MELBOURNE 2009: Subaru Makes A Stella Electric Failure
I love electric cars. But I hate electric cars like the Subaru Stella. I hate electric cars that give the false pretence of being glimpses of the future - the Subaru Stella is not the future. Not only is production unlikely, but everyday use is downright impractical. Yes, it is a plug-in electric car, and yes, that is wonderful, but this is a poor example of a car company talking up its green and technological credentials.
For example, the Stella can only do 80km on one charge. And also, it can only go up to a top speed of 100kmh. That sounds fine, because it makes you unable to speed, but at the same token, electric cars only have one gear, as opposed to the four, five, or six you get in normal cars these days. At the car's top speed, the Stella absolutely revs its guts off, which is useless for engine life, and power usage.
And here's the clincher. If the Subaru Stella went into production, it would cost $100,000. What a waste of good money! Get it away from me - it's pathetic.
February 28, 2009 at 5:04 PM
At least Subaru tried.
March 1, 2009 at 6:06 AM
Your argument is fatally flawed as follows:- 1)Any electrical engineer will explain the "engine" ( brush-less electric motor) can never "rev its guts off" at top road speed since this is when the electric motor is at its MOST efficient in terms of wear and thermal efficiency, power output, etc.!
2)Ignoring this fact - nobody could tell by the sound of the vehicle's electric motor, inside, or indeed outside of the vehicle whether the RPM was low or indeed high!
3)As for price - economies of scale will reduce this dramatically (just like it did for the Mobile phone / cell phone).
4)Range too will improve with new battery / capacitor technology.
5)Remember the original Horse-less carriage required to be preceded by a man on foot with a red flag - how things have changed today.....
6) Wake up and smell the coffee - this shall all come to pass, in the not too distant future (ie. by the end of THIS decade)!
7)Check-out iMiev by Mitsubishi or electric IQ by Toyota both fully operational in Japan today.
Regards
Keymosby
March 1, 2009 at 9:39 AM
Dear Keymosaby:
YOUR argument is fatally flawed as follows:
1) While an electric engine may be at its most "efficient" at a high amount of revs, the fact is, the engine is still spinning at that high amount of revolutions per minute, when the components have to work harder - which is therefore detrimental to engine life.
2) I think you CAN tell when an electric motor is spinning at high rpm - it's called using the tachometer.
3) As for price - this is not a critisism of electric cars in general, just the Subaru Stella. I did say that I like electric cars very much - and I hold examples like the iMiev and IQ (examples which you mentioned) in far higher esteem than the Stella, purely because they are more affordable.
4) Range of electric cars will improve, I agree (and I can't wait!), but the fact is, the Stella's range is awful, and that's what I was critisising - not electric cars in general.
5) I really don't understand what point you were trying to make on that one ;)
6) I love coffee. I think I'll have one right now. Yes, I do believe cars like the Stella will be improved upon in the not too distant future, but without people like myself telling the car companies "this is simply not good enough", things won't get better than this.
7) I will be doing articles about the iMiev and other similar cars soon, but in the meantime, I suggest you read my article on the Chevrolet Volt, which I believe is a realistic solution for today. But tomorrow, cars really do need to be more efficient and useable than both the Chevrolet Volt and Subaru Stella.
And finally, I'd like to thank you for contributing to the discussion. I didn't agree with you, and still stand behind the point of view raised in the article, but I hope you continue reading IYF! ;)
Regards
The Insufferable Git
March 1, 2009 at 12:04 PM
an electric box on wheels...how boring. Why don't I get my switchboard and put wheels on that? And the electric technology used by Subaru are clearly surpassed by Toyota's IQ
keymosaby's 5th point reiterated that the time for change has come, and points out that rather than lambasting carmakers' attempts to evolutionise personal transport, we should embrace it and support it. So....I'm all for the Tesla Roadster and the Lotus Europa-based GM concept, the Honda FCX Clarity. There will be initial bugs of course, but it'll be a good future.
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