retrodog said:
Why are people in hot climates interested in any color other than white or silver. Anything else is going to end up using more energy to cool the interior. Are we trying to save energy or not?
To conserve energy only up until the point that it starts to impact your image is not much different than a Hummer driver who recycles his beer cans.
...
There's a saying, "Perfection is the enemy of the good".
Sometimes we have a tendency to extrapolate everything to its maximal conclusion. I often bicycle to work, about 3 hours per day of riding. At work I'm on the 2nd floor. People get seriously confused when I take the elevator.
"If you bike to work, why wouldn't you take the stairs?"
Well, A: It's not a religion. B: With 3 hours a day of good exercise, climbing one flight of stairs hardly matters.
Same with Leaf color choice. There are so many benefits that accrue in terms of emissions, efficiency, economy of power expenditures staying in our economy, balance of trade, geopolitical implications, mitigating and forestalling the societal impacts of Peak Oil, etc... A few watt-hours here or there based on color choice is splitting hairs.
That being said, I am leaning towards white for the heat rejection. Not because I'm doing eco-penance, but for 2 other reasons. First, I tend to expect that the AC in the car will be adequate, but not overpowering. Second, I'd rather not waste range unnecessarily.
