So Where Is The Electric Car?
The electric car, once touted as the ?car of the future.? It runs quietly and has no negative impact on the environment while you?re driving down the road. It could be the way for our society to free itself from its dependency on oil. So where is the electric car? Why are they not produced by the millions?
One of the most prominent setbacks of the electric car is that the maximum speed necessary for ordinary highway travel is difficult to achieve. Many people own an electric car to use only when driving on errands around town because long-distance trips are out of the question.
This is not to say that an electric car has never achieved high speeds. In fact, the REVA is one such electric car that?s available only as a neighborhood electric car in the US but has the maximum electric car capabilities in the UK, allowing even some highway travel. Still, top electric car speeds don?t match that of gas-powered cars.
Another drawback of the electric car is its size. The bigger the car, the more energy is needed to power the car. The electric car?s current capabilities are only enough to power relatively small cars. A modern family with a few groceries or packages would not find a small electric car convenient.
And what of the environmentally-friendly aspect of electric cars? Most people who are willing to spend the extra money and to live with the aforementioned inconveniences of having an electric car do so because they are tried of ever-climbing gas prices and of the world?s dependency on polluting oil. Electric cars are entirely clean and have no negative impact on the environment?while they?re running, at least.
Unless you?re one of the very few who live in a city with an alternate energy power plant or you?ve converted your residence to be powered by alternative energy such as solar power, hydroelectric power, or wind power and you only charge your electric car battery at those outlets, your electric car pollutes.
If you get your electrical energy from a coal-burning plant, the electric car?s battery is contributing to burning coal as it charges?at a rate which is not much less than burning gas in a car. If your city is powered by nuclear power, at least it?s a cleaner burning form of energy, but there is still the problem of the disposal of toxic waste. Plus, you?re spending just about if not more money on the extra charge on your utility bill as you would at the gas pump.
So the electric car has been put back on the drawing board, every so often resurfacing with a new innovation to counteract some of these problems. The most popular and successful twist on the electric car has been the hybrid car, which runs partially on gas and partially on the electric car battery.
The hybrid car cuts back on gas and electric battery charging pollution and the amount you spend on gas and utilities, but combined, they?re still not far from the pollution and cost of maintaining a gas-powered car. Still, hybrid cars allow for a bigger size vehicle and for top speeds on highways.
If you?re thinking about buying an electric car, make sure that all of these inconveniences are worth it and that the reason you?re buying an electric car?you want to cut back on pollution, for example?is actually worthwhile. If you want to send a message about oil and cut back on gas consumption, you might want to look into a hybrid car instead.
frank j vanderlugt owns and operates http://www.electric-car-2007.com Electric Car
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