I dunno - from what I remember the Gov't gave them money years ago to innovate and investigate the alternate vehicle power systems. For some reason it didn't work. IIRC it was in the 80's when the got a bunch of money to try to build some hybrids. No one cared enough back then. Now, apparently people do and they should be ready to roll. They aren't because demand dictated what they built. Srsly, what good is a product that no one is going to buy? It took $4.00 gasoline to get people to give a shit.

But as is typical with the American mentality, they went for the money they could get and now they aren't prepared. I blame it all on the beancounter MBA mentality. you?

And look how short the memory banks are? Now that gas is generally less than $2 mid sized vehicles are still being bought and the Prius of the world are sitting on the lots unbought. No one cares about the electric cars. We sat in the Prius recently and Did not fit either in the drivers seat or passengers side. I would not buy one anyway. I did fit in the Mini Cooper so we bought one of those last week. :D Mommy is very happy.

Neighbor has a Prius - drove to CO with it to go skiing. They immediately put it up for sale upon returning. They said it was very uncomfortable, couldn't hold all their gear and was overall just not that nice a ride. I think its great that they get good gas mileage and I would drive one to/from work, but the cost to get one is still too prohibitive for my wallet.

That is bullshit. I lived in LA back when they were making them, and I used to see them on the street all the time. I suggest you watch the movie "Who Killed the Electric Car?" You can watch it online at surfthechannel.com. they weren't the only car maker making them either.

I know several people who own Priuses, and they love them. One couple likes them so much they own two of them.

FTR, about the electric cars, California spent hundreds of millions of dollars putting in electric charge stations around the state back when GM and others were making electric cars. Do you honestly think the state would have spent all that money for a few prototypes?

It is bullshit.

Read the history here:

http://www.hybridcars.com/history/th...-up-of-74.html

They never went to full production.

https://www.simplyhybrid.com/hybrid-...to-history.php

http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/223/ele...-timeline.html

Only one of the links you provided said anything about the electric cars that were built in the 90s Merc.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind and yes I firmly believe they would waste all that money and many many millions more.

I was thinking the 70's. My bad.

Long history of the car in the 90's.

http://inventors.about.com/gi/dynami...ne/welcome.htm

My car is mightier than yours. ;) /offtopicsnarkiness

In actuality, I don't like that commercial. It would have been better if I really had gotten a cape and the silly decals when I bought the car.

:)

They did it believing the car manufacturers would keep the agreements about the regulations California had put in place. but they didn't. They fought them, and when Bush was put in place, it all went to hell, because you know, he was an oilman, so he took their side.

Those CA hippies are trying to dictate to the rest of the nation what to drive. Silly hippies.
Don't forget there are still plenty of gasp one car families in this country. And lots of people that drive a long way work or shop.
Electrics haven't come far enough to be viable for these people.
It's only been a couple years that batteries have been good enough for suburban viability.
The best option is electric motor driven wheels with a small gas or diesel engine with a generator/alternator to make the juice.

From here

Exerpt:

And some here insist I'm mad. I ain't mad -- just literate.

Tea Parties: What's Next?

A View From Main Street

Garofalo Highlights Left's Hypocrisy... Its last sentence reads:

No they aren't. Because California had a serious air pollution problem back in the 70s, and still do sometimes, they have continued doing what they need to do in order to clean the air up so it is safe to breathe. That's why they always had strictere standards. I think Bush may have watered them down significantly though.

Electrics ARE viable for a large portion of the population. Most people probably don't drive anywhere near 100 miles per day.