Automotive Experts Adam and Jeff discuss some of the pros and cons of electric vehicles . . . Are electric vehicles actually "greener" than their gasoline-powered counterparts . . . Can the electric vehicle be a viable form of transportation for everyone?

The Omaha Bugle-Global News Network

Jeff and Adam, who are never shy about venturing into areas that they know little about, talk about the motoring experiences reported by recent Tesla drivers. The advantage of fewer moving parts in the motor of an electric vehicle is offset somewhat by the concern that the enormously-expensive battery packs that fuel electric cars will fail and have to be replaced (and not by D-sized Ever-ready batteries). Jeff talks about his test driving several Tesla cars, largely to impress his children--who were horrified by his continuing to drive a 10-year old Honda Accord, particularly when he would pick them up at school in front of their friends. The thrilling slingshot acceleration provided by electric vehicles is dampened only by the staggering sticker price which probably limits Tesla purchases to the wealthest quarter of the population. Adam wonders if people are buying electric cars to feel socially virtuous even though the electricity used to power these cars is generated mostly by burning fossil fuels. Finally, our correspondents talk about "range anxiety", the malady which affects electric vehicle owners, who find that charging stations are not particularly plentiful in most parts of the country. But the Omaha Bugle listeners can take solace in the fact that two of the Bugle's sponsors, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, will soon have a morphine-based treatment for this debilitating emotional condition.