The Future of Electric Cars
What does the future look like? Well, let me look into my crystal ball… (ok, now I lost you). The point is, if I knew that, I would be a pretty popular guy. Well, maybe. But let’s stick to the topic…
Most of us have read the headlines and ads: “Coming Soon….2010, 2011, 2012…” the Chevy Volt or the plug-in Prius, or the Chrysler and Jeep hybrids, or whatever. What do these all have in common? They are Plug-in Hybrids (PHEVs), which means that you can plug them in at night and run for as much as 40 miles without using a drop of gasoline. How about the Ford Focus Electric car or the E-Mini Cooper? These are pure electrics that have an electric-only range of 100 mi. or more. But then you either need to stop for a few hours while they recharge or you need a special facility to quick charge them or change out the battery packs. Then there are Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs). You know, the ones that look like glorified golf carts or oversize mailboxes, are limited to 25 or 35 MPH and have names like Zap or ZENN. They fill a narrow niche, but are still popular and available today from companies like Global Electric Motors (GEM) and Feel Good Cars.