Chevy Spark EV More Powerful Than Gasoline Version

[danwat1234]

[citation][nom]croc4[/nom]electric vehicles are all well and good, but the biggest problem I see is how are we going to deal with the toxic batteries once they die?, I have not heard anything about this dark side of EV's, maybe it will spawn another industry once we hit critical mass, but in the mean time will the dead batteries be properly disposed of or just dump in a manner that they leach in to the soil and ground water?, based on 'stellar' human behaviour they has been proven over and over I think we better get used to the taste of lithium ;-/croc4[/citation]
NiMH and Lithium batteries are shredded and recycled into new batteries.
When they have depleted enough capacity so that they are no longer desirable in an electric vehicle, they can have a second life as power backup storage and power buffering services such as at wind farms or for the power company to buffer peak energy usage during the day.
When the batteries have finally gotten so worn out that they aren't useful for that purpose, then they are shredded and recycled into new batteries.

 

[Wisecracker]

Nissan’s new electric car battery plant in Smyrna, TN, started producing lithium-ion batteries in October.

The first Nissan Leafs (Leaves? ) made in the U.S. are to roll off the assembly lines around the first of the year.

 

[g-unit1111]

Nissan’s new electric car battery plant in Smyrna, TN, started producing lithium-ion batteries in October.

The first Nissan Leafs (Leaves? ) made in the U.S. are to roll off the assembly lines around the first of the year.

The Nissan Leaf has been out since March, I test drove one but what I found is that the battery has a much more limited life than what was initially reported and since I spend a lot of time freeway driving I need a car that gets the job done, not wasting time charging batteries.

 

[sundragon]

[citation][nom]invlem[/nom]The price premium for EV's are absurd, get a diesel like the TDI or a fuel efficient gas engine and you're already up in the 45+MPG range, and you can drive 10x longer distances than the EV's.Diesel engines for VW are about a $1000 premium over the standard gas engines, much different than the $12,000+ premium they're asking on EV's.Based on my current yearly driving habits (mostly commuting to work), I drive an average of 16,000 miles / year at 45MPG is roughly $1200/year in gas with current prices. Or about 10 years of driving before the EV makes its money back.... (I drive a Golf TDI)The prices need to come down before this makes economical sense for the average consumer. I mean, who can really afford to spend that much money on a car they really only can drive within town. Due to the range limitations you're basically forced to have a gas powered car in addition to your EV... so why bother with the EV at all?[/citation]

The VW Diesels are spectacular, lots of torque and run smoothly, and quietly with 45mpg!

American's have a distaste for Diesel engines (save the Mercedes Diesel) - It started in the 70s when the first commercial diesel engined cars were disasters and smog machines... That will change slowly.

 

[Wisecracker]

The Leaf you test-drove was manufactured in Japan.