Lance Dopestrong wrote:I know its verging off topic, but it's an observation worth making. You get these plums who buy a Leaf out of some misguided environmental desire, and then utterly negate the whole point by driving around with 4 empty seats almost all the time.
Towing around over twice as much mass as you require is just ridiculous.
And bringing it neatly back to topic, how long before an electric car model becomes the favoured steed of the worst drivers on the road?
Ours always has 4 in it - me, t'ladywife and two collies. Often there are 6 or even 7, as daughters, grandchildren and friends come aboard to go on the dog walk. Would a bubble car do? No. Well, not for me - but I'm sure there will be electric one-seaters if there are potential buyers for them. The ladywife has an electric bicycle, for example. Myself, I can manage the shopping by myself with an ordinary bike clad with pannier.
As you will know, oil-burning cars are of a simialr configuration and are often driven by one mad thrusting fellow at remarkably inefficient and dangerous speeds. They cannot suck up go from a solar panel, though. They must drink the filthy black liquid and spew the effluent from a pipe at you and me as they pass by! The rascals. (Mind, I was such a rascal myself until recently albeit light of foot and infrequent in the usage).
Now, about this business of the electric car becoming the "favoured steed of the worst drivers on the road".
This will depend on the design of "the steed". The hybrid I have has many configurations and design-aspects that encourage one to be frugal and very anticipatory of what will happen next whilst driving. It somehow encapsulates the request to drive much more carefully, with due care and attention, than does .....
My son-in-law, a City Fellow of vast salary and the associated London lifestyle has a top of the range Tesla thing. It's primarily a status symbol more or less thrust upon him by his firm as a means to impress "clients". It can go from 0-60mph in just over 2 seconds. It's design is that of a stealth fighter jet and generally encourages the sort of behaviour appropriate to the pilot of such.
Personally I would be a draconian Minister of Transport (were there such a post) so would ban anything like the latter as I promoted the former. I would even promote your intimated one-seater electric booble car. Yes I would. Design of the technology is a great influencer of the bahaviour of the user.
Cugel