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Plans
for the Future
Electric cars have been around since 1830 when the first EV surfaced. However, with the development of the electric starter, electric cars quickly took a backseat to gas-powered cars. With increasing concerns with air pollution, people have turned to electric vehicles once again. California introduced legislation to pass a mandate that 10% of the cars in 2003 would be electric. Although this mandate was overturned, it made people aware of EVs and their presence in society.
Advantages
Why an electric vehicle you may ask? Well, there are many advantages to driving an EV. One fact that people have to realize is that electric cars contain less moving parts which means that they require less maintenance. No tune-ups are necessary. You can avoid messy oil changes and oil stains that run off and pollute watersheds. No radiator coolant is necessary because there isn’t a radiator. Money can be saved because there isn’t a dependency on oil, which could be a major plus during times when oil prices are rising. Another huge advantage is the fact that there are no emissions from the car that can harm the environment.
Disadvantages
Obviously, there are some drawbacks to EVs; however, these exist mostly in terms of the range of the cars. Depending on the terrain and driving conditions, EVs average approximately 40 to 100 miles per charge. New battery technology has been cropping up to improve this range. A company by the name of Solectria introduced the nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries on the Sunrise which went 373 miles on a single charge. These batteries are quite expensive now, but they should be competitively priced within the next couple of years. Groups such as the United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC) have goals to improve the battery development for use with EVs. Other energy sources such as flywheels, fuel cells, or ultracapacitors are also being experimented with.
Batteries also prove to be a problem in terms of maintenance. The electric motor itself can last for several years with no maintenance; however, the batteries need to be replaced every 3 to 5 years. This incurs extra expenditures on the replacement of batteries. Operating costs for an electric vehicle are much less than for a gasoline car, therefore the operating and maintenance costs end up balancing each other out.
Another concern that consumers have concerning EVs is their performance. Testing has shown that EVs actually outperform their gasoline counterparts. For example, the GM EV1 can go from 0 to 60 in nine seconds. The modified GM Impact has a top speed of 183.8 mph! EVs also have amazing cornering abilities since the batteries are placed right where the center of gravity lies. When the EV is turned on, the electric motors have instantaneous torque. Gasoline engines need to wait until they build up enough power to reach their peak RPM range. This is one of the reasons why manual EVs can accelerate from second gear.