The Ignorant Leading The Ignorant

I don’t want another ignorant president!

What happens when ignorant journalists interview ignorant presidential candidates on national television? In the case of George W. Bush he became president. Will the same thing happen to John McCain? I sure hope not, but unfortunately it is possible.

John McCain was interviewed by Matt Lauer this morning on the Today Show. They spoke about high gasoline prices. During this segment of the interview McCain spoke of his support for alternative forms of energy. Lauer asked “Can we make advances in that short time?” McCain answered “Oh I think we can certainly show some progress in the development of a battery that will take a car 100 miles or so before you have to plug it in.” Those batteries already exist. McCain doesn’t know what he is talking about and Lauer lets him get away with it.

From General Motors EV1:

The first generation EV1s used lead-acid batteries in 1996 (as model year 1997) and a second generation batch with nickel metal hydride batteries in 1999. Some of the Gen 1 EV1s were refurbished and upgraded to Panasonic lead-acid batteries.

The Gen 1 cars got 55 to 75 miles (90 to 120 km) per charge with the Delco-manufactured lead-acid batteries, 75 to 100 miles (120-to-160 km) with the Gen 2 Panasonic lead-acid batteries, and 75 to 150 miles (120 to 240 km) per charge with Gen 2 Ovonic nickel-metal hydride batteries.

From Plug In America FAQs:

Q: Aren’t fully electric cars impractical?

A: Not at all. EVs with a 150-mile range could be built and sold in quantity at a profit today for $25,000. Ranges exceeding 300 miles on a charge exist today, but with the cost of batteries as high as they are, it is impractical for most cars at this point. Most people, when educated as to the benefits of driving with electricity, will be well served by a car with a range of 100-180 miles. Well over 90% of daily driving is well under 100 miles.

From Tesla Motors FAQs:

How far can the Tesla Roadster drive between charges?

Actual range depends on driving style and conditions. During testing of prototypes cars, Tesla Motors has seen between 170 miles per charge for very spirited driving to 267 miles per charge for city driving that makes use of the Roadster's regenerative braking. Our most recent EPA driving cycle tests, conducted November 26-30, 2007, at an EPA-certified facility, resulted in the following numbers:

* 230 mi EPA city
* 211 mi EPA highway
* 221 mi EPA combined (city/highway)

An informed media leads to an informed voter leads to an informed president. It shouldn't be so hard to accomplish.