[Raptor235]

Does anyone here drive a hybrid car? I personally don't own a car, my gf Lindsey does... but I'm kind of hoping that they'll release a hyprid version that will charge instantly once you plug it in... I'm talking more about electric cars here then hydrogen powered... waiting for your car to charge over night right now doesn't appeal to me that much... it's not bad but if for instance you come home and you need to go out the same night you'll probably be using fuel for that trip...

[GreenGeek]

fast charging systems are coming soon, there have been a few recent developments with capacitor/battery hybrid storage devices. I personally would rather see gasoline phased out completely, electric vehicles are cheaper to build, cheaper to maintain, cheaper to run, and are capable of being emissions-free depending on the power source for charging. They are also typically capable of a range in excess of 200kms per charge, and since the average person doesn't drive anywhere near that in a day (this is something people always seem to forget when discussing EVs...) you may only need to charge the vehicle once every 3-4 days, otherwise 30 mins or less would be required per night to top it up, hardly an inconvenience in most cases.

mmm.. Tesla Roadster... ;D

[Raptor235]

Very true... the noise pollution would totally be reduced as well Very attractive in a big city... a solar roof would be very nice to get that extra charge during the day

[shadowbot]

Wow, yes with a solar roof, if you managed to park in a sunny spot all day while your car was sitting idly outside, I would venture to say you could capture enough energy during the entire day to come close to not even needing a recharge.

[Raptor235]

Yeah... you actually don't even need a very sunny day... a lot of the suns energy still penetrates the clouds... I'm looking forward to the next few years to see some these technologies mature more and having an opportunity to use them in my daily life.

[Matc]

Unfortunately a solar roof on a car probably wouldn't be enough to keep the car going for a day. The models that people have seen on TV are ultralight weight and have none of the thrills that people expect in a car. Not only do you have to get our heavy cars going (and they can't be that light for safety reason) with a family in. You need things like radios, headlights and other gadgets are also making their way into cars.

I think electric cars are a great idea, but solar panels aren't up to the job yet.

[horselover]

They need to build something that will survive a long road trip, more than 200km's. Next year I may drive down to the states, and am looking at a trip of more than 500kms, so I'd need something that would stay well charged for 8 hours. Then again, what's sad about an electric car is that I would have to pay for an RV hookup at a campground just for a car. ???

[Raptor235]

When are the plugin hybrids coming out?

[hardwired]

Conversion kits are out there but are not commercially available yet, several companies are making them for the Prius specifically, one is in Concord Ontario, one in California and the EAA(Electric Auto Association) canverted a Prius at Maker Fair using lead acid batteries and a Micromanzinita battery charger.

Check out http://www.eaaev.org/ and http://www.pluginamerica.com/

[horselover]

Cool. Would love to see that here soon.