Sarterfish said:
That's exactly right... maybe not "quaking in their boots", but they CLEARLY saw what a renessiance in a new EV auto industry could do to their industry and long standing alliances with Oil companies. There have been over 24,000,000 miles now logged on the "EV project" alone, and the results are partially logged here... http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2012/04/30/how-evs-are-changing-driver-behavior-7-lessons-24-million-miles" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Are they quaking? Not yet, but the future is quite clear and their are very economical alternatives to the old ICE and it's inefficient use of a fuel source that is degrading the entirety of life on the planet. They know that as this becomes mainstream their business as it as been for almost 100 years will change radically. The Auto allianaces with Oil will become battle lines and "turf wars" over profits.
Do you not think they will be, and already ARE, fighting HARD to see that rapid EV development does not take place? How ignorant do they want us to remain? How incredibly callous and criminal is it to put profits above human health and well being?... Above the well being of all of life on the planet?
I'm curious Guy, do you even drive an EV? What do you feel your purpose is, here on this forum, and in life in general? Do you have children? Do you care what kind of a world they and their children grow up in? I hope you do, but the Oil and Auto industry are still very much in denial... They will not look the obvious truth in the face and admit that the course we've ignorantly been on must be radically altered for the sake of all. The age of ignorance is over, so what do our actions represent when there is clear and eminent danger involved?
Much as I appreciate thankyouOBs answering for me, on the off-chance that you're interested in my answers, here you go:
I'm curious Guy, do you even drive an EV?
While I've been a supporter of EVs (where they currently make sense, i.e. urban use) for a couple of decades, no, I don't drive or own an EV as they don't currently meet my needs, but I hope they will in the not too distant future. I have driven one for more than a week (a prototype Think, in the late '90s), as well as test driving all the currently available ones that I could conceivably afford, and providing feedback to their manufacturers re improvements I'd like to see. I also will be renting some of them to see if my map estimates of necessary locations for L3 charging need to be modified (and also just for fun), recommendations which I will provide to the various charging companies in hopes that one or more will install them at those locations. I've also lobbied local businesses and/or governments to install chargers if I thought they were appropriate.
What do you feel your purpose is, here on this forum, and in life in general?
Here on this forum, it's to give and receive useful information, especially from a point of view that's outside the group of early adopter enthusiasts that make up the majority of the members here. High-tech early adopters are far less price-sensitive and typically more willing to put up with limitations or compromises than mainstream consumers. IMO this tendency to ignore market realities results in inaccurate and often bad decisions, and is more likely to retard than advance the adoption of EVs.
As to the purpose of my life in general, you might as well ask what's the meaning of life, it would take about as long to answer (or else it's 42).
Do you have children? Do you care what kind of a world they and their children grow up in?
Having come of age not too many years after "The Population Bomb" was published, and being a member of the only generation to see the human population double in its lifetime, I determined early on that I wouldn't contribute to the problem, not feeling that the lack of my genes in a world of 4 billion (then. 7+ now) would be of any significance. Fortunately, thanks to Ehrlich and others as well as the effects of urbanization and large parts of the developing world improving economically, that battle has largely been won.
As to my caring about what kind of world I leave, I've been an environmentalist since my pre-teens (credit the Santa Barbara oil spill for that), did a lot backpacking, X-C skiing and mountaineering, belonged to the usual environmental groups and did the usual things, and first lived with and then began selling off-grid AE systems and high-efficiency appliances during Desert Shield owing to my disgust at fighting a war over oil. Subsequently, in lieu of using an EV for urban use, I moved to a place where I can walk to all usual services, bike to work, and combine either of those with mass transit (6 blocks to the station) for all regional trips within 30 miles or so, thus saving more energy than an EV as well as being more healthy for me. My current place is well insulated, oriented for passive solar, and I have installed many energy-efficient loads despite it being a rental that includes utilities.
I hope you do, but the Oil and Auto industry are still very much in denial... They will not look the obvious truth in the face and admit that the course we've ignorantly been on must be radically altered for the sake of all. The age of ignorance is over, so what do our actions represent when there is clear and eminent danger involved.
While I agree that we need to make some big changes, I disagree that the Oil and Auto industries are in denial; they just see things from a primarily economic aspect. My experience selling a high-tech product similar in many ways to EVs and with considerable overlap in customers, i.e. high capital costs, low operating costs, uncertain payback and replacement costs owing to immaturity, lack of familiarity by mainstream consumers, requires a major disruption in how things have been done) made me, in Stewart Brand's terms, an Eco-Pragmatist. You have to consider the economics and the market, and you may need to take less than ideal intermediate steps to get where you want to go. Less than ideal solutions in large numbers have a greater, faster effect than ideal solution in minuscule numbers.
And that's quite enough typing for now. Hopefully you now have an understanding of where I'm coming from.
. Have any Focus EVs been delivered to customers yet? Are they even at the dealers? I've been waiting to test drive one, but haven't seen anything here or elsewhere to indicate they're available yet, although I know they're close. 
