Quote:
Originally Posted by finman
If the d-a-m-n media would stop telling me I "need" 500 HP and 700 mile ranges...
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HP has also been a function of the car industry. The makers improve efficiency, so they figure, "Cool, we can up the HP by 15% and still meet CAFE!" Yet another reason why CAFE numbers need to get raised, and significantly so. The car rags and the car guys want hotrods. If I were in that job, yeah, I guess I'd want something cool as well. Although, maybe I'm just weird, or getting older (41 in June), or whatever, but I'd much rather see cool in the form of PHEVs, EVs, carseat attachments that don't require a crowbar, dent resistant body panels that wouldn't crease at 15
mph, etc.
On range, I think once LI batteries hit, reality will begin to settle in and charging stations will start becoming available. As stations become available, a step in product improvement would likely be additional battery research leading to longer range batteries and shorter charge times.