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Electric Cars
and the
Re-birth of Love
and Passion!!!
In the light of my recent posts on the development of SuperCapacitors and Ionic Fluid Batteries, I felt it time to re-address the problem with electric cars.
Generally speaking, electric cars, to this present time, have been about as popular and desirable as two week old bread. Why is that do you think? Well for one thing, they are VERY very expensive. Also, they take ages to re-charge and can only go for relatively short distances on a single charge. Why with all the hype and hoopla, the government grants, and the urging of the loony fringe, have the public not embraced the electric car with a firmer grasp??
Where do the problems lie?
Electric cars have been around for a quite a long time. Edison had one on the road in 1913 but the Germans had one going in 1904. Early examples had poor quality motors with low efficiency and torque, the batteries weighed a ton and took ages to charge, and oh - not to mention that they were ugly.
Nowadays, however, the electric engines had been re-invented several times over, and the latest breed are super strong, highly efficient, and a relatively small size.
The other factors making the modern electric car more viable than earlier attempts, are the control gear, and the drive chain. These items have, in recent years, been highly perfected.
Sex and the Modern Electric Car
Certainly some of the modern up-market electric cars are things of beauty which could well inspire desire and lust. Tesla have my vote for design sexiness.
The Elephant in the Living room
However, there is one area of the design and refinement of electric cars, which still lies in the realm of the unresolved.
Truth is there is this ‘elephant in the living room’ that is not talked about too much. The glaring problem with electric cars is the battery of course.
When the Lithium Ion battery was perfected, if one can use that word, it was supposed to revolutionise electric driving. However, there are huge problems with Lithium Ion batteries; not least of these is the HUGE bit. Then there is the cost, which can amount to more than half the cost of the car. Then further again consider that the dang darn battery will last at best 3 to 4 years. On that basis, it makes no sense at all to buy one of these cars.
Never Until a Better Battery is Invented
Electric cars are IMHO doomed unless and until a seriously better and much cheaper battery is available. Then, and only then, will we see the re-birth of the electric car/bus/truck, and, like Venus, they will emerge from their shells in a glorious re-birth and seduce the population.
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