Audi Could Stop Introducing New ICE Vehicles In 2026

[JWC]

Air cooler is cool for a little while, but too finnicky for a daily driver IMO. I'd love to convert an early Super to electric. Add AC and a heater and it'd be a much better commuter.

I drove one for two years to work and back, and 70 miles to and from the beach every other weekend. If you change the oil, check the point gap, and check the valve adjustment every 3K it will go forever. While that sounds like a lot of work and money, it isn't really. The whole thing takes 2.6qts oil and a gasket kit and 30 minutes. A co-worker drove his 120 miles to work (60 miles each way) for 12 years before the dealership closed. He did go through a couple of motors. He'd have a long block delivered to the dealership and swap the motor after work. Takes about an hour. 

Probably one of the most enjoyable vehicles to get your driving and mechanic's groove.

[CaminoRacer]

I drove one for two years to work and back, and 70 miles to and from the beach every other weekend. If you change the oil, check the point gap, and check the valve adjustment every 3K it will go forever. While that sounds like a lot of work and money, it isn't really. The whole thing takes 2.6qts oil and a gasket kit and 30 minutes. A co-worker drove his 120 miles to work (60 miles each way) for 12 years before the dealership closed. He did go through a couple of motors. He'd have a long block delivered to the dealership and swap the motor after work. Takes about an hour. 

Probably one of the most enjoyable vehicles to get your driving and mechanic's groove.

Do they make hydraulic lifters for them? That would be awesome to not worry about valve adjustments all the time.

My El Camino with it's SBC with hydraulic lifters and single Edelbrock carb is nice, since you tune it once and it holds the tune for a very long time. Dual Webers are more finnicky, and it seems like smaller engines and carbs are much more sensitive to temperature and air density. My '78 GS550 was always more finnicky as well, with it's tiny quad carb setup.

[JWC]

Do they make hydraulic lifters for them? That would be awesome to not worry about valve adjustments all the time.

My El Camino with it's SBC with hydraulic lifters and single Edelbrock carb is nice, since you tune it once and it holds the tune for a very long time. Dual Webers are more finnicky, and it seems like smaller engines and carbs are much more sensitive to temperature and air density. My '78 GS550 was always more finnicky as well, with it's tiny quad carb setup.

They were available at one time, but required different heads IIRC.  The hardest part of keeping one running right was balancing the carbs if you converted it to dual. I kept the Solex on mine.  There was a company selling FI kits for air-cooled also.


Edit: Still around @ $350.

https://www.mofoco.com/item/Mofoco_Type_1_Hydraulic_Cam_and_Lifter_Kit/693/c143

[CaminoRacer]

Nice! It's too bad my dad just installed a new engine in a friend's '66. Probably could have used that kit.

[CaminoRacer]

I just texted him and they actually got the new engine from Mofoco. But they didn't recommend the hydraulic lifters due to the camshaft options. The engine they were getting was better off with one of their other cam and lifters

[JWC]

I just texted him and they actually got the new engine from Mofoco. But they didn't recommend the hydraulic lifters due to the camshaft options. The engine they were getting was better off with one of their other cam and lifters

It is such a simple procedure to adjust the valves, I never considered that route.

[12,000 RPM]

A healthy dosage of skepticism never hurt anyone.

Eventually the ICE will mostly disappear in the hysterical virtue-signaling Western World. EVs are in my opinion still not ready for the mass market given current battery technology and the lack of and incredibly slow expansion of their necessary infrastructure.

There's a pretty clear distinction between healthy skepticism and rigid dogma. EVs are part of some bigger conspiracy to you so it's impossible for you to be objective or reasonable about them.

[cawimmer430]

There's a pretty clear distinction between healthy skepticism and rigid dogma. EVs are part of some bigger conspiracy to you so it's impossible for you to be objective or reasonable about them.

My problem with EVs is that, aside from not being ready for the masses, they're being mainly pushed by politics INSTEAD of the market. Politicians are telling us what we should drive.

Let the market innovate and let buyers decide what they want to drive. Innovation is the key. I see potential for the ICE, Fuel-Cell and EVs, but it will take time. Once again, let the market innovate. Maybe techniques will be invented in which the production of synthetic carbon-free fuels can be sped up yielding more liters while using less energy? Maybe the efficiency of ICEs can be further improved? Let the engineers get creative and figure it out.

Also, everyone is always talking about sustainability - what's better for the environment and sustainability
than continuing to drive your old or new ICE car for 10-15 years. That's less damaging for the environment than completely switching to EVs. Synthetic fuels are the key here. And yes, they require large amounts of energy to produce, but there is a solid argument for them; the rest of the world (aka the vast majority) will continue to use ICE cars.


By the way, one gas station in Munich recently introduced a new synthetic Diesel fuel called Diesel Protect 25. It's mixed with fossil fuel-derived Diesel and thus reduces CO2 emissions by 25% while also burning cleaner and resulting in less emissions. This is the way to go (for now) in my opinion. Synthetic carbon-free fuels, to keep the ICE and our mobility alive until something better, affordable and sustainable comes along (which IMO are not EVs at this point in time).

https://www.lifepr.de/inaktiv/mobil-in-deutschland-ev/Der-sauberste-Diesel-in-Muenchen/boxid/855019

[Submariner]

I do, I just don't think it's meaningful in any practical way. Nobody on CarSPIN has said powerplant. Raza did for a while and he got rid of it. So what tangibly changes for anyone here, or the vast majority of car guys who don't have F6 + 6s in their cars, if that powerplant ceases to exist? You can still love the idea/dream of them.

A way more relevant comparison is between electric motors and turbo 4 bangers. Between those two, give me the EV 8 days a week.

And FWIW the last car I test drove was a 996 6MT (ah I'm lying.... it was a Q50. The 996 was right before that). It had its pluses and minuses and did everything it was supposed to do, but overall I didn't like it. Car guys get way too entangled and invested in dogma and preconceptions rather than approaching things with an open mind and no expectations. It's detrimental to our enjoyment of cars- especially in the context of the impending shift in the landscape.

I've talked about the benefits of EV for some time.  I've even been called a Tesla shill on here and Reddit before lol.  I'm certainly not opposed to them.  I just happen to think that, as they exist today, are too sterile and digital for my liking.  I feel like I'm being driven around rather than driving.  I feel like I'm playing Gran Turismo, not an actual car.  I respect them (well, at least the Tesla S and 3) but I'm not in love with them.

As for your 996 experience - the 996 was a dud IMO.  A 997 S is infinitely more satisfying to drive. 

[CaminoRacer]

That's a Tesla thing not an EV thing. Other EVs feel like normal cars and the Taycan feels like driving a Porsche according to those who have driven one

[GoCougs]

Left remotely to its own devices, the market says ~20 more years (and it's already been ~10 years). Also remember it's been ~20 years and the (somewhat distorted) market tells us nobody really buys an everymany hybrid that isn't a Toyota.

[12,000 RPM]

My problem with EVs is that, aside from not being ready for the masses, they're being mainly pushed by politics INSTEAD of the market. Politicians are telling us what we should drive.

Let the market innovate and let buyers decide what they want to drive. Innovation is the key. I see potential for the ICE, Fuel-Cell and EVs, but it will take time. Once again, let the market innovate. Maybe techniques will be invented in which the production of synthetic carbon-free fuels can be sped up yielding more liters while using less energy? Maybe the efficiency of ICEs can be further improved? Let the engineers get creative and figure it out.

Also, everyone is always talking about sustainability - what's better for the environment and sustainability
than continuing to drive your old or new ICE car for 10-15 years. That's less damaging for the environment than completely switching to EVs. Synthetic fuels are the key here. And yes, they require large amounts of energy to produce, but there is a solid argument for them; the rest of the world (aka the vast majority) will continue to use ICE cars.


By the way, one gas station in Munich recently introduced a new synthetic Diesel fuel called Diesel Protect 25. It's mixed with fossil fuel-derived Diesel and thus reduces CO2 emissions by 25% while also burning cleaner and resulting in less emissions. This is the way to go (for now) in my opinion. Synthetic carbon-free fuels, to keep the ICE and our mobility alive until something better, affordable and sustainable comes along (which IMO are not EVs at this point in time).

https://www.lifepr.de/inaktiv/mobil-in-deutschland-ev/Der-sauberste-Diesel-in-Muenchen/boxid/855019

Wim respectfully a lot of this is just dead wrong

The market would not have "innovated" emissions controls without govt intervention. They do nothing for performance or efficiency but they do a hell of a lot for reducing tailpipe pollutants. A lot of car companies were not ready to put those controls in place. But eventually we got over it and air quality improved. EVs are a bigger challenge but I think we will also get over it.

Buying a new EV is def cleaner than staying in an ICEV if you have relatively clean electricity. I think even electricity made from natural gas is cleaner than gasoline within a few years.

If you think gas or electricity is expensive it's crazy to suggest synthetic fuels. It makes way more environmental sense to just put that energy into EV production and charging. Etc. I get being skeptical but a lot of what you say is just flat out wrong dude

I've talked about the benefits of EV for some time.  I've even been called a Tesla shill on here and Reddit before lol.  I'm certainly not opposed to them.  I just happen to think that, as they exist today, are too sterile and digital for my liking.  I feel like I'm being driven around rather than driving.  I feel like I'm playing Gran Turismo, not an actual car.  I respect them (well, at least the Tesla S and 3) but I'm not in love with them.

As for your 996 experience - the 996 was a dud IMO.  A 997 S is infinitely more satisfying to drive. 

Don't knock sim racing until you give it an honest shake. I honestly enjoy it more than street driving.


And a 996 is still a damn Porsche 911. Hardly a bad drive. I test drove other sports cars as well. I'm nonplussed. I'd rather push a virtual car or go kart at the limit than tool around on public roads at 3/10ths (which most enthusiast think is like 8/10ths). After taking my bike to the track my interest in street driving/riding has been slowly dripping to nothing. IT's meh regardless of the car to me

[Submariner]

I've driven both.  My dad had a 997 S at one point - 6-speed, Sport Chrono, PASM, the works.  A 996 is a vastly lesser car, at least in non-turbo or GT3 trim (I've only driven a base model 996).

I've toyed around with the idea of a racing rig for a while.  It is especially intriguing to me now because my toddler loves driving (she has a Mercedes Zetros power wheels and likes watching dash cam lap videos) and it could be a lot of fun, especially as she gets older.  But it's also a big investment and if I'm going to get a gaming PC I'm going to build it, not buy some overpriced, low-rent-component prebuilt garbage so that means I need to re-familiarize myself with building PCs and that is something that I haven't a lot of time for...

I see the issue of ICE vs. EV as a bit like mechanical vs. digital watches.  Digital is obviously better (my wife's Apple Watch is indeed a neat piece of tech, and it has some amazing features, and it's built very well, etc) but I'm just drawn to a nice mechanical watch.  It's purely emotional but it's meaningful. 

[12,000 RPM]

I mean, the 997 being better than the 996 doesn't make the 996 bad. Once you get into that hedonistic treadmill way of thinking everything south of a McLaren F1 will suck. In a world of CR-Vs and F150s a base 996 is a great driver's car, period.

There's some level of risk in building a sim rig and hating it, but IMO if you really love driving that won't be the case. And if you are pressed for time, a rig is going to have a much higher ROI on time than a fun car. If you're still in NYC just getting out of the city to decent roads and back will take hours. Outside of loading time time on a rig is pretty much all fun. Obviously the physicality and sensations don't compare to a real car, but IMO sitting in traffic in a real car isn't that fun either.

Now if it's all about the possession of an important car or the physical sensations..... eh. I guess a rig won't work. But you won't really know until you try it. If you were local I'd happily give you a demo.

And I get exactly what we are giving up from going from ICEs to EVs. We are definitely losing some important intangibles. But it's inevitable, so we might as well try to look at the positives of EVs. Personally IDGAF about 1000HP+ anythings, but the fact that the Model 3 is within the same weight range as its ICE competition clears one dynamic hurdle. I'm going to wait to see what car companies do with EVs before writing them off. Different <> bad.

[cawimmer430]

The market would not have "innovated" emissions controls without govt intervention. They do nothing for performance or efficiency but they do a hell of a lot for reducing tailpipe pollutants. A lot of car companies were not ready to put those controls in place. But eventually we got over it and air quality improved. EVs are a bigger challenge but I think we will also get over it.

Buyers would eventually have demanded cleaner cars anyway due to the known harmful effects of vehicle emissions and car makers would have to react.

I gotta ask, if EVs are so amazing, then why do they need government subsidies to sell at all? Yes, I get that the infrastructure is not yet there, but a product that does not sell on its own merits can't be that good or ready.

Advances will come sooner or later, but at the moment EVs to me are a niche product, usable mostly inside cities, but they lack the flexibility which any ICE car offers, especially in regards to quick refueling and range.

Buying a new EV is def cleaner than staying in an ICEV if you have relatively clean electricity. I think even electricity made from natural gas is cleaner than gasoline within a few years.

Personally I don't care if the electricity I use is from coal, nuclear, solar, hydro or wind - I just want it to be affordable. And here in Germany we have the highest electricity prices in the Western world thanks to Merkel's idiotic energy change policies. What a disaster.

If you think gas or electricity is expensive it's crazy to suggest synthetic fuels. It makes way more environmental sense to just put that energy into EV production and charging. Etc. I get being skeptical but a lot of what you say is just flat out wrong dude.

There is still a solid argument for synthetic fuels. Who cares if it is made using excess renewable energy? In this idiot European nation called GerMoney, we're so stupid and pay our neighbors to take our excess renewable energy from solar and wind. That energy could be used to produce hydrogen or synthetic fuels for example. It's at least a start.

The good news is that the conservative political parties of this country are actually looking into the production of synthetic fuels for two reasons. The first is so that the mobility of millions of motorists in this country can be preserved. Because not everyone can afford an EV (or wants one). The second reason, if we perfect the production of synthetic fuel (economies of scale, high yield using less energy etc.), we could also become an exporter of this product. There were several livestreams talking about these plans which I followed a few months ago. Very interesting stuff and I totally agree with it.

Also, what good will it do if the Western World switches to EVs while the rest of the world continues to drive ICE without catalytic converters, DPFs etc. and use cheap and readily available fossil fuels? Oh wait, I just answered my own question! There is ZERO INCENTIVE for countries with vast amounts of oil reserves (Russia, several African nations, The Middle East, Southeast Asian nations, Venezuela etc.) to switch over to EVs. With the Western World using less oil, it will become cheaper on the world market thus giving developing nations even less incentives to switch over to EVs.

Another thing: this whole environmentalism gaga ideology is something which is primarily found in developed (aka "wealthy nations"). In poorer countries people have other priorities and "going green" and "saving the planet" isn't one of them. That means you can't suddenly expect motorists in those nations to drive EVs. They can't afford it and they don't see the point.

[FoMoJo]

Buyers would eventually have demanded cleaner cars anyway due to the known harmful effects of vehicle emissions and car makers would have to react.

I gotta ask, if EVs are so amazing, then why do they need government subsidies to sell at all? Yes, I get that the infrastructure is not yet there, but a product that does not sell on its own merits can't be that good or ready.

Major corporations/manufacturers in this era are less inclined to invest in research and development.  They're primarily concerned about their bottom line and how much return their investors get.  Investors will find a better deal if manufacturers invest too much in R & D.

As most new technologies, including synthetic fuels, require a lot of up front costs, the only way they get the necessary research funding is through government grants, either directly or indirectly.

[cawimmer430]

Major corporations/manufacturers in this era are less inclined to invest in research and development.  They're primarily concerned about their bottom line and how much return their investors get.  Investors will find a better deal if manufacturers invest too much in R & D.

As most new technologies, including synthetic fuels, require a lot of up front costs, the only way they get the necessary research funding is through government grants, either directly or indirectly.

But keep in mind how car companies these days are so quick and sensitive to react to social concerns and be totally... "Woke".

BLM? They suddenly start using more people of color (or so-called minorities)  in their advertising. LGBTQ? They change their logos in the rainbow color on their social media and website platforms (except in The Middle East). Gender gaga? Audi in Germany now demands that their employees use this idiotic gender language (Audi*ianner / Audi*innen / Audi_in or something like that, totally dumb...).

If people wanted cleaner cars then they would have no choice but to react. It's in their best interest. The R&D money spent here can easily be seen as an investment. It would be suicidal for any company these days to ignore environmental and health concerns because they'll get blasted for it by the press and society (makes you wonder why people are not up in arms over the destructive raw material/mineral mining needed for EV batteries...).

[12,000 RPM]

Buyers would eventually have demanded cleaner cars anyway due to the known harmful effects of vehicle emissions and car makers would have to react.

They did through govt regulation

I gotta ask, if EVs are so amazing, then why do they need government subsidies to sell at all? Yes, I get that the infrastructure is not yet there, but a product that does not sell on its own merits can't be that good or ready.

Same reason govts subsidized stuff like transistor development, infrastructure etc. Private industry is concerned with turning fast profit. Some good ideas need more time to develop. Subsidizing EV sales helps further their development to commercial viability.

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a36877532/general-motors-ev-ultium-battery-electric-future/

Advances will come sooner or later, but at the moment EVs to me are a niche product, usable mostly inside cities, but they lack the flexibility which any ICE car offers, especially in regards to quick refueling and range.

Advances are coming a lot faster thanks to the subsidies.

Personally I don't care if the electricity I use is from coal, nuclear, solar, hydro or wind - I just want it to be affordable. And here in Germany we have the highest electricity prices in the Western world thanks to Merkel's idiotic energy change policies. What a disaster.

EVs are cheaper to charge than ICEVs are to fuel. The ID3 for example costs nearly 2 EUR less per 100km than a diesel Golf. So if you want cheaper transportation an EV is a better bet.

There is still a solid argument for synthetic fuels. Who cares if it is made using excess renewable energy? In this idiot European nation called GerMoney, we're so stupid and pay our neighbors to take our excess renewable energy from solar and wind. That energy could be used to produce hydrogen or synthetic fuels for example. It's at least a start.

The good news is that the conservative political parties of this country are actually looking into the production of synthetic fuels for two reasons. The first is so that the mobility of millions of motorists in this country can be preserved. Because not everyone can afford an EV (or wants one). The second reason, if we perfect the production of synthetic fuel (economies of scale, high yield using less energy etc.), we could also become an exporter of this product. There were several livestreams talking about these plans which I followed a few months ago. Very interesting stuff and I totally agree with it.

Again this is all well and good if you can make it affordably. So far it doesn't look possible. And if it can't be made from renewables it's pointless. The whole point is to reduce carbon emissions.

Also, what good will it do if the Western World switches to EVs while the rest of the world continues to drive ICE without catalytic converters, DPFs etc. and use cheap and readily available fossil fuels? Oh wait, I just answered my own question! There is ZERO INCENTIVE for countries with vast amounts of oil reserves (Russia, several African nations, The Middle East, Southeast Asian nations, Venezuela etc.) to switch over to EVs. With the Western World using less oil, it will become cheaper on the world market thus giving developing nations even less incentives to switch over to EVs.

This is like saying if one person throws trash on the floor then we all should. Nonsense. Not to mention auto companies are going all EV globally, so those oil countries will have to change to EVs regardless.

Another thing: this whole environmentalism gaga ideology is something which is primarily found in developed (aka "wealthy nations"). In poorer countries people have other priorities and "going green" and "saving the planet" isn't one of them. That means you can't suddenly expect motorists in those nations to drive EVs. They can't afford it and they don't see the point.

Still not seeing why it has to be all or none. If 75% of the world moves to EVs that's not as good as 100% obviously but it's way better than 0%.

I agree that there are some real challenges and hurdles but all your arguments are in bad faith.......... you have your mind made up that the left and anything associated with it is bad so everything you say comes from that rather than any kind of objective or logical standpoint. Every point you make is wrong and super easy to shoot down.

[cawimmer430]

12,000 RPM,

There's the mentality aspect of the rest of the world. Protecting the environment ist not a real concern for the governments and the people of poorer or so-called developing nations. People there have other priorities: surviving. Going Green costs money and is expensive for everyone.

Even if car companies are forced to go the EV route (and they are being forced by the government, not the market), this just means that those nations not jumping on the climate hysteria train will simply keep their current ICE cars and keep them running like they do with 1950s American cars in Cuba. Less demand for oil in the West means cheaper fuel for them. Yay!

Look, I am not against EVs, but I just don't feel they are ready for MY NEEDS. I like the flexibility of my ICE car. Hell, I grew up with ICE cars like you. I appreciate their stable range and the ability to quickly refuel them and get on with my trip. Range is important to me because I like driving fast. Driving fast requires a lot of energy and this is currently one of the Achilles Heels of every EV. When there is an EV that has a guaranteed range of say 500 km no matter how hard I push the pedal to the metal, then I might finally show some interest. Quick recharging without damaging the battery in the long run also needs to be solved.

[r0tor]

I think the small gasoline engine market (say on lawn mowers or garden tractors) shows what automobile engine development would have been if left to the free market... Basically stagnant for 60 years

[GoCougs]

I think the small gasoline engine market (say on lawn mowers or garden tractors) shows what automobile engine development would have been if left to the free market... Basically stagnant for 60 years

What's your explanation for ICE engine and power train development from the Model T up through the early '70s, and correspondingly profound improvements in power, efficiency and longevity (i.e., environmental improvements all), from increased CRs and VE%, to more efficient transmissions, to radial tires, to more precise fuel metering to electronic ignition?

As to lawn equipment, you want take out these huge mortgages to build overly-large houses with expansive yards, do you have really have the coin to afford a fuel-injected, sensor-riddled, ECU-controlled lawnmower to maintain these expanses of environmentally unfriendly non-native if not invasive species of grass and plants?

EvironmentalismbeginsathomeSPIN.

[SJ_GTI]

As to lawn equipment, you want take out these huge mortgages to build overly-large houses with expansive yards, do you have really have the coin to afford a fuel-injected, sensor-riddled, ECU-controlled lawnmower to maintain these expanses of environmentally unfriendly non-native if not invasive species of grass and plants?

EvironmentalismbeginsathomeSPIN.

I can't speak for others, but I just bought a new electric lawn mower. 

[JWC]

When I left Cali, there was talk of a legislative bill for Catalytic converters for motorcycles and lawnmowers. 

Did that ever happen?

[r0tor]

What's your explanation for ICE engine and power train development from the Model T up through the early '70s, and correspondingly profound improvements in power, efficiency and longevity (i.e., environmental improvements all), from increased CRs and VE%, to more efficient transmissions, to radial tires, to more precise fuel metering to electronic ignition?

As to lawn equipment, you want take out these huge mortgages to build overly-large houses with expansive yards, do you have really have the coin to afford a fuel-injected, sensor-riddled, ECU-controlled lawnmower to maintain these expanses of environmentally unfriendly non-native if not invasive species of grass and plants?

EvironmentalismbeginsathomeSPIN.

Right... So garden tractor motors evolved with automobile engines for 60 years.  Then suddenly 1 stopped evolving...

[Raza]

I do, I just don't think it's meaningful in any practical way. Nobody on CarSPIN has said powerplant. Raza did for a while and he got rid of it. So what tangibly changes for anyone here, or the vast majority of car guys who don't have F6 + 6s in their cars, if that powerplant ceases to exist? You can still love the idea/dream of them.

A way more relevant comparison is between electric motors and turbo 4 bangers. Between those two, give me the EV 8 days a week.

And FWIW the last car I test drove was a 996 6MT (ah I'm lying.... it was a Q50. The 996 was right before that). It had its pluses and minuses and did everything it was supposed to do, but overall I didn't like it. Car guys get way too entangled and invested in dogma and preconceptions rather than approaching things with an open mind and no expectations. It's detrimental to our enjoyment of cars- especially in the context of the impending shift in the landscape.

I still have my Z4. I do plan on replacing it soon, but with another car with a 6 speed manual and an inline 6.

[cawimmer430]

I can't speak for others, but I just bought a new electric lawn mower. 

Let me guess; you can mow 1/4th of your lawn per day, then need to charge the damn thing for 24 hours... 

[SJ_GTI]

Let me guess; you can mow 1/4th of your lawn per day, then need to charge the damn thing for 24 hours... 

Nope, works great. Way lighter/quieter than my older (also electric) lawnmower. When I see people using gas lawn mowers I feel bad for them. 

When I worked in Canada ~10 years ago we had one ICE forklift and one electric forklift.  As someone recently trained on how to drive a forklift I thought the electric forklift was so much easier to use than the ICe version. Smoother, more precise, quieter,...no downside that I could see. But like cars, the guys who were used to the older (propane) gas powered forklifts swore up and down that the electric one was inferior. The only downside was that yeah...the electric forklift needed to be charged where as the gas forklift you could just swap out the propane tank. But in every other way the electric was superior. Its funny how people just don't like to change.

FWIW, our company only uses electric forklifts nowadays (leased from Toyota, FWIW).

[MrH]

I can't speak for others, but I just bought a new electric lawn mower. 

What did you get?  I might be looking at getting one in the spring.  I have a connection at one of the big lawn mower companies, but I'm curious how you like it.  I didn't even consider an electric mower until I looked the other week at what's out there.  The electric ones all seem to have plenty of capacity to finish the yard on a single charge.  The reduced maintenance and noise is really appealing.

[SJ_GTI]

I bought an "eGo" model from lowes. It seemed to have good reviews. I bought a 56 volt mower with a 5.0ah battery. There was a more expensive version with a 7.5ah battery but this one seems fine, and I figured I could always buy a second battery if one battery wasn't enough. As it turns out one battery is fine. The battery itself takes about 45 minutes to go from really low to full, so in concept 2 batteries could last indefinitely.

[CaminoRacer]

Charging the battery definitely seems nice than refilling a little gas can every couple of months. I'll probably look at electric mowers when we move and have a yard