Kia Soul Electric NGC

[Kiwi_Roy]

I was at the coffee shop on Saturday, there was a Kia Soul charging up. I sat drinking my coffee and the owner
turned up, a young guy from Montreal he had driven it all that way, said he was a couple of weeks getting here
but I was really impressed that he could make it all that way in an electric, I think the range is only 130 miles.

A great way to see the country with enforced stops to smell the roses

BTW he has owned it since January and has never paid for a re-charge, they are all free at the moment.

[oldbike54]

 That's interesting , one of my local buds is seriously considering trading in hi '97 Carbie on a Zero after a test ride . Electric vehicles are for sure coming .

 Dusty

[elvisboy77]

The fun will start when the demand for electricity exceeds the infrastructure available.  Sounds great on paper......

[Kiwi_Roy]

The fun will start when the demand for electricity exceeds the infrastructure available.  Sounds great on paper......

Yes, I was amazed to find out all the recharging stations are free at the moment, I'm sure the gubberment will fix that before too long.
And also there are enough of them so that you can get from one side of the country to the other.

[oldbike54]

The fun will start when the demand for electricity exceeds the infrastructure available.  Sounds great on paper......

 Isn't that what gasoline and diesel powered generators are for ? 

 Dusty

[LeRoy]

The fun will start when the demand for electricity exceeds the infrastructure available.  Sounds great on paper......

Well, they are only free to the user. The cost is borne by the taxpayer. That's where things that are provided to some classes of users for "free" often originate.

[Lannis]

Well, they are only free to the user. The cost is borne by the taxpayer. That's where things that are provided to some classes of users for "free" often always originate.

Fixed that for you!   ON the other hand, it MIGHT be a valid function of government to "jump start" a new, useful technology by making it easy/free, so that other people see it, say "Wow, I'd like to try that" and then a critical mass forms and it can take off by itself with no subsidies.

I'm not saying that electric cars ARE one of those things, but they might be .....

Lannis

[rodekyll]

You mean like the been-around-forever no-subsidy fossil fuel industry?

[Doppelgaenger]

Electric is the future. Not yet, but possibly within the next two years. MIT developed a lithium ion battery with double current capacity and there is already a company getting ready to produce it. I find there is an inherent purity in the direct drive that electric bikes can deliver. And that torque is something else too!

[stevet]

Pure electric drive vehicles make sense to me only if my house and garage are covered in solar panels, or my own wind turbine is in my yard, charging a bank of batteries that the vehicle will then recharge from.  Utilities here are trying to get us off the wall outlet to avoid building new power plants, and nearly all the coal burners have been switched to nat. gas, a material that only 10 years ago was in alarmingly low quantities, said the news reports.

Moral of the story, to drive electric, get yourself off the grid, or it's all just lip service because some fuel will be burning somewhere.

Steve.

[Chuck in Indiana]

That's interesting , one of my local buds is seriously considering trading in hi '97 Carbie on a Zero after a test ride . Electric vehicles are for sure coming .

 Dusty

I test rode a Zero SR at the Ohio rally. I fully expected to say Meh. Not so.. that sucker is FUN. You haven't accelerated until you've ridden a 400 lb. bike with over 100 ft. lbs. of torque that is instantly available. Brakes were great, front end feedback was great. I really liked it. Think Lario with 3 times the power and better brakes and suspension. (!)
The downside? Well, (1) they're still expensive, and (2) I couldn't have ridden it home. Even on eco mode, range is less than 200 miles. Battery technology is rapidly changing though, and I expect it won't be long until battery density (and charging infrastructure) makes it a practical traveling vehicle.