMW North America manager of electric vehicle operations and strategy Rich Steinberg...

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Nobody cares about BMW because (1) noone wants a lease unless it can eventually become a purchase (2) electric cars have been around forever; so we know that they work - so who cares about testing unless it involves the output of a battery and its recharge and storage capacity? (3) Nissan's new Leaf smells like it will be far cheaper and most likely just as efficent if not more so than BMW's car. (4) How is THIS related to general physics?

Almost all topics can be considered physics. I agree with your list of important things about electric cars, but there are some more such as the possibility of the accelerator stuck at maximum. Neil

The $300 per month we pay for our Chevy trail blazer gives us a more useful vehicle in almost every respect, so I can't imagine paying $900 per month. Even better it will be paid in full in one more year. I do want the USA to stop importing foreign oil, but not nearly that much personel sacrifice. Electric cars will continue to sell poorly, because they cost too much per mile. They will continue to be expensive because they don't make many of them. Only large government subsidies can break this chain of cause and effect. The 400 kilometer range batteries are very expensive and heavy. Cheap batteries are even heavier and much shorter range. Mass production can make the 400 kilometer batteries cheap, but we are back to government subsidies to get the cars mass produced. Neil

Agreed. $900 a month is ridiculous.

Status symbol, nothing more.