Electric Car Designs; Less Efficient But No Pollution
by TERRY BOLTON
In the good old days, travelers were only able to own vehicles that ran on gas, a rather filthy product. So was ethanol, a gasoline substitute that is much cleaner but also much harder to produce. A few electric vehicles did exist, but they could only go around 20 miles on a single battery charge, making them non-viable alternatives to conventional automobiles. However, numerous new electric car designs give the promise that people will be able to use this clean and cheap transportation in everyday life.
Some of the main stumbling blocks in electric car designs have been the size and durability of the batteries while designing a motor capable of producing enough horsepower to move the weight of the vehicle using conventional batteries. Some of the electric car designs use lead-acid batteries, which are the least costly, however their ability to hold a charge to make the distance traveled on a single charge has been fruitless. Other types of batteries, for example lithium ion, have a longer durable charge but are considerably more expensive in a battery large enough to supply the necessary power.
Cars have been built smaller and light to remove a lot of the payload begin pushed by an electric motor, requiring less power but a vehicle able to move one person for short distances has lacked consumer appeal. Many are not thrilled with the notion of having to plug their vehicle into an outlet every 60 or even a 100 miles to recharge the batteries.
We are still waiting for successful charging systems
Keeping the batteries charged for longer drive times has been a challenge in electric car designs and friction generators built into the wheel of electric cars do not generate enough power to offset the power used by the electric motor. Placing a generator on a separate gas-powered engine makes the car a hybrid and adds additional weight to the vehicle.
Some of the current electric car designs look more like a three-wheeled bicycle with a car body surrounding it and do not lend themselves for the commuter. While some of the el car designs have been applauded during competitions held every two years in Australia, they have not been convincing enough to win major approval for mass production. Nevertheless, the so-called deep cycle batteries, a battery technology for those in marine use, are being successfully applied in el car design.
Electric car designs should not be confused with design of hybrid cars. Hybrid cars utilize technologies from both conventional and electric cars to achieve slightly better fuel efficiency while lowering emissions, but they will probably never be as efficient as electric cars. Several families own two or more vehicles, so they would still have a long range car for vacations and business trips. For a car that's cheap and efficient for everyday transportation, an electric vehicle is the perfect solution.
Terry Bolton is an internet publisher of automotive stuff. Read his useful and popular articles about how to find car repair online as well as auto parts
