EV Basics VI – Roadmap to an EV world

Important acronyms:

EV: Electric vehicle: any vehicle that uses electricity to provide some or all of the power to its wheels.

HEV – Hybrid electric vehicle, car or truck that uses both an electric motor and ICE.

ICE – Internal Combustion Engine – The world warming and belching car power plants that were used in the dark ages of the 20th century.

PHEV – Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle, a hybrid vehicle with a battery pack that can be charged from a wall socket.

At this point, many of you have read the first five articles in the EV Basics series. Many of you are now convinced that electric vehicles will be more convenient and cost-effective than ICE-powered vehicles, once they are in mass production. You understand that EVs are much better for the environment, despite the millions of corporate dollars spent trying to convince you otherwise. You see the connection between our dependence on foreign oil and the increasing threats to our national security. Now, you want to know how to make electric vehicles a reality as soon as possible.

We can get there in a reasonable amount of time if we follow the guidelines I list below.

1. Do what you can, when you can

If you have roughly $ 100,000 dollars to spare, you can order a wonderful electric car, the Tesla Roadster, today. They have already started delivering vehicles, so your wait shouldn’t be too long. For $ 30,000 less, you can order an eBox from AC Propulsion. Are you still too rich for your blood? Vectrix is ​​now selling a wonderful highway legal electric scooter for $ 11,000. Or you can buy one of the many electric bikes available, starting at less than $ 1000.

Right now, electric vehicles are already available at almost all price points. If you can’t figure out how to fit one of them into your life, you can buy a new HEV, like a Toyota Prius, for just over $ 20,000 or a used one starting at about $ 10,000. Gasoline-powered HEVs are not the definitive answer to our energy problems, but they provide an excellent platform for developing electric vehicle components, such as electric motors, batteries, and transmissions. They also use much less gas than their ICE-only brethren.

More good news: There is a wave of underdevelopment of EVs and PHEVs from companies like Phoenix Motorcars, AFS Trinity, and many others. In addition, Toyota recently announced that it is developing a plug-in version of the Prius with considerable electric range. The future of electric vehicles is bright, so keep your eyes open and follow developments as they unfold.

Even if you can’t find an HEV that meets your needs, and you can’t wait for new models to become available, you can help the cause by buying the most fuel efficient car that will suit everything and everyone you need to haul. Doing so will show car companies that you care about our overuse of oil and that you don’t mind having a car with as much power as a Formula One driver.

2. Be a voice for change

Write to the car companies and let them know that you are putting off buying a new car until they make an EV or PHEV. Directions can be found in the third article in this series. Let your elected officials know that you want electric vehicles to be available as soon as possible. Speak on blogs, email lists, and cocktails. Get the word out to everyone who wants to listen, and maybe even some who don’t. Be polite but firm. It counteracts the misinformation spread by those who don’t want electric vehicles to be successful.

3. Keep an open mind

Some people choose a favorite type of electric vehicle transmission design, battery chemistry, or body style, and then start treating EV enthusiasts with alternative ideas as the enemy. Do not do that. Encourage others to think of new solutions to our transportation problems. Even if an idea seems silly at first, critically analyze it and discuss it with others to determine its merit.

Don’t assume that companies that have made mistakes in the past, such as General Motors, cannot make significant contributions to the advancement of electric vehicles in the future. Encourage them to invest in the development of electric vehicles. Let GM know that you will buy a Volt if it turns out to be everything they say it will be. If the big automakers run into a brick wall of skepticism from potential EV buyers, they will use this resistance to try to convince lawmakers that EVs are not economically viable. If we greet your EV programs with hope and enthusiasm, your grain counters will take notice.

4. Don’t just talk, act

Discussion is great when it’s a preamble to action. So, talk things over, develop a game plan, and then execute it. Buy an EV or a PHEV. Find a job developing electric vehicles or other alternative energy products. Get closer to work so you can get around on an electric bike. There are a million different things you can do to help make electric vehicles a reality. Pick a few and start doing.

5. Never, never give up

Corporations are spending millions of dollars on advertising and public relations trying to convince you that everything is okay. Not all it’s rigth.

People who seem completely rational look at you like you’re crazy when you tell them we should leave our cars on gas. You are not crazy.

It would be so easy to just stop fighting the tide, give in to the allure of “the easy life.” Do not give.

The easy life is an oil-fired illusion. We are like microbes in a Petri dish, consuming all we can before our resources are exhausted. However, unlike bacteria, we can recognize our situation and start conserving now, before it is too late. We can start using the energy that the sun throws on this Petri dish called Earth so that we never run out of resources. Those of us who understand this have an obligation to continue trying to spread this understanding. Doing so can be exhausting, frustrating, and thankless work, but our planet, our children’s planet, depends on us keeping trying.