Will Electric cars succeed in America?
By Justin Smith
The innovation of today’s technology brings
electric cars closer to reality.
the point that pure electric motors will never be the
There are many
only power source for vehicles in the future but, “a
questions to answer about this redeveloping
mixture of many types of automobile power plants
technology if electric cars are to succeed in America.
including, internal combustion engines, extended-
In the next few years, more major automotive
range vehicles, diesels, turbines, hybrids and
companies plan to introduce their own line of electric
hydrogen fuel cells.” (Lorenzo) Today the only true type
vehicles. The determining factors of the success will
of electric vehicle that makes sense for consumers is
depend on a few things; first, the range or maximum
an extended range electric.
distance electric vehicles can travel; second, the cost
efficient and is a nice gateway to purely electric
to purchase a new electric vehicle; and third, electric
vehicles. The range limitation is due to the lack of
vehicles are supposed to be zero emission machines,
battery technology. Advances in battery technology
but are they?
like lithium-ion polymer batteries, which can be
Most people have problems with the range
an electric car can travel. An electric vehicle can
travel between forty and two hundred miles on a
single charge. The ability to only drive around one
This technology is
recharged more often with less power loss and
they’re much lighter than standard lead batteries. It
is important to keep the weight down when multiple
batteries are needed to power a vehicle.
hundred miles on a single charge makes people
The initial cost of purchasing an electric
nervous about buying a strictly electric only vehicle.
vehicle is substantial. The Nissan Leaf, which will be
Most people would be better suited to buy an
introduced to the market in late 2010, comes with a
extended range vehicle which offers a small gasoline
price tag of $32,500. Many other competing vehicles
engine to recharge the cars battery, thus extending
are comparable. Peter Valdes-Darena reports that in
the range of the vehicle. Although consumers would
California certain residents could possibly buy one for
rather choose an extended range auto, there are
$17,000. This is possible from tax breaks like “the
many types of vehicle power plants that are available
federal government offers a $7,500 tax credit for
today, and still will be far into the future. In an
electric vehicles, the state of California offers a
article, “Range anxiety remains”, Peter M De Lorenzo
$5,000 tax rebate and some local governments add
makes a statement that, “Due to the limited range of
an additional $3,000 in rebates.”
“all electric vehicles”, extended-range vehicles will be
total savings comes to $15,500 off the price of a very
more attractive to consumers.” (Lorenzo) He also makes
expensive vehicle. The tax credits are meant to help
Will Electric cars succeed in America?
(Valdes-Dapena)
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The
English 1010
Mrs. Stephenson
boost sales of the electric vehicles and encourage
Cost comparison Electricity vs. Gasoline
Electricity
Gasoline
Efficiency
$0.15/Kilowatt-hour
$3.00/gallon
Rate
45 miles/Kilowatt-hour
30 miles/gallon
Cost
$0.03/mile
$0.10/mile
buyers to have an environmental way of thinking.
Figure 2 Electricity vs. gasoline
“The cost savings of operating an electric vehicle is
more than three times that of a standard gasoline
engine.”
(Doren)
The unknown quantity is the cost of
wear and tear.
The limited knowledge of
maintenance and repairs could be much more costly.
The batteries in electric vehicles are extremely
expensive. They also have a limited life expectancy.
Figure 1 Nissan Leaf
The true cost of owning an electric vehicle is
The cost to operate may be less but the cost to
somewhat unknown. However, the cost of powering
maintain and own an electric vehicle could be a deal
an electric vehicle can be calculated.
breaker.
Peter Van
Doren reports that, “The amount of power required
for an electric vehicle to travel 12,000 miles/year is
three megawatts.” (Doren) The unit watts are a rate of
energy per time and mega is one million. To put this
into perspective, it would take a quantity of 10,000
light bulbs that have a 100 watt rating to use the
same amount of power. “The amount of power loss
or efficiency into an electric system, like a car, would
be nearly twenty-five percent efficient. This would
require nearly four times that of the three megawatts
of power. The eleven to twelve megawatts needed is
equivalent to 38 mpg.” (Doren) The following table
shows the cost of powering an electric vehicle versus
a standard gasoline engine.
As a commuter rolls along in their $40,000
“all-electric vehicle” down the road, nowhere will you
see or smell any emissions coming from the vehicle.
This is true. However, the ability to recharge the
batteries is not “zero emission”.
Josh Mitchell
reports, “The Obama administration wants to
compare electric vehicles amount of carbon dioxide
output to that of electric power plants.” (Mitchell) This
will give the world a better understanding of the
actual impact of using an electric vehicle. The electric
power plants that provide the electricity needed to
recharge a lithium-ion polymer battery will emit a lot
of carbon dioxide. Indirectly, the electric vehicle is
not absolutely “zero emission”.
Will Electric cars succeed in America?
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English 1010
Mrs. Stephenson
The three topics that I feel are important to
to emissions or pollution. If it’s electric, the power
Americans are - the maximum distance electric
most likely came from a coal burning power plant,
vehicle can travel, the cost to purchase a new electric
which is extremely pollutant. In our day, clean power
vehicle, and are electric vehicles emission free? For
is the future and will be essential in the success of
me, the distance and the cost are the most important
electric vehicle; the cleaner the power source, the
of the three topics. If a car can only travel between
cleaner the vehicle.
forty and two hundred miles on a single charge, it
could pose a large problem with some Americans.
Although, today many people have cell phones and
they wouldn’t leave there home without a plan to
have it charged. This topic comes down to planning.
It will take some foresight with the electric car
owners to make sure that they do not run out of
power. In the near future I see that extended range
Electric vehicles can succeed in America. I
don’t think it will be too long before we see a
growing number of electrics out on the road.
It
wasn’t too long ago there weren’t any hybrids and
now they’re everywhere.
It’s an evolution of
technology and it won’t be stopped. Electric vehicles
many not be feasible today, but soon they will.
vehicles will be a success because they have a safety
factor with them.
A commuter can travel much
further without any consequences or much worry
about the range of the vehicle. The cost however, is
a rather tricky subject. I don’t think the government
should give tax incentives to Americans to buy an
electric vehicle. This could pose more problems than
it’s worth. Instead the government should take the
money that was allocated for tax breaks and put that
money into research companies. More research is
needed to improve the technology, especially with
the batteries. If the money is given as grants to
companies around the United States for research, a
solution will be found much quicker, this will bring
the cost of the vehicle down and therefore make
them more cost efficient. The last topic, emission
free is also difficult. I don’t think we will ever see a
truly “zero emission” vehicle. Any machine is related
Works Cited
Doren, Peter van. "Will electric cars finally succeed?" 7 October
2010. The New York Times.
<http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2010/10/07/willelectric-cars-finally-succeed/electric-cars-are-not-the-answer-toour-problems>.
Lorenzo, Peter M. De. "Will electric cars finally succeed?" 7
October 2010. New York Times Opinion Page.
<http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2010/10/07/willelectric-cars-finally-succeed/electrics-as-part-of-the-mix>.
Mitchell, Josh. "Electric Cars Aren't 'Zero Emission,' New Rules
Say." 31 March 2010. The Wall Street Journal.
<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405270230425270457
5156491684233892.html>.
Valdes-Dapena, Peter. "Juicy tax breaks for electric cars." 9
November 2010. CNN Money.
<http://money.cnn.com/2010/11/02/autos/electric_car_benefits
/index.htm?section=money_latest&utm_source=feedburner&ut
m_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fmoney_lates
t+%28Latest+News%29>.
Table of Figures
Figure 1 Nissan Leaf ...................................................Page 2
Figure 2 Electricity vs. gasoline...................................Page 2
Will Electric cars succeed in America?
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