A Growing Trend for Electric Cars
Written by: Aron Brown
The Toyota FT-CH Electric Car at the Detroit Auto Show. Photo-Credit: Fabrizio Costantini for The New York Times
The number of reasons for us to find a more fuel efficient, or completely oil free automobile is growing on a daily basis. With rising gas prices everyone is looking for a way to ease some of the pressure off their wallets. According to a new report by the nonprofit Health Effects Institute, vehicle exhaust is a factor in growing health problems. (For more info on that check out the New York Times article: Report Links Vehicle Exhaust to Health Problems). So lets go ahead and add that to the list of reasons to switch fuel sources; along with climate change, the future of the economy, and according to the government national security.
Im not going to argue any of those points, whether you agree or not is fine. The fact of the matter is auto manufacturers are spending more time, effort, and money on hybrid and electric technology. There is even a new company in the market that is creating a car that runs on air and magnets.
Last year 98% of all cars sold in America were standard gas guzzlers. This year however the auto industry is facing higher regulations put in place by the Obama administration. Today cars a required to get 27.5 miles per galon, and by the year 2016 they will be required to get 35.5 mpg.
…At the opening Monday of the big Detroit auto show, the internal-combustion engine seemed almost passé.
BMW Concept ActiveE Electric Car. Photo Credit: Stan Honda/Agence France-Presse -- Getty Images.
That quote comes from the New York Times article: A Future That Doesn’t Guzzle. While hybrids seem to be the focal point of American car manufacturers, their European counterparts seem more apt to brave the tides of the fully electric market. In fact there were so many fully electric cars at this years auto-show that they had their own section: Electric Avenue. Besides the Nissan Leaf, and the new electric Toyota Prius called the FT-CH the most intriguing announcement for me this year was BMW’s concept car.
The BMW ActiveE is a full-size 1 Series Coupe unlike their previous vehicle the Mini E which they have been field testing. Â The ActiveE is the first product to come out of their partnership with SB LiMotive, a battery company made up of Bosch and Samsung. BMW has been working with them on lithium ion batteries for their future electric vehicles. At concept the vehicle is going to have a 170-horsepower synchronous electric motor integrated into the rear axle. The placement of the batteries will allow the car to maintain its 50/50 front to rear weight distribution, and it is estimated to accelerate to 60 mpg in just 8.5 seconds.
They claim the cars range should be about 100 miles, which isn’t too bad for a car that will only take 3 to 4 hours to completely charge. Whatever BMW comes up with we can expect nothing but the best from them as we always have.
The future is looking bright and cleaner. I might actually be able to enjoy my morning runs if the electric car idea sticks, and not having to worry about my future children getting asthma or heart disease from car exhaust is also a plus. However I still believe car manufacturers are giving up too soon on the hydrogen automobiles, but this is progress and you can’t beat that.
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