Don't worry they will have no choice. It will be electric cars or else walk.
When demand exceeds supply do you think that the overseas owners of our
oil companies are going to to let their Australia subsiduries out bid
them on the market ?
No way, that will mean our available oil will fall by 50% immeadiatly.
Why do you think the government is subsidising gas installations in cars ?
They obviously have been reading the submissions to the Senate enquiry.

I agree with you to a point Bazz, but only up to a point. Once we get to a situation whereby demand is outstripping supply to the degree of which you mention, it will be much too late to implement the general use of EV's. By that time, unemployment levels will soar and only the very wealthy could hope to replace fossil fuelled personal transport for electric types. Any available oil supplies will be held by Government for emergency use while the rest of us will walk or ride a bike. Also, the chooks will come home to roost in relation to credit card debt and people will loose the shirts off their backs. They won't have money to be buying new cars no matter what they run on. Imagine all the people of low socio/economic standards trying to cash in their old fuel guzzlers and switch to EV's. Won't happen I'm afraid. Besides, most components of EV's use oil in their basic manufacture. There simply won't be enough spare oil available to replace our current personal transport requirements.
The time to act is now, but our current Government is too gutless to implement any sort of plan that will let us down softly. It's dithering about now trying to show the population it's got a plan, but Howard knows only too well that to push too far will be the downfall of the Coalition. No other party will fare any better. The end of cheap oil is a momumental problem that will see the end of financial prosperity as we know it today. Bazz, I'd love to be able to buy an EV right now. I'd do so immediately, but I'm quite certain it's not about to happen any time soon.

Yes Wizard, you might well be right about the financial side of it all.
Except that if gas can keep things going long enough to make the
transition to electric cars we might just get away with it.
The big problem will be the banks, they may well go broke shortly after
the airlines.
I asked three investment fund managers what they were doing in the way
of due diligence to examine the vulnerability of their investments to
oil depletion and basicaly got errrr well err the analyists take that
into consideration.
They don't have a clue. I think it is a good bet to invest in energy
companies and arable land around big towns or cities.

The EV1 cars in Southern California that were being sold by GM is a sad story. There was a documentary about this called "Who Killed the Electric Car".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Killed_the_Electric_Car%3F

In this film, there are interviews with Hollywood actors like Mel Gibson and others who were really annoyed when GM recalled all their EV1 cars. GM claimed that there was no demand. People really fought to keep their cars because they liked them so much. The rest were crushed for recyling. There is a photo of these beautiful new cars in piles ready to be crushed are on this site.

The oil barrens have amazing power over any plan, and will sabotage at any opportunity. Apparently Governor Scwarzeneggar was against the destruction of the EV1 cars.

The only problem I can see with EV1 cars is that the electricity is still being generated by dirty coal power stations.

Strategically, they are good to get us out of the oil crisis and out of the middle east.

At end of the day is all economics.

IF you can produce an electric car with four or six seats, with a drive range of 300+km between recharge, marketable at under $25ooo you will get a million orders in Australia.

People would buy if the cost of the charging was less than or equal to their savings from not buying petrol.
The quality cars could follow later...

Gimmick like computer speed control based on drivers licence and matching fingerprints from your new Australia Card would allow 80 kph limit on P plate drivers.

Hello everyone...

The answer is already here so put your orders in, only...
you'll have to go to the US to pick it up and bring it
home because they don't export Tesla cars - how unfair!

http://www.teslamotors.com/index.php?js_enabled=1

Why isn't someone building them in Australia?