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It's electric!
The annual Frankfurt auto show proved that electric cars are on the up and very real. Automakers must first prove the technology and the market are ready. After years of talk and trial products, makers unveiled the fresh ideas for electric cars in Frankfurt this month. General Motors is offering the Chevrolet Volt, which is electric and has a backup gasoline-run generator to charge the batteries for longer trips. Renault modeled a purely electric automobile with a backup combustion engine, which will be on the market by 2011. BMW is right alongside other electric leaders with the plug in diesel-electric concept car, the Vision EfficientDynamics.
Theirry Koska, director of Renault’s electric vehicle program is quite confident that the vehicles will become a distinct market of their own, and sell themselves “once the cars are on the road and can have customers test-drive the cars.” The new electric automobiles made their debut at the Frankfurt auto show and will be out in 2010 at the earliest.
The only problem is time. People in Europe, Asia and the US want the electric cars, and now. If the ambitious introduction schedules are postponed, automakers could end up feeding consumer pessimism about the timeliness of owning one of these vehicles.
Some Americans have taken matters into their own hands. An example of such is Georgia man Larry Horsley. He hardly buys any gas—even though he drives 1995 pick up to and from work every day. A self proclaimed “do it yourself-er”, Larry has converted his pickup by ripping out the gas guzzling engine and replacing it with a zero-emission electric motor—and says that just about anyone can do it. Although, it may cost you over $10,000 for the transformation, and it takes some time—about three months, which Larry spent most of waiting for the parts to be shipped. Horsley’s truck can travel about 40 miles without damaging the lead-acid batteries before the S10 needs to recharge—which is just enough mileage to get to and from work. “What people don’t realize is that the average person only drives 20 miles per day,” he said.
So is the cost of the conversion worth the savings in gasoline? Larry did this as a learning experience first and foremost, but estimated that he has saved $700 since going electric four months ago, and is quick to point out that that is just the savings on petroleum—he no longer needs to purchase oil or change the filters since there is no engine oil or filters to change.
"I was originally skeptical," he said. "But now I'm convinced."
Dougherty, Carter. "To Hopeful Makers, the Electric Car’s Time Is Here." New York Times. 13 Sept. 2009. Web. 28 Sept. 2009. <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/14/automobiles/14electric.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=electric cars&st=cse>.
Merrill, Curt. "Converting gas-powered cars to electric." CNN.com. 29 July 2009. Web. 28 Sept. 2009. <http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/ptech/08/14/electric.cars/index.html#cnnSTCText>.
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