Oil prices are high, driving is going to become expensive really soon. Thats what we can safely assume from what has been happening lately. I was just flipping through the Top Gear Malaysia magazine when I saw an article about the Tesla. I heard about it some time ago, and they had managed to build a decent car that runs on electricity. I stopped following the developments, and suddenly I find out that they are going to launch a 30,000 pound sterling family sedan by 2009. And this car is supposed to be able to rival every other car out there on more than the novelty factor.
That in itself is quite an achievement, but when I looked at the stats that the Tesla roadster (the only Tesla available on the market right now) has been posting, I was quite stunned. 0-60 mph in less than 5 seconds, and if you factor in mileage based on the electricity that you derive from burning fossil fuels, you get well over 100miles per gallon. Thats at least double the Toyota Prius. And here's the kicker. A range of 250 miles. In urban driving situations, thats plenty.
But I figuired that the electric car will be less appealing to long distance drivers. After all, charging takes time, and I don't think people want to spend a few hours refeuling. I suddenly remembered something that the real Tesla (as in the inventor) tried to do, and recently has become reality. Wireless power transmission. It might not make it into reality in my lifetime, but I can imagine cars being charged while they are being driven. Imagine that. Infinite range for your car. Of course that would mean having remote charging stations built all along the roads, constantly emmiting energy to the cars that pay for it. Sounds like fantasy, but one can dream.
Plus, Lotus has helped develop what it claims to be a car that can go 350 miles without recharging, and it takes 10 minutes to go from flat to fully charged. Bloody impressive.
People are still debating the fuel that is going to take petrol's place. Some think that hydrogen fuel cells will work. Some like ethanol. My money is firmly on electric cars.
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2 comments:
My money's on the Energizer bunny. Either that or the Energon in... TRANSFORMERS!!! (more than meets the eye!!!)
Even though wireless transmission of electric are to be used, it won`t be very practical, with efficiency of less than 40%.that more, it decreases the further it is from the charging station. This makes putting solar panels on cars sounds like a better idea.
Your fantasy lies in a star trek world, where energy are pretty much
unlimited. Well, we all surely hope for that day to come true.
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