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Technology Stocks : The Electric Car, or MPG "what me worry?" -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RetiredNow who wrote (585)	12/2/2008 8:45:27 PM
From: John Koligman	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 17519

The current roadster wasn't from scratch because they started with an existing car from Lotus... To develop an entirely 'new' vehicle is a whole 'nother game. If you are going to do it inhouse, you are talking about designers, chassis engineers, suspension specialists, endless durability and crash testing, and on and on. That doesn't include the cost of the factory, machinery, dealer training, parts, warranty stuff, etc. Also, the current Lotus is one of the lightest cars on the market, so if they are aiming to create a five passenger sedan there is no way they put the same electrics in that car unless they want a range drastically shorter than what the current car gets. I asked Eric about range in some prior posts, and I don't know how they will do it with a sedan unless they stuff it full of battery power. The GM Volt is shooting for 40 miles and it already has a large battery along the center and back of the car. Seems to me that battery will have to be several times larger for the Tesla sedan to be a useful car with any kind of range... Best regards, John