(ET) Mother Earth News

["Pestka, Dennis J" <Dennis Pestka mkg com>]

After subscribing to the Mother Earth News for over 20 years, I was really
disappointed with the response to a question from one of the readers.
There are so many inaccuracies in this that I don't know where to begin.
I am writing my response to this and I would encourage everyone else to do
the same.
www.motherearthnews.com

Dennis


Dear Mother, 
Do you know of any company making electric garden tractors.

Will
Coarsegold, CA

We don't know of a commercially viable electric tractor being made by an
established firm today. The cost of high-capacity motors and batteries is
just too high to compete with gas engine-powered models. The obvious
environmental advantages alone won't convince enough buyers to pay ten 
times
what a zippy little John Deere lawn or garden tractor costs.
  General Electric made the Elec-Trac lawn-tractor/riding mower in the
1970's but lost their shirts on every sale and discounted the line years
ago. You can find used Elec-Tracs for sale at well under $1000. They were
robustly made, and parts are still available. But they were slow and heavy,
underpowered for attachments, too low slung to use in the garden row, and
lack the run time to mow a big lawn on a single charge.