... at 0-100 kms in 3.9 seconds.
SMH
HOLLYWOOD stars anxious to prove their green credentials are paying more than $100,000 for a sexy electric sports car now rolling out in the US.
The sleek Tesla Roadster, pictured, is modelled on the Lotus Elise, and goes from 0-100 kmh in 3.9 seconds.
With a top speed of 200 kmh, the two-seater has a range of 370 kilometres between recharges of its lithium ion batteries.
Actors George Clooney, Matt Damon and Jenny McCarthy, boxer George Foreman and singer Will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas are among those on the year-long waiting list.
Australian-born Michael "Flea" Balzary, bass player for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, said on his blog he decided to go electric after watching the documentary Who Killed The Electric Car?
A dozen Teslas are already on Californian roads.
The company founded by PayPal billionaire Elon Musk, plans to produce 10,000 Tesla sedans next year at a plant in New Mexico.
Going green doesn't have to mean giving up speed, performance and luxury. Who would have thought? No hairshirts for those on the waiting list.
Meanwhile, closer to home, for those seeking something a bit more accessible.
In Australia, Ross Blade is converting Hyundai Getz hatchbacks into his electric Blade Runner in Victoria.They sell for $40,000, have a range of 120 kilometres per recharge with a top speed of 120 kmh. Melbourne City Council and the Victorian Government have bought one each.
"Orders are piling up and we expect to convert 200 cars this financial year," Mr Blade said.
Big US car makers are developing electric versions of existing models. Hyundai will release an LPG/electric hybrid Elantra next year while Mitsubishi will sell an all-electric car in 2010.
The NRMA has demanded the Federal Government help speed up development of electric cars.
So this petrol engine Hyundai Getz 1.6 SX is offered for $14,990 at the mid year sale.
I would have thought it had a low emissions profile, but the Prius Fuel Saver Calculator can tell you. Plugging the Hyundai Gets 1.6 in, selecting the 4 speed automatic petrol engine option, at 15,000 kms per year and $1.55 per litre of petrol the Hyundai will cost $1,651 per year in petrol.
Interestingly, a $39,000 1.5 litre hybrid electric engine Prius will cost you $1,023 per year in petrol to run (and cause 1590 kg / year carbon emissions from a fuel economy of 4.4 L / 100km verses the Hyundai Getz' 2550 kg / year at 7.1 L / 100km)
And Ross Blade's Bladerunner would cost $150 per year for off-peak green power, to approximately $250 for peak green power. Or $0 if it's solar.
Technorati Tags: global warming, climate change
3 comments:
In the real world the Prius gets nowhere near the fuel economy that is claimed for it and present it with a good sized mountain or a long haul on the highway fully loaded and it is worse than a conventional sedans as tests in Europe have demonstrated.
As for the Tesla I doubt that it will have anything like the range you quote if a driver actually uses its potential performance, even with it's expensive batteries it will require a rather long recharge time.
On top of that you ignore the limited life of the batteries in hybrids and electric cars. Although the manufacturers claim up to ten years none of them have been in service long enough to substantiate such claims but at a replacement cost of 8k for the battery pack in a Prius it ain't going to be pretty if the battery dies in your hybrid.
Have I sown the seeds of doubt in your mind about these cars yet?
To me, the future seems a bit right around the corner :) What I mean is the vision is having automobiles transition into an electric powered motor on most of the cars on planet seems quite plausible and really feasible in the near future. But, then again we have So many cars on the road as it already is these days, what will we do with every other Gas powered vehicle? Dispose of it? Use its parts? What is there to do with it? Also, my personal question that I've been asking myself is don't we want this movement to take place a.s.a.p. since it will sincerely help our environment or is it simply a matter of Gas companies paying for the electric powered motor to delay its expansion to the automotive industry since the electric alternative is by far greater than our expensive non-eco friendly gasoline.
Electric cars are good way to lessen the impact of global warming. Soon we will see more of these slick designs on the road. I will definitely buy one.
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