I'm not going to take the time to research something that I have no interest in. It would help if they put that information on their own marketing site.
No matter how good the battery tech is (and it looks good if their claims are true), they aren't going to find many people willing to pay that kind of money for a plain-looking (even by the standards of the compact car segment...) car when they could spend less on a Prius which is recognizable and has eco-caché already.
I'm not asking for something radical like a Tesla Roadster, but something that wouldn't look completely embarrassing next to a modern compact like the '11 Fiesta or '12 Accent would really help them. Even looking like the latest Corolla would be a massive enhancement.
A user loses all credibility if they don't research that which they are criticizing. If you have no interest in researching, then anything you have to say about the subject is a moot point, so why even post anything other than to gain the attention of people you will never even meet?
Furthermore, your only argument against the car is that it's ugly. Have you bothered to even glance at the other options available? I'm talking about options that use
no gasoline, not archaic combustion engines and soon-to-be obsolete hybrid tech. If your main concern is aesthetics, I sincerely hope you do not represent the voice of your generation.
...and it sure as hell looks better than a Leaf, which is the
only car I was comparing the Coda to by the way.
Few will qualify for the full tax credits, and you don't get that until you file your taxes. You have to pay the full amount when you purchase.
Why would I pay that much for that when I can pay a lot less for a Cruze or Focus? The CODA won't save me any money at all as far as I can tell.
If the price of gas goes way up, it would be a different story. Even then, I think it's a case of just breaking even with the electric car.
Few will qualify? Where are you getting your information from? As far as I know 100% of purchasers qualify. And that is only
Federal tax credit that you mention, don't forget the thousands and thousands that are offered by your state and city governments. Not rebates, credits...good as cash.
I drive 7 miles to work every day in a 35+ mpg car, and I still go through a tank a week (thanks Los Angeles). You may be paying "less" for a Cruze or a Focus, but that's not the point. The point is that it costs less than $3 (if you're even using your own electricity) to fill up your car, and that this car produces
no emissions. The Coda is a car that is aimed at people that are thinking of purchasing an electric car or a hybrid, not people looking to get the cheapest thing on wheels that will suit their needs.
At this point it's more about implementing better electric vehicle technology than saving money. If everyone had your mindset we'd be churning out the same old crappy internal combustion designs forever. As soon as our society is actually willing to accept some kind of change, that change will happen.
Of course electric cars are expensive, they always will be unless we start accepting them as viable forms of transportation and allow the technology to evolve, otherwise we will never advance battery technology and that one caveat of the electric car will be it's downfall.
tl;dr: If smart people buy expensive electric cars now, stupid people will be able to afford them later