Jwconeil

How do you feel about the push for electric cars and carbon tax? There is a large body that wants us to power our homes and charge our electric cars with solar and wind. That same body pushes for taxes on anything that leaves a carbon footprint, such as fuel, and fuel consuming cars.

The utilitarian in me thinks it’s a great idea. In reality, my home is only 1400 sq ft and efficient. I could easily power my home and even charge a car with solar panels on my roof. It would free up a lot of funds long term, but cost me dearly in the short term.

The motorist in me hesitates. I plan to have three paid off cars in 3 years, two being my lexuses. I’d hate to have to pay extra tax just for owning and fueling the investments that I have already made, and which could last me twenty years (daily drive an is350, weekend / track ISF, family hauler Honda Pilot).

Then you see the Tesla roadster runs 8.80s stock, and has over 7000 ft lbs of torque... no gas engine car competes with that. Maybe the future is electric.

Id love your thoughts, but since this is also a politically charged topic, please be respectful of each other’s beliefs if you engage in the topic. Looking forward to it.

MisterSkiz

iTrader: (2)

I think electric is a novelty/niche for now.

We still need the full infrastructure, the full ability to recharge as fast as you can fill up a gas car, the full ability to be able to purchase one for the lower income folks without any government subsidies.

Quadrphnia

Novelty is the perfect word. I'm certainly not 100% against the idea, but I'm certainly curious about the environmental impact of the batteries themselves.

As far as electric cars helping us "step away" from fossil fuels, I think that's a pipe dream. We'll get away from oil when we run out of it. Oil powered machines build these cars, and oil powered machines build the machines that build these cars. The paint & tires are made of oil. When you break it down, every single thing around you has come from oil. Your clothes, your house, your roads, your lawn, and your food. The reason the population of the world took off in the 20th century is due to oil.

So if you're digging the zero torque curve of a Tesla, cool, grab one. They can be fast and fun to drive. The trade off is recharging them, among a other things. But to say one is doing the world a favor is naive. Novelty is the word.

liquidtek

I love my Model S and the thought of getting rid of my IS-F has crossed my mind multiple times. Really people think way to much about the charging thing. 90% of my charging is done at home in the garage while I sleep on a 14-50 outlet that gives me about 30mi/hr. Unless your commute is 250+ miles a day or something along those lines I don't ever see the charging time thing for a daily driver as a con. Just plug the car in when you get home and its good to go by the next time you need it typically. Even on road trips you can drive a good 2.5 hours (250 miles) before needing to charge typically and even then charge times to reach your next destination are typically 15-30 minutes wait and they are located near restrooms/food places. Obviously this is Tesla specific because they are currently one of the only ones with the infrastructure to support that but I've driven from Cali to CO, CO to AZ, CO to NM in my Model S and with the Autopilot feature I rarely felt like I had been driving for 8+ hours and the required stops kinda help with that I too. Sure it's not for everyone due to price and everything but I think it's hard to go back to a regular gas car although I still love my IS-F. In the last year I've driven about 18k miles and have free supercharging. The cost of charging at home breaks down to about $30/mo extra on my electricity bill an estimated $380 for the year with $0 maintenance. I would have spent about $200 additional for supercharging on my road trips. Even with those prices combined $580 to drive 18k miles isn't too shabby. If you figure 300 miles per tank in the IS-F and need to fill up 60 times in the year at $40 per tank that would be $2,400 + oil changes and such. So yea loving my performance torque monster for $380/yr.

MileHIFcar

Owning an electric car and living with one changes your perception of electrification as a propulsion solution as opposed to an ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) car that the past 2-3 generations have been use to.

We have been living with a Nissan Leaf (2018 40 Kw version) for the last year and have to say it's a great commuter car and fun to drive, dare I say more fun to drive than the ISF for short commutes in traffic. I understand the skepticism with electric cars, but you really have to live with one to see the benefits, and no I don't drive one for the environment.

I see a Tesla in my future! They are phenomenal cars and are pushing the legacy manufacturers to rethink their strategies long term. You see how serious Ford is taking electric cars with the unveiling of the Mustang Mach E. All this being said I do love my ISF and it's unique personality among the sea of vehicles out there

By the way I'm against any carbon tax

Lend0

The carbon tax will be met with violence here in the United States.

I'm not paying 70% income tax to save the planet as I drive under 5,000 annually and I'm certainly not buying an electric car for this same reason.

ninten5

I think 20 years from now when ban on new gas cars will take into effect, I will get an electric car. Until then, if they keep making V8 cars (or V10s) I'll keep buying em!

Pittsy

When my motor blows up in 300k miles, I'll be 2UR or Tesla swapping it.

I think everything said in this thread is really true. It is just a novelty, albeit a cool one.

ISF4life

iTrader: (30)

for long commute yeah but got to have high performance cars for the fun the sounds are music to my hear and the down shift everytime lolz

jat0223

iTrader: (1)

Right now the three cars that we own aren't fuel efficient at all. Two are thirsty V8s and one is a twin turbo V6 that's as thirsty as a V8. Having said that, electric cars are definitely the future and our next car will most likely be electric. They are more efficient, offer superior performance and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels significantly. The recent development in SS batteries might even solve most of the shortcomings of current batteries.

Jwconeil

Tesla actually is a very low carbon footprint factory. They just built one of the biggest factories in the world and I believe it has enough power from natural resources that they actually have extra power. It is from solar energy. All electric cars before that have been built with oil. Tesla is now actually making them with solar power (not all models).

If you go stand in Miami, you can watch them bury 500 million dollars worth of pumps, because sea water actually floods the streets now, on sunny days from rising sea water. Watch the documentary “before the flood.” Super interesting. Some of the science is hard to argue with.

A carbon tax would be met violently, I agree... but it’s also hard to ignore the catalyst of carbon tax.

I personally would daily a Tesla. I drive 10 miles one way to work, so would need to charge once every week or two. That said, I would still want to keep my ISF for fun unless I just couldn’t afford fuel due to the taxes on it.

A quiet car just doesn’t have enough personality for me, regardless of 8 second passes. It will be interesting to see how the next 20 years ago.

jat0223

iTrader: (1)

They don't have to be quiet though. They can even add transducers or something similar to replicate vibrations. I believe all these shortcomings will be addressed eventually.

davidcausa

not a fan and have no desire to own one to be honest.

Quadrphnia

To your first comment, petroleum while non/semi-renewable, is technically a natural resource. And there's a vision for building cars with solar energy. Musk is a visionary - and I mean that as a compliment. This generation needs a Rockefeller. I stand by my comment however, and do not see an entire car anywhere NEAR being built with just solar energy just yet.

Whenever I get into a discussion about petroleum-economics or peak oil, someone always screams global warming at me (not that you were, Jwconeil). But about Miami - I agree with you, and of course I agree that the climate is changing to the detriment of mankind. I talk about oil agnostic of both this & politics. There's a lot of inconvenient truths (pun intended Gore) people avoid regarding what life would truly be without oil.

Occasionally, I believe in humanity. This means I occasionally believe we're resilient. I would sooner think humanity would better cope with global warming over coping with no oil. There's no avoiding either, but the former is much more current. Let's hope future generations do what they can to plan ahead, and by all means, the Telsa in this argument is somewhat of a start for a small percentage of the world's consumption of oil. I cannot say we're truly "planning ahead" just yet, but we're scratching the surface.

Personally, I do what I can to not be wasteful, which I see a LOT of. Hell, there's a new burger joint in town here that serves all cokes in plastic. Not just larges - ALL sizes. Just IMAGINE the waste that'll be around a THOUSAND years because of these drinks. That is, until we learn to standardize plastic products (which come 100% from petroleum) to a plastic that's actually recyclable. Look, I own a Lexus ISF, I am not going to scream that I'm doing my part. But I'm certainly not going to eat at a place where I can't even opt-out of the super-size to avoid the g'damn plastic containers which we're under the illusion that can be recycled. That should be illegal & it tells me we're far from "planning ahead."

When I'm hungover, which I plan to be tomorrow morning, I'd sooner opt for the #2 at McD's, medium sized. Not because I can't throw down a super, but because I can't bring myself to throw another one of those plastic containers that come with the super-size in the trash. Yeah it sucks to throw a straw in the trash, but in strict moderation, quarter pounders are delicious. Anyway, I hate to be a negative Nancy, but I enjoy talking about this stuff, so please carry on.

Quadrphnia

I doubt anyone from any generation would argue with that perception if they owned an electric car. But I can assure you the past 2-3 generations know a lot more about what it takes to make power than the current generation does. Those generations built your Leaf.