Comments on: The Race For The Electric Car

Competition To Build A Viable Electric Car Heats Up, As Silicon Valley Gets Into The Game

[billdale]

(cont''d 2):
Even if oil supplies are your energy source of choice, they are quickly dwindling-- especially since India and China are suddenly putting millions of their countrymen in gas-powered cars every year, depleting supplies ever faster, so gasoline prices will inevitably climb regardless of the best intentions of federal regulators.
At today''s gasoline prices, it would not take long to pay off an otherwise expensive EV. And once the car is paid for, you''d only be paying a few dollars a week for electricity rather than the hundred or so you''d spend for a week''s worth of gasoline-- and if you install solar panels on the roof of your house to charge your EV, that cost could drop to nearly nothing, while your neighbors in their gas guzzlers will see the wisdom of the EV you drive.
Lesley also dismisses EVs as some kind of flash-in-the-pan like hydrogen fuel cells, ethanol and others, but it did not take a genius to see the folly of these other "alternative-wannabes".

[billdale]

(cont''d 2):
Even if oil supplies are your energy source of choice, are quickly dwindling-- especially since India and China are suddenly putting millions of their countrymen in gas-powered cars every year, depleting supplies ever faster, so gasoline prices will inevitably climb regardless of the best intentions of federal regulators.
At today''s gasoline prices, it would not take long to pay off an otherwise expensive EV. And once the car is paid for, you''d only be paying a few dollars a week for electricity rather than the hundred or so you''d spend for a week''s worth of gasoline-- and if you install solar panels, that cost could drop to nearly nothing, while your neighbors in their gas guzzlers will see the wisdom of the EV you drive.
Lesley also dismisses EVs as some kind of flash-in-the-pan like hydrogen fuel cells, ethanol and others, but it did not take a genius to see the folly of these other "alternative-wannabes".

[billdale]

(cont''d):
Even in worst-case scenarios-- states that use the dirtiest coals-- an EV would still be better than a gasoline car in many ways: for one, it''s domestically-produced fuel rather than fuel from, say, Saudi Arabia, who financed the 9/11 attacks and continues to finance terrorism in Iraq and elsewhere.
Everything is changing, including just how much of our power is derived from dirty sources. Nanosolar, for instance, a maker of revolutionary new solar panels that are just a fraction of the cost of conventional brittle solar panels, is currently making enough solar panels to "solarize" 100,000 homes per year; if they make more of their manufacturing plants, that number can increase dramatically. And as solar panels cover more and more roofs across our country, it will make more and more sense to drive EVs.

[billdale]

Lesley Stahl''s comments show complete irresponsibility. Electric vehicles are far too important to gloss over in such a superficial manner, such as when she dismisses EVs as being "dirty" because they supposedly run on power from coal-burning plants.
A proper response to that comment would take more than the 1500 words you restrict us to, but if she contacts any reputable source of data on the subject she''ll find that is grossly untrue. In part, EVs are far, far more efficient than gas guzzlers- the equivalent of more than 100 mpg; in California, we use NO coal plants, and much of our electricity is renewable. Gasoline cars use engines that change speeds, load & temperature, idle frequently, and are moving vehicles that must carry their compact smog control systems with them, smog equipment that can and do go bad for years at a time before they are checked for emissions and corrected.
All of these factors make fueled vehicles a nightmare to control emissions. Stationary power plants running at constant speeds and temperatures, with as much room as they need for smog equipment that is monitored constantly is far cleaner than the best gasoline engine in a moving vehicle.

[bptdude]

A battery powered car would shift the resource from oil in other countries, to various means of electrical generation here. Some may be coal, but clean coal is being worked on. Some may be hydroelectric or nuclear. The point is, it is not oil, and puts more options on the table to get off oil from other nations.

The whole idea of a car run by batteries is short term, and these people must understand that. A fuel cell car with a hydrogen tank is also an electric car, though people don''t think of it that way. It could also go hundreds of miles on a tank of hydrogen, and could be refilled from your own unit in your house charged by wind or sun, if you like.

[c_harnett]

First, I can''t believe what motivates GM to build the Volt is the threat that Tesla might sell a few dozen a cars a year based on notebook computer batteries. I mean... Silicon Vally IS clueless about heavy mass-manufacturing. Still, one must give them props for trying.

However, the problem here is GM is apparently threatened by Tesla''s insignificant output of electrics and somehow fails to notice that Toyota has pulled in $20 BILLION in revenue from a MILLION hybrids over the last few years. That the Prius outsells most of the vehicles in GM''s lineup.

And I''m apalled that you could do this story without mentioning the Prius.

By the way, blablablabla, who expects you to believe anything in the realm of science because politicians have something to say on it? I certainly don''t. I don''t believe in Creation "science," for example, although quite a few politicians do.

However, I believe Anthropogenic Climate change is a real effect because many SCIENTISTS believe it is a real effect and have worked diligently to discover and define it. The SCIENCE goes back a hundred years. However, I am grateful to a politician for pointing the situation out. From scientists, we get science. From politicians, if we are lucky, we get leadership. From a few, anyway.

[lola328]

The assertion the Tesla is being built without any assistance from automobile manufacturers is FALSE. The Tesla chassis is manufacturered in the UK by Lotus and is based on their Elise model. The bodywork is slightly altered to disguise this fact. To have not stated this, but said it is an original California-based design, is an insult to Lotus and a mis-representation to the viewing public.

[Martyz42]

My wife & I had already decided that GM "had" been run by people who have proven how really incompetant they are. I just saw your report on GM with it''s chairman, now we are totally convinced that Lutz is worse then incompetent, he is 100% the reason that the US has lost any hope of staying # 1 in the world when it comes to innovation & people like him have just cost us all $700,000,000,000 plus $25,000,000,000. to people as stupid & self centered as he is....

[cslagenhop]

The ascertion that because the chairman of GM thinks manmade global warming is a crock, he is somehow not an environmentalist is absurd. Manmade global warming has all but been debunked. Global warming has to do with solar cycle and is independent to CO2 levels.

[bblackis]

Apparently, we are to believe the race to develop a commercially viable electric car is a genteel competition between Silicon Valley Whiz-Kids and a stodgy and faltering Detroit. When competitive models show up from Europe, Asia, and India over the next year or two, they will both wish it were so.

[andyzeev]

You may be interested in a solar powered commuter vehicle that does not have to be plugged into the grid.
It gets most of its energy from solar panels on its roof.
It uses the latest Lithium Fe P batteries. There is more
information at www.sunzeecar.com. You can get more
information by calling Andy Schoenberg 801 274 7423
or e-mail [e-mail]

[andyzeev]

You may be interested in a solar powered commuter vehicle that does not have to be plugged into the grid.
It gets most of its energy from solar panels on its roof.
It uses the latest Lithium Fe P batteries. There is more
information at www.sunzeecar.com. You can get more
information by calling Andy Schoenberg 801 274 7423
or e-mail [e-mail]

[bptr]

The VOLT is UGLY!!!! Why are they so clueless about cosmetics? GM is headed by an idiot!!!

[bptr]

The head of GM, an American icon, believes that Global Warming is "a crock..." and keeps saying "SiliconE Valley"???
WOW!!!! What an embarrassment! I think California should secede ffrom the Union and Detroit should just implode.
No wonder America has gotten so bad. Maybe if we actually got out of our cars and walked two blocks, and stop living on Cheetos, Americans wouldn''t be a bunch of retarted fat people.

[jbfliberty]

Great story, it is a great start toward exposing Detroit for continuing to try to crush any alternative technology out there so they can make a profit. I wish you would do a story on the car that runs on air compression, it could be made very cheaply and would not use any fossil fuels (like the electric car will to charge.)

[jbfliberty]

An affordable alternative energy car is needed for the masses. The technology is there for a car that runs on compressed air that could be as affordable as the original VW Beetle but seems to be swept under the rug by the Detroit. I wish you would do a story on this, expose Detroit again and help this kind of technology gain some momentum!!

[jbfliberty]

An affordable alternative energy car is needed for the masses. The technology is there for a car that runs on compressed air that could be as affordable as the original VW Beetle but seems to be swept under the rug by the Detroit. I wish you would do a story on this, expose Detroit again and help this kind of technology gain some momentum!!

[zachy682]

Is Lesley Stahl, a fine journalist, now reduced to puff pieces? Hardly what one considers a CBS News report on the Race For The Electric Car.

The story is out there. Free Lesley Stahl.

[rmdfire]

**********CORRECTION***********

WWW.eco-fueler.com

[csweeetie]

First off, thank you for airing a story on completely electric cars, rather than focusing on hybrids, etc. This is an awesome technology that should have been put in the marketplace many years ago.

But, I am very disappointed that CBS did not focus more on the EV1 and it''s evolution & disappearance. This car would run 300+ miles per charge, and seemed to have no issues. And you could charge up at a "filling station" in a matter of minutes, if you did not have access to charge at home. I would definitely like to see a follow-up to this story, and hopefully it will push a bit harder on GM and what happened to the EV1. Why this new Volt? Why not harness the technology that they developed years ago? If anyone has questions about it, rent "Who Killed the Electric Car"... very insightful.

P.S. I second haesteve88''s comment.