Toyota Scion IQ Electric Car To Launch In 2012 344
Mightee writes "Toyota officially announced at an annual dealer meeting in Las Vegas that the all-electric Scion iQ will be launched next year in the United States. According to Toyota, Scion iQ can only go 50 miles on a single charge. Because of this, it will be facing tough competition from 73-mile Nissan Leaf and 85-mile Mitsubishi i."
50 mile range may not be the end of the world (Score:4, Insightful)
If they price it right (ie: much cheaper than a leaf) then I'd consider it. My commute in the morning is 10 miles each way, plus add 10 miles for a trip to the grocery store and this car can take care of 90% of my driving needs. I already own a mini-van with a trailer hitch so I am covered for long trips or for towing or carrying stuff.
Yeah, 50 miles when it's *new* (Score:5, Insightful)
What will the range be like after 5-10 years? And what if it's a really cold winter day? I have to heat the cabin somehow.
This is my main problem with all-electric vehicles. You never really know how much range you have. And if you live in a cold climate like I do, gasoline engines are really quite efficient in the winter since the "waste" heat is not wasted at all; it heats the cabin.
Re:50 mile range may not be the end of the world (Score:2, Insightful)
Screw Electric (Score:1, Insightful)
Liquid hydrogen is the way to go. All these electric cars are just slowing down the development of hydrogen. There cars work and they work well -- BMW and Ford/Mazda have bivalent models that can switch between hydrogen and gasoline. That's what needs to be pushed onto the market, not this electric crap.
I'd be all for electric if nuclear power was common, but in my state almost all the energy is produced in coal power plants. I just don't see how that is so much different from burning gasoline. If the automotive industry is going to undergo a paradigm shift, it should be the best one available, not some half-assed compromise.
Re:Yeah, 50 miles when it's *new* (Score:4, Insightful)
Would you buy a bicycle to commute? Many people would not, and yet millions of other people do. Just because *you* have some specific issues with this car doesn't mean there isn't a market for it.
A bike doesn't cost more than a far more capable gasoline-powered car.
The market for this car is people with more money than sense, which exists, but isn't very large now that banks have stopped lending money to anything with a pulse.
Re:50 mile range may not be the end of the world (Score:5, Insightful)
That only provides incentive for manufacturers to keep prices high - it dies *not*lower the cost of the car, it just distributes it to other people.
Re:There and back. (Score:3, Insightful)
I looked up the range of the Nissan Leaf, they say it can go 62 miles in terrible conditions: 14 degrees F outside, traffic jam, average speed of 15mph (it's most efficient speed is 38mph). That's slightly worse than half their best condition 138 miles: flat roads, 68d F, 38mph constant speed. (http://www.nissanusa.com/leaf-electric-car/tags/show/range#/leaf-electric-car/theBasicsRange/index)
If Toyota is playing it safe and reporting their worst condition distance for now, then all is well. If they reported the distance it could go according to the EPA standard "LA4" test, then it might still get 30 miles in worst conditions.
Re:Screw Electric (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Screw Electric (Score:4, Insightful)
Liquid hydrogen is the way to go
LOL Right. Because pumping liquid hydrogen at a station would just be soo safe and liquifying it and keeping it cold doesn't take much energy at all...
All these electric cars are just slowing down the development of hydrogen.
No, they're filling the niche that hydrogen is incapable of filling. There's very little new going on with hydrogen because it is just not a convenient fuel.
I'd be all for electric if nuclear power was common, but in my state almost all the energy is produced in coal power plants. I just don't see how that is so much different from burning gasoline.
You're aware that hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels releasing greenhouse gases, right?
If the automotive industry is going to undergo a paradigm shift, it should be the best one available, not some half-assed compromise.
And it isn't hydrogen. Sorry bud. There's just no good way to get hydrogen to consumers.
Re:Screw Electric (Score:4, Insightful)
In 2008, Hyundai announced its intention to produce 500 FC vehicles by 2010 and to start mass production of its FC vehicles in 2012.[12] In early 2009, Daimler announced plans to begin its FC vehicle production in 2009 with the aim of 100,000 vehicles in 2012–2013.[13][14] In 2009, Nissan started testing a new FC vehicle in Japan.[15] In September 2009, Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Renault, Nissan and Toyota issued a joint statement about their undertaking to further develop and launch fuel-cell electric vehicles as early as 2015
Do you know with 100% certainty that hydrogen is better than electric? No, you don't. Both require development of future technology, and as that develops, one type may be better than the other. We will find out.
But there's no sense in putting all your eggs in one basket. Keep investing in both, and hopefully one of them will work. There is still no guarantee of that, even.
Re:Screw Electric (Score:5, Insightful)
It doesn't matter. Conversion from electricity and water to hydrogen and back can be very efficient.
And yet almost nobody does it. Most hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels.
The problem with electric cars is energy storage (batteries), and hydrogen can be stored more easily than electricity.
Actually hydrogen storage is fraught with problems. And not just "oh, but we can fix that" problems. It is more like hydrogen is just not very convenient. For example, hydrogen has a nasty habit of slowly breaking down metal (embrittlement). There's much more room for improved battery technology than there is for hydrogen storage and transmission. Besides, we already have the infrastructure to deliver electricity to every home. What's the point in introducing the hydrogen middleman?
Re:50 mile range may not be the end of the world (Score:4, Insightful)
That's because electric cars make no financial sense at this point in time and
95% of all the vehicles on the road don't make financial sense. what's the financial point of a porsche ? a VW jetta/golf can carry more ...
Re:50 mile range may not be the end of the world (Score:2, Insightful)
No, YOU didn't find that out until after your purchase.