Electric Vehicles
Why are electric vehicles so popular?
I don’t know about everyone else but if you just ask the kids they’ll tell you they’re all for
electric vehicles. It doesn’t matter what kind of electric vehicles either. Make all the vehicles
electric! After all, electric vehicles are fascinating and easy to use not mention easy on the wallet when it comes
to thinking about buying gas.
Maybe it’s the fact that electric vehicles run in an amazing and mysterious silent way.
That’s got the roaring, gut throbbing internal combustion noises beaten hands down. Silence, it seems, is
associated with thinking – at least conscious thinking occurs in the silence. Issues of reality and form and
style and daydreaming are all part of this silent phenomenon.
Marketing electric vehicles
If every kid wants electric vehicles, maybe that’s the place to start marketing them. The
other day I helped move a Barbie® Jeep. It’s an electric powered kid sized vehicle and is too heavy for one
person to lift, let alone a child to lug around. Nevertheless, the toy is very popular and we both thought to
climb in and take it for a spin. It’s fun, adventurous, and even parents love it.
So much for child’s play!
The weight and safety issue of electric vehicles
Back in the adult world, one of the major unresolved electric vehicle issues that remain is that
of weight vs. safety. Numerous models of Italian, Swiss and Chinese electric vehicles already exist on the
market but few models satisfy U.S. requirements for highway safety. The dilemma is that electric vehicles are
kept light for efficiency sake. The required battery storage adds a lot of weight but not where it
counts.
Chrysler introduced an electric vehicle in California back in 2000 that was in reality a
glorified, weather resistant golf cart. There was more marketing hype than real interest but the giant
automaker did meet its EPA mileage goals that year.
Slower speeds associated with around town driving are more suited for electric vehicles.
Perhaps with new, lighter electrical storage technologies we’ll see heavier electric vehicles that can practically
meet stringent safety requirements, but it hasn’t happened yet.
Still, the attraction for electric vehicles remains. Considering the state of the world we
will probably see some sort of renewable energy vehicle successfully enter the marketplace in the near
future. Whether it will be an electric car or one powered by fuel cell, the final vote is still out.
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