Greetings EEVBees:
--First of all, let me say that I find myself in complete accord with, the recent statements by EEVblog's distinguished elder statesman and chairman emeritus of the Australian Avuncular Curmudgeon Society and Storm Window Company, Uncle Vernon, who is the long lost brother, by a different Mother of USA Country Hall of Fame Recording Star Don Williams. See picture.
--There have been a number of statements made in this thread of late that would give Maxwell and Clausius the vapors. If not outright bite the furniture hissy fits. Please allow me to address a few of them:
1) "The typical efficiency of an electric motor and battery system is nearly 95%."
--As with a magician, you must watch the other hand. Lets see, in most cases, coal is mined and transported to the Power Plant. Then, it is burned to to make steam to drive steam turbines. The steam turbines drive generators, which power step up transformers. High voltage transmission lines then transmit the electricity to step down transformers. It is then sent to a charging station where batteries are charged. There are losses at each of these steps. But, yes a clever driver can get his car to the bottom of the hill without wasting any gas at all, nearly.
2) "However the problem with automobiles is that the car company's only make what they can sell because they are in this for a profit."
--Yes if only car companies would make cars they cannot sell, and make sure to lose money while they are doing it. But wait a minute! General Motors, Fisker, and Tesla are all doing this very thing, right now. But, using taxpayer money of course.
3) "Yes, we should not try anything until all issues have optimized solutions."
--Translation: Some mean people, who do not like puppies and kitties, are against using taxpayer money to fund companies like Solyndra to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, so that they can then, go bankrupt.
4) "Eco stuff is so great, make things that don't work powered by wishful thinking and still appear virtuous."
--How did such a sensible quote get in here? Happy accident, I guess. Well said Rufus.
5) "Hybrids have measurable reduction in gas consumption albeit not in all situations. Wind power works. Solar power works."
--Yes, Hybrids replace some gas consumption with coal consumption. This is where I came in. Wind power works in small isolated installations. But, Big Government sponsored Bird Bopping Egg Beaters are a proven dead loser gobbling lots and lots of Feed In Tariffs from hard pressed rate payers. Solar, the same story as Wind, except now poor rate payers get to buy the rich gal a new solar roof.
6)"...but if you'd recall, the internal combustion engine was not a drop-in replacement for the horse and buggy..."
--Yes, luckily the government stepped in with a 25 percent tax on horses, horse feed, wagons and buggies, in order to buy horseless carriages for wealthy people.
--So lets all close our eyes and, cross our fingers just as hard as we can, and hum the "The Whiffin Poof Song" into the rain barrel, until the Magic Energy Fairy comes and makes all those mean people, who don't like kitties and puppies, quit saying mean things about pie in the sky and free lunches.
“Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people."
W. C. Fields (William Claude Dunkenfield) 1880 1946
Best Regards
Clear Ether