"RichardS" noaccess@invalid wrote in message
...

There are two problems with elecric motor
vehicles that would have to be
overcome to make them viable.

First problem would be that they really
need some kind of backup power. If
a conventional fuel vehicle (or indeed
any fuel that can be quickly
recharged) runs out of or low on fuel then
it is a quick and simple job to
put more in the tank.

A small Stirling engine/generator running on liquid fuel or LPG could be
onboard. This could cut in when the charge is low, when either parked or
moving. A Stirling is far cleaner burning being external combustion. This
is not a real probelm.

Second problem is one of recharge logistics.

Battery vehicles would represent a considerable advantage in towns and
cities. Quiet and pollution free at the point of use.

However, the majority of people living within
large cities and towns do not have designated
parking spaces, and most of it is on-street parking.

You are allowed to move down a public highway, but not stop on it. Parking
permits do not guarantee a parking place, they just prevent other people
parking.

Pavements would have to be dug up
and publically accessible chargeing points
installed to be able to recharge such a vehicle,
along with a suitable payment mechanism.

The streets were dug up to install comms cables, so tat is not a real
problem.

I can't see the LA taking too kindly to me stringing a
cable across the pavement to my house! Even
in areas with controlled parking zones there is
no right to be able to park outside one's house,
so the price of someone parking in "my" space,
abandoning a car or even leaving a skip
would be complete immobility for me. Visitors?
Hmmm.

I'd have a battery powered vehicle at a sensible
price and with decent performance/range like a
shot. But until these problems are solved, then
it's not viable.

The problems can be overcome.

The fantastic power/weight of electric motors and eliminating heavy and
power sapping transmission, combined with advances in batteries, make it
viable to have an engine/electric hybrid. The current crop have the engine
as No.1 power unit with the electric motor as backup. It would be the
reverse, with the engine assisting, if necessary, and acting as backup
power, if necessary, and generating power for the batteries.





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