Sorry Fester, but your graph is either way out of date, or is just propaganda.

There are more than a few popular cars which use quite a bit less fuel than the hybrids, & a number of diesels which burn less than half the fuel used by the hybrids.

To get a true comparison, you will first have to reduce youe fuel consumption of the internal combustion car to that of the hybrid, or less.

Your graph does not tell us what it means. We have no idea what milages they represent. Figures I have seen suggest that a modern economical petrol car will travel over 150,000Km, before the fuel emission equal production emissions. With modern diesels it's more like 200,000Km.

On the other hand, the production emissions for your electric car should be no more than the hybrid, & with decent volume, should be able to match the petrol car, in time.

As someone who believes CO2 is excellent plant food, emissions don't worry me. However I believe electric cars will replace petrol, for most city usage, because they make more sense, even if hydrocarbon fuels don't run aut any time soon.

Is it just me or am I detecting a kneejerk reaction of some bristling against the idea of electric cars based on links to the hippy greeny cause? It's just that the tone seems to be outright hostile to the idea- ANYTHING but that- even to spend the money trying to fix up an old car is a better alternative from some.

It's not exactly rocket science- if they can run on electricity alone- and they can be recharged via a cable, then obviously the electricity can come from absolutely anywhere- you could even stick a PV or wind turbine out in the middle of nowhere with a storage cell for the energy- meaning the only cost was in manufacturing it, trucking it out and sticking it in the ground.

It's harder to get a monopoly on- unlike petrol (like Little Brother pointed out), and would require a lot less arable land (and possible alteration of food prices on the market) that ethanol would need.
And ultimately, I like the convenience of a car instead of letting those snotty feel-good tossers force me onto public transport if there are greener car alternatives- I thought that was a good thing?
Not to mention its the source that is least possible to make an industry out of- meaning it will be infrastructure closest to a government service.

King Hazza I think it's just the "miracle fix is almost here" babbling gushes we get from the eco types that irritates many people on OLO.

Personally I'm still waiting for all the new breakthroughs and green jobs we all hear about, where are they? We've been threatened with them for years, not the government bat rubbish, I mean real advances we "will lead the world in!" as they usually say.

It would be great to have alternatives, but cheer leading is not going to do it.

I'd prefer to see all the money being p*ssed away on climate science going into energy development and nuclear power development.

Let's face it, if the world had continued to develop nuclear power generation instead of being derailed by activists, then they would have continued to evolve, the eco types have put us in this position of relying on fossil fuels, I feel no inclination to be charitable to their wailing.

Little Brother says - "Electricity can be produced by many methods and that means there will be heaps of competition which means stability of supply and price." Sorry, really cannot agree with that, you can't just go into competition with state regulated industries because you want to - also, we have standards, or people will start to die who try to produce electricity, it's not like planting flowers mate.

If I were you, I wouldn't be rushing to buy an EV until you've read this article...

http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/Time-to-fill-the-gas-pipe-pd20100318-3MRS7?OpenDocument&src=kgb

It starts by saying....... "For the past 18 months, while we have been debating climate change and emissions trading, we have been largely ignoring the fact that with population and industrial growth Australia is rapidly losing its ability to supply reliable power."

And..... "But unless we take action now Australia is about to enter an era where electricity supply will be much less reliable. We have received an alert from the UK where, like Australia, the country moved away from the traditional model of one government supplier."

This article comes as no surprise to those who follow such things. Australia's electricity grid is slowly dying through neglect. Apparently, shareholders of major power companies are more important than adding infrastructure to a grid that cannot hope to keep up with the explosion in population of this country. Business as usual won't go on for much longer.

Hasbeen

Appreciate your comments on fuel economic cars. What say you about a 1986 Mazda 323 fuel injected? Convert to LPG? Restore? Of go for converting a later model car. The Mazda really is getting a old in all directions - seats, electrical system, some rust. Little engine is still torquey though and runs very clean.

Have to disagree with you regards CO2 - too much of a good thing is bad and does acidify oceans, impact on ecosystems. Just think of the caves carved out simply by the action of carbonic acid, then consider impact where PPM increase into conditions beyond which humans and our fellow animals have been accustomed to. While levels have indeed been higher in the past, the types of animals in existence then could cope with the higher levels - humans weren't around then. Something for you to consider, Hasbeen.

As I will consider advice from you regarding economic cars.

:-)

So, Hashi Mitsumoto san, as president of one of the largest motor car manufacturers in the world, how will electric cars benefit the world?

A) We will sell more cars and get better margins because the eco-market is willing to pay a premium.

Q) But surely we will benefit from lowering carbon emissions?

A) Of course, although production and disposal carbon intensity of these technologies is much higher, we can point to the fact that they are clean, electrically powered.

Q) Where do we get the electricity from to recharge them?

A) Customers will have wind and solar power generation at home, so providing they only do 160kms round trip they can get home for a recharge. This is not a problem as these customers will only represent 0.5% of users, the rest will plug into the local power station where will we be operating on clean coal by about 2035.

Q) So who do you see as your target market?

A) Well the whole of California for a start. After that we can sell these to anyone who fears the destruction of the planet by next month (that rolls over to “next month” at the end of each month). We have also identified eco-snobs, many journalists and any anyone who buys the sizzle rather than the sausage.

Q) Is the life span of these vehicles longer than those burning fossil fuels?

A) Just so, these cars are limited to low mileage for several reasons, they don’t go far enough on a round trip and there is no network of either recharge poles or battery swap facilities. It’s a bit like leaving home with the “reserve tank” light on whilst knowing there is nowhere to fill up.

Q) Does this threaten our coal industry?

A) No, as cars switch from petrol to electric, coal powered electricity will increase proportionally.

For the first time I got more “motoring” laughs from Paul Gilding than Jeremy Clarkson.

P.S. Paul. My copper, mining and lithium stocks are soaring, Many thanks.