Electric Cars Now and in the Future
With many of us becoming increasingly concerned about ‘green’ issues, and saving our planet, I thought I’d take a look at the transformations taking place in the motor car industry.
In order to lessen our reliance on oil, some car manufacturers are giving some serious attention to electric cars.
Now, many of us might remember the days when virtually all the electric vehicles being driven on Britain’s roads were called milk floats, and their top speed was around 20 miles per hour.
Quiet, almost non-polluting, yes, but hardly something to stir the emotions.
A lot has changed though as the car industry has started to get to grips with producing vehicles which won’t pollute, are quiet, and cost less to run than conventional petrol driven cars.
The UK’s first four-seater electric car which can travel up to 70 miles without recharging has recently been announced. The car, based on a Citroen C1, is a joint venture by Toyota, Citroen and Peugeot. The car will be fully recharged after plugging into a normal 13a socket, taking around 6/7 hours to fully charge.
The British government has spoken about giving subsidies of up to £5,000 on electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles to try to boost people’s converting to electric vehicles. It’s likely though to be 2011 before the scheme is fully in place.
Up until now, electric vehicles have failed to make much of an impact due to the length of time it takes to charge an electric car, the fact that only two-seaters have been available and that top speeds are a lot lower than their petrol and diesel counterparts.
Hopefully, with more money being poured into research and development all these issues will be resolved, and more of us will opt for these quieter, less-polluting alternatives.
Although some small vans have been produced with electric motors, or as hybrids, it’s really the car market which needs to evolve.
Now, think of 3 wheels, an electric motor, and what do you have? An Aptera!
The Aptera 2e is a car conceived in California, USA, and already has around 3,500 people placing $500 deposits for a car. The Aptera will be available, according to its owners, by the end of 2009. It will initially be offered only in California. Florida and Texas are next on the list, with a national rollout to follow in late 2010 or early 2011.
It is claimed the Aptera 2e will travel for 100 miles in between recharges. It is plugged in to an ordinary garage outlet (110v), costing approximately just 50c to charge. That distance of 100 miles is with 2 people in the car, luggage, and the air-con switched on.
The futuristic looking Aptera 2e will feature air conditioning and a navigation system. It will also have electric windows, power locks and front and side airbags.
Doing 0 to 60 in a little under ten seconds doesn’t make the Aptera the fastest car on the planet, but it certainly competes with some other small compacts, like the Toyota Yaris. With a top speed of 90 mph it can sit at the speed limits quite comfortably on most of the roads in the US.
On a test drive in San Francisco recently the Aptera 2e had heads turning. From a futuristic, concept car, the Aptera will soon be the car of the present.
Related posts
Cars Available Through Motability
People with disabilities that are receiving a mobility allowance have the option of getting a car through the Motability scheme. The scheme was set up to make it easier for disabled people to obtain cars that suit their needs. Not every make of car is available through the scheme but there are a surprising number of major car manufacturers involved. The options available include four by fours, estate and family cars and MPV’S.
Mitsubishi are a company whose cars are created to thrill. They provide cars through the motability scheme and have made available the shogun and popular outlander four by fours as well as the lancer sportback.
Suzuki are a new addition to the scheme. Some of the cars that they have made available to the scheme include the Suzuki, Jimny, Splash, Swift and Grand Vitara. Suzuki are renowned for making stylish and creative vehicles so it is great for disabled drivers that they have made their vehicles more available.
A high end manufacturer that is also involved with the scheme include Mercedes. They are a very famous brand whose vehicles are revered for their safety features and stylish designs. They also come with a hefty price tag. The vehicle that is chosen through the scheme may require some extra payments as will often be the case with Mercedes.
There are also more affordable household name brands of disabled cars available from Peugeot, Fiat and Renault. The options available include either hiring the vehicle on a three year contract funded through the Motability scheme or bought outright on a hire purchase system over two to five years.