ALT-2 Are Electric Vehicles the Answer to High Gas Prices – No

The concept of every person driving electric vehicles may sound like the answer to all prayers environmental, but the fact of the matter is they simply do not work as a viable option to internal combustion. It is ok to say, ‘Hark, we must all drive electric, then all our problems will fade into the night’. They will not fade into the night; they will still be there, front row centre, in the full blaze of day.

It needs to be understood that running costs for an electric car would probably far exceed that of what the average motorist spends on fuel for their normal vehicles. Just think about everybody plugging the car into the mains to charge every night. The power consumption would go off the chart, literally. Therefore costing the consumer far more in electricity bills than it would cost them in fuel bills.

It happens already. Whenever a national event is on TV that everybody will be watching, or the vast majority will be watching, for example, The cup final, the world cup, the super bowel, anything like that. The power companies need to know when these events are being held for the sole reason that when the intervals, half time, quarters, or whatever occur, they are able to generate more electricity when everybody goes to the kitchen to switch on the kettle, or the coffee maker or microwave.

This collective power consumption creates surges for power that can knock out entire networks if there isn’t the electricity available in the system to meet the demand. Just imagine a time when most people are now driving electric cars. They still arrive home at the same time when the rush hour is over, and what will be the first thing they will do when they park the shiny new electric car? they will plug it in. This will cause a much higher surge for power, as an electric car charging system will draw far more electrical current that your average kitchen appliance.

I agree that it would be a wonderful thing if this were not so, however it is so. The electric car concept is just not developed sufficiently at the moment. The extra pollution generated from power plants and power stations worldwide while generating the extra electricity to charge all these cars would be astronomical. There would be new power plants springing up like startled frogs, just to keep up with demand.

There is also another reason for the electric car being a complete and utter failure in todays market. They are absolutely hopeless in every way. Only the most ardent environmentalists would be seen dead in one. We would actually be doing more harm to the environment driving these things, than we would driving a low emission internal combustion vehicle. Until they can build an inexpensive car that can perform as well or better than those that rely on the internal combustion, then the electric car will be resigned to the public opinion scrap bin.

The electric car needs to drive as well as a normal car, it needs to cost around the same or less to purchase than a normal car, it needs to accelerate as well as an average car, it needs to be practical, it needs to last as long on one charge as your normal car would on a full tank, without losing performance, it needs to look attractive, and not resemble something you once saw on Thunderbirds, but the most important reason for having an electric car is, it needs to cost less to run than a normal car. All of these factors need to be dealt with and made a reality before electric cars become a realistic alternative, or when we run out of oil. Whichever comes first?

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