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LaurenLove
are they likely to become the car of the future in the United States?
Answer
I think we'll be hearing about a lot of electric cars in the near future. Electric cars are clean, very inexpensive to operate, and someday they'll be cheap, too.
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Here's a site with about a thousand EV owners and their cars:
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http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/
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Thanks to new battery research, there are lots of new EVs in development, mostly in Asia. Here's a partial list:
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From China: The Happy Messenger - only costs $10000, goes 150 miles per charge:
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2005/12/chinese_ev_comp.html
Also from China: the BYD car, designed to be affordable, with a 250-mile range:
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=106930
The GEO EV, from Korea. It goes 155 miles on a three hour charge:
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200505/18/200505182238171109900090609062.html
Also from Korea. The ENERGINE Electric-Pneumatic hybrid.
It runs on air and electricity. No gasoline:
http://www.energine.com/e_main.php
From Japan. The Subaru R1E. Charges to 90% in 5 minutes, costs under $18000:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8995780
Also from Japan. The Mitsubishi Colt EV. It can charge in 20 minutes, and is priced under $20k.
http://aftermarket.autoblog.com/2006/10/12/mitsubishi-looks-ahead-with-an-electric-i/
A chinese EV slated for import to the USA next year. It gets 200 miles/charge, and costs $28,500.
http://www.milesautomotive.com/products_xs200.html
The Tesla sports car:
http://www.teslamotors.com
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And if you don't want to wait - and if you don't mind not having the very latest technology, there are many small entrepreneurs doing electric car conversions right now, that you can buy for as little as $5000. Details are on this page:
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http://www.squidoo.com/cheap-electric-car/
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Even better technology is in the works. Supercapacitors, for instance will enable charging in as little as 5 minutes. That technology may be ready as soon as next year.
*
Also, don't believe what you read about polluting EVs. It's not true. Electric vehicles are many times more efficient than gas cars. That means they make far less pollution per mile even when power plants burn dirty fuel (and don't forget that gasoline refineries spew pollution. And refineries use lots of electricity too!) Plus the EV is the only car that refuels by wire (the electric grid is 95% efficient.) Other cars must have fuel shipped by inefficient and polluting trucks.
I think we'll be hearing about a lot of electric cars in the near future. Electric cars are clean, very inexpensive to operate, and someday they'll be cheap, too.
*
Here's a site with about a thousand EV owners and their cars:
*
http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/
*
Thanks to new battery research, there are lots of new EVs in development, mostly in Asia. Here's a partial list:
*
From China: The Happy Messenger - only costs $10000, goes 150 miles per charge:
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2005/12/chinese_ev_comp.html
Also from China: the BYD car, designed to be affordable, with a 250-mile range:
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=106930
The GEO EV, from Korea. It goes 155 miles on a three hour charge:
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200505/18/200505182238171109900090609062.html
Also from Korea. The ENERGINE Electric-Pneumatic hybrid.
It runs on air and electricity. No gasoline:
http://www.energine.com/e_main.php
From Japan. The Subaru R1E. Charges to 90% in 5 minutes, costs under $18000:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8995780
Also from Japan. The Mitsubishi Colt EV. It can charge in 20 minutes, and is priced under $20k.
http://aftermarket.autoblog.com/2006/10/12/mitsubishi-looks-ahead-with-an-electric-i/
A chinese EV slated for import to the USA next year. It gets 200 miles/charge, and costs $28,500.
http://www.milesautomotive.com/products_xs200.html
The Tesla sports car:
http://www.teslamotors.com
*
And if you don't want to wait - and if you don't mind not having the very latest technology, there are many small entrepreneurs doing electric car conversions right now, that you can buy for as little as $5000. Details are on this page:
*
http://www.squidoo.com/cheap-electric-car/
*
Even better technology is in the works. Supercapacitors, for instance will enable charging in as little as 5 minutes. That technology may be ready as soon as next year.
*
Also, don't believe what you read about polluting EVs. It's not true. Electric vehicles are many times more efficient than gas cars. That means they make far less pollution per mile even when power plants burn dirty fuel (and don't forget that gasoline refineries spew pollution. And refineries use lots of electricity too!) Plus the EV is the only car that refuels by wire (the electric grid is 95% efficient.) Other cars must have fuel shipped by inefficient and polluting trucks.
What years of 3 series are best for convertibles?
j w
Thinking of getting a 3 series convertible for a second car to drive on weekends etc.
I'm going to look for a 1999 thru 2004 with 60k+ mileage with a manual trans (although I would consider auto).
Any years better or worse than others as far as safety and reliability?
Answer
Definitely buy a 2004 Bmw 3 series convertible. The 2004 BMW 3 series coupe and convertible where given a major facelift at the front fascia and also minor touch ups at the rear of the car. The 1999-2003 models are a bit outdated, they look like the older generation of the 3 series despite the fact they are still "handsome" used cars. Cons on buying a 2004 3 series convertible is it will obviously be sold for a higher price then then its 1999-2003 models. In 2004 the coupe and convertible had a facelift which included new headlights, new front wings and bumpers, new selections in exterior colors, and redesigned sidemarker lights and LED tail lights. Over all the more attractive of the 3 series convertibles would lie within the years 2004-2006 opposed to the 1999-2003 3 series convertible models, but in all "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder". Of course no one can denie that the 2007-2010 BMW 3 series covertibles are good looking but the MSRP price for a used or new 3 series is way beyond being comparable with 2004 models. Basically, I would take the 04. Hope this helps.
::::Pictures:::
(1999-2003 BMW 3 series convertible)
http://www.canadiandriver.com/news/03images/det2_bmw3_1.jpg
http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/vehicle-pictures/2001/bmw/3-series/0572-046-front-angle-480.jpg
(2004-2006 BMW 3 series convertible)
http://www.edmunds.com/media/reviews/top10/04.luxury.under.45K/04.bmw.3-series.500.jpg
http://www.autotropolis.com/wiki/images/1/19/2004_BMW_330Ci_Convertible_Large.jpg
Definitely buy a 2004 Bmw 3 series convertible. The 2004 BMW 3 series coupe and convertible where given a major facelift at the front fascia and also minor touch ups at the rear of the car. The 1999-2003 models are a bit outdated, they look like the older generation of the 3 series despite the fact they are still "handsome" used cars. Cons on buying a 2004 3 series convertible is it will obviously be sold for a higher price then then its 1999-2003 models. In 2004 the coupe and convertible had a facelift which included new headlights, new front wings and bumpers, new selections in exterior colors, and redesigned sidemarker lights and LED tail lights. Over all the more attractive of the 3 series convertibles would lie within the years 2004-2006 opposed to the 1999-2003 3 series convertible models, but in all "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder". Of course no one can denie that the 2007-2010 BMW 3 series covertibles are good looking but the MSRP price for a used or new 3 series is way beyond being comparable with 2004 models. Basically, I would take the 04. Hope this helps.
::::Pictures:::
(1999-2003 BMW 3 series convertible)
http://www.canadiandriver.com/news/03images/det2_bmw3_1.jpg
http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/vehicle-pictures/2001/bmw/3-series/0572-046-front-angle-480.jpg
(2004-2006 BMW 3 series convertible)
http://www.edmunds.com/media/reviews/top10/04.luxury.under.45K/04.bmw.3-series.500.jpg
http://www.autotropolis.com/wiki/images/1/19/2004_BMW_330Ci_Convertible_Large.jpg
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