[Tassem]

Michael Dell just took delivery of one of these.

The only thing that makes me wonder is that huge screen. Isn't that going to be a major PITA when driving at night? I know it can be switched off. But what if you actually want to see what's on there. You can't keep switching it on and off constantly.

I feel the only thing standing between these cars and the future is their range. At the moment, these are at best city cars. Once they figure out a better option (a miracle perhaps?), these cars would be unstoppable. Pun intended!

But I have to admit, range or no range, the Fisker Karma turns me on big time!! And I'm not ashamed ot admit it!

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by Tassem

The only thing that makes me wonder is that huge screen. Isn't that going to be a major PITA when driving at night? I know it can be switched off. But what if you actually want to see what's on there. You can't keep switching it on and off constantly.

Originally Posted by Tassem

I feel the only thing standing between these cars and the future is their range. At the moment, these are at best city cars. Once they figure out a better option (a miracle perhaps?), these cars would be unstoppable. Pun intended!

The range is a problem, definitely. But I believe the biggest drawback an all-electric car has is the fact that you can't go to a 'bunk' and charge it up for 5 minutes and then be on your way again. All-electric cars require a full overnight charge to get its range back. But in a gasoline car, you get to do that and drive non-stop until you get tired!

Electric cars are there for two reasons:

- They make an excellent personal-city-commute proposition given the savings.

- Here to please eco-nuts.

Originally Posted by Tassem

But I have to admit, range or no range, the Fisker Karma turns me on big time!! And I'm not ashamed ot admit it!

+1

[9thsphinx]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

But I believe the biggest drawback an all-electric car has is the fact that you can't go to a 'bunk' and charge it up for 5 minutes and then be on your way again. All-electric cars require a full overnight charge to get its range back.

Not in 5 minutes, yes, but in Tesla's case - the Model S can actually charge to it's 50% capacity in just half an hour, i.e., a 30 minute charge can produce enough energy for a 150-mile (240km) trip! This is with the regular plug-in chargers. However, Tesla has developed solar powered Superchargers (limited to a few stations in California as of now). These superchargers can fully recharge the Model S' batteries within half an hour at no cost whatsoever.

So the technology is already here and EV's are here to stay!

[thumpingheart]

I think this car is a brilliant concept. Like most of us petrol heads I still think its not worth it, completely lacks the feel and the almost personal mechanical character of a petrol powered car, is a little too inconvenient for everyday use and a lot of times manufacturers make them look very weird. But this car I have to say is BEAUTIFUL! Also makes a lot of sense for someone with moderate city specific use and can afford to have a second car for highway or alternative use (issue with battery charge etc) in the States.

What I noticed is that both the Karma and Tesla Model S have lots of power but very less range. But I think its quite possible to make a similar car, with equal number or slightly less number of batteries, reduce the power and translate that into more range. I am pretty sure that if it was possible, they would have already done it. So I think its an evolving concept. There is a lot of research and experimentation still left to be done. At present, yes, this car is only for Hollywood environmentalists as the reviewer said, but in a few years I think these cars will have more range and will become slightly more practical. Remember the time when we had huge AT&T mobile phones that costed Rs.16 to make a call and Rs. 8 to take a call? How we discarded the whole idea then and called the phone users big show offs?

I think given 10 years we might just be using these electric cars in guise of a Swift or City or even an Alto that will just require overnight charging at your home or hotel room, or even a mall like we have mobile charging points!

P.S. - I agree even the issue of electricity production is a major hassle as it still depends on fossil fuels. But given time, at least before all the fuel runs out, even that issue would have been solved!

[mazda4life]

Please read the latest buzz in the electric car space
1. review on nytimes http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/au...ted=1&_r=0&hpw
2. rebuttal from Tesla http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology...a-times-review
3. rebuttal from nytimes reviewer http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2013...it-doesnt/?hpw

[amitoj]

^^ And the pains that the initial batch of users went through:
http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showt...l=1#post192968

Makes for a fun read when it is not happening to you

[maddy42]

The fight between Elon Musk and the reporter made them make a Cnn reporter take a drive along the same route. Reports were favorable towards Tesla.

This is a new brand but i like their approach. Target customer is the higher end of the market who will have more than one car and not the person who just relies on this car for everything.

Oh update: Fisker is looking for funds. Anyone who has deep pockets please put in a deal. The owner is looking at China for funds.

This car has had major trouble blowing its way. Low on funds, a bunch of cars were flooded or something of that sort and the insurance didnt agree to pay for it and finally the company which assembles the car together is not doing a good job. I loved Fiskers concept. Hope they merge with Tesla. Will be interesting.

[9thsphinx]

For whoever is following this fight between Tesla and the NYTimes, here's Mashable's take on the story:

http://mashable.com/2013/02/25/elon-...ew-york-times/

[pganapathy]

I would like to own an electric car if they could just get the infra structure right for charging in 5 to 10 minutes (quick charge, change of battery, solar panels or solar paint on the car etc).

Once that is done, there is nothing that keeps these cars from replacing IC engines.

[MotoNanu]

Originally Posted by pganapathy

I would like to own an electric car if they could just get the infra structure right for charging in 5 to 10 minutes (quick charge, change of battery, solar panels or solar paint on the car etc).

Once that is done, there is nothing that keeps these cars from replacing IC engines.

I don't know about the infrastructure and am not sure when it will be setup here. What I know is, there are already batteries in the market which can be charged to almost 80% in around 10 minutes. So if you have the infrastructure, a normal stop for tea can ensure that you have sufficient charge for cruising.
I am a big fan of Elon Musk and kudos to him for such a vision and transforming it into reality.

[pganapathy]

Originally Posted by MotoNanu

I don't know about the infrastructure and am not sure when it will be setup here. What I know is, there are already batteries in the market which can be charged to almost 80% in around 10 minutes. So if you have the infrastructure, a normal stop for tea can ensure that you have sufficient charge for cruising.
I am a big fan of Elon Musk and kudos to him for such a vision and transforming it into reality.

In that case what is needed is a network of charging points similar to that of the petrol stations (preferably using renewable energy sources) so that electric cars can be driven anywhere with no restrictions

[MotoNanu]

Originally Posted by pganapathy

In that case what is needed is a network of charging points similar to that of the petrol stations (preferably using renewable energy sources) so that electric cars can be driven anywhere with no restrictions

Exactly. But this is a step that must come from government and we know what is the current attitude. Electric cars have a strong dependency on the infrastructure which in turn depends on the administration. If there is no subsidy and no infrastructure, it makes no sense for the OEMs to bring new models. The current scenario of E2O being delayed is a strong hint that how they badly need some push from the government.

[mazda4life]

Originally Posted by pganapathy

In that case what is needed is a network of charging points similar to that of the petrol stations (preferably using renewable energy sources) so that electric cars can be driven anywhere with no restrictions

The beauty of innovation is that there are many 'out of the box' ideas that can be thought of...case in point: A company called as Better Place, instead of having a network of charging stations they have come up an idea of
'building a network of battery switching stations , where drivers can swap their depleted batteries with new fully-charged ones. The stations, function like gas-stations, a car pulls up and a quick mechanism swaps the cars battery pack'
source : http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/02/tesl...logy_outr.html

makes interesting reading and need to see how this business model works...

[pganapathy]

Originally Posted by mazda4life

The beauty of innovation is that there are many 'out of the box' ideas that can be thought of...case in point: A company called as Better Place, instead of having a network of charging stations they have come up an idea of
'building a network of battery switching stations , where drivers can swap their depleted batteries with new fully-charged ones. The stations, function like gas-stations, a car pulls up and a quick mechanism swaps the cars battery pack'
source : http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/02/tesl...logy_outr.html

makes interesting reading and need to see how this business model works...

It is one of the suggestions doing the rounds but is a lot more complicated than recharging. It requires standardization of battery design which is difficult to say the least. Recharging just means different plug points need to be acceptable at a charging station. An universal adapter, which exists today is the answer there. Cars can then be driven globally without any hassles

[mazda4life]

Originally Posted by pganapathy

It is one of the suggestions doing the rounds but is a lot more complicated than recharging. It requires standardization of battery design which is difficult to say the least.

Agree with some of the challenges you have mentioned, but according to the nytimes test drive, the average charge time was around 40 mins(?) which i think needs to be overhauled if an electric car is placed as a suitable alternate to gasoline cars.

I did read about an idea of wireless charging like the chargemats for cellphones, most important thing is that there is are good amount of innovative ideas that are being floated and I drool everytime i see the red tesla in our parking area slide out gracefully like a feline cat on the move