Jan 12 2010

The Case for Electric Vehicles

Posted by: Jonathan Marshall

If I were one of the army of auto marketing executives showing off new hybrid and electric vehicles at this week's Detroit auto show, I'd be smiling for the public but privately panicking.

Despite all the fawning media coverage of these fuel-efficient and climate-friendly vehicles, a chorus of naysayers are warning that few consumers will actually buy them--relegating all this fancy new technology to the scrap heap of failed investments.

Last month, a report from the National Research Council warned that the high cost of batteries will limit the number of plug-in hybrid vehicles on America's roads to only about 13 million by 2030, not enough to make more than a slight dent in the country's carbon emissions.

Last week, Boston Consulting Group piled on with a new report claiming that battery costs "are unlikely to drop enough to spark widespread adoption of  fully electric vehicles without a major breakthrough in . . . technology."

Even the clean-tech blog Earth2Tech saw fit to depress its readers with "10 signs your next car won't be electric."

So for you die-hard enthusiasts who can't bear to cede the argument without a fight, I highly recommend reading "11 Practical Reasons to Buy an Electric Car," by Nick Chambers of Gas2Org. While he acknowledges that "the vast majority of people will still drive gas-powered cars into the foreseeable future," he ticks off the many good reasons your next car should be electric after all.

Start with the fact that you won't need to spend nearly as much time making friends with your mechanic: "By removing the engine, exhaust system, emissions controls, and the many other little bits that are traditionally associated with a combustion-powered car, then replacing them with a motor that has one moving part, some batteries, and associated fans and coolant, the chances that you'll end up in the service department are drastically reduced."

Nor will you need to crawl under your car to change the oil every few thousand miles. "Likely the only major things you'll need to get regularly serviced on an EV will be a coolant flush and battery change every 100,000 miles or so," Chambers points out.

You'll stand to save countless trips to the gas station as well. If you've got a garage, and install a suitable outlet, "you may never have to make a trip somewhere to 'fill' your car up again."

The cost per mile of electricity is liable to be far less than you pay now for gasoline--and far more stable as well. You won't depend on foreign imports of oil from insecure lands to power your car.

And as you glide down the road, with no rumble from the engine, you can take quiet satisfaction from knowing that you are doing your part for the environment.

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