Huntington Recker
English 101
Leah Stahl
Persuasive Essay Draft 1
February 3 rd
, 2010
For several years there has been growing competition between gasoline and electric powered vehicles. It has been a general statement that electric vehicles could not out perform gas powered cars.
This has not been true in recent years though. Several electric cars have started to equal the performance of gas powered cars, and even out perform them. Then there is also the argument that electric cars do not produce admissions, but the way the electricity is produced for these cars out weighs the benefits. But after much research scientist have proven that this is not true. These cars would also greatly reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Therefor this would promote our economy.
Electric cars can out perform gasoline cars and are much more efficient for the environment and our economy.
Through out the years electric cars have always been behind gas powered vehicles. They have always been short on the side of performance and range. And most people want a vehicle that has lots of performance. America has opted for the more sporty and luxurious SUVs and trucks. These vehicles use a lot of gas to run, but are a way of American life. Electric cars did not start to become popular until the late 90's, when the price of gas began to rise. In the beginning, electric cars were very very slow.
They took a long time to reach high way speed and they could not travel very far. But when gas prices began to rise the need for an alternative increased. The most popular option was a hybrid. This was a car that had both a gasoline engine and electrical engines. It would use the gasoline engine during times of performance and during stop and go conditions. But when the car was stopped and during normal cruising conditions the electric engine was used. This would cut down on the usage of gas and in some cases double the fuel mileage of the car. The car's battery would automatically be charged when the gas powered engine was on. This way it only needed one fuel source. But as the price of gas

has risen even more, the need for a completely gas free car has come present. That is why the popularity for electric cars has risen. Many companies have conducted a lot of research on electric engines and have made them very reliable and efficient. Because of this, electric cars have become very fast and the distance they can travel have increased. The most notable showing of this would be when one of the fastest 0 to 60 cars, the Porsche 911, was beaten by an all electric powered car.
Even though these cars do not produce any emissions directly, they are still created by making electricity. About 50% of all of the electricity in the united states is created by burning coal. This causes a lot of pollution to the environment and has very negative effects. The smoke that these power plants put out is one of the main causes of acid rain. So many experts believe that an increase in demand for electric cars would push the need for more electricity which would cause more burning of coal. And the burning of more coal would only make the environment far worse than it is. But this is not a correct statement. Scientists discovered that the output of burning gasoline for each car is far greater than that of burning coal to make electricity. This study was conducted by Automotive Testing and Development
Services. They found that a gallon of gasoline creates about 20 pounds of carbon dioxide. To produce a kilowatt of power it creates 1.5 pounds of carbon dioxide. Now the average car gets about 30mpg, which would create about 65 pounds of carbon dioxide. Most average electric cars would take about 30 kilowatts of electricity, which in turn to make would create about 45 pounds of carbon dioxide. So the electric car would obliviously be the more “green” alternative.
The most obvious thing that would come about from switching to electric cars would be the decrease in foreign oil. If most cars on the road became electric then the need for oil would fall to a low. Now the increase for coal would go up, but America provides most of its own coal. An increase in demand would only increase production in the united states and improve its economy. This can only be seen as a win-win scenario. Most people consider this factor when they buy cars to begin with. Pretty much everyone wants to save money on gas and most Americans wants to deplete the dependence on foreign oil. That is the reason most Americans now buy fuel efficient cars or opt to buy hybrid vehicles.

But the best for this would be a completely electric driven vehicle. This would mean that the use for gasoline would almost be completely gone.
The most efficient cars for America are not gasoline powered, but electric powered. They have become much more powerful than there predecessors and are actually quite road worthy. The most obvious reason for someone to choose an all electric car would be to help protect and save the environment. Currently the price of these cars are to high, but as soon as the technology and equipment needed to cheaply produce these cars is achieved, they will catch the attention of main stream America.
American society likes fast and sporty vehicles that until recently only could be achieved by gas powered vehicles. But now they can have all of that in an electric powered platform. Also, instead of going to the pump they can just plug their baby into the wall for the night to have it be fully powered in the morning. This, at the same time, will help save the environment and reduce our dependence on foreign oils. All around electric cars are the better of the two, and in time will dominate the roads.