My next car
Posted by jasongin on Friday, July 21, 2006
Finally it looks like someone is making a decent fully-electric production car. Not a wimpy econobox with pathetic range and acceleration, but a desirable sports car that will demonstrate that there are actually advantages to ditching internal combustion even aside from environmental factors. Below is an exceprt, but you can read the full article over at wired.com.
The Tesla Roadster is powered by 6,831 rechargeable lithium-ion batteries — the same cells that run a laptop computer. Range: 250 miles. Fuel efficiency: 1 to 2 cents per mile. 0 to 60 in about 4 seconds. Top speed: more than 130 mph. The first cars will be built at a factory in England and are slated to hit the market next summer.
The biggest drawback seems to be that in between that 250 mile range, you have to allow for a 3 1/2 hour recharge time — so this model isn’t so well-suited for road-trips. But you can bet that battery technology will continue to improve.
OK, so this can’t really be my next car until the price drops some — $85K is definitely more than I would spend on a car. But if it’s successful, then others will follow, and there will be lots more options on the market.
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