Electric Vehicles

Electric Vehicles
Al look at Electric/ Semi Electric/Assisted Electric/ vehicles
Published by: All Car Central Publishing
Date published: 11/21/2013

1922 Detroit Electric Model 90 Coupe

Detroit Electric Model 90 Coupe 1922

The Future
Don't know about you but I am getting a little tired of all this talk about: Electric/Semi Electric/Assisted Electric/ vehicles. We have had them for the past one hundred or more years and they seemed to fit the need both then and now providing you don't want to go too far and have no desire for a fast trip! When I was a boy we had electric milk vans that delivered our daily pint and other dairy products, seven days a week. Until a few years ago these transporters could be found all over Europe in company with electric buses that carried thousands of people every day in the cities and towns. Some required an electrical supply others depended on battery power and it seemed to work quite well.

Tesla Roadster

Tesla Roadster

I would suggest that this type of practical use is really the limit to the future of electric powered vehicles. Ideal for short journeys and general commercial use, but not the answer to long distance travel equal to the ability of the internal combustion engine. This is not to say that there is no alternative.

The latest proposal being promoted is the "Hydrogen Car", while tests to date seem to warrant further development. These vehicles are appealing simply because unlike the electric vehicle they have the range of a typical internal combustion vehicle and more important can be refueled quickly. A strong point assuming that refueling stations can be built and operated on a commercial basis and that is the major question. At two recent auto shows three automakers presented hydrogen vehicles with the suggestion that they could be offered to the public within the next twelve months.

2014 Mercedez-Benz F-Cell

Mercedez-Benz F-Cell 2014

Assuming that this is not a promotional hype the first company making this offer is the Hyundai Motor Company of South Korea, who has a small style SUV that they featured at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Not to be out done the Honda Motor Company has made serious comments about a similar vehicle that they will be offering in eighteen months time. Toyota has gone one step further and is talking about a mass-produced fuel cell car by 2015.

What will these cars cost? No one is quite sure but an estimate produced by the industry is somewhere between $50,000 to $80,000, equal to the current price of a luxury internal combustion automobile today. The Tree Huggers will love these vehicles, as they produce no pollution, the only byproduct of the system is water!

The economics of these fuel cells is a little more complex. It is estimated that the cost for traveling the same distance, as a gallon of gasoline is around $3.00, as the current cost of gas for my car hovers around $3.50 for the so-called cheap stuff the fuel advantage seems minimum. There seems to be no review of the maintenance costs for these vehicles or what type of general service would be required and paid for by the owner.

2014 Mercedez-Benz F-Cell

Mercedez-Benz F-Cell 2014

From this scribes perspective the ability to lift the hood and attend to some problem with a hammer and duct tape would be out of the question. General Motors in company with other international manufacturers have been researching the use of fuel cells for at least the past twenty five years but as yet I have not seen any announcements of the production of such a product in the form of a GM fuel cell vehicle. It would seem that as yet there is not one in the pipeline. I have no doubt that this will be the future for transport but I don't think it will be in my time!
Geoff Wheatley ©



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