How do we know when car companies are going to make the next generation of a certain model?

car news magazine image

Richard

I'm a fan of late models because they usually are improvements of the earlier models. Another reason why is so that I don't have to buy the parts that make my car look like the "kouki" model or perform like one. In other words, I want the whole package at once! How can we find out when they will come out with a new generation so I know when I can buy the car I really like during it's last year of production?

Answer
Read the Automotive News. Subscribe to car magazines. Follow the following auto blogs

http://www.autoblog.com/
http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage?ws=uf
http://wardsauto.com/

Is it technologically impossible to increase the range and shorten the charging time of electric cars?

Jacob

So electric cars can take up to 20 hours to fully recharge. Is it impossible to to make it any quicker? Like in 5 minutes? Why does it take so long?

How about instead of charging cars, why not just replace the battery? You go in, take the battery out by pulling and twisting on two levers, and slide in another one and off you go.

Answer
Fast charge technology already exists - the magazine article below, from 2009, shows an all-electric bus with 5-minute charging:
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http://www.wired.com/autopia/2009/11/altairnano-proterra/
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Quick charges ranging from10 to 45 minutes have also been demonstrated by Major EV builders Mitsubishi, Nissan and Tesla.
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The only thing holding this technology back is cost - and that problem is on the way to being solved. Here in this news article we see that 10-minure EV fast-chargers are being installed today at Walgreens drug stores:
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http://www.walgreens.com/topic/sr/sr_electric_vehicle_charging_stations.jsp

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