Global warming?

[classicman]

“Research suggests that for plug-ins to be cost-effective relative to gasoline vehicles the price of batteries must come down significantly and gasoline prices must be high relative to electricity,” the report said.

Gaffigan told CNSNews.com that $2 billion of the Recovery Act funds are being expended for grants to manufacture plug-in batteries, and the money is not limited to lithium-ion batteries.

But Gaffigan also explained that this particular impediment would not go away just because the government threw a lot of money at it.

I wonder what the cost of gasoline has to be in order to make plug-in cars better - if at all.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Better? You mean cost competitive don't you? Anything that cuts oil consumption is "better". tw said so.

[classicman]

No, not simply cost competitive, but environmentally as well. I'm still not sold on it, but it may be a start.

[TheMercenary]

Be sure of one thing. The power companies will ensure that any battery developed will need to be recharged regularly and replaced even more regularly. Currently the Prius Batteries are around $15,000 to replace (quoted by my local Toyota dealer). And eventually they all will need to be replaced. The whole electric car thing is a joke if they don't make them last a very long time and go a long way on a single charge.

[sugarpop]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Be sure of one thing. The power companies will ensure that any battery developed will need to be recharged regularly and replaced even more regularly. Currently the Prius Batteries are around $15,000 to replace (quoted by my local Toyota dealer). And eventually they all will need to be replaced. The whole electric car thing is a joke if they don't make them last a very long time and go a long way on a single charge.

I really wish you would stop spreading lies. They are nowhere near $15,000.

Prius replacement batteries are less than $3000, and they have an 8 year warranty on them. The battery packs used in all Prius models are expected to last the life of the car with very little to no degradation in power capability.
http://consumerguideauto.howstuffwor...r-wear-cga.htm

We noted back in September that Toyota had dropped the price of a new pack a few hundred dollars to $2,299 for model years 2001-2003 and $2,588 for model years 2004-2008. On the Toyota Open Road blog, editor Jon Thompson has written a post on the strength of the Prius batteries after all these years, with at least one example reaching over 400,000 miles of service
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2009/01...ies-are-no-bi/


The new prices for the packs are $2,299 for the 2000-2003 model years and $2,588 for the 2004-2008 model years. This is down from a previous price of $2,985 for either model. Toyota said that "technology and volume related advancements" were responsible for the price decrease. ...Toyota is considering - "studying the business case for," as the release puts it - remanufacturing Prius batteries right here in North America as as way to make them even cheaper in the future. http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/09...t-got-cheaper/

[classicman]

Its not even that bad sugar - see here

[Happy Monkey]

Wow, you may have boosted that site a bit. Their "most users ever" was from today at 6:40, as of today at 6:41.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by sugarpop

I really wish you would stop spreading lies. They are nowhere near $15,000.

Prius replacement batteries are less than $3000, and they have an 8 year warranty on them. The battery packs used in all Prius models are expected to last the life of the car with very little to no degradation in power capability.
http://consumerguideauto.howstuffwor...r-wear-cga.htm

We noted back in September that Toyota had dropped the price of a new pack a few hundred dollars to $2,299 for model years 2001-2003 and $2,588 for model years 2004-2008. On the Toyota Open Road blog, editor Jon Thompson has written a post on the strength of the Prius batteries after all these years, with at least one example reaching over 400,000 miles of service
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2009/01...ies-are-no-bi/


The new prices for the packs are $2,299 for the 2000-2003 model years and $2,588 for the 2004-2008 model years. This is down from a previous price of $2,985 for either model. Toyota said that "technology and volume related advancements" were responsible for the price decrease. ...Toyota is considering - "studying the business case for," as the release puts it - remanufacturing Prius batteries right here in North America as as way to make them even cheaper in the future. http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/09...t-got-cheaper/

Not according to the sales person we spoke with 2 months ago. That is the figure he quoted us. Of course that did include labor and all the other BS charges the dealer puts on new car repairs.

[Clodfobble]

Or perhaps he could tell you were -->this<-- close to buying a bigass truck with a much higher profit margin, and all you needed was a little justification to push you over the edge.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

Or perhaps he could tell you were -->this<-- close to buying a bigass truck with a much higher profit margin, and all you needed was a little justification to push you over the edge.

Hell, I love my truck. I would buy another one next week. In fact I have considered trading the one I have now in for a new one in next year. Got to have something to pull the boat and trailer.

[piercehawkeye45]

If you think Pakistan is bad now. Just wait until 2035.

The Last Straw

If you think these failed states look bad now, wait until the climate changes.
BY STEPHAN FARIS

Hopelessly overcrowded, crippled by poverty, teeming with Islamist militancy, careless with its nukes—it sometimes seems as if Pakistan can’t get any more terrifying. But forget about the Taliban: The country's troubles today pale compared with what it might face 25 years from now. When it comes to the stability of one of the world's most volatile regions, it's the fate of the Himalayan glaciers that should be keeping us awake at night.

In the mountainous area of Kashmir along and around Pakistan's contested border with India lies what might become the epicenter of the problem. Since the separation of the two countries 62 years ago, the argument over whether Kashmir belongs to Muslim Pakistan or secular India has never ceased. Since 1998, when both countries tested nuclear weapons, the conflict has taken on the added risk of escalating into cataclysm. Another increasingly important factor will soon heighten the tension: Ninety percent of Pakistan's agricultural irrigation depends on rivers that originate in Kashmir. "This water issue between India and Pakistan is the key," Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami, a parliamentarian from Kashmir, told me. "Much more than any other political or religious concern."

Follow the link for the rest of the article

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/article...the_last_straw

[Urbane Guerrilla]

And for the next three and a half years, the Obama Administration owns it. Better do something intelligent...

[sugarpop]

At least the Pakastani people are waking up to the fact that the Taliban and al qaeda are NOT their friends, and they are beginning to fight back..

[sugarpop]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Not according to the sales person we spoke with 2 months ago. That is the figure he quoted us. Of course that did include labor and all the other BS charges the dealer puts on new car repairs.

He was wrong. And in the event a battery does happen to fail, the 8 year warranty covers the whole cost of a new one, including labor.

And I find it very hard to believe a salesperson at a Toyota dealership would say that. He would lose a sale. So if what are saying is true, you really should report him.

[Happy Monkey]