

EV hopes are weighed down by miserable sales














Comments     Threshold


RE: not
By Keeir on 3/8/2011 1:46:47 PM , Rating: 2
Houston for better or worse is one of the most spread out cities in America and probably the world. Pittsburgh is considerably more dense.

An average Houstonian spends more time in cars and pays even less tax (on said car) than the average Pittsburghian.

But I would point out that many people in the United States buy large trucks because of personal hobbies such as Horse Ranching, Hobby Farming, Water Sports/Towing, etc. And its true that they are often not used enough to justify the purchase of the trucks. People fool themselves into thinking they will have the time/money to enjoy such hobbies. This is one of the reasons people get angry about being "forced" into smaller automobiles, because then they would have to give up the hope that they would get to do such hobbies. The Full-Sized Pickup has essentially replaced the smaller pick-ups in the US market due to small differences in cost and LARGE differences capability.

Again, these are not irrational people. Most Europeans put into Houstan would make very similiar choices as the Texans that live there now.

RE: not
By JediJeb on 3/8/2011 2:06:13 PM , Rating: 2
As someone who actually uses a Pickup Truck on a regular basis the ones you mention have been a thorn in my side for a long time now. It used to be Pickups were simple, plain, no frills vehicles made to do a job. Now they are more like a luxury car with leather seats, carpets, power everything ect. I still drive my 96 model because all the new ones I look at are too expensive and almost make you afraid to scratch them. Used to be a truck was priced at about 1/2 the price of the average car, now many are at or above the price of an average car. What is sad is I paid $42K for my house and 3 acres 5 years ago and I can barely purchase a new truck for even half of that, and to get it at that price I have to special order it with all the bells and whistles removed and wait for it to be delivered.

My current truck has a cloth seat, vinyl floor, radio and A/C, I do kinda wish it had cruise control but I can live without it. We can't even get good deals on stripped down trucks at work anymore, so we just buy 2 year old used ones to save money even though they are still sometimes loaded out with options we don't need. I will try to keep my old one at home going as long as I can because I hate the thought of spending $30k on something I am just going to get dented and scratched while using it.

RE: not
By aguilpa1 on 3/11/2011 4:10:21 PM , Rating: 2
I drive a pick up also and prefer the stripped down models if you can find them. They keep getting bigger and bigger. I bought the last year were a true single cab was available for a Ford truck in 2004. Now even the "single cab" models are extended.

The answer which the auto industry would rather you not know to solve the need for expensive EV is just...., keep your old vehicle for 7 to 10 years. Keep up the maintenance and it will save the environment. No extra vehicles on the road, no extra manufacture or raw materials to use. I gave my last payment over 2 years ago and now my 4.2l truck that gets 20MPG in town with standard 5 speed and 23 on the road costs me just $650 a year on gas per year. I have had to do nothing but put a new battery in it this year at a cost of $180 (it was a nice battery). I plan to keep it at least 3 more years, then find a similar replacement if I can find it. I will have saved THOUSANDS of dollars on payments and no contributed to the extra waste that goes into manufacturing a new vehicle. How green is that?

