surfcam wrote:I think electric car has the best chance at success. A short range one thats cheap could satisfy the major use of car which is the short hop to work and shopping..
If you ask the electric people, yes, the electric car is the future. If you ask the hybrid people, the hybrid is the car of the future, if you ask the hydrogen people, the hydrogen is the car of the future and on and on.............
At this point, there are as many different opinions of what will be the future that America will embrace. What drives me nuts is the government stepping in, and artificially creating demand or incentives for one technology over another. Get out of it, and let the people develop what they think is what the future is and let the people decide what they like. Right now, Ethanol is subsidized and until cellular style ethanol gets perfected, ethanol, IMO, is not the fuel of the future. It would use too much of it's own product to create itself (like 95-105%), and gasoline is somewhere around 6%. It's messing with our food market, which effects everyone. Just wait for some year to come along with poor rain, terrible weather, bad crops, storm damage, desease, etc, and you'll find that using our food to make fuel wasn't so wise.
Anyways, I have a friend that's waiting for the electric plug in car that costs less than $20k, holds 4 people and goes 200+ miles on a charge. I told him to not hold his breath. Yea, it may get here (Tesla Motors), but likely not for a while. Then, toss in the idea that this $20k car is essentially useless to use for much more than in town driving. To drive from Green Bay to Milwaukee and back will take you roughly 220-260 miles, depening on factors. So, you're pushing the max for your plug in car. So, to get the full use out of a car, you would have to own two cars so that you can use your gas car for those trips that take you more than 100 miles one way from home. Who wants to buy two cars to have one really useful one. I'm not sold, not complaining for those that want this, and are anxiously waiting to see what the brains of tomorrow develop and ideas they come up with. Just like the automobile explosion in the early 1900's, this is a rare time to have another automotive technology explosion with fuel related changes coming. I'm waiting to see what comes...........
Everybody else lists their cars here - but not me.
I have too many to count