Bumpyroad wrote:
gotsmart wrote:
MB will just shelve the ICE smart car designs until fuel prices rise high enough again to make them worthwhile to sell.
at what price point do electric vehicles pay off? assuming an average guess on electricity costs vs. a 25mpg car at $2.50?
bumpy
I'm not talking: price point. I'm talking economic cycles and human nature. Japan and south east Asia perfected the business model in the years after the fuel crisis of the 1970s.
As fuel prices increase, cars get smaller. As fuel prices decrease, cars get larger. Car buyers' purchase preferences also follow the same model.
Since there can be a significant difference in profit margin between an ICE car and its electric version, and
- the fact that state and federal tax credits for electric vehicles will someday go away, and
- as states and fed govt figure out how to collect road usage taxes in lieu of taxes at the gas pump
that ICE cars will never fully disappear, but will wax and wane along with the economy.
I contend that the ICE smart could very possibly reappear in the future.
