How near are we to getting electric cars that are as good as other cars?
I like the idea of electric powered cars but it seems that they are really slow and need to keep getting charged up again. Are we going to see electric cars that are just like other cars soon
Looks like we’re getting there with similar performance.
Check out the Tesla Roadster or Aero EV. Or the upcoming Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt, which are more ‘normal’ cars.
It looks like the performance is now there, but the big problem is batteries – it’s hard to get them to store enough energy. They’re about 4-5 times too weak for what we need for mass market electric cars. The Chevrolet Volt can go about 40 miles, and the Nissan Leaf about 100, before needing recharging. This is why the Volt carries an on board petrol generator to keep it going!
There are currently batteries in labs that pack the punch we need; litihium-air and silicon-nanowire electrodes let us make good enough batteries. However, we don’t know if they’ll work out commercially yet!
The electric motor is way more efficient that the internal combustion engine (ICE) in energy utilization. The problem is the state of battery technology, which is improving, laboratory prototypes using nano technology electrodes have demonstrated x10 short term storage increase and x3 longer term increase, such improvements could make all the difference if they are brought to the market.
Critics cite studies showing that the high use of coal in the U.S. makes electric cars ultimate as big an CO2 producer as gas cars, driving in clean electricity states like California make electric cars a clear environmental winners.
The average homebrew conversion using golf cart like technology in 1 1/2 ton cars get 30 miles range, 60 mph top speed and cost $10,000 to convert. Some owners are happy to have a commuter with 2 cent a mile energy cost.
The state of the art cars on the road like the Tesla address the performance and range anxiety issues, for a price. The Tesla does 0-60 in 4 seconds and has a 200+ mile range when driven conservatively. The Tesla uses some 6000 Lithium ion batteries, similar to a lap top computer’s.
We are ready to get cars:
This an green vehicles mall. see in the electric cars category.
Nowhere near, electric cars have been around for over a hundred years and still can’t compete with normal cars. Some say they are just as good, maybe for day to day driving but what happens when my family and I want to travel somewhere over 100 miles away?
Well, there are no electric cars on the market right now. except for the Tesla, and I don’t figure you have $100,000.
Those “neighborhood electric vehicles” you see toodling around don’t count. Those are, literally, golf carts with license plates.
The major automakers did build electric cars in the 1990′s. They were full performance and had a range as high as 150 miles.
You will never beat the convenience of liquid fuels which is to say gasoline/diesel. They store an incredible amount of energy in a compact, pumpable form. However you can certainly beat the cost. I know you don’t care about the cost of gasoline. I know that because you are still paying it. Electricity as a fuel is MUCH cheaper, imagine 50 cents a gallon.
The next generation of electric vehicles will be “hybrids”. Yes, I know you are aware of vehicles that call themselves hybrids, nope, those are nothing worthy of the name. These hybrids will truly be the best of both worlds. Most of the time you will burn that “50 cents a gallon” electricity. Only on long trips will you burn the $3/gallon stuff. But your car will be totally capable of it.
If you just don’t want to ever bother plugging it in, you could use the $3/gallon stuff exclusively. That’s what Prius owners now do. But that’d be the expensive way to go. Not very good for the environment either.
The Nissan LEAF was just “launched” today in Toronto, with a claimed range of 160 kms.
If you made your own “conversion”, there are major hurdles, about 10 of them, which have been solved by hobbyists and tinkerers, but not yet implemented “in the commercial field” by manufacturers.
Magazine selects electric vehicle invention as one of the top 10 inventions for 2008:
Electric cars are very efficient in preventing pollution. But in pick up and long haul they may take a lot of years to compete with the gas engines. The acceleration problem may be solved faster than the long haul. The reason is the battery technology. Even if the battery technology improved two times the range also can go up by 2 times which again is going to be lower that a gas engine. Charging takes time, on the other hand gas filling does not take time at all.
But for city driving we should all support a electric vehicle. Just imagine a crowded city gets converted into a electric car only city and the amount of smog and carbon particles in atmosphere will go off and the residents can breathe safely.
saturn made one in 99 and leased it out, it worked too good. they bought all of them back and crushed them. look it up saturn EV1 or EVONE, not sure on the spelling. we’re there already, but the big oil corps dont want you running on electric, so, there wont be any electric cars. not the answer you wanted but it’s the truth