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Tech Watch: Consumers Say Electric Cars Not Good Enough

(KCBS) - A new survey shows that while some consumers are interested in buying electric vehicles, many drivers don't think the current offerings are good enough.

CNET Editor-at-Large Brian Cooley comments on where EVs fall short.

"What the consumer is concerned about," Cooley explains, "is range more than anything else and then price. They want 120 miles on a charge but these are expensive.... Affordable EVs don't approach that. And only 12% said they'd be satisfied with a 30 to 60 mile range on a charge."

Some say we just need more charging stations, but Cooley disagrees.
He believes it's more important to get the battery technology changed so you get longer range out of a battery and charge it much faster. Instead of 4-8 hours as it takes now, 30 minutes or less would be better. But we're still years out for all these changes to occur.

You can hear his Tech Watch report Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1:50 P.M. on KCBS All News 740AM and 106.9FM.

(© 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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