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Electric cars cannot be used in places which experience below-zero, or even near-zero weather. Electric cars cannot be useful in low-population density states or rural areas which require longer distance driving. Imagine trying to run a Volt in NE Montana where there are places you travel 50-60 miles without even seeing a farmhouse from the highway, let alone someplace to recharge. And electric motors, as well as electrical storage, will need a MASSIVE breakthrough in basic theory before they can power anything larger than a mini-van, especially over long distances. Unfortunately, the larger majority of fuel used in the transport infrastructure is used in mass transport - trucks, cube vans, 18-wheelers, etc. We are not replacing that anytime in the near future, nor even far future unless some myopic superbrain finds an answer to the problem of a mobile source (battery) providing enough electrical power to large enough motors to drive a tractor-trailer hauling 25 tons of goods over 1000 miles. With out the needed breakthrough in theory that would allow us to build super-batteries that hold massive charges and don't lose efficiency with dropping temperatures, electric cars can be useful in cities in moderate climates, and that is about all they'll be good for. That leaves about 2/3 the U.S., plus the entire goods transportation industry, still dependent on IC engines.
In short, spending massive amounts of tax dollars on subsidizing the manufacture and sale of electric automobiles is a horrendously inefficient use of limited resources when the purpose is to significantly reduce our dependency on oil. We would be much better off investing in alternate fuels technology that can be used with little to no modification of current IC engines. The less we have to modify current infrastructure, the more likely we can achieve an economically viable alternative to petroleum. There are a number of very promising possibilities, such as algae derived fuels, which will take far less breakthrough of basic theory to bring about. And, of course, there are already several types of bio-diesel on the market as we speak. It will be far easier and far more cost efficient to tweak current diesel engines to operate better on bio-diesel, and encourage the production of bio-diesel fuels via tax breaks and such, than to subsidize off-market vehicles while hoping we can someday build a battery that will not lose power as its charge drains, AND can power a semi-truck with full cargo AND not lose power with changes in temperature, etc. etc. etc.
In short, spending massive amounts of tax dollars on subsidizing the manufacture and sale of electric automobiles is a horrendously inefficient use of limited resources when the purpose is to significantly reduce our dependency on oil. We would be much better off investing in alternate fuels technology that can be used with little to no modification of current IC engines. The less we have to modify current infrastructure, the more likely we can achieve an economically viable alternative to petroleum. There are a number of very promising possibilities, such as algae derived fuels, which will take far less breakthrough of basic theory to bring about. And, of course, there are already several types of bio-diesel on the market as we speak. It will be far easier and far more cost efficient to tweak current diesel engines to operate better on bio-diesel, and encourage the production of bio-diesel fuels via tax breaks and such, than to subsidize off-market vehicles while hoping we can someday build a battery that will not lose power as its charge drains, AND can power a semi-truck with full cargo AND not lose power with changes in temperature, etc. etc. etc.
