By: Martin Rand, III
Date: December 6, 2012
Usually, all it takes is one great achievement to finally get people to pay attention. Hopefully, the statement made by Motor Trend will get the auto industry to realize that electric cars are't made for the future, but for now.
Last month, Motor Trend named the Tesla Model S as the 2013 Car of the Year. Why is this a big deal? The Model S is a 100% electric car.
 |
| The Tesla Model S proves that an electric car can be spacious and sexy and not look like a cramped toy car. |
That's right. No gas and zero emissions for the car of the year. This is the first time in it's 64-year history Motor Trend named a completely electric car as the Car of the Year.
A new age for autos
The biggest question now, why aren't all cars electric?
Now, I know it seems like a weird question to ask; but from everything that I've seen and know, I truly believe that we are at a point where all newly produced cars should be all electric or at least a hybrid.
Let's look at the facts. For starters, hybrids will save customers on gas and electrics don't use gas at all. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, hybrids can save consumers between $500-$1,000 yearly over their non-hybrid counterparts. Also, both vehicles are better for the environment releasing little to no emissions.
The sad part about this belief is that it isn't shared with most of today's automakers. If they believed in electric cars, then they would build on current electric technology to make advanced electric cars and not the gas engine that has been around for the last 100 years.
A consumer product being around for a hundred years should warrant it's removal from the market anyway.
Automakers excuse for not exclusively building electrics is that people won't buy them and they will be a bottom line loss for the company. Really?
Now, I have seen technology come and go in the last decade; and usually when an industry thinks a certain technology is best, they produce only that technology and phase out the old, regardless of how many people are still using or want the old technology.
VCRs, CD players and regular tube televisions all got phased out to make room for DVDs, MP3s and flat-screens.
So, why can't the auto industry phase out gas cars?
Power demand in short supply
The biggest argument against letting electric cars take over the industry is the batteries don't last long enough to justify solely making them. This is a valid argument.
Even though the Model S can get 208-235 miles on a single charge, most electric cars get less than 150 miles on a charge, according to the DOE. Since the Model S boasts a price tag of $57,000 (after a federal tax credit), this is a high-end model electric car, but in the future a lower-end model will be able to achieve near the same amount on a single charge; but, only if most automakers begin the phase out process now.
IBM is already working on a lithium-ion battery that will allow electric cars to travel 500 miles on a single charge. Following up on this technology, we will then see affordable electrics achieving 200-300 miles on a single charge.
Another argument is there aren't enough charging stations around the country for consumers to invest in an electric car. Yes, this is true, but it is a flawed argument.
With more electric cars being sold, more charging stations will be built. When gas cars were being mass produced in the early 1900s there weren't a plethora of gas stations around either; but as more cars were sold, more companies built stations and the same will happen with electric cars.
Although, more and more public charging stations are popping up around the country already.
According to U.S. Energy Information Association, there are almost 8,000 public charging stations in the country, 25% of those are located in California. This may seem like a lot; but it still fails in comparison to the 150,000 gas stations across the country.
The EV Project is trying to help this cause. According to CNN, the project, which is jointly funded by DOE grants, has set up about 2,600 public charging stations in nine states and 21 cities.
Colin Reed, manager of the EV project, told CNN he and his team hope to create 5,000 public charging stations and 8,000 residential charging stations.
"We're trying to make charging a very ubiquitous part of your life," said Reed.
A changing of the charge
Even time is a factor. While refilling a gas tank takes less than five minutes, recharging a battery can take 4-8 hours. However, Volvo is working on a faster charger for electrics that will fully charge a battery in 90 minutes.
"We know that short recharging times and extensive operating range are a necessity for potential electric car consumers," said Lennart Stegland, Volvo Vice President of Electric Propulsion Systems, in a press release. "Even if you don't have enough time for a 1.5-hour charge, plugging in for just 30 minutes will give you enough power for another 80 kilometers of driving."
So, a quick 30 minute charge could get the car another 50 miles. That should be enough to get home or make it to a closer station near the your destination.
The technology is coming for electrics to drive gas cars out of town, but the process has to start now. Oil companies like Exxon and BP may not like it but its time for cars to move strictly to battery power.
In anticipation for the launch of its all electric Nissan Leaf vehicle, Nissan released a commercial that showed everything in the world running on gas power. This included an iPod, computers, a coffee maker, a printer, a microwave and various other things that all run on electricity. It all looked ridiculous.
This is just how ridiculous we'll look if we're still driving fully gas powered cars in the next decade.
| Tweet |
