OK STEVE !
Except for the line 'much better than cars'. The Priii *are* electric
cars and can run without an ICE engine in em at all (but not for long,
bout 7 miles as the batts are too small for much range). Seein as
that
the success of the Prius proves the success and reliability of a major
manufacturers all-electric automobile chassis, the next step up is the
plug in type hybrid. Owner's choice on what fuel he is to burn on a
given day. Short trip under 30 miles? Electricity. Long trip? Gas.
It's the short trips (with a cold engine) that get the poorest fuel
mileage and beat on the engine the hardest. With the plug-in type
hybrid
starting to show up on the roads now (developmental, not for sale by
dealers yet) there is no gasoline fuel use at all on trips under 30
miles. If you need to go more miles that ' all electric' day, the
car's
computer senses 'low battery' when it happens and starts up the ICE
(which also charges the battery as you drive).
As for reliability of this all -electric chassis; There is a
std
Prius in Hingham MA with over 260,000 miles on her with no major
repairs
and with the original batteries. She still looks (and feels, I
regularly
ride in this vehicle and have driven her) new.
As for the tractors; Modern technology such as decent electronic
controllers, more precise motor mfg and today's better batteries (even
floodeds) should eliminate the problems GE had in pioneering these
machines - and the future surely will bring us decent electric
tractors
on par pricewise with hi end gassers in the mass market. Why?
Because
of 'peak oil' and air quality issues if nothing else. A good
sector of
the public has seen WKTEC and AIT and is searching for environmentally
benign answers to questions posed by these flics. This should make
a lot
of any new electric tractors at a comparable price to hi end gassers
'presold' the minute they hit the market. We have the Electric OX
as the
high end now, all it needs is to be downsized a bit and downpriced by
mass production or possibly Chinese outsource. When something like
that
is able to be produced in the massive quantities reqd by Home Depot,
Lowes etc, it will be a marketing success guaranteed.
The days of burning dead dinosaurs and their foodchains are
numbered. Viva
Reddy Kilowatt.
Dave
Weymouth MA
On Mon, 11 Dec 2006 21:05:02 -0500 Steve & Carol Welch
<welches dejazzd com> writes:
I couldn't agree more with Jack's last sentence. You have to
engineer an excellent, reliable product, while undercutting the "old
technology" competition. The lower price entices non-zealot
consumers to "give it a try". Also, as the Ford guy stated in the
"Who Killed the Electric Car" movie, if average people perceive that
the item you're selling has less capability than the competition,
they (reasonably) expect to pay less for it.
The problem is that launching new technologies like these cost more,
not less (at least initially). It takes a company with deep
pockets,
good engineers & marketers, and a long-term commitment to succeed.
Witness Toyota and the Prius, now on generation two (plus the Camry
&
Highlander & system sales to Ford) - think they've recovered their
Hybrid Synergy Drive R&D by now?? Had GM not been so schizophrenic
with the EV1, they might be in a much better place in terms of
marketable (maybe even profitable) "green" products today.
I also wonder if the ET was a victim of the well-established ICE
sales & repair industry. Not necessarily by intent, but just by not
fitting in with the usual product. Plus, no tuneups, plugs, oil,
filters = less service money for the local dealer (kinda like the
EV1). Maybe if a big company (Deere) made a good electric and sold
thru Home Depot (appliance-like merchandise, no service dept to
threaten) perhaps it would sell better. It would require a very
intentional, determined advertising / education campaign. I firmly
believe there is an excellent case to be made - home lawn tractors
are an excellent use for electric technology - much better than
cars. You're never more than your property line away from a
recharge, plus no messy gas, oil, & noise - what's a suburbanite not
to like?
Okay, off soapbox now. Y'all in the choir can go back to whatever
more important you were doing... ;^)
Steve
On Dec 11, 2006, at 12:45 PM, John Casey wrote:
...snip...
They did not see that selling a new concept against strong
competition almost always dictates that you must price lower to
build a
following.
Jack
----- Original Message -----
From: "Matthew callahan" <callahanrc hotmail com>
To: <maxo iname com>; <elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu>
Sent: Monday, December 11, 2006 9:24 AM
Subject: Re: (ET) Wheelhorse and their last ET in 1983
Gee, I wonder if that did have anything to do with it... <VBG>
Were there other factors? High cost was probably one. How about
marketing,
did wheelhorse do a good job marketing their electric tractors,
or
did
they
pull the same thing that GM did with the EV1? Did the tractors
have any
safety issues, premature failures, or anything of the sort?
Matt
From: "Max Hall" <maxmatic gmail com>
Reply-To: maxo iname com
To: elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu
Subject: Re: (ET) Wheelhorse and their last ET in 1983
Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2006 09:06:05 -0500
Gasoline hit its peak in '81, and plummeted almost
uninterruptedly
through '86 to less than half the '81 peak.
I don't know if thast had anything at all to do with it, though.
-Max
On 12/11/06, Matthew callahan <callahanrc hotmail com> wrote:
Hi all,
Could any of you enlighten us with your insight on why GE sold
the
original
ET line, why New Idea only produced it for what? one year?, and
why
did
Wheelhorse stop making them in 1983? What were the reasons
that
contributed
to their downfall at that time?
Any historical references or articles from that time period
regarding
the
downfall of ETs would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Matt
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