http://www.jasonhharper.com/auto/775/future-wave-electric-cars-are-here-really-really/ Travel, Autos, and Esoterica by Jason H. Harper, writer Mon, 12 Jul 2010 20:15:37 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 http://www.jasonhharper.com/auto/775/future-wave-electric-cars-are-here-really-really/comment-page-1/#comment-6719 brasher Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:18:11 +0000 http://www.jasonhharper.com/?p=775#comment-6719 Diesel seems to be the here and now of automobiles, but electricity seems to be the immediate future. I have recently had the opportunity to ride two electric scooters, and drive an electric car as well.I like these electric thingamajigs. They’re clean, they’re silent and you don’t have to worry about OPEC going crazy with the prices of crude. You don’t have to worry about changing gears or stalling the engine. If you ever run out of juice, plug it in to a socket like your laptop, and it’ll recharge itself. You can leave it to charge overnight and hey presto! You’re topped up in the morning. Running costs are unbelievably cheap – a car that runs on fossil fuels will struggle to match those.Electric cars are the future, I agree – but they’ve been introduced a little too early. The batteries do not have enough energy density just yet, the technology is hideously expensive, and that affects everything else – the styling, ergonomics, everything else. Diesel seems to be the here and now of automobiles, but electricity seems to be the immediate future. I have recently had the opportunity to ride two electric scooters, and drive an electric car as well.I like these electric thingamajigs. They’re clean, they’re silent and you don’t have to worry about OPEC going crazy with the prices of crude. You don’t have to worry about changing gears or stalling the engine. If you ever run out of juice, plug it in to a socket like your laptop, and it’ll recharge itself. You can leave it to charge overnight and hey presto! You’re topped up in the morning. Running costs are unbelievably cheap – a car that runs on fossil fuels will struggle to match those.Electric cars are the future, I agree – but they’ve been introduced a little too early. The batteries do not have enough energy density just yet, the technology is hideously expensive, and that affects everything else – the styling, ergonomics, everything else.

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