Electric Cars

Believe it or not, electric cars are nothing new. Electric cars were developed over 100 years ago, but lost the competition for dominance to the internal combustion engine. As the world becomes more aware about the causes of global warming, people are looking for ways to reduce our impacts on the environment. Electric cars are a critical part of the solution to global warming.

About 100 years ago, when cars were in their early stages, there was a VHS/Beta style battle going on. The internal combustion engine was competing with electric cars. While the internal combustion engine has won the battle, it won’t win the war. Within the next 100 years, there likely won’t be an internal combustion engine vehicle left on our streets and highways.

We are at an important crossroads in history where the world is starting to understand we are jeopardizing the future of our children due to carbon dioxide emissions (as a result of burning fossil fuel) causing global warming. Of the increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over the last 250 years, 50% has occurred only since the early 1970’s. Our progress in developed countries has come at the cost of global warming and we need to work towards sustainability.

To tackle global warming, we need to change the way we travel. We cannot continue to pollute vast amounts of carbon dioxide, and to make that change, we must move away from fossil fuel (oil and gas). The solution is the electric car (combined with renewable energy).

Transitioning to Electric Cars

Hybrid vehicles have been gaining popularity in the marketplace due to their fuel efficiency. This fuel efficiency is gained by either and electric motor assisting the engine (mild hybrid) or providing all the power at low speeds with the internal combustion automatically turned off (full hybrid). The full hybrid, such as the Toyota Prius, is more fuel efficient as the internal combustion engine no longer idols when stopped. While hybrid vehicles are becoming more popular, it is really a stepping stone on the path to a future of electric cars.

The electric car is not outside our reach. Today, conversion kits are available to transform a Toyota Prius, which is a gas and electric hybrid, into a plug-in electric car. This allows the car to travel over 100 kilometers on a charge, without using a drop of fuel. To build a sustainable future, we must transition to the electric car to reduce our effects on global warming.

There are some 100% electric cars being produced and sold worldwide today. The advantages of electric cars are:

• No carbon dioxide emissions produced
• Energy costs for these cars are about 10% of a gas vehicle
• Lower maintenance costs (i.e., no more oil changes)

Where to Buy an Electric Cars

This is a new market and there currently isn`t a major automotive manufacturer that produces a plug-in electric car (there`s a story behind this… see the movie trailer for `Who Killed The Electric Car`). The ZENN Motor Company is a new car company that sells their electric car around the world. The company name stands for Zero Emissions No Noise.

We clearly see the electric car as the future for the automotive industry. It’s the only way to create sustainability for the future of transportation.