Electric Cars

Electric vehicles, as they stand now, are a terrible value unless you never leave the city. Most cities and states don't have the infrastructure to offer on-the-go charging, and businesses won't just let you hook up to their electricity (unless they offer that opportunity already). Since electric-only cars won't travel more than 100 miles per charge (and many go far less), you can't use them even on basic road trips unless the infrastructure is there. California has charging stations all over the place, but most other large states have nothing of the sort.

The only truly valuable electric car right now for all-around drivers (those that drive in the city, country, and take extended trips regularly) is also the most expensive. Tesla's electric car can travel 250 to 350 miles per charge. That compares favorably to gasoline and diesel vehicles on the higher end.

It's also important to note that electric vehicles aren't zero-emissions vehicles just because they use electricity. We get most of our electricity from the burning of fossil fuels, so the environmental impact is still fairly high, regardless of what the advertising departments want you to think. If you get your power from solar, then that's a different story.

 

I don't have an electric car, but my friend does. He absolutely loves it. It purely electric and not a hybrid. He thinks it's worth it, but he's also very environment conscious. We live in Southern California and there is no shortage of places to get the car charged.

He has had the car for a year, but I'm still no used to how quiet the car is. It's so quiet since there isn't a gas engine. The only problem is that there aren't very many of the "fast chargers" even in our area. They can fully charge the car in an hour. That's important for long trips. It would take three days to drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco because of this. Tesla owner Elon Musk is building a network of charging stations that will be available to all electric cars. So this will not be an issue for much longer.

I hope that I will be able to buy an electric car within the next year or two.

 

Electric cars not powered by solar are actually not helping out with pollution reduction. For instance, electricity used to make them work must normally come from the burning of fossil fuels or nuclear power, both of which are major hazards to the environment. Nonetheless, I think solar powered cars should be the wave of the future, if only governments would restructure their nations to use them.

 

Electric motors are a lot more simple and serviceable than combustion engines. Fewer moving parts, lower temperatures, everything about it screams that they'll be more reliable than combustion engines, and in comparison the combustion engine looks like a gigantic tangle of kludges crammed together with intellectual duct tape.
The biggest issue with electric vehicles right now is range vs time to recharge. They have a similar range for the same weight/performance class as ICE cars, but the advantage of the ICE car is that you can stop at a gas station, pay a few bucks a gallon (rising) and within 5 minutes have the full range again, while even really fast charging electric stations have you waiting closer to 30 minutes.

 

I am also in wait for electric cars to be popular. Pollution is a big issue now and electric cars will definitely lessen the problem. In some cities in Metro Manila, there are electric tricycles which were donated by a foreign organization. If those electric tricycles will perform well maybe it will jackup the interest for electric cars. By the way, electric scooters are now common in our village but mostly for personal use only.