Nissan says electric cars will be quickly profitable

The capabilities of Nissan's electric cars, to be introduced in 2010, will vary by country but none will have range-extending gasoline engines, the company's chief executive said.
(From The New York Times)

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[k2dave]

As a daily commuter car for a 2 car couple I can see it working, as long as the spouses don't mind switching cars without issue. I do see issues for people who want their car to be their car and really don't want to interchange cars often with their spouses, and a issue for single people or single car couples. Though rental cars are a option for longer trips, it is still a bit inconvenient.

Also what happens if on runs out of power enroute? Normally running out of gas or getting a dead battery is pretty quickly fixed with fuel or a jump start. But what happens if you get stranded on the side of a highway w/ dead batteries in a electric car. Do you have to wait till it recharges off a tow truck or generator? Get it towed to a recharge station? With a much shorter range then a gas car, and longer recharge time I can see many more people running out of power then using conventional gas engines. Also I can see many people packing a portable generator just in case.

[k2dave]

As a daily commuter car for a 2 car couple I can see it working, as long as the spouses don't mind switching cars without issue. I do see issues for people who want their car to be their car and really don't want to interchange cars often with their spouses, and a issue for single people or single car couples. Though rental cars are a option for longer trips, it is still a bit inconvenient.

Also what happens if on runs out of power enroute? Normally running out of gas or getting a dead battery is pretty quickly fixed with fuel or a jump start. But what happens if you get stranded on the side of a highway w/ dead batteries in a electric car. Do you have to wait till it recharges off a tow truck or generator? Get it towed to a recharge station? With a much shorter range then a gas car, and longer recharge time I can see many more people running out of power then using conventional gas engines. Also I can see many people packing a portable generator just in case.

[brianbot5000]

"what happens if on runs out of power enroute?"

I think electric cars are ideal, and only practical, as a commuter car. Which is OK for a lot of people who have a very predictable commute back and forth to work. I know that I could easily have an electric for commuting each day and know that I would make it there and back. In other words, predictable driving is what the car is best suited for.

I would envision people having two cars, or a family having three: a commuter for each person who needs it (electric), and one "fun" car for longer roadtrips or worry free cruising on the weekends. In other words, cheaper, specialized cars. We just need to get to the cheaper part, since most folks can't afford (or don't want to afford) two cars.

[freemarket--2008]

And how are we supposed to park and pay for all of these extra vehicles? I have to say for now plug-in hybrids are the only sensible answer--preferably with flexible fuel options.

[k2dave]

Yes I have to agree with the other reply, having more then one car per person is a pretty wasteful use of resources. Also a gas car really needs to be run and not using it for a long time hurts it's longevity, so having a trip car sit unused inbetween vacations is not really practical IMHO.

I'd say a electric car would be ok as a commuter car if you can go 2 days without recharging if needed (forgot to plug it in, plug got knocked out, whatever)

Perhaps a electric car could have place to attach a generator for longer road trips when needed.

[Juha Makipaa]

For each 1,200,000 electric cars, we will need to build one new nuclear power plant in order to produce the non-polluting electricity these cars require. If we one day have 100 million electric vehicles we will need 83 new medium size 1,000 MW nuclear power plants. That is a few more than John McCain is advocating.

[freemarket--2008]

Unfortunately, your numbers are totally made up. We have no idea at present how much average power each car will need or how long it will take to recharge a fully discharged vehicle. We must also know how much off-peak power is already available for charging these cars overnight.

[k2dave]

Made up or not I want those 83 new nuke plants.

[freemarket--2008]

Guess who is paying millions yearly to store and secure the existing nuclear waste... Hint: It's not the utilities. Just think if we multiply that by 10 or 100 over hundreds of years.

[k2dave]

Something in me thinks storing and guarding nuke waste will be cheaper then securing oil drilling/piping/shipping/refining and all that stuff - much not even in our own country. It also doesn't consider the cost of the CO2 issue with oil and what the regulations will cost us.

[gomerbarkley]

Juha - with respect, I have to disagree. There is a huge difference between the demands on the grid between day and night. The majority of the charging for these cars will happen at night which will only help to even out the electricity demand. No new generation facilities will be needed. I've been to a conference with speakers from the power and alt vehicle industries and it was laid out very clearly.