I would argue that the high-voltage DC of the battery for a supposedly
inviable EV is hardly more lethal than the high-voltage DC of a
supposedly viable hybrid.
I would also tread carefully around Peter VanDerWal's figures for a
leased vehicle. The EV1, as built, was in fact considerably more
expensive than GM's comparable ICE cars. Whether or not it had to
remain more expensive long-term is debatable. Therefore, one could
argue that the $400-$600/month lease was actually a promotional price
and did not even reflect the true cost of the car. While many of us
are convinced that an affordable EV is a real-world possibility,
Peter's argument doesn't have a solid enough foundation to hold up
against the clever author of this piece. I would, however, hurry to
point out that the reason "they could be leased (not sold)" was
because that's all the automakers offered, not because nobody would
have outright bought one.
I think there's some merit to be had stressing the concept of an early
adopter. People drove Priuses and Insights for a couple of years
before the general public was convinced that they were worthy of
buying. Shouldn't one expect a similar phenomenon for full-blown EV's
-- that they would start off as a niche market rather than a
mainstream hit? I think it's true that many people are tepid to the
idea of an EV. That opinion will only change if early adopters can
pave the road, but there was clearly a pretty significant early
adopter market.
> Fifth, the EV1 was a tiny
> two-seater that simply did not work for families with children.
This sounds more like an indictment of the EV-1 itself rather than the
electric automobile as a whole.
Finally, I feel the need to rebuff Randy's comment: this is
definitely worth the energy we're using to talk about it. Lee asked
for advice on how to counter this propaganda successfully in order to
convince his state representative that it is indeed propaganda. I
believe that's a worthy cause.
My $0.02
-Ben
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