Why the Electric Car Has Not Progressed
Response to http://theanphibian.livejournal.com/311440.html
Well this was certainly informative for me, since I got to see what electric cars ARE available. It doesn't seem as though the fact that we have them is well advertised, although it would be hard to get the typical consumer to buy one unless they're living in a place that has lower speed limits and closer driving ranges on average (like a metropolitan area).
I personally think its comically absurd that the Tesla company came out with a "toy" sports car first, before they came out with a mainstream vehicle that could appeal to the general consumer, both in price and practicality. Perhaps the designers were more excited about the opportunity to make a new stylish sports car than to make a reasonable option for the consumer market to help make a significant shift in the market out there. I suppose the benefit of the doubt would be that they chose a 2 seater sports car since those have lighter bodies, and thus can be more efficient in that regard. I'm curious to know what average driving speed yields the range they stated, though. If its at 25 mph, then its not doing much better than it's neighbors, other than the fact that it can drive a lot more without charging again. I think a 55-70 mph max vehicle would be sufficient for general all around use since most highway speed limits are about that much (at least around here and all the places I've driven that I can remember). Having a top speed of 125 mph is great for the people who want a toy, but they could have applied their R&D resources to come up with a more practical solution, in my opinion. Nonetheless, aside from price, its probably the most comparable option, in terms of performance, to normal cars, right now.
As far as why we're still driving our petroleum fuel cars, I say its because its a number of reasons. (I'm not going to elaborate much for most of these, so if you find it confusing or weak, it may be due to lack of explanation)
1) "Capitalistic, corporate greed" type of decision making (money drives some people quite a bit, unfortunately) that prevented the investment of resources (time, money, people) into further developing and manufacturing better electric vehicles (think of the "get the low hanging fruit" or "take the path of least resistance" type of thought mentality)
2) Fear inducing beliefs that if we switch, our economy would collapse, thus paralyzing decision makers (governmental and corporate) in taking more decisive action sooner on the matter
3) Misinformed and uninformed consumers who don't know what has existed and what our technological capabilities are and that electric vehicles are a very feasible thing to make.
4) Social trends that people pursued so they could "be cool" or build the "perfect American dream" that had been painted. Think of having a home in a suburb and a car. This was the marketed "perfect image" after soldiers came home from WW2. I'm sure the whole "muscle car" era played a huge role in why electric cars got stomped out, also. (Maybe 1950's) The big rumbly engine was cool and then, of course, there was drag racing (think of the movie Grease). The power of a car, in terms of how fast it can accelerate, is obviously something that has been important through more than one generation of the US (Still got car lovers out there who love racing and driving around fast)
5) Material science limits might have played a role in why the electric car eventually lost out to gas/diesel engines, especially in terms of efficiency, speed and acceleration. These days, our cars have a lot of plastic and styrofoam to make lighter and safer cars (I know, because I saw styrofoam underneath a plastic bumper, and I went up to examine it closely). However, older cars (probably before early 1990's) relied more on steal and metal bumpers, etc for protection and frame. That much metal makes a much heavier vehicle. Obviously, the heavier body would be a serious detriment to an electric vehicle's range and top speed, causing it to drop out of the "game" early, especially without the availability of strong lightweight materials that we have now.
This situation has definitely been co-created by all factors and aspects of our society. The good news is that despite our current situation, we can start acting to change the situation, NOW, and we're not doomed. We will need all levels and players in society to contribute and participate though. Just as we co-created our current situation, we can co-create a solution and a better future. Things will turn around when EVERYONE is ready and willing to move in this direction. Right now, our previous direction is "decelerating" as a new direction is starting to accelerate, so the change is obviously and painfully slow. It will gain momentum as more people and groups (like the government and companies), make more shifts on various levels within.
Well this was certainly informative for me, since I got to see what electric cars ARE available. It doesn't seem as though the fact that we have them is well advertised, although it would be hard to get the typical consumer to buy one unless they're living in a place that has lower speed limits and closer driving ranges on average (like a metropolitan area).
I personally think its comically absurd that the Tesla company came out with a "toy" sports car first, before they came out with a mainstream vehicle that could appeal to the general consumer, both in price and practicality. Perhaps the designers were more excited about the opportunity to make a new stylish sports car than to make a reasonable option for the consumer market to help make a significant shift in the market out there. I suppose the benefit of the doubt would be that they chose a 2 seater sports car since those have lighter bodies, and thus can be more efficient in that regard. I'm curious to know what average driving speed yields the range they stated, though. If its at 25 mph, then its not doing much better than it's neighbors, other than the fact that it can drive a lot more without charging again. I think a 55-70 mph max vehicle would be sufficient for general all around use since most highway speed limits are about that much (at least around here and all the places I've driven that I can remember). Having a top speed of 125 mph is great for the people who want a toy, but they could have applied their R&D resources to come up with a more practical solution, in my opinion. Nonetheless, aside from price, its probably the most comparable option, in terms of performance, to normal cars, right now.
As far as why we're still driving our petroleum fuel cars, I say its because its a number of reasons. (I'm not going to elaborate much for most of these, so if you find it confusing or weak, it may be due to lack of explanation)
1) "Capitalistic, corporate greed" type of decision making (money drives some people quite a bit, unfortunately) that prevented the investment of resources (time, money, people) into further developing and manufacturing better electric vehicles (think of the "get the low hanging fruit" or "take the path of least resistance" type of thought mentality)
2) Fear inducing beliefs that if we switch, our economy would collapse, thus paralyzing decision makers (governmental and corporate) in taking more decisive action sooner on the matter
3) Misinformed and uninformed consumers who don't know what has existed and what our technological capabilities are and that electric vehicles are a very feasible thing to make.
4) Social trends that people pursued so they could "be cool" or build the "perfect American dream" that had been painted. Think of having a home in a suburb and a car. This was the marketed "perfect image" after soldiers came home from WW2. I'm sure the whole "muscle car" era played a huge role in why electric cars got stomped out, also. (Maybe 1950's) The big rumbly engine was cool and then, of course, there was drag racing (think of the movie Grease). The power of a car, in terms of how fast it can accelerate, is obviously something that has been important through more than one generation of the US (Still got car lovers out there who love racing and driving around fast)
5) Material science limits might have played a role in why the electric car eventually lost out to gas/diesel engines, especially in terms of efficiency, speed and acceleration. These days, our cars have a lot of plastic and styrofoam to make lighter and safer cars (I know, because I saw styrofoam underneath a plastic bumper, and I went up to examine it closely). However, older cars (probably before early 1990's) relied more on steal and metal bumpers, etc for protection and frame. That much metal makes a much heavier vehicle. Obviously, the heavier body would be a serious detriment to an electric vehicle's range and top speed, causing it to drop out of the "game" early, especially without the availability of strong lightweight materials that we have now.
This situation has definitely been co-created by all factors and aspects of our society. The good news is that despite our current situation, we can start acting to change the situation, NOW, and we're not doomed. We will need all levels and players in society to contribute and participate though. Just as we co-created our current situation, we can co-create a solution and a better future. Things will turn around when EVERYONE is ready and willing to move in this direction. Right now, our previous direction is "decelerating" as a new direction is starting to accelerate, so the change is obviously and painfully slow. It will gain momentum as more people and groups (like the government and companies), make more shifts on various levels within.