Wisconsin recently increased the vehicle registration fee for all electric or hybrid-electric vehicles by $100 annually. This includes collector or other specialty registrations. They creatively listed it as a fee increase rather than a tax adjustment. This ensures that every vehicle is included in this requirement regardless of tax-exempt status of the registered owner.


Kael

 

Im all for new technology and electric cars. Hell, Im in love with the fact that a base Tesla can out perform my well worked big block.

BUT......theres something classic about a big V8 in an tiny American 1970's sports car. Its loud, its brash and its uneconomical. They are sexy and cumbersome at the same time, and they create a commotion wherever they go. Its literally EVERYTHING America represented during the 1970's and 80's..........

Please, dont mess with a classic. We acknowledge new technology has made 3rd gens almost obsolete, leave them their place in history. Putting an electric motor in a C3 is like drawing a picture of the founding fathers with cell phones and man buns.

 

That thing is an abomination. And wait til you see how much electricity costs once we’re all driving golf carts.

 

Diesel fuel used to be cheap too. Then everyone got on the diesel powered cars and light trucks. Fuel price is higher than gasoline. Easy to see that same thing happening with electricity.

 

I wouldn't convert my Corvette, for all the reasons mentioned above, but I'd love to drive and possibly own another C3 that had been converted.

Electric vehicles are getting less expensive, and will continue to get less expensive (not more expensive) as the technology improves (primarily battery technology) and more consumers use them.

And as far as environmental impact, manufacturing an electric car does release more greenhouse gases than manufacturing an internal combustion vehicle. The reason for that is that constructing the battery requires a lot of energy. But after about a year of driving, the electric car become less harmful to the environment overall than a gas car. Keep in mind that, while all gas automobiles produce emissions as they are driven, not all electric power produces emissions where it is generated -- and a lot of the emissions that are generated are less harmful that that of burning petroleum. In the 90s, more than half of US electric power came from coal. The numbers now are roughly 35% natural gas (which pollutes, but is "cleaner" than coal and petroleum), 25% coal, and 35% nuclear + hydro + solar + wind.

​​​​​​In terms of overall environmental impact, including manufacturing, one recent study concluded that "Driving an electric vehicle is like driving an equivalent gas-powered car that gets 80 mpg (the average for a gas-powered vehicle was 24.9 mpg for the 2017 model year, the organization found, up from 73 mpg in 2017 because of a decrease in the use of coal and an increase in the use of renewables in US energy grids."

So, while I agree that part of the experience of owning a C3 is enjoying everything that goes with a big V8, I disagree with a lot of the comments above about the future of elective vehicles.

 

No doubt the electrics are here and will continue gaining marketshare from ICE.
But, who/what sponsored the 80 mpg study?
How much has/will it cost to train and equip EMS in special procedures used for extrication from Electric/Hybrid?
What might be costs for any additional environmental practices/failures related to increased battery and electronics manufacturing?
etc etc etc
Regardless, if I drive long enough, I'll probably have one too.

 

We have had the volt about 5 years now. Costs about $3.45 to fully charge in 4 hours, and that gets you about 32 miles.
When dead the genny kicks in and it gets about 55MPG.
Other than computer updates at dealer, I have changed the oil twice.
Zippo goes wrong with this car.

 

B2B
I understand regular 87 unleaded runs about $4-$5/g in SoCal? But dunno kWh cost?

Here reg 87 unl about $2.20 and elec is about $0.13 / kWh ... of course wages, cola & demographics quite different as well.

I've been looking at Subaru AWD Outback etc for several years while wondering when Subaru offers Hybrid ... I think they've just done so ...
... but I'm still trying to wear out a Town Car and a GMC ... I may be out of service first.

 

87 octane is about $3.65 Elec is $.15 I think. Depends on where. Anaheim is cheapest around. We own our own utility. Thanks Disney.

 

I love my V8 but getting all upset over the future of electric vehicles reminds me of what the steam engine car guys must have gone thru when the gasoline engine came onboard.
Progress and technology innovation will always have it supporters and naysayers.
My 45 mpg Prius off sets my 93 Chev V8 truck and will do so when my HP Vette gets on the road next year.
It's all economics and how much you are willing to pay.
I'd love to see what powers personal transportation 500 yrs from now. Especially when you consider the gasoline driven V8 has been around only 117 yrs.

 

it's easy to see EVs as boring little shitboxes but let me tell you, a good motor out back of an classic and a pretty high voltage (400) system, you'll miss the engine noise but the raw power is almost VIOLENT.
it just wants to shred tires every time you put the pedal down, and the instant shove gets really addictive.
There's no lead up, it just slams you into your seat almost as fast as you realize it's happening.\

It's pretty excellent for old vw beetles and busses with their notoriously finnicky engines, they go from busted jalopies to super viable daily driver cars

the bigger problem is modern cars are just boring, gas or electric. You can't "feel" the car at all, there's no feedback, you can barely hear the engine, it's just a transportation cube with a nice sound system.

Also; for everyone saying EVs are worse for the environment, in very specific cases yes, but overall hell no, they're far better. Watch this video, it's got a ton of data and references.


And as for fill up cost, remember that EVs chargers in your garage these days can charge off-peak hours for cheaper rates, but even then, at 15 cents a kilowatt hour that's still only $15 to fully charge an absolutely gigantic 100khw battery

 

Guys, no one is trying to deny that there is a future with electric cars but as I stated before, electric cars and electricity is not free and will get MUCH MORE expensive as electric cars become more prevalent..guarantee that!

1. Conservation of Energy principle is essentially there is no free ride where energy is consumed or produced. If all the gas powered cars in this country were electric, the electric power grid would require about 200X the number of power plants that exist today, which would spew pollution into the air...cannot get around this fact. Who is going to produce those power plants and who do you think will pay for them with higher electric rates? I can assure you electric rates will go up...a LOT!

2. New Cars today are just about pollution free...99% of the exhaust is Carbon dioxide and water. And please don't say CO2 is a pollutant....it is NOT! Every living land vertebrae inhales 02 and exhales C02 which plants use to make 02.

3. Battery technology is not any where it needs to be to support electric cars as a convenient, viable , reliable transportation modality today.

4. Do you think that the government is going to forego billions in gas tax if electric cars become mainstream?......and gas consumption drops precipitously....NO WAY! The Fed and State governments are all ready surcharging electric vehicles in some states...WAIT.....it is coming.

5. Remind me again why I would buy an electric vehicle when i can buy a chevy malibu or cruze with a 1.5 liter 4 cylinder turbo that gets 40-45 mpg and goes like stink at the same time? And those 2 examples are just that 2 of many cars that get GREAT gas mileage and NOT hybrids which are another misdirection for another day......

Eventually electric cars will be MORE expensive to operate than gas...watch....don't be fooled by what the politicians say....

Electric cars are not going away but they will not save the plant/environment nor be cheap...that thinking is a fallacy....

 

if you're of the mindset that anthropogenic climate change isn't a thing, i recommend changing that pretty soon. In about a decade it's going to be really tough to keep that stance.

also keep in mind, it's much more efficient to generate electricity in a power plant than in a gas engine. The power plant pays the price of being massive and immobile in getting quite a bit more energy out of the same volume of material
to say nothing of backyard solar, which has gone way down in price over the past decade.

also home energy backup is getting cheaper, lots of wrecked electric and hybrid car batteries actually work pretty well in a second life as a DIY powerwall

 

I have no desire to convert any of my classics, my Fiat four banger, my sbc, or bbf, all original iron blocks.

 

jb78L-82 - I respect your point of view, but I question some of your facts. Can you point to any support for your statement that the US would need 200 times as many power plants if all cars were electric? I'm looking around using Google and the only number I can find is 1.5 times as many power plants if all cars were electric.
As far as C02, the EPA agrees with you that CO2 isn't really a pollutant. But they also say it is a massive contributor to global warming. In other words, just because CO2 doesn't make you sick, doesn't mean it isn't contributing to dangerous changes to the planet. (Ask the Pentagon what they think about the dangers of global warming.)

 

I can't remember exactly where I read that fact but it was most likely the Wall Street Journal a few years back or an Autoweek article on electric cars and powerplant requirements for having millions of cars on the roads, all electric.

As far as the EPA is concerned, I am not a fan of that agency and what they have been saying for years about a host of topics. Here is my real issue that is not well known but well documented, again, in the WSJ, about the falsifying of data by leading scientists in published articles in scientific journals in order to push a particular agenda (global warming). This deception was well documented by a large group of well respected researchers who were outed, a couple of years back as well, and covered lightly, by the mass media. Once that happened, any statements moving forward were subject to great skepticism.

This ^^^^^is why there is so much controversy concerning global warming and the subject of CO2......Once some of the data was discovered to have been fabricated, all bets were off....All of the latter points are well documented......

My last words on this issue but thought a light explanation will close this issue for some and me. Thanks

 

200 times the power plants is total oil lobby BS. 1.5 is more in line. Power companies would love to have idle sources spinning at 10PM -6AM, when charging would work best.
Turn off the lights, TV, A/C, computer, and charge the car. Break even point.

As for 99% pollution free cars, I would still not sleep in the garage with car idling all night.

 

also that 1.5x power plant number assumes no solar panel adoption, which seems like a very unlikely future as panels get cheaper and cheaper.
Turning panel installation into more a mortgage model (increases the value of the house, large loan over many years) makes installation far more accessible and palatable as well

 

I saw an add from Tesla a year or so ago that gave a range number for the Tesla of about 250 miles or so. I live in AZ so I dropped them a email asking if it would do that with the AC on for the full trip. Their reply was... no. Here in AZ, as far as I'm concerned, if I can't run the AC full time, go 300 to 350 miles and refuel in 5 minutes or less... forget it!

 

In a C3 - or any classic for that matter. No, with extra NO sauce on the side.

Electric as daily transportation - why not? Whether you agree with it or not it's on it's way.