The article is from msnbc:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18615741/
The really eye-opening quote is on the second page, where we find this:
Takimoto said Toyota had been approached by both parties as well as many other battery makers, but dismissed their products as "unusable" due to their low energy density.
"Our battery is still superior," he said. He added that plug-in hybrids, which can be recharged through an electric socket, were still years away from practical application and pure electric vehicles even further out because even with a trunk full of rechargeable batteries, they would have a cruising range of just 60 km (37 miles).
Why is it that Toyota, with their "superior" batteries, can only make an electric car go 37 miles, while Tesla are getting over 200 miles out of theirs? And isn't 37 miles range often achieved even by homebrew conversions of gasoline cars using DC motors and common lead-acid batteries?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18615741/
The really eye-opening quote is on the second page, where we find this:
Takimoto said Toyota had been approached by both parties as well as many other battery makers, but dismissed their products as "unusable" due to their low energy density.
"Our battery is still superior," he said. He added that plug-in hybrids, which can be recharged through an electric socket, were still years away from practical application and pure electric vehicles even further out because even with a trunk full of rechargeable batteries, they would have a cruising range of just 60 km (37 miles).
Why is it that Toyota, with their "superior" batteries, can only make an electric car go 37 miles, while Tesla are getting over 200 miles out of theirs? And isn't 37 miles range often achieved even by homebrew conversions of gasoline cars using DC motors and common lead-acid batteries?